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-   -   Lufthansa Airlines (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/lufthansa-airlines-235517/)

xy Jun 29th, 2002 07:11 PM

Lufthansa Airlines
 
Can anyone give their comments about flying economy on Lufthansa from the US to Europe? Are the seats/leg room comfortable enough? What about the food they serve? Thanks.

Mike Jun 29th, 2002 07:31 PM

Our first experience with Lufthansa last year was just "OK."<BR><BR>We just returned last Tuesday from a round trip to Munich thru Frankfurt. When we arrived in Munich in the AM, our luggage never made it on the Frankfurt to Munich flight. My wife's suitcase was delivered to the Hotel at 4 PM, and mine 1 AM the following morning. <BR><BR>There is virtually no leg room, and it even gets worse when the guy in front of you reclines his seat. The food both ways was horrible. I expected more. The beer & wine was complimentary, so I drank my dinner knowing I didn't have to drive upon arrival.<BR><BR>I have Lufthansa tickets to Paris in February and will do my best to find another airline.

Dee Jun 29th, 2002 07:33 PM

We flew Lufthansa from SFO to Munich and back returning this past Wednesday. It was OK. All the airlines seem to cram you in, and Lufthansa isn't any different. It was a 11-12 hour flight each way, nonstop. It was an Airbus (340, I think). The seating was 2 along the far sides with 4 seats down the middle.<BR><BR>One nice feature about Lufthansa is that they provide drinks at no charge, beer and wine. The food was fine. The lunch meal was better than the dinner food. The service was good, we saw 2 movies on each flight. All in all, I would fly Lufthansa again if I were traveling again to Europe.<BR><BR>Dee

john Jun 29th, 2002 07:36 PM

<BR>What food do they serve might be a better question. I just sent my 14 year old daughter as an unaccompanied minor on LH from Los Angeles to Milan via Frankfurt last Tuesday. She arrived starving, she said on the phone, because the stewardess did not wake her for dinner.

xy Jun 29th, 2002 07:51 PM

Coincidentally, Dee, we'll be traveling from SFO to Frankfurt and then from there to Paris.<BR><BR>This airline doesn't sound promising-I guess that should not be much of a surprise to me nowadays. I thought BA was pretty cramped but this one sounds just as bad. <BR><BR>Mike, about those people who recline their seats, I wish they would have more courtesy and thought than to recline their seats all the way it can go. I mean yes, the lever can go allll the way, but do they ever think that by doing this the person behind them has their food tray practically sticking in their chest? Not to mention even if you don't have the food tray down and you need to get out of your seat, you can hardly do so due to the fact that this inconsiderate person has the seat so far back they're practically lying in your lap.<BR><BR>And John I agree that's really thoughtless of the flight attendant to bypass your daughter. However, I've noticed that happening on other airlines, but there are some flight attendants who are thoughtful and wake the passenger to let them know they're serving a meal. I think it depends on the flight attendant but I believe the passenger should be notified because once that meal service is finished, there is nothing else except maybe snacks?

xy Jun 29th, 2002 08:00 PM

I forgot to add that I hope our luggage doesn't get lost since we'll be changing planes in Frankfurt. I'm not feeling very confident in them. But too late now-tickets bought since March.

Lipstique Jun 29th, 2002 08:07 PM

If you let the flight attendant know that you want your meal but that you are going to take a nap, the flight attendant will hold it for you, and serve it to you when you wake up. I've done this on many airlines. Only drawback is that if you actually had a choice for a meal during meal service, you'll only get what is left over when you are served later.

mike Jun 29th, 2002 09:27 PM

last year i flew to greece from new york w/ stopover @ frankfurt..the plane going to frankfurt was so cramped with minimal leg room that it was really uncomfortable...i can't imagine any elderly could last through the flight w/o some stretching to get some circulation going...they also took my food and snapped my tray before i was done and i was really thinking 'what the ***'! so i think their service was a bit overefficient...<BR><BR>one bright spot was that w/ a layover of only 30 mins we (+ baggage) got from one long terminal to another w/o any problems and all flights arrive ontime...<BR><BR>i flew air france again this year and the food/service was excellent with pretty good movie selections...<BR><BR><BR>

Santa Chiara Jun 29th, 2002 10:49 PM

Here's my experience: really rude service, bad food, lost luggage. On the other hand, best safety record. Still I avoid them if I can. My favorite international carriers are Air France and British Air.<BR><BR>By the way, as far as I know all international flights serve free booze, although they all seem to be less generous than in years past.

Mike Jun 30th, 2002 05:26 AM

xy, I believe Frankfurt is the worst airport I have ever been in. With a 1-hour layover, we had to race to catch our connecting flight, running from one terminal to another, had to go thru passport control (long lines) and re-screening (long lines), and when we got to the gate, a 15 minute bus ride to plane sitting out on the runway. No wonder our luggage never made the connection -- we were lucky to make it.<BR><BR>When you return, I would love to hear your experience. Good luck.

john Jun 30th, 2002 06:50 AM

<BR>xy,<BR>Your second post reminded me -- one of my daughter's bags did not arrive in Milan. It missed the plane in Frankfurt and was to be delivered the next day. She was to go camping in the mountains the next day so I haven't talked to her again and don't know if the bag showed up before she had to leave. <BR>Another point on LH regarding food, though this is about 10 years in the past so it should be fixed by now. The only meats offered were ham and pork. Several passengers near me asked for something else but nothing else was available after the plane took off. So, if you have diet restrictions order a special meal when you make your seat reservation.

xy Jun 30th, 2002 08:18 AM

Gee, it seems that Lufthansa is really horrible. What's going on that they lose so much baggage? Maybe it's best that we each bring carryon luggage to try and avoid this mess. We can't afford to have delayed luggage as we're only spending 2 days in Paris and then we'll be off to another part of France. So if our luggage does get delayed who knows where it will end up.<BR><BR>Thanks for the comments so far. Any other comments are appreciated.

Mike Jun 30th, 2002 08:25 AM

One more thing about the food. On our flight back to Newark last week, they served a turkey dish or a vegetarian dish. Since most of the people on the plane had no idea what turkey was, the flight attendants told them it was something like chicken. Since we were seated in the back of the bus, we ended up with vegetarian. It was totally disgusting!!!!!

xy Jun 30th, 2002 08:29 AM

This sure is not great PR for Lufthansa. I thought they are a good airline-must have been a long time ago. I sure hope everything goes allright for us.<BR><BR>I don't think airline food is that appetizing nowadays anyway. We did fly Air France in '99 and as Lufthansa food is today, our Air France food was inedible-just gross. <BR><BR>I just want us to get to our destination and back and not have lost luggage. Hoping that's not too much to accomplish for Lufthansa!

xy Jul 1st, 2002 07:23 AM

I tried to talk with their customer service reps. and another thing bad-their customer service is lousy. All I wanted to find out is if we'll have enough time for connecting to our next flight at Frankfurt. One rep. said that she doesn't work at the airport so she can't help me. Another one said that the airline wouldn't sell me tickets if there wasn't enough time in between flights!<BR><BR>What kind of answers are those? I will try emailing Lufthansa to complain-don't know if that'll make any difference though.

Sjoerd Jul 1st, 2002 07:51 AM

xy: the second agent's answer was the only good answer. The airlines do indeed not sell tickets for flights where you can not make the connection. In my experience (dozens of connecting flights in Frankfurt), 45 minutes is more than enough to make it to your next flight. <BR>In my experience, Lufthansa is as good/bad as any other major airline. The thing is that when you ask a question "how is XYZ airlines" on a message board like Fodors, everybody who had a problem with that airline will post his/her experiences, and everybody who had an uneventful flight will remain silent. I have done something like 300 flights on Lufthansa, they were all more or less on time, my luggage has never been lost, the food has always been edible and the staff was always OK or nice. And no, I don't work for LH and I am not German.

Dave Jul 1st, 2002 07:59 AM

Bravo, Sjoerd, for an objective answer, probably the first of its kind on this type of question. You make the exact the point that is relevant!

Canuck Jul 1st, 2002 08:08 AM

I flew Lufthansa two years ago, Vancouver to Frankfurt. The flight (coach seating) was very comfortable,friendly attendents, plenty of leg room. When the person in front reclined their seat my tray was not in my chest. Mind you I am 5'3" and not 300 lbs., so probably all these people complaining are larger people. Obviously I would have perferred first class but that's not in my budget.

ray Jul 1st, 2002 08:29 AM

Wondering if Lufthansa is monitoring these message boards.<BR><BR>Maybe, they should.<BR><BR>Anyway, I agree with everyone that has had bad experiences with Lufthansa, Used to be that this was one of the best airlines to travel with.<BR><BR>No more!<BR><BR>My parents were Lufthansa exclusively. They wouldn't dare fly anybody else. I turned my parents on to Singapore Air and since then, they haven't flown Lufthansa at all. Their latest trip was 3 years ago.<BR><BR>The service has been lacking lately, the stewardesses are less friendly than the others, the planes seem more crowded than the others. The prices are too high. Travelocity.com is running Singapore Air R/T JFK to Frankfurt for $559. Lufthansa wants $847.<BR><BR>I think Lufthansa has an attitude about themselves and that they think that the loyal German customer won't go anywhere else. Boy have they got that wrong!<BR><BR>I haven't flown them lately. Won't fly them again in the near future.

Faina Jul 1st, 2002 08:49 AM

Are you people talking about the same Lufthansa we took from SFO to Israel with a stopover in Frankfurt? Hmmm... honestly I don't remember anything THAT negative! The food was OK, like on all other airlines, not to brag, not to complain. Drinks were served constantly, and I remember asking not to wake my son for a drink. Yes, very little space, but it was economy, so it was expected. Planes were on time, luggage arrived on time. Maybe over the years they became worse? We flew in 1998.


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