Okay, I've saved my UAL miles for the big trip next July and am in the midst of booking. Any thoughts about Lufthansa's business class vs United?

On the return to San Diego, I could fly Swiss Air via Zurich, or stick with Lufthansa, or UAL... heck, I could even fly to London and take Air New Zealand from there back to LAX.

In terms of flight duration, all work out pretty equally. I am such an infrequent business class traveler, that I'd love to have the best experience possible. Gee, who wouldn't?!Thanks for any tips.

Lufthansa is upgrading their cabins to a new business class. The current, older class is ok, but somewhat dated. The new one, which I've never flown, is supposed to be very nice.

You can check which flights are updated on the LH website.

Check that the LH route has "new" business--I think most of the planes have probably been upgraded at this point. If so, the seats and in-flight entertainment are much better than United (which is due for an update, but that is unlikely by next July). LH "new" business has flat seats, although at a bit of an angle. I flew both last year and much preferred the seat on LH. Service and food on my flights were pretty much equivalent.

No experience with Swiss or Air New Zealand, sorry.

Just rode Swiss' longhaul biz class for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and - gasp - wasn't all that knocked out. I found the seats rather uncomfortable, actually - plenty of width but hard surfaced and the seat edge seemed to hit me right at a nerve bundle in my thighs that made me squirm to find a comfortable angle. Strange. Also, legroom when fully reclined was inadequate for my 6 feet, and the angle-flat seat was a true wedgie machine. The service was good but nothing remarkable. Guess I was expecting more. Transiting ZRH was a snap - easy airport.

If Air NZ is an option for your UAL miles (and it should be) then I would definitely opt for that alternative. Their new biz class product (herringbone suites a la Virgin) has gotten rave reviews, and the times I've flown them the service and comfort has been exceptional.

Another Star Alliance possibility is UA to New York, then Singapore Airlines' JFK-FRA service. Also pretty classy business class.

Great responses! Thanks so much... Too bad Swiss was such a bummer, Gardyloo.

Like the suggestion to check out the Singapore segment JFK/FRA. Probably only chance I'll have to fly them.

My UA experience with first class domestic was no great shakes, so definitely want to seek out partners.

Actually, for LAX-JFK has premium service so you would be flying in business class on United.

The description of the p.s. biz class:

# 26 spacious, comfortable leather seats - an ultimate environment with more legroom.
# Individual handheld DVD player with 10 entertainment choices and noise-reduction headsets. Experience the convenience of business tools with p.s. at www.unitedps.com.
# New menu offerings including signature champagne cocktails and gourmet chocolates.
# All classes of service feature laptop power and phone access from every seat. In addition, no power adapters are needed for laptops.

Having flown that leg several times I actually dislike the Singapore Air JFK-FRA flight. Most airlines treat that route as a very strict overnight flight - relatively quiet from the moment of takeoff till landing so those that wish to sleep right away without being disturbed may do so.

On Singapore air, perhaps since the flights continues on to Singapore after Frankfurt I had a negative experience twice. Despite specific requests to flight staff and purser, I was awakened for dinner (served at 10:30pm, so I'd already eaten hours ago), dinner lasted an hour or so, and I was then reawakened about 2hrs before landing for breakfast.

Not sure if it was my bad luck or if this is a recurring issue on that leg.

I would do whatever I could to fly non-stop west coast US to FRA or MUC - flying 6yrs to JFK then connecting across the pond adds a lot of overhead, travel time and overall pain.

OP was considering options for the return, westbound. How was that on SQ?

Well, I was able to get booked on Singapore for the JFK/FRA portion, but only economy seats available for the UA flights to JFK. Checked LAX, SFO, even getting to IAD from SAN and connecting to JFK. Is this normal?
J62: Your comments about the JFK/FRA makes me rethink....may just stick with original with the LAX to FRA.

Westbound on SQ FRA to JFK is just fine. It's a daytime flight in that direction, so overnight sleep isn't required. The thing I like best about the SQ flight is the departure time. The flight leaves FRA before 9am and arrives in JFK before 11am.

That's great if you're just flying to JFK. Total travel time will be far less flying non-stop Germany to SFO or LAX versus connecting in NY. You may also want to consider LH from Munich, and not just from FRA.

Great insights from all posters. Decided that the least amount of transfers and time involved made most sense. I will be flying Lufthansa from LAX/FRA nonstop. Return will be Prague to Frankfurt, then a direct flight to Denver (all in business). Finally, UA first class home to San Diego. The Singapore JFK/Frankfurt leg would have been fun to try, but didn't want to waste my business award miles when only economy awards were availabe for the domestic portion.