Flying Lufthansa
 

We'll be travelling on Lufthansa, since we're using United miles for a free flight.
Any opinions on this airline? We've travelled quite a bit, and flown on many different airlines, however not Lufthansa.
Thanks!

I went from Phoenix to Madrid via Frankfort last year and they were great. I missed my connection on the return trip, they already had my bags pulled and re-scheduled to Denver / Phoenix. I was so worried but they were great, the total delay was about 2 hours. I would travel with them anytime, sorry to say they stop their Phoenix non-stop service to Frankfort.

It's just like any major airline, except the crew is German.

We've taken Lufthansa to Europe thru Frankfurt. Worst airport to catch a connection I've ever been in. You have to go out & back in thru customs & security to catch your connection. One hour was a rush because twice we had to be bussed out to the plane.

We sat in the back of the bus, in cattle car. Very little leg room, and the food was horrible, at least on the Europe to States leg. Choice was turkey or a vegetarian dish. By the time they got to us, the only thing left was the vegetarian "treat." <gag>

Only positive think I can say is that beer/wine/liquor was free, and they kept coming thru the isles to refill.

Intra-Europe was another thing. On our connections to Paris and Munich we had leather seats, lots of leg room, and they even served a nice meal and some great German beer!! ((b))

got,

Allow me to second the sentiments of yk. Last summer I flew Lufthansa from the east coast to Munich, and while it was by no means a highlight of my trip, the service was satisfactory, good enough so that I'll be making another European trip this summer via Lufthansa.

My trip to Munich was "economy class". This I remember quite vividly given the woeful lack of legroom in this class. The food was forgettable, as was the in-flight "entertainment". On the plus side, however, was the efficient, friendly service of the crew, and heated towels near flight's end (a nice touch).

Lufthansa appears serviceable enough.

Enjoy your holidays.

We used f.f. miles and went to Venice on Lufthansa via Frankfurt. You didn't mention which class of service your in? We splurged with our miles and went 1st class and it couldn't have been any nicer! We also had friends on our flight in business class and they were very pleased as well. Very Happy in all regards!

As for the Frankfurt airport...ugh! It is a lot of walking to make connecting flights....seemed like miles! Don't overload with carry on or you might be sorry!

We also experienced an extremely long walk between connecting flights at Frankfurt Airport, including having to go back through security. I read later that there are pedestrian tunnels that connect the concourses. These make for a much shorter walk and do not require going back through security. They don't seem to be well-marked as we did not see them. I think you should head for the area called transfer center after deplaning where they could point you in the right direction for these tunnels.

I believe the OP is asking about how Lufthansa is as an airline. I don't see any mention of flying to FRA or transferring there.

OK, it stinks unless you are flying business or first class.

P.S. If you have to transfer in Frankfurt, make sure you have at least 1 and 1/2 hours. ((b))

I guess my question for gottheitch is:

Does it matter what our opinions are? Since you are going to fly LH for free, are you comtemplating other options? If you get very negative answers here about LH, are you going to pay out of pocket to buy plane tickets on a different airline? Or are you going to use more miles and fly First/Biz on LH?

It is just another major airline. You will get both positive & negative opinions on it. I've flown it twice to Europe and will fly them again if the price is right.

yk, that's an accurate observation.

After reading the horrible comments about Lufthansa here two years ago my family & I were apprehensive about the airline. We expected the worse.

The strange thing was we really enjoyed our flights and all the crew members. The aircrafts were all new and the bathrooms were very clean. The flight attendants were very friendly and helpful. They kept giving refills of water and oj during the flight also.
The meals, of course, could be better just like any airline in cattle class. But on Lufthansa they were actually edible. Plus they hand out snacks during the movie (chips and Milka chocolates). I know UAL does this too as I noticed on my flight from Paris to SFO last month. Must be something they have in common.

The intercontinental flights between Frankfurt/Munich to Paris and back are flown on Airbuses and they were new aircrafts with leather seats. We were given lunch which was sandwiches. These were made from fresh loaves like small baguettes with ham and cheese or vegeterian. They were pretty good too.

Anyway, personally, I would welcome the opportunity to fly on Lufthansa again. Except for flying through Frankfurt. I am in total agreement with Budman. It is also archaic how we had disembarked on the tarmac and was bussed to the terminal. Gosh, good thing our layover was around two hours and we didn't need to go through customs and security at that time two years ago. I hate Frankfurt airport.

Our return flight was through Munich and that airport is so modern and nice as it's new.

And I forgot to mention there were the heated towels. Again UAL copies this but theirs are made from some kind of heavy duty paper towel.

All in all Lufthansa is ok and for you the price is right so go for it!

I fly Lufthansa frequently from Kuwait to Frankfurt and back. Not my favorite airline, but they're fine. I also fly them from Frankfurt to the US occasionally, but only if I can't get a flight with United (I get more miles using United).

I'm not a fan of the Airbus, but I think that's pretty much all they fly anymore - at least from this part of the world. The Airbus can be really squishy in coach with very little leg room, but I suspect all airlines are like that these days.

Lufthansa has a bad habit of losing my luggage in Frankfurt, so I always arrange a long layover hoping my luggage will make my connecting flight.

FYI - on some flights leaving from Kuwait, Lufthansa offers upgrades to business class for about $180 if they've overbooked coach and have extra seats in business class. I've never known them to do this on the Frankfurt end though. I wish they would!

You'll be fine - have a great trip!

See http://www.airlinequality.com and go to the Passenger Opinions/Lufthansa section.

My own opinion is that for long haul flights in cattle class, Lufthansa's legroom is among the worst in the industry, which makes for a very uncomfortable flight if you are over 5'7" tall. I have also gone poodle class in Lufthansa and it is very nice and pleasant.

Here's the bottom line for economy class - UAL vs. LHA:

United's first section of economy is called economy plus, which means you get leg room compared to the non-economy plus section (obviously) and compared to Lufthansa's entire economy section. Benefit....UAL

Also, most trans-atlantic flights on UAL have personal TV in all economy seats. Lufthansa never spent the money to upgrade its economy cabin (one reason they're still profitable today). Benefit....UAL.

As for flight attendant service, this can be hit or miss, but generally speaking I would say LHA is better. For example, LHA flight attendants bring around more drinks, there's a bigger selection than on UAL and also the flight attendants repeatedly bring OJ and water throughout the flight to keep down dehydration. Benefit....LHA.

So if I had to fly economy on LHA or UAL, I'd bring along a big bottle of water and fly UAL and do my best to get a seat assignment in economy plus.

petlover,

We splurged and used our UAL miles for first class on Lufthanss and felt spoiled.

3 flight attendants fpor about 12 people...ten different kinds of wine ...and sleeper seats.

gottheitch, could you specify which class of service you're flying?? Lots of opinions ranging from the best to the worst....

I would say that Lufthansa seves the most tasty food in econmy class but for what they lack in food quality they gain in on time service and professionalism. some people will say that Lufthansa's flight attendants are not friendly but I think they are just professional and do not go out of their way to be you "best friend". I always enjoy flying Lufthansa because of their on-time service, modern jets and good connections. I do have to say the only thing they lack is personal TV's on their A340 jets across the atlantic.

We've flown them twice using FF miles from United and have been very happy with them. The food is so,so but it's airline food. They are a very professional flight crew but good nonetheless.

My memories of Lufthansa date back before smoking was banned on international flights. We were seated at the very front of the section behind the smoking area and were dizzy from cigar fumes. The fact that cigars weren't allowed on flights didn't seem to matter to the crew.

However, the snacks were excellent, and we became big fans of brotzeit throughout the day.