Experience with Lufthansa? Frankfurt?
 

I just reserved tickets on Lufthansa stopping at Frankfurt before going on to Zagreb. What is your experience with this airline? Also, we will have about 3 hours in Frankfurt. Is it possible to get away from the airport in that amount of time? Thanks.

Rebecca, Although Lufthansa is not "N" registered, meaning they do not use the Us governments' FAA, they are a top notch organization with a great record. Probably one of the world's best. <BR> <BR>There won't be enough time for you to wander away from the airport, but there is an abundance of things to do there. There is shopping, countless restaurants, movie theaters and also a sort of aviation museum on the roof of the main terminal. You won't be board.

I have ridden British Airways, Icelandic, Sabena and Lufthansa to/from Europe and Lufthansa was the best. The food, at least 3 years ago, was great and they just keep serving it. The legroom in coach was better than all--except maybe British. The stewards/esses were nice and the people are more diverse--fewer Americans than our home based airlines. You can get away from the airport but you wouldn't have enough time to do much. There are trains which leave from the airport.

I flew Lufthansa last year with some trepidation, expecting bad food, unfriendly attendants, etc. Had a great flight both ways and would be happy to fly that airline again. (Do a search on the airline at this forum to see other opinions, though.) As Lee said, there's probably not enough time to wander from the airport, but it's not a bad place to have to kill some time. Have fun!

I too can relate good experience with Lufthansa. I flew longhaul with them last year and service, check-in, cabin etc were all very good. They are known as businessman's airline and most of the passengers seem to be on business. There does seem to be some ongoing renovation work going on at Frankfurt Airport and some parts of the terminals were are mess, and sometimes you have a long walk connecting there.

Hi, would fly Lufthansa with complete confidence. Actually, I think the attendants are nicer than BA! Frankfurt airport is huge with lots of shops and restaurants. Frankfurt and Zurich are probably the easiest airports in Europe to make connections. You really don't have enough time to go into Frankfurt even though there is a train station in the basement of the airport. Have something to eat and browse the shops and the time will pass quickly.

You will not be disappointed flying LH.Although it is not customarily my usual airline, nonetheless I have flown <BR>LH with great sucess. You will not have time to really leave the airport as everyone has mentioned and I concur.By the time you de-plane in FRA and go thru all of the re-checking in, you would be cutting it too close to even think about leaving to see any sites in downtown FRA. There is plenty to do at the airport. FRA is one of the largest airports in all of Europe and to hang out there for a few hours will be like a mini vacation and experience in and of itself...

Thank you for your quick responses. Mary, I did a search on Lufthansa, as you suggested, and am amazed at the contrast on opinions about it. Does anyone have a fairly recent experience with Lufthansa? The air fare is so good, it would be hard to pass up - $600 from NYC to Zagreb in June.

I can't comment specifically on flying Lufthansa, but I do have a comment about the pricing you cite. <BR> <BR>$600 (is that including taxes?) seems like a VERY good price. I just tried pricing NYC-ZAG for September, and the fares are all over $1000 (Bucharest is considerably cheaper for September, for what it's worth). I am still thinking about the trip to Poland and Romania, mentioned by Art Hussey on an earlier thread. (Search "vlads castle" to find this thread, if you wish - - I have already topped it too many times). <BR> <BR>I assume that this $600 fare would not allow a stopover at that price (and of course, chances are that you are not interested in one). <BR> <BR>But if you did want one, you might look into using www.europebyair.com to get you cheaply to Zagreb from London (usually the cheapest air destination from NYC), Paris, Amsterdam and Duesseldorf (Duesseldorf is noteworthy because of the very good deals on continental this spring - - but not extending into June, as I recall). There are numerous other cities connected to Zagreb on www.europebyair.com in case you wanted to include any other destinations on such an itinerary. <BR> <BR>

and now for an opposing opinion. I had flown Lufthansa a few times years ago and was satisfied. I flew them back from FRA last Sept and was misurable. I had absoulty NO legroom and was standing most of the flight. The food was ok and the service fine, but until I read that they have added more legroom NEVER again (at least not in coach.) <BR>

Rex, <BR> <BR>I got this fare through Pan Adriatic Travel, 800-352-0555, which I learned about on this forum. It's actually $599, and with tax $671. We're not interested in a stopover. We just want to get to Zagreb. I think it's a great price too, for June. <BR> <BR>Again, about Lufthansa, it's surprising to hear such contrasting opinions.

I try to fly Lufthansa whenever I can- they have a great safety record and their prices seem to be much better than other airlines: We are flying from DC to Rome (via Frankfurt) and returning from Venice (again via Frankfurt) at the end of March for $333 roundtrip before tax

we found lufthansa a mixed bag 1 year ago. the flight from boston to frankfurt was cramped(747-200 series) with no leg room and im only5'6". the food was just edible. the people were however very pleasant and the airline was on time. the flight to mumbai(bombay) on a 747-400 series was fine and the food very good but then they had a large selection of fairly good indian items on the menu. all in all they are one of the better airlines ssto fly

LH is technically a fine airline ... planes well-maintained, crews well-trained, relatively safe, etc. <BR> <BR>From a passenger service standpoint one must remember that LH, like so many non-US carriers has a state-owned legacy. Passenger service has not been one of its particular strong points. From that perspective it ranks in the middle, perhaps slightly upper middle, of a group of European carriers. <BR> <BR>All in all, though, economy is somewhat of a drudge experience on most airlines, and the most important issues for most of us are price and schedule, then we can start getting fussy about which variety of caviar is served. :-) <BR> <BR>Ed

Sorry I didn't like Lufthansa at all...

I have used Lufhtansa a few time to Europe and i will say the are VERY safe, VERY efficient and strive for on-time service. <BR> <BR>As the reputation goes, the flight attendants can be a bit harsh. I guess you have to remember sometimes it difficult to communicate in English when it is your second language. Sometimes German translations don't come out so well. After all they are there for your safety! One tip... DON"T USE THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT CAL BUTTON!!!!! <BR> <BR>The food? What airline food is good? Actually I recommend bring a nice sandwich or a treat for yourself. Lufthansa's transatlantic food is nothing great, but if you fly Lufthansa within Europe, the food is actually wonderful. On my last flight we got a cold platter of meats, salmin, salads, cheese, crackers and breads. <BR> <BR>I think their pricing is good, when they are having a special. Sometime being patient is worth it. I was looking for a trip to Florence, Italy with a connection thru Munich or Frankfurt and the fare was $1000-$1200 to Germany. Then one day it dropped to $557 so I booked. Thats a good fare for a flight between Los Angeles and Germany. The fare between Florence was quoted at $361 R/T (wow!) which was a bit steep, so I did my homework and found that there was a special that offered you a $89 each way if you provided your Transatlantic air ticket number. This was a program that was suppose to last til March 31 but has been extended. Basically it offers an $89 each way ticket to anywhere LH flies in Europe. I save a lot of money over what it would have cost me to but one single ticket to Florence which was $1200. The total cost of my trip was $735. <BR> <BR>Now I just hope that the flight attendant doesn't slap me. <BR> <BR>

Rebecca, I flew Lufthansa from Chicago to Frankfurt and then on to Berlin last spring. I liked it because I found the service courteous and efficient, and the Asian vegetarian food was quite good. I did not feel cramped on the 747-200 for the transatlantic flights, but then I'm only 5'5". The service was pretty much constant--juice boxes and towelettes passed around before takeoff, drinks before dinner, meal and beverage service, beverage refills, coffee/tea service, after-dinner drinks, and so on. <BR> <BR>Coming home, my Berlin-Frankfurt flight was delayed (weather) and I missed the Frankfurt-Chicago flight. There was no flight until the next morning, so Lufthansa promptly arranged a room (with dinner and breakfast) at a nearby hotel. <BR> <BR>I would not try to get out of the Frankfurt airport and back again with only 3 hours. You'll find diversions aplenty in the airport itself. Have a great trip!

Have had very good flights on Lufthansa. Service was fantastic.

I flew Lufthansa to Frankfurt then Croatia as well. Things I liked about Lufthansa – transfers were easy. In Frankfurt, we just went over to the terminal where Croatia Airlines was and gave them the boarding passes. That was it. The thing I didn’t like about it. 1. The food was HORRIBLE!!!!! 2. They lost my luggage for 2 days! It somehow never got transferred to Croatia Airlines in Frankfurt. Then again, British Airways lost in one time for a whole week. So, it could have been worse. <BR> <BR>I’ve been on several airlines and my favorite has been Virgin Atlantic. If I had a choice, I would not pick Lufthansa again. <BR>

Another dissenting opinion - after Lufthansa claimed that I cancelled my non-cancellable, non-refundable, non-changeable ticket, almost left me stranded on the way home in Europe, and didn't give a damn about my problem until I yelled quite loudly and vociferously at them, I will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER fly them again! Service in the air was perfunctory, at best. Food was fair. Yes, the fare was good, and they are posting good fares again for this year's trip, but I will still NEVER fly with them again!