by Hugh Morris, The Telegraph, June 12, 2017
Adventurous travellers are being offered the opportunity to book cheap flights in return for not knowing where they are going.
German airline Lufthansa is selling round trips to some of Europe’s most popular cities and beach resorts from as little as €69 (£61), but the location is only revealed to the travellers once the flights are booked.
The carrier does, however, allow passengers to select from one of nine categories to indicate the type of holiday they would like; from romance and “bromance” (male bonding) getaways to partying and nature trips. Within each genre, travellers can see the list of 10 or so destinations from which their route is randomly selected.
Lufthansa's "surprise" romance destinations
- Athens
- Bologna
- Budapest
- Florence
- Paris
- Prague
- Rome
- Venice
- Vienna
- Zurich
For example, anyone booking a “bromance” trip (from €99) will find themselves at one of the following: Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Dublin, Hamburg, Krakow, Manchester, Prague or Warsaw, while romance destinations include Paris, Rome and Vienna.
“With Lufthansa Surprise you can bring wonderful variety into your travel planning,” says the airline. “Simply choose one of our nine exciting travel topics. After that choose the dates you wish to travel and complete your booking – and Lufthansa will then surprise you immediately with an attractive destination in Europe.”
Lufthansa's "surprise" nature destinations
- Belgrade
- Copenhagen
- Faro
- Gdansk
- Geneva
- Oslo
- Stockholm
- Toulouse
Unfortunately for Britons, the airline only offers the surprise flights from Frankfurt and Munich airports.
Is it worth it?
Selecting a “sightseeing and culture” trip could land you in one of nine cities, including Helsinki, Valencia and Bilbao, with a cost from €79 (£70).
Booking, say, a trip from Munich to Bilbao travelling in early September will cost from £199, when checking the fares on Skyscanner, while one from Frankfurt to Valencia starts from £182. That's a saving of more than £100 per person.
A “partying” trip from Munich to, for example, Barcelona, costs €99 (£87) with a Surprise flight, but when booked normally costs from £162.
For any Londoners wishing to indulge in the surprise, for the same weekend, flights from London to Munich start at £97 return.
If a surprise flight does not tickle your fancy, how about a mystery cruise?
21 European cities you never thought to visit – but definitely should
This article was written by Hugh Morris from The Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.