Let the “battle” begin: which do you prefer? I’ve only flown LH in the past, but with the PIT-CDG route I may have to try it out (even though it’s technically operated by DL I’ll have to connect in CDG to go elsewhere - no more double/triple connections!). I’ve heard the service is a bit better with AF but LH has a better history for on-time performance and easier connections in FRA and MUC.
LH: *A and better premium cabins.
AF is fine but CDG is an absolute pain for connections. FRA is much better.
LH is better. better planes better service.
What are your typical destinations? AMS is good for connections, you do get your exercise though.
Avoid the new and improved Heathrow unless you are connecting in the same terminal.
Frankfort.
Kentucky?
Germany
LH!! I avoid London and Paris by any means and try to go to Frankfurt.
Definitely LH. I agree with stephen16 above - LH has better planes and much better service. FRA/EDDF and MUC/EDDM both work good as connection hubs.
KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) is helping Air France financial situation tremendously, otherwise my money is on the German airline.
I have flown in and out of Frankfurt on LH several times - awesome service, easy airport to navigate - super hot women everywhere (no one told me that before!!), great shopping from Harrods to you name it!!!
24 hour beer, smoking cubicles, lots of viewing areas for watching aircraft - not many biz jets though!!!
Oh - and super serious on the security - bigtime.
As for Lufthansa service AAA - Flight Attendants that are proactive, enthusiastic - and look after their passengers with genuine interest - I’ve enjoyed every flight and Lufthansa deserves the recognition of such loyal hard working employees!!!
Toronto-Munich-Lisbon-Faro outbound; Faro-Lisbon-Frankfurt-Toronto inbound; all flights booked through Lufthansa. Air Canada-Lufthansa-TAP; TAP-TAP-AC. Although booked by LH, the one leg on LH was the only one on which we could not pre-book our seats!
Air Canada both ways excellent; TAP flights satisfactory; LH horrible A320: cramped, uncomfortable seats, lousy food; disinterested, almost invisible cabin crew. Munich airport excellent service for quick transfer; Frankfurt airport tried to live up to its reputation as Europe’s worst. Confusing signage; display boards had everything but the boarding point for the flights; distance to boarding point almost required another internal flight; relaxed over a sandwich and soft drink after taking out a second mortgage to pay for it!
An earlier flight via CDG left a poor impression as the Gate number on our tickets apparently didn’t exist and no-one seemed to know where it might be and appeared to care less. Although an impressive building, a shame it collapsed shortly after our visit.
Air France was a satisfactory Economy class experience which in today’s air travel means it was just bearable for eight hours, like most airlines.
Never flown Air France, but when I went to Luxembourg a few years ago took Lufthansa from JFK to Frankfurt then the connection to Lux, I loved their service. Lufthansa and British Airways, two of the best airlines, imo.
I’ve heard some good things about AC for int’l, but I’ve only flown on AC within Canada. To be honest, I’m not sure why so many Canadians complain about AC because I always enjoy the service - can any Canadians shed some light?
Air Canada, over books, looses luggage and is late many times. The stewardesses are old and grumpy. West Jet has taken over in quality and service in canada.
Im going with LH. Ive ridden on there A330-300 and A340-600. Amazing service and quality.
I’m a little late here, but in case anyone’s still reading…
I’ve only flown LH, but have flown on them ever since I was a kid for many trips to Germany from the USA (I’m half American half German, and grew up in the US).
I grew up in outside Philly so I’ve flown PHL, EWR, and JFK to FRA. And often would connect in FRA to a domestic flight to Stuttgart, where my relatives live. I always liked that LH is good about being on time, and has nice flight crews, good food, overall a nice experience. What really struck me about LH are some little things they’ve done–my mom, sister, and I were once flying out of EWR, and my mom mentioned to the check-in agent that my sis had just graduated from medical school. My sister was sort of embarrassed, but they bumped the three of us to business class (i had to sit separately but I wasn’t complaining, especially after a few German beers).
I liked their old DC-10s, which they used on the Philly route until the early 90s. I remember flying Frankfurt to Philly with a connection in Montreal (I think Mirabel) on a DC-10 in 1992. They were old planes but had comfortable seats; it was really noticeable when they started using A340s in the mid-90s because those planes had less comfortable seats, and I think were more crowded.
Now of course LH flies PHL-FRA non-stop with an A340 and it is more comfortable. I should add that I always flew economy except on a couple lucky occasions.
FRA does have intense security, as a previous poster mentioned. In the 80s you’d see soldiers with machine guns around the airport. It can be a long haul from one gate to the other. But generally my connections there have been smooth, especially for such a busy airport. It’s a “crossroads of the world” type of airport.
AF 380 - great
LH 380 - awfull
Neither has a horizontal business product.