Lufthansa > Reviews > A good service (but without a smile)

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	Regular flights, reasonable prices, quick check - in (at machines)
Disadvantages:	Unfriendly flight attendants, questionable food

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I regularly work in Germany and therefore use Lufthansa for travelling back and forth between Germany and the UK.
I usually book my tickets on-line at the lufhansa website which is easy to use and can be set in a variety of languages (including English). The tickets offered on line are often cheaper than tickets which can be bought at travel agents or over the telephone as they offer special on-line promotion fares.
When booking fares on-line you are required to provide a reference number which is then used for collecting your e-ticket at check-in. This can either be a credit card number or a "Miles & More" card number (the loyalty points programme offered by Lufthansa).
Queues for the standard check-in can often be long (I travel usually from either Manchester or Frankfurt), however, self check-in using the machines in the airports is quick and easy. You just use either your credit card or miles&more card and the machine is able to locate your booking. You then choose where you want to sit and it prints off your boarding card. Luggage to go in the hold is left with Lufthansa staff at a drop-off point.
The waiting areas at the gates often have free tea and coffee and newspapers (particularly at the German airports) and when boarding the plane, holders of e-tickets can use a separate boarding turnstile which is usually considerably quicker than waiting in line with a standard ticket.
Once on board the planes are reasonably comforatble. Leg room is certainly more than on a charter flight and economy seats do recline (but only slightly).
The saftey announcements are made in both German and English on all flights.
Once in the air, food and refreshments are provided. In ecomony class this is usually a sandwich of some description (cheese or ham, for example). Service is often brusque with the only words uttered by the stewards/ stewardesses being a curt "Cheese or ham" and "Tea or coffee".
In general, I have found the flights to be on time with no major delays experienced so far.
Prices, depending on which route you fly can represent good value (for example the routes between Germany and the UK are often reasonably priced), however domestic flights within Germany are often very expensive and get booked up well in advance.