W/B Transatlantic - United or Lufthansa to Home

[BarbossasWench]

I have miles to use on United and am trying to figure what is a better airline to fly Economy across the pond from Barcelona to U.S. - United or Lufthansa? I'll be on the E/B Transatlantic in May 2014 and flying home solo. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Flossbolna]

I have miles to use on United and am trying to figure what is a better airline to fly Economy across the pond from Barcelona to U.S. - United or Lufthansa? I'll be on the E/B Transatlantic in May 2014 and flying home solo. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any input.

I would recommend to check which type of plane is scheduled for the flights you are thinking about and then go to www.seatguru.com to look at the seating charts. There you can also see the width and pitch for economy for the specific type of plane for that airline. There are some variations. Also there you can see whether the plane offers individual screens or just the old fashioned TV-system. I think nearly all planes should have been converted to the individual entertainment systems by now though...

For a solo traveller I would recommend a plane that has the 2-4-2 configuration over the 3-4-3 configuration as it is nicer to sit in that short row of two seats (whether you choose aisle or window).

I have flown both United and Lufthansa and my impression has been that the Lufthansa planes were newer and the food was better with Lufthansa. However from looking at seating charts I know that Lufthansa does not give you a lot of space and for the transatlantic flight every inch makes a huge difference!

 

[Daisy'sMama]

They are the same company now, so they will have very similar standards. I would choose the one that has the routing you like best. A 12 hour layover in Detroit or only a 40 minute layover in Amsterdam are not worth saving $50 or $100.

 

[ludari]

I have miles to use on United and am trying to figure what is a better airline to fly Economy across the pond from Barcelona to U.S. - United or Lufthansa? I'll be on the E/B Transatlantic in May 2014 and flying home solo. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any input.

I would say Lufthansa but more importantly for me when I travel is finding the most direct route or the flight that has the least travel time. You should also look into purchasing more miles because maybe you can upgrade to first/business class.

 

[Deb in IA]

I have miles to use on United and am trying to figure what is a better airline to fly Economy across the pond from Barcelona to U.S. - United or Lufthansa? I'll be on the E/B Transatlantic in May 2014 and flying home solo. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any input.

We are on the May, 2014 E/B too! Hope to see you onboard!


We had a horrible experience with United this year when he flew home from the 12-night Mediterranean in June, (stuck in Newark for 2 days without our luggage, and the lost 2 of our 4 bags when we finally got home) so we try very hard NOT to fly United anymore.

 

[tankin]

All things being equal (flight times, mileage amounts, etc), I tend to choose the US carrier over the foreign flag. First, the airline is setup with US tastes in mind. Second, when they screw something up and I need a throat to choke, Chicago is closer than Frankfurt.

 

[dismom73]

If you go with United, make sure you get a seat in economy plus. It's 5 extra inches of legroom, that can make all the difference in the world on a long flight!

 

[Flossbolna]

They are the same company now, so they will have very similar standards. I would choose the one that has the routing you like best. A 12 hour layover in Detroit or only a 40 minute layover in Amsterdam are not worth saving $50 or $100.

As far as I know they are not the same company, they only cooperate as part of the Star Alliance.

Also wanted to add that I agree with previous posters: The routing of the flight is an important factor. Personally I try to avoid flights which have more than one stopover. And I prefer to have about 2 hours to get from one plane to the other as the airports where the stopovers take place are usually of the really huge variety and you never know how long it takes you to just walk from one gate to the other.

If you choose a flight that connects in the US, remember that at the first US airport where your transcontinental flight arrives you will have to go through immigration and customs. That might add an additional wait time (less for you than for me if you are a US citizen, those lines are shorter than for us foreigners ).

In Europe you will have to show your passport before entering the international part of the airport, but there usually are no long lines at all for the exit passport control.

However, be prepared that you will have to go through additional security screening before boarding the flight to the US as well as after arriving in the US.

Personally, I never had a problem with a 2 hour layover. However, if you connect in Munich on a Lufthansa or United flight, 1 hour will be totally fine. This is the airport with the best design ever for connecting flights. But it is also a very nice airport with some cute Bavarian souvenir shops - so a nice place to actually spend some time while waiting for your connection!

 

[Flossbolna]

They are the same company now, so they will have very similar standards. I would choose the one that has the routing you like best. A 12 hour layover in Detroit or only a 40 minute layover in Amsterdam are not worth saving $50 or $100.

As far as I know they are not the same company, they only cooperate as part of the Star Alliance.

Also wanted to add that I agree with previous posters: The routing of the flight is an important factor. Personally I try to avoid flights which have more than one stopover. And I prefer to have about 2 hours to get from one plane to the other as the airports where the stopovers take place are usually of the really huge variety and you never know how long it takes you to just walk from one gate to the other.

If you choose a flight that connects in the US, remember that at the first US airport where your transcontinental flight arrives you will have to go through immigration and customs. That might add an additional wait time (less for you than for me if you are a US citizen, those lines are shorter than for us foreigners ).

In Europe you will have to show your passport before entering the international part of the airport, but there usually are no long lines at all for the exit passport control.

However, be prepared that you will have to go through additional security screening before boarding the flight to the US as well as after arriving in the US.

Personally, I never had a problem with a 2 hour layover. However, if you connect in Munich on a Lufthansa or United flight, 1 hour will be totally fine. This is the airport with the best design ever for connecting flights. But it is also a very nice airport with some cute Bavarian souvenir shops - so a nice place to actually spend some time while waiting for your connection!

 

[NHdisneylover]

Just this past month, some of our family's transatlantic flights were operated by United and some by Lufthansa (also some US Air and some Air Canada we were kind of all over the map, and flying separately on various dates).

We all 4 (two teens, myself and DH who is 6' 5" tall) prefered Lufthansa (especially if you can get on a -8 ). The service and food were better, there seemed to be a little more room in straight economy, and the in seat entertainment worked better and had more options. Dh also points out that there is more free alcohol if you care about that (United only offered wine and only with the meal).

I would also look at which AIRports any connections are through. For example--I will do almost anything (pay up to $100 more, or have an extra connection) to avoid going through CDG I'd easily go with a less desirable carrier to avoid that mess!

 

[bobbiwoz]

We traveled United, first class home from Barcelona. Great for comfort, ...but DH's TV monitor was broken, so not quite first class!

 

[twopeasonepod]

We fly United exclusively, and used miles to get home from Barcelona in June. ITA about the most direct, time-efficient route. One of our legs was on Lufthansa. They were fabulous -- nice crew, gave the kids card games and treats, newer plane. But that was just the short hop to Frankfurt.

You should also select the route that gives you the best bang for your miles. I am waiting for the 330-day mark to use miles for my parents and purchase tix for me, DH, and the boys for the WBTA in Sept. 2014. Looking at the awards travel page, there are some mixed cabin flights at the saver rate that are less miles than standard economy for other flights. You have to just make it work for you!