Wow. This is a dated post, but one that is still quite pertinent. You hit the nail on the head. Lufthansa into Munich?

That is the flight I took, from Los Angeles. I was looking so forward to this flight as I heard so many good things about Lufthansa.

Unfortunately, some of the longer hauls for Lufthansa, such as the one from LA, Lufthansa has opted for cost efficiency in lieu of passenger comfort.

I have never seen a non-jumbo-jet cross atlantic flight, until I stepped into this one.

The cabin felt cramped, uncomfortable. The stewardesses were crabby.

And there was NO AIR VENTILLATION CONTROL.

That was not a problem (no ventillation control on seats) at some parts of the plane that was less crowded. It however was a huge problem in my section. Can you imagine 12 hours in a seat that has no air control vent? In a cramped cabin?

I'm used to Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Air France. All remarkably good to Europe.

Lufthansa? Ouch! Traveller needs be extremely aware. Some of these planes have been made for fuel efficiency, not passenger comfort. In fact you will see the official report of the manufacturer for these planes boast about cost cutting, mentioning nothing about passenger comfort.

My advice to anyone seeking to go into Munich via LAX? By Lufthansa?? Dont!! For the reasons stated. Most of Lufthansa flights from LAX into Munich, nonstop, offer tight cabins, no air flow controls, and crabby airline attendants.
Blaahh!!

Not many airlines fly the 747 across the Atlantic. In fact, <b>none of the US airlines</b> do. LH uses the A343 for LAX-MUC, which is a large wide-bodies aircraft. Bigger than all the 757s and 767s so many US airlines use for Atlantic crossings.

Most newer widebody aircrafts don't have individual vent control anyways.

rkkwan--actually, United does have 747s on some transatlantic routes right now. I only know this because I have been researching flights to Frankfurt, and one of the ORD-FRA flights is a 747. Looked a little further, and they also have them on SFO-FRA and one of the IAD-FRA flights. I try to avoid these when flying in economy (which is the vast majority of the time)--no IFE, etc.

ms_go: Thanks for the corrections. Guess it's better for UA to fly them to FRA than to park them in the desert! :D

we flew first class SFO-FRA in a 747 with Lufthansa. top flight service both ways, reasonable food, and a separate terminal in Frankfurt, EXCELLENT.

I have flown Lufthansa several times and have not had any problems. The food in coach, however, is not the greatest. In my view, however, we would all be better off in coach if--at least on the way to Europe--they canceled the meal and just let us try and get some shut eye. I find those flights entirely too full of entertainment (not to mention that they keep the lights on through all but 2-3 hours of the flight) to get any sleep. We all need sleep more than we need those &quot;gourment&quot; airline meals.

Frankfurt is an easy airport to get around, if you change planes there, with excellent signage. I always get a bang out of the welcome sign in the Frankfort airport. It's in English!

If you are on United's frequent flyer plan, Lufthansa flights can get you United miles.

I usually fly Lufthansa and find the service pleasant on ground and in the air. So far so good. I just wish they had the tv screens on the back of the seats so I could amuse myself.

I flew a SFO-ORD-FRA over Christmas on a UAL-LH code share.The ORD-FRA was on a UAL 747.Drinks were $5.00 or &euro;4.00. in economy.
Flew back non-stop MUC-SFO on a LH Airbus A340.The Lufthansa flight was much nicer with free cocktails offered before dinner,wine with dinner,and a choice of Baileys,or Courvoisier cognac offered after meal service.
Another poster was correct about the lack of being able to adjust individual air flow to your seat. Wasn't a problem ,as the temp in the cabin was fine for me.

Unfortunately, some of the longer hauls for Lufthansa, such as the one from LA, Lufthansa has opted for cost efficiency in lieu of passenger comfort.

Interesting comment, because the biggest knock on the A340 is its inefficiency. As stated above no modern plane, jumbo or otherwise has individual passenger air control.

&quot;I have never seen a non-jumbo-jet cross atlantic flight, until I stepped into this one. &quot;

Last I checked A340 was one pretty big plane - with some versions longer than the 747. Not sure what you call a jumbo jet but A340 meets that criteria in my book. If you don't like the A340 feel free to fly CO across the pond!

We flew Lufthansa from LAX to FRA Summer 2005. We chose it because it was a non-stop flight and we had a pretty good price, but it was incredibly cramped in economy class and we were disappointed by service and comfort, although I can't say it was much worse than other economy flights we took to Europe. I expect our disappointment was greater, since we expected more comfort and plesantner flight attendants.

Particularly, unpleasant was our flight home which I blame the airline more than the person sitting next to me. Unfortunately my seatmate was very heavy, and because of her girth, she found it impossible to keep her feet placed in front of her; she spread into my area, using my small foot space and dominating the armrest. I was very uncomfortable during the 11 plus hour flight, since I had barely any leg or arm room and was forced to keep myself in a rigid position. I tried unsuccessfully to ask her to move, but she just did not seem able to do it. A lot of people will probably place the blame on this overweight woman, but I feel the airline has a responsibility to make seats comfortable for everyone. I wrote Lufthansa when I returned with my complaint about the cramped seating and received a form e-mail that had nothing to do with my experience. I wrote again, with some irritation that they had not bothered to read my complaint, but the second answer was no more satisfactory than the first.

By the way, we flew Swiss Air last summer from LAX to Zurichand what an incredible improvement that was over Luftansa or for that matter any economy flight we have taken to Europe. We were able to have two seats together, the attendants were pleasant, and the only complaint was the usual that eleven hours in the air is very boring, but otherwise Swiss Air is a great way to fly to Europe Economy class.

Since this thread is taking on a new life, I guess I'll share my story - lol!
Flew Lufthansa over the summer. Newark to Prague with a connection in Frankfurt. Never flew them before. Got a good deal last minute on Hotwire.

Weather on the night of my outbound flight was horrible. Somehow, my flight was the ONLY one to make it out on time. All the other gates were announcing major delays, but we left on time! I wasn't that worried, anyway, because my connection in Frankfurt was like 5 hours long, so I was actually hoping to kill some time somehow to make it shorter!

Anyway, once in Frankfurt, I had to take the airtrain to the next terminal. When I got off, there were big leather lounge chairs &amp; I took a 2 hour nap! Thus, pretty much avoiding any major jet lag experiences on my trip. Brilliant!

Flight to Prague was piece of cake.

Overall, no problems going. Coming back was also smooth, but we had major turbulance. Could happen on any airline, of course, but this was BAD! The flight attendants were cursing in German, because every time they came out with the food carts, there were major waves! Pretty funny.

I would fly Lufthansa again anytime, if the price was right. Nice airline.

annetti, do other airlines offer wide coach seats for overweight people?

I flew them once in 2002 and vowed to use them again. However, due to Air France's lower airfares I've used them since, but now CDG is worse than ever. Next destination I will definitely fly Lufthansa and hope they will have some kind of offer by then. I agree it is a very good airline.

While I used to despise Lufthansa, I have come to really appreciate their service on intra-European flights.

The staff has become much friendlier over time and my impression is that they do run an efficient airline trying very hard to meet scheduled times - which is about my priority no. 1 interest on such comparatively short flights. I also find their seats made by ergonomic expert Recaro rather comfortable - even though they may not be the widest.

While BA continues to upset me with their frequent delays into LHR (their home hub!) and even on the ground with no free gates available and ridiculously long waiting times for checked luggage, Lufthansa seems to do a bit better.

And since Lufthansa got me out of London's pre-Christmas fog chaos at Heathrow with only a two hour delay, I will certainly be glad to give them my future business.

Long-haul, transatlantic service is different though, and I agree that either UA or Swiss are a worthwhile alternative to look for when one still wants to collect those Star Alliance FF miles.

SeaUrchin: You are right. It does not appear other airlines offer wider seats, but I do think ALL airlines should offer comfortable seating for ALL its customers, but with money their primary concern and not customers, it will not happen. Instead, people project their annoyance at other customers for their discomfort, namely an overweight person, rather than blaming the airline for creating uncomfortable and narrow seating.

The flying public has made their preference loud and clear many times over to the airlines. Lower fares are far more important than more room. Look at AA for example. They removed several rows of seats to give more passenger room at the expense of fewer revenue seats available. If a competitor offered the same route on a more crowded plane at a lower fare, AA was forced to match or lose business.

Until the flying public demonstrates a clear demand for more space over lower fares you'll continue to get what you ask for.

Lufthansa coach service is much better than what you're used to with U.S. domestic airlines.

I'd fly with them again, even after red wine fell off a cart and stained my coat. The flight attendant was very professional, nice, and apologetic and gave me forms to submit for re-imbursement. It took a long time for Lufthansa to get back to me but when they did, they replaced my pants and covered my cleaning costs. I'd fly with them again.