Lufthansa

I am German and used to be a loyal Lufthansa customer. In general it is probably still one of the better Airlines out there but the way they treat the average customer who are just Frequent Traveler status or even less and not Senator or Hon is just plain deplorable. The way they credit now for miles flown tells me that they don't value my business at all anymore. Another annoying thing is the discrimination against carry on bag travelers who are not Gold level. I invested quite some money into a carry on to make sure that it would be in compliance size wise according to international standards and IATA approval but yet I was forced at various occasions to give it up when I was just about to board the flight. The most recent very bad experience I had was when I was just coming off the transatlantic flight from Dulles to Frankfurt and wanted to connect on the domestic flight to Berlin LH 180 on Sunday June 1st at 10.45am. The gate agent ladies serving the desk for that flight were just horrible to say the least forcing me to check my carry on bag which I had no problem carrying on the transatlantic flight from Dulles to Frankfurt. It's one thing if there are viable reasons for that to do so but being singled out while others were walking by with two pieces of luggage was an experience of discrimination that I never wish to endure again.

LH 411 on June 10. Perfect Service especially during check-in for return flight from US because I arrived at airport only 35 minutes before departure. Airline personnel were able to manage a direct security check (bypassing the waiting line) a quick transfer to the gate and also the bag arrived on time with the flight.

I flew to Washington with United and returned with Lufthansa. I am disappointed by the differences in service between Star Alliance members. Lufthansa was so much better than United. Everything: food friendliness of staff seats. Below ratings are based on Lufthansa flight only.

LH 439 on A330 DFW-FRA with friendly attentive and professional staff. Nice flight only the old Business Class Seats getting more and more outdated.

LH 419 on 1 Jun 2014 from IAD to FRA. The flight was on time the announcements in German and English were clear and understandable. The Inflight Entertainment didn't respond very quick on fingerprints and some of the movies are not particularly new. I saw the same movie-titles on my flight with this airline 8 months ago. They served pasta or chicken for dinner - it's always the same. The bread they served was warm and tasted very well. The little snack for "breakfast" didn't knock my socks off. It was better in the past.

LH 451. We sat exit row seats in the brand new 747-8. Lots of space entertainment system finally up to date with hi-res displays good selection etc. However lots and I mean lots of restroom traffic. LH went cheap and only installed 2 restrooms for middle section of eco class to cram in 2 more rows (however more legroom on this new plane). Ridiculous and therefor many people waiting in line in front of and around your seat at all times. I always bring my own food since LH and most airplane food in economy is inedible so can't comment on food.

LH451 on 11 June from LAX to FRA. As usual Lufthansa's service - staff food and entertainment - was excellent though it was a bit tough to get the touch screen to react. The economy seats on the new 747-800 however leave something to be desired. While the legroom is alright the seat is very narrow doesn't recline very much not very comfortable on a 10 hour flight.

Had awful experience on Flight 428/429 from Charlotte NC to Munich Germany and back. Food and drink ran out before all passengers were served no effort was made to correct the problem. Very unresponsive flight attendants as well as purser. Would never recommend this airline.

I connected to LH at Frankfurt from a United flight originating at SFO. The arrival and departure at FRA both involved aircraft parked on remote pads and being ferried on stuffed buses to the terminal buildings where insufficient gate space apparently exists. As I was about to get stuffed onto a bus an imperious LH gate agent demanded I surrender the bag in which I carry my CPAP machine. She couldn't have cared less that I was told to keep close hold on it on all my travels and other airport staff have no problem treating it as carry-on. Furthermore there was plenty of bin and underseat space on the flight. Other than that nastiness the flight itself was fine and LH probably deserves its 4-star rating excepting for transfers at FRA.

LH418 8 June FRA-IAD. I am very disappointed by the new flagship of Lufthansa or to be more precise of its Economy Class cabin. While the cabin itself is very comfortable from an environmental point of view - pressure humidity and noise - Lufthansa simply put uncomfortable seats into the great fuselage. They are too hard and there is not enough leg room. Even for an average 1.83m 79kg male sitting in these seats is a pain. The food is just below anything. One does not even need to compare it to the far better airline meals of Air Canada to come to this conclusion. Privileges for Lufthansa status customers are a joke. The Senator lounge in Dulles is more like a shoe box. Only the staff is making the difference as usual. Great staff on board and on ground is the single reason besides the direct connections why I still fly Lufthansa.