Lufthansa

I flew with Lufthansa 2 weeks ago from San Francisco to Frankfurt (that was my first time flying with this airline). The flight attendants were very professional and attentive. The service was great!

In this review I want to pay your attention to Lufthansa’s aggressive price policy. We traveled a lot and never seen airlines manipulating their airfares like this.
I started tracking prices for trip from San Francisco to Europe on Friday evening, price was $ 900 (I used both Kayak and Lufthansa web site). During next 5 days price was getting steadily higher. We were flexible in our traveling time and searching for flight in a wide range of dates. What I started noticing is some days flights were disappearing, for other days airfare was soaring. I decided to buy tickets for me and my family on Wednesday night when price was in range $ 1300 – 1600. Only few days shown flights were offered for $ 1300, all the rest were priced noticeably higher. When I saw prices getting higher at that pace and fewer days left available to fly, I felt sort of panic and immediately decided to get $ 1300 tickets in fear of having to shell out significantly more. Next day prices were dropped to around 1100, and then gradually they got down back to $ 900 Friday night for all dates and same flights I was tracking before, no more «sold out». At that moment I realized we got caught by marketing trick, the trick making you think airline is running out of tickets and make you purchase «last left inexpensive» tickets for greater cost. And please note it’s the only company from many well-​known that does not offer airfare price-​match.
Do not play their game, start tracking price change patterns early on, it might be week of fluctuation like in our case, it might be 2 weeks or more, and always keep this trick in mind.

I will never give one penny while they knowingly continue to transport greyhounds from Ireland to their deaths in Macau, China despite the outrage and pleas to stop as Cathay and Qantas have done. Lufthansa’s pat answer below is to take it up with China:
Dear concerned Greyhound friends,
please know that we are aware of your efforts as well as many other campaigns run by proponents of animal and environmental conservation, who are making a valuable contribution to increased animal and species protection. As many of you already know, supporting animal and species protection in line with the Washington Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and many other provisions, is a matter of course for us.
We understand that it is your desire that racing greyhounds cannot be transported from breeders in Ireland to Macau. We are convinced that legal decisions have to be taken in order to effectively protect greyhounds. Laws and international regulations set the binding framework for all airlines. Furthermore, for airlines in general it is impossible to provide any binding determination or take responsibility for the purpose for which animals are making their journey, especially when the consignee at the end of the transport chain is unknown.
Please feel invited to comment on this topic under this posting. We assume that all our fans are now well aware of your efforts and concerns and that they may help you with addressing the responsible politicians.

This review is based merely on the airlines overall.
I booked a flight using miles on United from LAX to Frankfurt with a connecting flight in Italy. I paid the extra $ 115 to get more leg room. I changed my seats months in advance. I went to review my reservation about a week before my departure and they put me in the back of the plane in a middle seat on both legs. WTF? The plane rides each way weren’t even full!
I called and was on hold awhile. Finally got through and was on hold with that agent. They moved me back to the seat I paid extra for (lucked out that no one booked it after me). I thought they would be nice enough to offer me a complimentary seat like that on the return flight due to switching my seat that I paid extra for, but they didn’t offer.

I wasnt trying to start my new life in Prague where chiropractors are few and far between with a migraine so my honey splurged ($ 4000) and got me a business class seat so I could lay down for the 11 hour flight and have more room for my dog. I must say WORTH EVERY PENNY! The space underneath the seat for the dog was actually smaller in business class, luckily I had a flexible carrier and I was able to wedge her under there.
The staff was great, as was the free wine and food I was able to eat. It was like a 5 star restaurant up there. I got really sick right before leaving and I was unable eat most of what was on the menu (my stomach stopped making it’s own acid) The stewardess seemed genuinely distressed about this, though I assured her multiple times it wasn’t her fault. She made a special search for extra fruit so I could have something to eat besides the ratatouille, the only thing on the menu safe for me.
Way better than United.

On Lufthansa we booked premium economy seats for 2 from SFO to Basel, Switzerland for November 8. 2016. We paid $ 300 each extra for those seats through Grand Circle Travel. On that date Lufthansa workers went on strike. Our plane and seats were cancelled. After 5 hours standing in line they did get economy seats on another airline for us leaving 4 hours later — they were economy seats. The rest of the GCT trip was fine and when we returned, I expected to get a refund on the money in a reasonable time. Grand Circle Travel bought the tickets for us and they say they are still trying to get our refunds from Lufthansa. It is March 2, 2016 and it’s the same story. Shame on you, Lufthansa. Still waiting…

With our bigger office in Hamburg, many of my coworkers fly out frequently to Hamburg. And their preferred airlines, Lufthansa of course. I’ve had one coworker tell me the exact flight numbers from SFO and from Hamburg that I should take. What threw me off was the flight going there. I was told it would have the USBs and be roomy enough for me. I think we got an older plane, because I didn’t get any USB port on my entertainment unit, and the seat was not very roomy at all, especially when the person in front knocks the seat back. I’m 5’2′ also, so it’s not like I’m the size of an average woman.
Anyways, service was friendly, the hot towel service was nice as well. Meals are okay, but then again it’s airplane food. They come by enough with snacks and drinks and seem fairly friendly and efficient. My headphone jack on the flight there was not working properly though even with my earbuds and theirs (so I only had sound in one ear). Bathrooms could have been better, but in terms of cleanliness that’s not really their doing, though sometimes I think that the airline attendants could be checking on stocking them and perhaps the cleanliness a little, especially for long haul flights. I liked the flight more on the way from Munich to SFO as the plane was newer (USB ports, and better screens), had two seats instead of three on the sides, and had the downstairs bathroom area (though one of them were out of order). From what people told me, I thought Lufthansa was going to be a little bit nicer, especially due the price ($ 1500+ when booked almost 3.5 months prior for a January trip). But, Lufthansa is definitely better than an American based airline, and spending money on long haul airfares are worth it for your safety and comfort.

It sucks… so bad!
Together with it’s little brother United. Beware, since in SF most flights are operated by United.
1) In the plane. Purchased my premium seat for a long international flight. All good. The plane got delayed for 15 minutes… OK.
2) Then for 30 minutes…
3) & Another 30 minutes
4) In the next 6 hours it was rescheduled around 8 times while people were forced to sit in the airplane. Big variety of problems: a long cue for taxi, mechanical problems (yay old United planes!), cue problem again, mechanics again.
5) After 6 hours on the plane and being rescheduled for that many times, we were offered to exit the plane, take all of our belongings, and «probably» be ready to board in another 1,5 hour. Fun.
6) Half an hour later I receive a text saying it should be 1,5 hour MORE. Jesus.
7) Ok… I surrender to my fate and wait…
8) The wait should be almost done. Omg… I can fly to my destination finally!
… New message from United: Hi, your flight to Paris was cancelled. Contact customer service.
9) Everyone had to go to another side of the terminal, exit from the gate area, and the exciting part — wait for 3 MORE freaking HOURS in line to get everyone a replacement ticket. The staff was so extremely slow and not helpful… The people are freaking out because of missed their connections, no replacement flights, and having their plans screwed.
10) 3 hours after in line, it’s finally my turn. I thought I was going to faint since I had no time to eat during this fun, exciting wait-​time.
I got a very relaxed staff member to find me a replacement flight. It took him an hour (Yes! Another freaking hour!) to book me on another flight. He was running into all sorts of technical problems with his computer & was constantly disappearing behind the walls and I had no idea why/​how much longer I was standing there.
I saw old people in this line from hell sitting on the floor, feeling nauseous and tired. I saw people leaving and going home and saying: «f*ck it». It was unbelievable. Indescribable.
Oh… I also lost my Premium seat ticket that I payed for… It’s all good
11) Tired, hungry, very pissed, after all these waisted hours I finally get my new boarding tickets that will bring me to my destination +1 day later so I’d miss a day of work.
12) But before that, let’s stand in another line to enter the gate area again…

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE
I was flying with my parents and younger sister from Sacramento to Germany, with a connecting flight in SFO. Our flight in sac. was delayed (not due to weather) but the employees at the gate ensured we would make our flight. We arrived in SFO and literally ran across two terminals to board our flight to Frankfurt.
In Sac the person that checked us in to our reservations would not print out the boarding pass for my mom or myself so we asked the people at the gate in SFO to do so for us. They abruptly told my mom and I that our tickets to Frankfurt were canceled and given up FOR NO REASON. However, they did not cancel my dad’s or sister’s. My dad and sister boarded the flight to Germany while my mom and I were left stuck in San Francisco for the night.
Next we went to customer service. My mom and I were able to be rebooked for the next day on a flight where we would both be stuck in economy middle seats not even next to each other. They they made us BEG to be compensated for a hotel for the night. Then we went to collect our luggage and had to wait 2 ½ hours for it.
After being in the airport talking to customer service for a total of five hours we finally made it to our hotel. Then it was the battle of getting refunded for the seat assignment that we payed in full on the flight that we were not allowed to board!
Icing on the cake: My dad and sister’s luggage did not make it with them to Germany.
I have dealt with everything from lost luggage to being stuck over night at a connecting flight to horrible customer service, but never once all in one trip!

If I could give you no stars I would
I’m writing my review on a trip my wife and I took to India last year.
I had a horrible experience. What condescending staff you guys have. You harassed an elderly man in the waiting area because you wanted to put his bag in the hold rather than as a carry on while you allowed others two or three bags without question. Some of your staff seemingly turned a blind eye to their colleagues treatment of others.
On the flight your flight attendants were rude and un-​accommdating to my needs including snatching away the headset from me when I wanted to finish up my movie.
I have flown other airlines and have NEVER had such an experience (Virgin, US, United, Southwest, BA, Easyjet, Spicejet, Ryanair, KLM, Air France, Delta …)
Whatever bullshit problems your unions have solve them fast, because its no reason for your staff to treat people with such indignity just because they’re having a bad time.
A paying customer deserves to be treated as a paying customer.
The only plus side is that you got us there and back safely. Apart from that you treated me, and others around me, like a complete ass. Thank you very much

Naturally a better choice than virtually any US airliner
I mean seriously though…
On point with:
Warm, tasteful meals
Steward services
Plane infrastructure
Complementary wine… All flight long baby… HOLLA
Personal entertainment units including a seatback TV and live German lounge radio
Complementary pillows and (good) earphones
The domestic partner is United
Start Alliance is good all around
Miles and More staff took care of me after a very unexpected flight cancellation. The airport workers were on strike in southern GE. Flights were canceled left and right
Highly suggested to book with Lufthsansa

I have flown Lufthansa for years and it’s consistently been reliable and good. It’s never really wowed me and no matter what class I have flown the experience is somewhat similar.
The choice of food on board is quite varied and depending on the flight you can get some good meal options. The inflight entertainment is generally ok and most long haul flights have decent choices.
Staff are also quite ok and generally helpful. It’s not always the best value for money but on par with many other airlines. They have an extensive network of routes and getting to most places around the world is possible through their network.
I love the app and the automation of airport checkin etc. I believe they do it better than many airlines in their category.

Once I finally booked the reservation and I received a confirmation number and seats, Lufthansa said to email the next day to get my receipt. I tried the next 2 days but couldn’t get one. Then I went away for a few days and forgot, but when I tried again, the screen said there was no such confirmation number! Upon phoning, I was told that there had been a mistake, Lufthansa had canceled our reservation. (no cause, no notice to us). So the agent rebooked it. I asked whether our reserved seats were still reserved and she said Yes. Then a few days later came an email from Lufthansa detailing our itinerary and saying that we could now reserve seats. But that had to be wrong – I had paid extra to reserve seats. Another phone call, and guess what, Lufthansa had given our seats away and we had to take worse seats.
I have complained in every way I could think of – wrote a letter to Customer Service, emailed to the President, posted on Facebook, sent another email to Customer Service and posted on Unilocal – asking that they make up for this unacceptable performance by upgrading us to Premium Economy. But so far no response. Imagine if I had not written for a receipt and had just shown up on the travel day with copies of our original booking – the one they erroneously canceled. We would have lost our whole trip.

Side trip on an international trip took us from Prague to Munich via Lufthansa. They allowed us to fly on the first leg with our bags as they were packed from the US.
Now, when we tried to return to Prague, our bags were considered domestic/​within the EU even though we were simply transferring to another flight that would take us to the US (international) once we landed in Prague.
We spent 30 minutes repacking our bags at check in to meet weight requirements. There was not even a up-​charge we could pay to make this happen. I was throwing things away to make weight.
The kicker of it all was, they had us in the system for flying the day before.
They refused to honor our tickets for that day. However, we could use them for the following day (with no up charge). The alternative was to purchase new tickets at $ 500 each for open seats on our original flight. The original tickets were around $ 100 each when I had booked the trip.
Due to the delay at baggage check in, we had minutes to decide, and could not get in contact with the other airline to rearrange our return to San Francisco from Prague.
I wrote a letter to the airline to appeal our case upon my return to the US. Not even a pack of peanuts was offered for our inconvenience.
Please choose any other airline when you make your travel arrangements.

Terrible check in counter staff. Poor manner. For a service person，unacceptable. No smile. No greeting.
Used First Class check in because of Star Alliance Gold member status. Asked for 2^nd leg boarding pass because on line check only provided the first leg.
A little smile and courtesy greeting will not kill. Perhaps time to think of customer appreciation when your customers have many different airlines to choose from.

Not bad, high points were tasty food and efficient/​friendly service. Flew premium economy which had nice legroom. Definitely better than the mainline us carriers.

DO NOT USE THIS AIRLINE –Please please rebook your flight with another airline right now… they have their good points on food quality– but hello, lets talk about their Customer NO-​Service Dept. the link on their website doesn’t even work. I will try calling the 800 number but after reading the other reviews I don’t have high hopes. DO NOT PAY for your seats– especially upgraded ones, because when you get on the plane, everything is different and the airline attendants play dumb like they have no idea what you are talking about. We were in economy coach and I had paid $ 330 for nothing… just absolutely nothing. They missed my mine and my sons’ Gluten Free Meals, that I booked on their website. So, that was nice flying to Europe with no food.
Also, our tickets all said Lufthansa, but on our flight home from Athens to Atlanta Ga — they used Air Canada… what a complete nightmare that was… flight was 4 hours delayed, we missed our connecting flight in Toronto– which then we had to spend the night in Toronto and go through Customs here which added 6+ hours to our ordeal, getting our bags from customs and then rechecking them the next morning into customs again… Toronto airport and Air Canada are complete insanity– no order & nothing makes sense at all — please avoid them at all costs…
The worst part is there is no ONE to talk to or explain this all to… an utter nightmare…

My first ever European flight was on Lufthansa. It was the 1991 and was excited to hop over the pond and finally see what all the fuss about this Europe place.
Since then, Lufthansa has taken me to back to Europe, Africa and most recently Copenhagen and Turkey. I have sat in both coach and business And to date, they have never let me down.
To be consistent for over two decades is a real testament to providing good service. An in a time when a lot of airlines are making air travel barely tolerable says a lot. Now locally, they offer two flights per day, a late night Munich flight (which I have yet to take) and an afternoon Frankfurt departure. If you are on the Frankfurt flight, you will be sitting on the monster A 380, which I am not super high on. I would gladly swap with LAX and give them the A 380 and give us the elegant brand spanking new 747 – 8.
Lufthansa recently began charging for early seat assignments, which I hope is not a sign of things to come. But for now, great job!

Vacation time in October, great time to go Europe but unfortunately I missed Octoberfest in Munich. This time headed to Florence, Nice and Monaco. Booked a flight with Lufthansa and I was impressed that I was able to obtain a double seat by the window. The seats were comfortable and the movie/​music was very good. I like the fact that the plane had a downstairs area for the bathroom (6 of them) and there was room to walk around.
In terms of food… it appears that in economy class you will see alot of chicken, pasta and cold rolls with butter. But they reward you with desserts.
I thought the service was very good by the flight attendants. Will definitely use Lufthansa the next time I go to Europe, possibly next year. Stay tune, more of this trip to come.
I

Dear Lufthansa,
I like how organized you are. Your planes are clean and your staff efficient. You are even organized about your strikes. For instance, for a recent pilots’ strike, you posted the planned dates on your website, and you even outlined which flights would be impacted, if the strike occurred. One of those was my return flight from Europe to SFO.
But strangely, nobody from your staff ever told me about this on my outbound flight to Europe, even though the strike dates were already planned out and posted on your site (I didn’t think to check for such a thing). It would have been nice to receive some kind of warning of this, even in email or text form. That way, I would at least know to check the strike status during my trip and be ready to make alternate plans.
It was by sheer luck that I was working with a German colleague in Spain, who quickly informed me of the impending Brick Wall in my itinerary the next day. Sure enough, my flight was being cancelled due to the strike. Still no warning or email from you at that point.
Four hours on the phone later, I was able to get a flight out via United a day later than planned, via multiple airports, and involving an abbreviated overnight stay in a random city.
So thanks for that.