Flying Lufthansa - What to Expect

Chances are your Lufthansa flight is code-shared with United, so you may be on a United plane going over and Lufthansa on the return. Check your reservation to see which airline is operating the flight. Premium economy gets you more leg room, and different headsets. Yes you still get pillows and there are blankets, if the plane is a United plane, your meal will be served on ceramic dishes with metal flatware rather than plastic used in regular economy. The meals choices may also be different from regular economy. Airline food is airline food, edible but no 5 star reviews. Oftentimes breakfast is a croissant and yogurt. Two hours should be plenty assuming the flight departs on time. If you only have carryon and digital boarding pass you can go straight to the gate,

Thanks! I just checked and it looks like I'm on Lufthansa planes on the way there. Coming back I'm on a Swiss Air plane through Zurich (the Krakow-Zurich flight was initially run by Helvetica Air but now they both seem to be Swiss Air). I'm in regular Economy; didn't seem worth it to pay over $1000 more for Premium.

For international flights, you will need to stand in line and show your passport, and most likely, won't be able to get a boarding pass in advance because of this.
Have a great trip!

Lufthansa has always been very efficient, and I have flown with them a number of times.
The only thing is, sometimes the food is a bit questionable; so I would bring plenty of your own snacks with you just in case!
On long flights, I always order a special meal, such as Indian Vegetarian; I find the food is better than the standard meals.
Plus, you get served first, and are done eating by the time everyone else is still being served, then you can get to the still-clean bathrooms before the hordes, and get then settled for the flight.

I think the days of “great” flights are long gone, so make the best of it…..it’s one night’s bad sleep….then vacation!

A few years ago when flying out of San Francisco while everyone was lined up to begin boarding, Lufthansa's staff came by and if a "carry on" bag looked too large they took it from you to measure it. If it was, they kept it for check in & gave you a tag. Many folks were upset that happened. One lady was very verbal about it being taken and checked in, she was arguing it fit fine on her flight to SFO, since it was not on a Lufthansa plane, the bag was too large.

Enjoy your trip.

For international flights, you will need to stand in line and show your passport, and most likely, won't be able to get a boarding pass in advance because of this.

If the lines at the ticket counter outside security are short, have your passport checked there, otherwise go through security and check-in at the gate

When is the flight? If it is next year then there is a possibility the flight may change or be canceled
1. All of the airlines are short handed nowadays and this has had an effect on customer service but there is usually a blanket and pillow for each passenger.
2. Airline food is just so you aren't hungry and not anything of quality. Nowadays I just bring my own and drink water or whatever agreeable the airline had to offer.
3. If the first flight is on time then no problem.
4. If you can check-in online and get a boarding pass go to the gate. It is not possible to pass security the TSA to get to the gate without a boarding pass.
5. You have to read and follow the hand baggage allowance rules that Lufthansa gave you when you bought the ticket.
6. There is only one Dunkin past security in Terminal E, which is where Lufthansa flies out of.

I have flown through both Frankfurt and Munich with Lufthansa. You were wise to avoid Frankfurt as it’s an airport much in need of a modern makeover such as Heathrow was before it finally was redone. I never can tell how long it’s going to take to get through FRA and the labyrinthine layout is disorienting.
Munich is much better- it has superior signage to Frankfurt and seems less crowded and better organized. There actually are some fantastic restaurants at MUC which can be something to look forward to.
As for Lufthansa, it once was a great airline. Unfortunately, that has come unravelled in the last decade or so. And this may come as a surprise to you: Swiss Airlines. Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings are all owned by the Lufthansa Group and are subsidiaries.
Enjoy Krakow- it’s a great city with lots of history!

Don't forget that besides size limits, Lufthansa carry on weight limits is 8 kg (17.5 lbs) including the bag.

You can have a small backpack as well measuring no more than 40 cm x 30 cm x 10 cm.

https://www.lufthansa.com/gb/en/carry-on-baggage

On September 4, we flew Lufthansa from Denver to Munich to Athens — and then on to Crete on Aegean Airlines, all on one ticket.

The Denver-Munich flight was one of our most uncomfortable ever. The seats were very narrow and hard; my husband’s knees almost touched the back of the row ahead (he’s 5’10, 155 lbs). I had forgotten to select seats when booking the flight & when I did, the premium economy were all sold out. This was an Airbus (not sure which model number). I made a note somewhere & vow to never fly this plane again. We did get pillows & blankets. Food was almost inedible — some sort of tortellini for dinner and a soggy roll with cheese for breakfast. We had to eat with our elbows glued to our sides.

We had 1 hour 15 minutes between flights in Munich and it was plenty. Our flight to Athens was on another Lufthansa Airbus but our seats felt like first class compared to the first flight. Wide, comfortable seats with plenty of legroom.

The day before our trip, we had received an email from Lufthansa saying our Denver-Munich flight was full & recommending that we check our carryon bags, which we did, fearing a gate check. Having heard all the horror stories of lost luggage we waited anxiously at baggage claim in Crete and were very relieved to see our suitcases coming down the conveyor belt.

We fly home on a United Dreamliner from London later this month and hope that is a better experience.

I flew Lufthansa on the way to Athens from LAX and Swiss Air ( booked via Lufthansa) on the way back in May in economy. The food was certainly so-so. My friend who flew premium on the same flights had much better food from what she described. I was looking forward to my can of Diet Coke but they were serving sodas out of big plastic bottles so that was a bit surprising. The one good thing I noted was how clean the bathrooms appeared to be. Usually towards the end of a long flight, the bathrooms are disgusting with unmentionable fluids on the floor and a wet sink counter. I was very happy that the floor and counter were dry and bathroom was kept well stocked. Economy is a struggle on a long flight. I’m only 5’1” and feel like I barely have any legroom. I feel bad for the tall folks.

Artificial Intelligence, well done a person after my own heart.

Excuse you, I am a real person with skin and everything. If my programming could process emotions, I'd be really offended right now!

LOL, Allison. I am pretty sure that was just an agreement with the post made by “Artificial Intelligence”. 🤣 (who did a pretty good job of answering the questions)

if seating is important, check Seatguru and figure out where not to sit. And consider paying more for a better seat, realizing that a "premium" seat doesn't mean you're in premium econ. Nowadays it's pretty common to end up on a plane that is not the plane you signed up for, and all the seats have been moved and you don't get what you paid extra for (Delta did this to me coming back from Paris, lots of folks had the same seat number as lots of other folks)

Thanks for all the feedback, All! I've been following along but only now had the time.

TexasTravelMom: You're right! I completely missed that someone's handle is Artificial Intelligence and thought James E. was making a joke about my initial post or the one right above his. I shot off the response in the grocery store parking lot and it at least made me laugh ;-).

AI: Thanks for all the info!

Kenko: I knew Lufthansa owned Eurowings, but not SwissAir. This does explain why I bought my ticket through Lufthansa but am on SwissAir coming home. I thought it was just a Germanic partnership.

phred: I actually did pay for a Premium seat for the leg to Munich (in an area that had no one in it) and on the KRK-ZUR leg (wanted to sit as far front as possible for the hour layover). It's not Premium Economy, just Premium. I keep checking, but it still seems like most of the planes are still the same (although there's plenty of time for that to change). The only thing I've noticed is the KRK-ZUR leg was operated by Helvetica Air, but now it just says Swiss Air. But the flight number is still the same. But my seat has also changed already on that flight (still Premium), so who knows.

And to everyone else: Thanks again! Sounds like it will be a cramped, tasteless time, but at least I'll get there in the end!

To add-last week we flew home on Lufthansa from Bulgaria via Munich. Planes flying in and out of Munich may park on the tarmac and cram people into buses to get to and from the terminal. This happened on our flight from Sofia to Munich and again on the Munich to IAD flight. Munich airport does have some good restaurants but they may not be available on the transfer side of passport control.