Lufthansa vs British Airways
 

I will be flying to Germany this June. Any feed back on Lufthansa vs British Airways. What would you recommend?

Both excellent - BA would be my first preference. Both vastly superior to any US airline.

I recently had the worst experience ever encountered on an airline. Last week, on Lufthansa, I was royally dressed down, in front of a full plane of passengers, because I happened to be the last on the plane and there was no overhead space left for my carry-on. I have never been talked like this in public. My pieces would have fit under the seat, in fact, they finally did, but I was merely looking for space in the overhead. The flight attendant started telling me I was allowed only one piece of carry on, not two (these were small pieces, much smaller than a roll-on carry on). I couldn't put them under my seat because I was seated at the bulkhead. She proceeded to tell me loudly that this was my problem, not hers. And then she asked me witheringly if I had ever traveled before. (I am an American living in Europe, and I have traveled for 15 years for my job.) And the reason I was last on the plane? Everyone pushed ahead of me getting of the bus that delivers passengers to the plane. I will now avoid Lufthansa at all costs. <BR> <BR>British Airlines, by the way, has always been wonderful in my experience.

BA hands down. The food is better. The flight attendants less surly. It pains me to say that as when I was flying out of Philadelphia in the '70s I was a Lufthansa fan. Plus I like the hats the BA female crew wear :)

Here's one vote for Lufthansa. The main reason is because BA has the smallest coach seats of any international carrier. Lufthansa has at least an inch more pitch between the seats. It may seem like a small thing, but it makes a significant difference. We didn't have any trouble with the service on Lufthansa, but admit the food is better on BA. Especially on flights originating in Europe. The food on Lufthansa was AWFUL!

British Air by far, hands down, no question. Good food, cute booties and sleep mask, wonderful service (and the female flight attendants DO have very cool hats) and even the phone reps are very nice. <BR>Lufthansa, on the other hand, is aka Nazi Airline, run by Helga the Campguard and the Gestapo. Santachiara's experience brought back to mind OUR experience with NA on our trip to Greece; 4 girls all traveling together, checking in for the flight back home. Clerk says "next", we all start to go toward him (every other desk clerk likes traveling companions to check in together). Well, Helga who was guarding the lines, sternly commanded "ONE AT A TIME!!". I meekly went first to the counter, where the clerk says "are they all with you? then, why don't you all come up together?" <BR>We hate Lufthansa.

Ever since Lufthansa almost left us stranded in Europe two years ago, when they cancelled my non-cancellable, non-refundable, non-changeable tickets, I have avoided them like the plague. They were the most un-friendly and un-helpful airline people I've EVER run into, especially at their hub in Frankfurt. Never again!

Lufthansa don't mean Roughtansa - I am forced to fly with them on a regular basis to regional German airports and I hate them. I have a running battle with their customer servies department for the past 5 years (each flight results in a new complaint). Food awful, service appaling, prices unbelievable and delivery of bags etc unforgettable in the worst sense. My business suits are all couresty of Roughtansa (non-delievery of bags resulted in the purchase on a regualr basis of new clothes and a row with Roughtansa regarding payment - it takes until the next trip to get my cheque). Bags are eventually found and lost again prior to finally delievery. Avoid them like the plague - comfortable and re-assuring they are not. I was once on a flight where the pilot tried to land on an island in the bay area of the city we were supposed to land in. If you have no other choice ie flying into a regional airport in Germany then cross the ocean with BA and take a train. All-time worst airline I have ever experienced.

Thanks for the information. I'm flying British Airways (-: Don

Oh boy. I'm flying on Lufthansa in May. I always carry my own snacks anyway and this trip is carry on only -- hope it turns out OK!

I flew with AA last year and they were fantastic. The food and drink was superb. But if you really must choose between these other two then there's not much in it. But on balance I would go for the LH as I truly detest BA's contribution to world cuisine: cold greenbeans! <BR>

Oh, boy. Please tell me I'm ok on my flight to Munich in March! We were booked through Lufthansa, but we're on a "code-sharing" flight from United. Anybody done this before? Was it a good experience?

You'll be completely safe - Lufthansa is a good airline for that. Just consider it part of your experience of other cultures!

Some advice on flying Lufthansa: <BR>l. Do not stack your dishes on your tray. I was scolded severely for doing that. <BR>2. Do not ask what anything on the plate is, even if you have never seen anything that remotely resembles that particular food. I was told when I asked about some rolled up pink and red thing: "It's good. Eat it." <BR>3. Do not buy anything duty-free. They may offer it, but they will be very surly and unhelpful if you actually try to buy anything. I waited the entire flight to get candy bars that I paid for at the start of the flight. When they finally brought them, they acted as if I had done something criminal. <BR>4. If you fly with Nazi Airline, call as soon as you return and complain about how absolutely MEAN they are. <BR>I have flown many airlines, and they are far and above the worst. I don't expect much; I never ask an attendant for anything; I eat whatever they offer as long as I know what it is. None of that mattered; they treated everyone in our part of the plane horribly!!!! <BR>

I flew Lufthansa and had a great experience. The food was very good and they kept bringing more. Service and stewards/esses were pleasant and professional. The passengers were more diverse than US airlines & interesting. It has been too long ago that I flew British to make a good comparison, but wanted you to hear some have good Lufthansa experience.

Hi Marty, <BR>"Nazi-Airline" ? You´re a real world-traveller-I feel ashamed for you. <BR>For the record, obviously I have to use Lufthansa quite often and like most frequent travellers made good and bad experiences. The flights to the states were always United(code-sharing) and were o.k. I´m not flying for the food, I must say-service is another topic.. <BR>My worst experience on a flight so far was with Delta and the best was with Singapure Airlines. Those of you who fly Lufthansa should always consider, it´s one of the best Airlines when it comes to safety and maintenance and technical standard of their planes. For me that´s more important than the food. <BR> <BR>Miriam

Miriam: Save your shame for Lufthansa. They are making mega-bucks, and like any good business, they should remember where that money comes from. In my business dealing with the public, if one of my employees treated the customers even vaguely the way the customers on that Lufthansa flight treated all of us, I would send him/her packing. I am a world traveler, because I love various cultures, but nowhere in my experience have I felt that rudeness was a part of a country's culture, and that I should just accept it. Read back through the other posts, and you will find that my experience was not unusual. This is not the first time this topic has come up. I still believe that we should complain when we don't get what we pay for. My flight was not cheap.

Hallo Marty, <BR>I´m sorry, that you´ve experienced such bad service and you should complain and receive reimbursement. <BR>But how can one relate a companies bad service with a country, the culture and the people? By saying that and using the word I won`t repeat again you mean me as well! <BR> <BR>Miriam

Miriam: I am so sorry. I know that is not a jesting word. In fact, we plan to visit Germany two trips from now and are looking forward to it. (We will try out best to get there without flying Lufthansa, even though I do have a huge amount of duty free coupons that they gave us for our complaints!)

We call it Nazi Airline for the same reason Seinfeld called the deli guy the Soup Nazi. It defines a particularly nasty way of conducting oneself; it just happens that Lufthansa is a German airline. <BR>My sister and I still refer to a train station clerk in France as the Nazi Conductor because of his attitude. <BR>