Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - SFO to Frankfurt and back: United or Lufthansa?

Check the aircraft they're flying (this info is available on their website). I also often fly Lufthansa (collect United miles, and get more Lufthansa tickets out of them), but my last trip on them (a mere month ago) just might make me reconsider.

I know they usually fly Airbuses out of my home town, and they are usually a lot less comfortable than 777s or even 747s, and I've made my peace with it. However, on our last trip, we flew on a spanking new Airbus 330 (individual seatback monitors, etc.), and it's officially the worst plane I've ever been (if you're flying economy, that is). They've managed to cramp in more people than is humanely possible. I don't know what the seat pitch is, but it's noticeably smaller than any other plane I've been on. If the person in front of you reclines their seat, their head is literally on your chest (or stomach, as the case may be). Forget eating, just breathing is a problem. A tall guy was seating behind me, and his feet weren't under my seat, they were under the seat IN FRONT of me. I didn't complain because what could the poor chap have done? You can't exactly fold yourself over that many times, much as the airlines would like you to.

The seats are also extremely narrow--I'm an average height female, on the slim side, and I felt that shoulder room was tight. My husband was in the aisle seat, and the part of his shoulders that was "hanging over" was pretty much blocking the aisle.

The worst part? You can't even walk around the plane. On the 747, for instance, you can circle around the cabin (using the back of the plane and the separation in the middle between the toilets). On the 330, the back was the galley (curtained off), and there was no passageway in the middle. You were really stuck in a space smaller than a coffin.