misha2

From all I read, Lufthansa is far superior to US Airways. My 17-year-old will be traveling to Italy alone. My best choices for him to be a US Airways flight that has only one stop in Philly with a 4.5 hour layover or a Lufthansa flight that has 2 stops (in Frankfurt and Chicago). The duration of the Lufthansa is shorter even with the two stops. Which would you choose? Also, is 1 hour and 10 minutes long enough to get a transfer in Frankfurt? Prices are very similar with US Airways being just $25 cheaper.

Thanks,

rkkwan

One stop is always better than two, and there's enough time to go to center Philly for a stroll if he desires.

misha2

Hmm. Good point.

Thanks,

sparkchaser

US Airways sucks but there is something to be said for minimal connections.

70 min might be enough time and it might not. It really depends on how quickly he can deplane and how quickly he can clear immigration. Best to avoid the issue altogether and fly Useless Air and connect in an airport where everything is in English and directions can be easily asked for and given.

misha2

Sparkchaser thanks for affirming that it sucks! It really does. I hope that the merger with American Airlines might help. There's another option of two stops including two hours in Munich and he loves the idea of being in an airport in Germany. However, I guess I should be practical.

sparkchaser

Two hours in Munich would not be bad. He'd have maybe 30 min to wander around and grab a beer (drinking age is 16) before catching his next flight.

misha2

Aah. Yet another reason not to choose Lufthansa.

sparkchaser

Hehehehehehehe

Sorry if I ruined the fun for your son.

kybourbon

I think drinking age in Italy is birth. I wouldn't worry about a beer in Munich as he will be able to drink in Italy.

gail

I would schedule him with more time than that for connection, if possible - and that be the determining factor not which airline. While more experienced travelers may navigate the logistics of a foreign airport quickly, he may not be able to. And the difficulty and stress of his rescheduling in event of cancellation or delay might be a challenge for him as well. I would take the longer connection (Philly/4.5 hours) also because connection is still within US.

kenav

Why does US Air suck?

gail

USAir sucks because their planes either are or feel older. I fly BOS-DCA every few months and JetBlue and USAir are my 2 choices. Comfort and service is far better on JetBlue; unfortunately, USAir is often cheaper and has more flights.

But United sucks more.

misha2

Thanks for all your help. I went ahead and booked the US Airways with the 4.5 hours in Philly. Better to be safe... LOL on the drinking age stuff.

sparkchaser

<i>Why does US Air suck?</i>

Poor customer service

Gate agents who outright lie to passengers regarding voluntarily giving up seats

Poorly trained employees

Old, uncomfortable seats

Delays, delays, delays

Poor IFE selection

sparkchaser

I should probably add that while pretty much all U.S. domestic carriers have those problems to one extent or another, US Air seems to have a bigger issue with these than other U.S. domestic carriers.

suze

I pay more attention to the price, times, and routing, than I do the specific carrier. I would pretty much always go for the least amount of stops/plane changes as possible.

sparkchaser

I try to fly within Star Alliance. Now that US has left, I only have to avoid UA flights.

sparkchaser

ooops. Should read "...avoid UA flights for international travel."

kenav

We are going to Jackson Hole (for Yellowstone & Grand Tetons) and Grand Rapids CO (for Moab) this fall and booked with United. We've never flown them before and all our destinations have flights that have 1-stop. Hope things don't turn out so badly as United naysayers say!

gail

My gripes with United go back to an argument I had with Customer NonService about why our son did not have a US passport when flying from Boston, MA, USA to Jackson Hole, USA. (he had lost his wallet and we were trying to find out how to get him onto flight)