Lufthansa > Reviews > REALLY EVERYTHING about flying with Lufthansa

Author's product rating:   

Food Quality	Satisfactory
Customer Service	Nothing special
Punctuality	Good
Space	Comfortable
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Excellent product for intercontinental travel, extremely improved punctuality, good meals on longhaul flights
Disadvantages:	Extremely poor meals on shorthaul flights, limited inflight entertainment (except longhaul Business & First)

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Lufthansa German Airlines has succeeded over British Airways to become Europe's largest carrier. With a range of innovations in the field of e-solutions, Lufthansa also seeks to be the most modern airline worldwide. Here comes a complete check of the product and service quality of Lufthansa.

Those of you who have been reading my opinions have come to know me as an ultra frequent flyer. And, living in Germany, Lufthansa is my homecarrier. I have flown them around 150 to 200 times (sorry, stopped counting), in all classes (Economy, Business, First), and to three continents. I will try to make this review as complete as possible, so don't look any further for advice on Lufthansa.

INTERCONTINENTAL FLIGHTS

Lufthansa operate an intercontinental fleet of Boeing 747-400s and a few 747-200s, as well as Airbus 340. The planes are all very modern and perfectly maintained - Lufthansa is the leading provider for aircraft technical services worldwide and runs inspections for dozens of other airlines. Among the real big carriers (i.e. those operating fifty ore more long range aircraft), only Singapore Airlines have a more modern intercontinental fleet.

Their intercontinental network totals direct flights 71 destinations, including 17 in North America, 7 in South America, 18 in Asia, 18 in the Middle East and 11 in Africa. Among other European Airlines, only British Airways come close to offering such an extensive intercontinental network. Together with its Star Alliance partners, Lufthansa offers flights to over 900 destinations embracing the whole globe.

~~ ECONOMY CLASS / INTERCONTINENTAL

Lufthansa's longhaul Economy Class was completely revamped in 1999, but is till only average. There is no inseat video like on most Asian airlines (and on BA's 777s). Video only comes in the form of large cinema screens without individual programming. The seats are rather comfortable though, and the leg room is above the industry standard. The seat pitch is 87cm/35inch compared to 81cm/32inch offered by BA and the likes.

Depending on the length of the flight, two or three meals are served (hot meal, movie snack, breakfast). Economy meals aren't gourmet food on any airline, but on Lufthansa's longhaul flights they are quite eatable. And if you don't want to go with the standard two meat and one fish options, you can pre-order around 30 special options, ranging from vegetarian (Asian or western), vegan, low protein or diabetic to kosher, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist. Lufthansa also serves by far the best wines of any European airline in Economy.

Drinks are available throughout the whole flight, starting with welcome drink, aperitif and digestif, and continuing with juices served every hour or on special request.

Lufthansa so far hasn't introduced a Premium Economy Class - something that has been pioneered by BA and Virgin. So if you fly on a full fare economy ticket, you still have to share the cabin with backpackers or hope for an upgrade. (Lufthansa is a hundred times more generous with upgrades than, for example, BA or Swissair.)

~~ BUSINESS CLASS / INTERCONTINENTAL

Completely overhauled in 1999, Lufthansa's Business Class comfort is second only to BA's New Club World which is offered on the Heathrow - New York JFK route and will subsequently be introduced to the whole network. BA is the only airline to introduce full flat beds in Business. That aside, Lufthansa's intercontinental Business Class offers state-of-the-art seats with everything from 12 channel inseat video (10 inch screen) to laptop power. The seat can be set with five functions, adjusting anything from headrest to lumbar support.

The Business cabin flair is not as exclusive as, say, on Singapore Airlines, but still comfortable. You can't blame them for having 100 business seats on a 747 if they can fill them. The Business cabin is divided in two parts, so it's still small and cosy.

Business Class meals have been a particular strength of Lufthansa since the introduction of the "Star Chefs" concept on longhaul flights some years ago. The meals are created by famous German and European chefs and come with a wide range of starters, salads, side dishes and desserts. In this category, Lufthansa is only second to Lauda Air, which has its own chef onboard, exclusively serving Business Class passengers.

Again, Lufthansa's wine selection has something special for Business passengers: "Vinotheque Discoveries". The famous sommelier Markus Del Monego has selected some very rare and special wines. If at all, only the wines on offer on Emirates' Business Class can rival this selection.

At many airports, Lufthansa offers an arrival service for Business passengers, including a shower and a breakfast in the lounge.

~~ FIRST CLASS

With only 8 to 16 seats on the upper deck, Lufthansa's First Class is the climax of exclusivity and luxury. I have had the pleasure twice and had the two best flights of my life. (Don't you think that I am made of money - one was a mileage reward, the other one was a voluntary upgrade.)

The top ten international airlines have all introduced fully convertible seats which can be turned into flat beds, and so has Lufthansa. At 234cm/94inch seat pitch, Lufthansa's appear to be among the industry's widest. At night-time, the stewardess will convert your seat into a bed, bring the nicely styled bed cloth and offer you an expensive Bogner jumper (yours to keep, although no pyjama).

In addition to all possible kinds of seat adjustments, inseat video, etc., the seat/bed includes a personal video player with a 14 inch screen, and you can select movies from the onboard videotheque.

The food is excellent! It usually starts with the highest quality of Caviar from the Caspian Sea (as much as you want), the kind for which you would pay 500 GBP for a 100g can. Served with all the right add-ons that I have only seen at the Caspian Sea shores of Azerbaidjan before.

You can then choose between five different meals, and decide yourself when you want to be served. Except for the grilled meat option, they are all excellent. (There is no real grill onboard for safety reasons, so better have your steak at home.)

The wines in First Class are just fantastic! They open the bottles just for you, wines that would cost you between 100 and 200 GBP in a good shop. Extremely rare wines from all around the world (including such fine choices as an Italian Barolo).

If you go through the whole meal and arrival breakfast on a seven hours flight from Boston to Frankfurt like I did, you only have three hours left to sleep (or watch videos). But you can get some sleep in the sleeping room of the Senator lounge, or have a refreshing shower there.

EUROPEAN & DOMESTIC FLIGHTS

Lufthansa serves over 320 destinations in Europe by itself (largest European network of any airline), and another 200 in co-operation with its European Star Alliance partners British Midland, SAS and Austrian Airlines, and its Team Lufthansa franchises.

The continental fleet consists of Airbus 319/320/321 single aisle, Airbus 300/310 widebody and Boeing 737-300/500 aircraft. A range of shorthaul / low density flights are operated by Lufthansa CityLine with BAE/AVRO Jets and Canadair Regional Jets, Team Lufthansa flights can be on Turboprops.

The seat pitch is a comfortable 87cm/35inch (same as Swissair, 3 inch more than BA). The seats are real leather and quite comfortable. Seats are configured 3 - 3 on single aisle planes and 2 - 4 - 2 on widebodies. On non-domestic flights, business class seats are converted to provide more space in 2 - 3 and 2 - 3 - 2 configurations respectively.

This configuration seems to have become standard among the big carriers, although some smaller ones have reintroduced spacious 2 by 2 seating in Business Class, hopefully others such as Lufthansa will follow. There is no in-flight entertainment at all, neither audio nor video, onboard Lufthansa's European fleet, which is disappointing on longer flights.

In-flight catering is a real shame on Lufthansa's continental flights, both in Economy and Business. On domestic flights, there are NO meals in Economy flights (even no drinks on short connections to/from Frankfurt), and in Business you only get a small role with ham or cheese.

Meals on non-domestic flights differ with length of the flight. On flights below two hours, Economy passengers get served a role (the same as in domestic Business), Business passengers get a full, yet cold meal. This is far below the standards of other European quality airlines. Even worse, the competition has followed: Swissair, usually known for very good catering, now only serves the same minimal meals on its routes to Germany, and German domestic competitor Deutsche BA has downgraded its meals as well.

On flights over two hours, hot meals are served in both classes. Lufthansa boasts its new "Taste Europe" business meals to be "the perfect balance between exquisite meals and relaxed enjoyment". In fact, I have found some of these meals so bad that I had to return them and opt for the economy meal instead.

CABIN CREW

It has been said that Lufthansa staff have an attitude problem, and I would probably agree with that. A smile and some basic friendliness and attention are sometimes not included in the price. The service quality depends very much on whether or not your stewardess has "a good day". Some of Lufthansa's staff can be quite arrogant, as if they were the ones who paid for the flight. But I have also found extremely friendly and helpful cabin crew and ground staff.

I believe I am right to demand from professionals that they leave their personal problems and attitudes at home when they deal with customers. With Lufthansa, you can't take that for granted. Some cabin crew seem to have developed a special hatred against the frequent flyers in the front cabin. These are indeed often very difficult passengers who complain about the slightest mistake, but they are also the ones who pay the larger part of the staff's salaries.

DELAYS, BAGGAGE HANDLING & COMPENSATIONS

Lufthansa has heavily invested into reducing flight delays. Recent measures include a new punctuality control centre and eight stand-by aircraft at Frankfurt and Munich hubs. In 2000, Lufthansa ranked first among the AEA's (Association of European Airlines) punctuality table.

If, however, you do get delayed and miss your connecting flight, Lufthansa is EXTREMELY generous with compensations. Depending on the length of the delay, Lufthansa will pay you between 200 and 400 GBP in cash. That's more than any other airline and around three times as much as demanded by IATA regulations.

I have never lost my luggage with Lufthansa, but twice my luggage missed the tight connection, only to arrive a day later. Lufthansa pays 100% of your expenses for toiletry and 50% of any cloth you may want to buy (the first 50$ is covered 100%). You can also chose to return the purchased cloth to Lufthansa for full reimbursement.

DISABLED PASSENGERS & UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN

Lufthansa offers a dedicated service for disabled passengers including transport with the terminal and specially fitted seats.

The service for unaccompanied passengers below twelve years of age is excellent, including a supervised playground in the terminal, transport to/from the aircraft and special attention during the flight.

LOUNGES

Lufthansa's lounge concept is maybe its weakest point for business travellers. On most airports you will find two kinds of lounges: Senator Lounges for First Class passengers and customers with Star Alliance Gold Status, and Business Lounges for Business Class travellers and Star Alliance Silver clients. With grey (Business) or blue (Senator) leather seats in large rooms, they resemble the atmosphere of call centres. Nothing like the cosy lounges of SAS, let alone Singapore Airlines or Emirates.

The collection of drinks is excellent, but there aren't almost any snack, except a few cookies (sandwiches in Frankfurt's Senator Lounges if you are lucky). The lounges are always overcrowded at rush hour and tend to be dirty in the evenings. At Heathrow you often won't be able to find a free seat in either the Senator or Business lounges.

Probably the worst lounges of any mayor European airline. I have just participated in a lounge survey by Lufthansa though, it seems that they want to make some changes.

E-SOLUTIONS

Lufthansa is one of the pioneers of e-travel. They are usually the first European airline to introduce a new electronic product, and there is almost nothing you can't do with Lufthansa by means of a mobile phone or the internet.

Starting with their website, www.lufthansa.com, which is THE best website of any airline worldwide. There is simply everything in electronic form: timetable, booking, check-in, flight auctions, internet specials, mileage account management, complete product description, press releases, photo archive, investor relations (almost a website by itself), extensive destination guides, partner offers, etc., etc. Mails to Lufthansa are a problem though. They take ages to be answered, usually with a standard reply.

There are only three things missing on the website to make it 100% complete: a book-by-miles function for award flights, an online mileage-reclaim function, and a feedback/complaint form. These three are offered on the Swissair website (apart from that, Swissair's site is full of bugs).

lufthansa.com is a master of downloads, basically everything can be downloaded to your PC, Mac or Palm.

Lufthansa is also pioneering m-travel: with your mobile phone and WAP functionality, you can check current departures and arrivals, and check-in. Timetable and booking function are promised to come soon.

PRICES

If you (or your accountants) are annoyed by the ridiculously overpriced intercontinental First and Business fares from the UK, Lufthansa may come as a relief. Flying via Frankfurt to the States can come at half the price! (remember to book your journey to Frankfurt and the onward longhaul trip on separate tickets, otherwise you will pay the same as with BA). The same goes for other European airlines. Lufthansa's European Business fares are the same as everyone's, but they often have Business Specials at around 80% of the regular price.

As for economy tickets, Lufthansa usually can't beat the dumping prices offered by KLM or Sabena, let alone the no frills carriers. Don't book Economy Class directly with Lufthansa, the specials offered by travel agents are usually far below Lufthansa's own specials.

Copyright 2001 by Hansjörg Gebel, Witten, Germany