there are only two reasonable flights from dallas to paris - lufthansa or united. i have not had great experiences with united. does anyone else have a preference between the two airlines?
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I have flown with both airlines. Before this I read many negative comments about Lufthansa, but my experience was much better than I%26#39;ve had with other airlines including UAL and Air France. I found the flight attendants to be much more attentive to the passengers%26#39; needs. Meals in economy are as average as other airlines%26#39;, but they gave free wine. I believe UAL makes you pay $5 for the wine nowadays. During the movies the flight attendants came around to offer either orange juice or water (water was offered throughout the flight by the attendants), and snacks such as chips and those wonderful Milka chocolate bars. The aircraft seemed to be fairly new and the bathrooms were very clean. Seating to me was more comfortable than on UAL (and on other airlines).
In fact, the last time I flew with Lufthansa was in 2002, and I am considering my next travels with them. Recently I%26#39;ve flown on Air France out of convenience as I wanted a nonstop flight. But I%26#39;m not pleased these days with CDG so I won%26#39;t mind connecting in Germany via if I fly with Lufthansa. Besides I found Munich%26#39;s Franz Josef Airport to be much nicer than CDG.
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As a very general rule, to which there are many exceptions from flight to flight, service on the major European airlines has not yet deteriorated to the point it has on the US airlines. (Come to think of it, the concept has essentially disappeared on US airlines...)
There is another reason for flying with a European carrier. When you fly on an EU carrier to an EU destination, your rights to meals, hotel rooms, etc. in the event of delays or cancellation are clearly spelled out, and in general much more generous than what you are likely to get from a US carier, whose compensation, if any, for delays or cancellations will be quite arbitrary.
The downside is that a US carrier *may* have more options available for re-routing you if necessary. Of course, whether they will actually make the effort to find and use those options is about as predictable as the winner of next year%26#39;s Kentucky Derby. The most brilliant piece of creative re-routing I ever saw was pulled off by KLM when my original booking wasn%26#39;t even with them - but that%26#39;s another story...
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I fly Chicago-CDG on United 7-10 times a year and have had very few problems. Even a late flight is a rarity, bags come fine, business class makes it easier, too. The flight attendants are fine. With all the code sharing that goes on, you might check to see that your two options are not actually the same flight.
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I agree with M. Giroux.
I%26#39;ll bet any amount of money that the DFW to CDG flight on United is also the Lufthansa (codeshare) flight.
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Hey life --
When I have a choice, I will travel on a European carrier rather than a US flag one.
My reason is simple, the Europeans have more respect for security, and in the interests of it are perfectly willing to inconvenience their passengers. I%26#39;m very happy to deplane and claim my checked luggage so that the airline (and I) can be sure there is no unattached baggage on the plane.
The European carriers have a longer history of paying attention to tight security requirements, and it is my experience that they do it better and on a more consistent basis.
Beyond that, while I dread having to deal with Lufthansa%26#39;s counter staff in Frankfurt, I find their flight crews to be friendly and helpful. And, other than security delays, their on time record has been terrific, in my experience.
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We have travelled to Paris from DFW several times, but much prefer American. Their non-stop gets into Paris at a reasonable hour, so that we don%26#39;t have to wait for our hotel rooms. Service is also good. Why stick to Lufthansa or United when AA is available?
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I%26#39;d take BA, AA or Lufthansa over UAL. We decided to try UAL in January after dumping them completely in 2003 for a list of reasons. We were [a little] surprised to see the slightly tread-worn, scruffy aircraft, the same gruff service that made us dump them in the first place, and now their $5/4€ charge for wine on a trans-Atlantic flight. Yes, I know they%26#39;re in financial trouble but I somehow expected them to have cleaned up their act a little since 03. The US carriers are gasping for breath. I%26#39;ve read that some are now charging for pillows and blankets. Sounds like a real profit center given THEIR control of the thermostat.
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gene4655 -
I don%26#39;t know how recent your experience with AA long-haul flights is. I have made several trans-Atlantic trips on AA over the least couple of years, via both Chicago and JFK. I have noticed a VERY marked deterioration in both their on-ground and in-flight service over the last 15 months or so.
Their food has also become a joke. Wheat Thins for breakfast?? Oreo cookies and Pringles chips for an afternoon snack??? (No, I%26#39;m not kidding...)
The code-sharing thing raises an interesting legal question. If you booked a flight with an EU carrier and then found when you arrived at the airport that it was actually operated by a US carrer, would you be entitled to the benefits of the EU compensation rules covering delays and cancellations? I suspect not, but if I%26#39;m wrong then booking via the EU codeshare airline would make a lot of sense if the price was the same.
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Irish, we went three months ago, over christmas holidays, and found the food to be about the same as always, typical airline food, no better or worse than before. Maybe you hit a bad day. (But then we don%26#39;t evaluate our trips by airline food, that%26#39;s for sure!)
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I%26#39;ve flown both and will take Lufthansa over United in heart beat!
If you have United mileage, they are mileage partners and you can use the miles from Lufthansa towards your United card.
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