Lufthansa Gets it Right

[euro cruiser]

We are just back from a river cruise, flying into Budapest and return from Munich on Lufthansa (connecting at Frankfurt both times). I was very impressed with their customer service.

 

Check in at our starting point at EWR was a little slow as they use a two stage process, first step at a kiosk to verify info and print your boarding pass followed by waiting on line for an agent verification and bag drop. Terminal B at Newark is one of the older ones and the set up requires distinct security checks for each "pod", in a small area not designed for this work. As a result, too many people are squeezed through a cramped area and they don't have enough lines to handle the volume of traffic that goes through every afternoon prior to the European flights.

 

All four of our flights (we connected through Frankfurt both ways) were on time.

 

We were traveling with a group that included four wheelchair bound passengers. All four have their own wheelchairs but to use the elevators inside the secure areas at all airports requires an airline employee with an access card, so were were escorted at each point. At Frankfurt they have a special lounge for handicapped passengers with its own bathrooms, a free coffee station and a range of newspapers and magazines, along with comfortable couches and easy chairs. (There are also free coffee machines and newspapers in the gate areas at FRA.)

 

For each flight we were boarded first, with plenty of time to get settled before the rest of the passengers came aboard. For the one flight that had a tarmac gate were were bussed out in a special unit that rises up to plane level (other passengers were bussed out and climbed the stairs up to the plane).

 

Lufthansa uses 747-400's on these transatlantic flights; I prefer the narrower 767-400's that United tends to use for the seating arrangement (2-3-2) vs. the Lufthansa 3-4-3 layout, but the seats are noticeably wider on Lufthansa. I was able to stow my backpack under the seat sideways where on United it only fits lengthwise.

 

Food was decent and all of our special meals were there. Wine was offered free of charge.

 

I was especially impressed with the check in process at Munich, where they have a separate line for handicapped passengers. Check in for these passengers tends to take longer and having an agent who is accustomed to dealing with special needs makes a lot of sense. This way we also didn't hold up everyone else behind us. The Lufthansa staff in Europe was without exception pleasant and helpful; the folks in Newark could take a few lessons from them. (Note that in Europe you are working with Lufthansa employees for handicapped travel assistance, while at Newark they use a subcontractor. Ironically, the Germany staff all speak excellent English, which is not the case at Newark.)

 

We had one issue upon arrival at Newark when an elderly, non-English speaking passenger sat down in our private wheelchair and indicated to the Newark transport staff that it was her chair. Since the escort spoke only limited English and the passenger none, and she was aggressive about jumping into the chair and indicating that she wanted to be on her way (according to witnesses, I wasn't there when this took place), they wheeled her away toward customs and immigration. A few minutes later when we arrived and asked where our chair was the mistake was realized. A Lufthansa manager assured me that they'd catch up with them and get the chair back and they did, running ahead to hold them at immigration. In the meantime we were transported using an airport chair until we made the transfer of chairs at immigration.

 

Overall I found Lufthansa to be on top of their game and it was as easy as long flights and connecting itineraries can be.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for posting. It's good to know when an airline gets it right. We'll keep that in mind for our next European flight (whenever that will be).

[alexandra cruiser]

too say I ve taken 6 Luftansa oversea flights and always had similar experience .

Just had a nice thing happen,they changed my flight time to Budapest and I asked if a charge to move to earlier one(it was 50 min.change)and they said "no problem"and moved me with no charge.

Don t think that amount of time REQUIRED them to do that for no fee,and was surprised and happy.Good job.:)

[euro cruiser]

We also had a flight changed yesterday; when we got to the airport in Munich they moved all four of us to an earlier flight in order to give us a more comfortable layover (two hours vs. just one, which isn't much at a huge airport like Frankfurt).

[melody hounddog]

Thanks for posting. I haven't flown Lufthunsa in a while but have always had a positive experience with them as well. Were you in coach?

[euro cruiser]

Yes, we were in coach.

[alexandra cruiser]

we always book Business(our BIG splurge)when we go to Europe.But good to hear Coach nice too.Our change also gives us 2 hrs.changeover in Frankfurt to BUdapest,not 1(which we originally passed on,NO WAY would we make that there):confused:

[UKBayern]

We book Lufthansa or Swiss whenever we can. Pleasant, professional service which is not "in your face".

I am always an advocate of Munich because of the free coffee facilities and the free newspapers, did not know they had that in Frankfurt too. It is only in the terminals used by LH though.

[scottbee]

Overall I found Lufthansa to be on top of their game and it was as easy as long flights and connecting itineraries can be.

 

Quite the opposite experience we had with LH who lost our luggage. It took 3+ weeks to return it (full cruise w/o luggage), they would not answer letters/emails and closed our claim (twice) without doing anything. After all that they offered compensation well below what was required under the IATA "Montreal Convention".

 

Had to involve a government oversight agency before we got anywhere with them. Hats off to the Canadian Transportation Agency who actually held LH's feet to the fire.

[gui218]

We agree with mostly positive comments on Lufthansa. May/13 trip from Vancouver to Frankfurt to Venice for Silhouette Cruise. Return was via Rome to Munich to Vancouver. The return was after 5 nights in Florence and 4 nights in Rome. The mix of cruise and land tours was great.

[Keith1010]

Glad it all worked out well.

 

Keith

[slidergirl]

We book Lufthansa or Swiss whenever we can. Pleasant, professional service which is not "in your face".

I am always an advocate of Munich because of the free coffee facilities and the free newspapers, did not know they had that in Frankfurt too. It is only in the terminals used by LH though.

 

The coffee and newspapers may be a function of LH - I had the same at the Flughafen in Dresden!!

[travelplus]

We are just back from a river cruise, flying into Budapest and return from Munich on Lufthansa (connecting at Frankfurt both times). I was very impressed with their customer service.

 

Check in at our starting point at EWR was a little slow as they use a two stage process, first step at a kiosk to verify info and print your boarding pass followed by waiting on line for an agent verification and bag drop. Terminal B at Newark is one of the older ones and the set up requires distinct security checks for each "pod", in a small area not designed for this work. As a result, too many people are squeezed through a cramped area and they don't have enough lines to handle the volume of traffic that goes through every afternoon prior to the European flights.

 

All four of our flights (we connected through Frankfurt both ways) were on time.

 

We were traveling with a group that included four wheelchair bound passengers. All four have their own wheelchairs but to use the elevators inside the secure areas at all airports requires an airline employee with an access card, so were were escorted at each point. At Frankfurt they have a special lounge for handicapped passengers with its own bathrooms, a free coffee station and a range of newspapers and magazines, along with comfortable couches and easy chairs. (There are also free coffee machines and newspapers in the gate areas at FRA.)

 

For each flight we were boarded first, with plenty of time to get settled before the rest of the passengers came aboard. For the one flight that had a tarmac gate were were bussed out in a special unit that rises up to plane level (other passengers were bussed out and climbed the stairs up to the plane).

 

Lufthansa uses 747-400's on these transatlantic flights; I prefer the narrower 767-400's that United tends to use for the seating arrangement (2-3-2) vs. the Lufthansa 3-4-3 layout, but the seats are noticeably wider on Lufthansa. I was able to stow my backpack under the seat sideways where on United it only fits lengthwise.

 

Food was decent and all of our special meals were there. Wine was offered free of charge.

 

I was especially impressed with the check in process at Munich, where they have a separate line for handicapped passengers. Check in for these passengers tends to take longer and having an agent who is accustomed to dealing with special needs makes a lot of sense. This way we also didn't hold up everyone else behind us. The Lufthansa staff in Europe was without exception pleasant and helpful; the folks in Newark could take a few lessons from them. (Note that in Europe you are working with Lufthansa employees for handicapped travel assistance, while at Newark they use a subcontractor. Ironically, the Germany staff all speak excellent English, which is not the case at Newark.)

 

We had one issue upon arrival at Newark when an elderly, non-English speaking passenger sat down in our private wheelchair and indicated to the Newark transport staff that it was her chair. Since the escort spoke only limited English and the passenger none, and she was aggressive about jumping into the chair and indicating that she wanted to be on her way (according to witnesses, I wasn't there when this took place), they wheeled her away toward customs and immigration. A few minutes later when we arrived and asked where our chair was the mistake was realized. A Lufthansa manager assured me that they'd catch up with them and get the chair back and they did, running ahead to hold them at immigration. In the meantime we were transported using an airport chair until we made the transfer of chairs at immigration.

 

Overall I found Lufthansa to be on top of their game and it was as easy as long flights and connecting itineraries can be.

 

 

I love Lufthansa for all the reasons you state. I have low vision(Depth perception issues especially at unfamiliar airports). I have flown Lufthansa a few times. Last year I used my United Miles to fly back from Rome to San Francisco via Munich and am using them again this year from Barcelona via Munich to Vancouver then connecting to United Airlines.

 

I had originally booked with Air Canada via Toronto and Chicago to SFO. Air Canada started their Rouge service and I was quite skeptical as they don't even offer your own Inflight Entertainment TV or Alcohol free in Coach.

 

I then switched to Lufthansa from Barcelona to Munich then to Vancouver and on to SFO. I could have booked United but much rather go on Lufthansa for the same miles for the longhaul portion.

 

While I am not religious by any means I do request the Kosher Meal especially out of Munich/Frankfurt as its catered by Shoar's an outsourced caterer based in Frankfurt who offers fresh meals. I have had the best meals on LH.

 

I like on the inter European flights they give you a snack Beer Wine and other beverages. On the longhaul flights I love the complimentary Campari, Vodka, Gin, Cognac, Bailey's Irish Creme, Bitter Lemmon, Sparkling Wine, Red and White Wine etc. They really have a full bar which would be served on Domestic and International First Class/Business Class Flights and for a charge in Coach.

 

On American you would pay $7 for liquor United charges $5 for Beer, $7 for Wine and $8 for Liquor. So Lufthansa is the winner.

 

They have really helped me with the cart service and there is even a Special Services Lounge in Munich which I have yet to try for passengers with special needs. Apparently they serve Coffee and Juice. If you tried it out could you tell me what they offer in terms of beverages/snacks?

 

On my last trip arriving at SFO I was from plane to car in 50 minutes which included calling my party. I was outside of customs within 20 minutes with my bags tagged as priority.

 

Lufthansa really knows how to treat even their economy class passengers. Some people complain about the curt service. But I have never experienced it as I try to speak Basic German and it does go a long way. In fact I love their efficient service and not once has my flight been delayed. They really board you in the order you are to be boarded in.

 

They handle wheelchair passengers with grace and make sure you get to your connecting flight on time.

[Viv0828]

In our experience Lufthansa is the only airline that actually weighs your carry ons. One ounce more than 8 kg (about 18 lbs) and they make you check them. Since we travel only with carry ons that is a royal pain for us.

[Strawberry]

VIV0828 - Just wondered at which airports Lufthansa weighed your bags? We flew roundtrip from JFK-Frankfurt in September and they did not weigh bags in either direction. We followed the weight rules for carryons and we seemed to be the only ones on those flights that did!