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Lufthansa or other foreign airline

I was searching for flights to Lithuania. You could make this about flights to Lithuania or you could make this about foreign airlines in general.

The first time I went to Europe was in 2007 for a Yiddish summer class in Vilnius but I didn't give myself time to see sights or museums. I bought my flights from Northwest, just before Northwest was merged with Delta and then the Northwest brand was discontinued. The second time I traveled on a plane, I bought tickets from Expedia because I was not wise enough but it worked good by accident. It was two different airlines but just one flight each way. I went to different parts of Europe 6 times and two other places outside Europe and at least 4 trips inside the United States. I bought all those flights from American or Delta. Lufthansa has a better flight than the flights I saw from American or Delta. I haven't finished researching flights. I had previously thought Delta and American had the best flights available and/or I thought I had to take flights from a USA based airline.

Have any of you taken Lufthansa from the United States to somewhere in Europe and back? Do you have loyalty to any specific airline or do you just randomly pick the same or a different airline as you took last time depending on whoever has the best flight? Is there any reason to limit myself to American or Delta, or would it be fine to let myself fly on a foreign-based airline?

Delta has a trip that will physically work but it takes longer and has 2 stops instead of the one stop from Lufthansa.

I already know which flights look best but I will keep searching for 2 weeks or more to make sure I don't find better flights.

Posted by
9602 posts

I have used Lufthansa. Great airline.
I have also used Iceland Air, and Air Canada. Depends on if I am flying to California or Ohio.
Direct is best if you can get it, but 1 stop is going to be better than 2 stops.

Posted by
24501 posts

I flew Luthansa round trip Budapest / Washington DC a few months ago. I've flown them a lot. I fly the cheapest airline with a scheduke that meets my needs. Lufthansa got the job done, but is among the least enjoyable carriers for my taste. Most enjoyable long haul for my taste is Turkish Air. Most enjoyable short haul is RyanAir.

Posted by
460 posts

Yes, several times, and I prefer Lufthansa over any American company. I do not have loyalty to any particular airline, even though I use AA or one of its partners, only because I have a mileage card.

This may be controversial, but I would rather fly internationally on almost any foreign airline over an American company. In my experience, as one of 'the great unwashed' packed in the back of the bus (an Airbus ideally!) in basic economy, the service (food, entertainment, amenities) on Asian, Middle Eastern, and European airlines, respectively, is vastly superior to anything offered by American companies. Of the ones I have travelled on, Singapore is the best, followed by Thai and Japan. Emirates is better than Qatar, and British and Lufthansa are better than KLM. Surprisingly, I like Ryanair for intra-European flights.

Connections from my local regional airport, number of stops, timing (departure, arrival, layover, flight) and certainly ticket price are all things I consider. It seems like you have it pretty much figured out. Good luck and safe journey!

Posted by
6788 posts

I've flown Lufthansa to and from Europe quite a few times and have absolutely no complaints. Which I cannot say for any of the American airlines I've flown on. Not sure why you would think any of the American airlines are somehow better than international airlines. If you look at the latest rating by Skytrax, no American airline cracked the top 10. The best they could manage was Delta at #22. Lufthansa came in at #15. https://www.worldairlineawards.com/worlds-top-100-airlines-2025/

When we need to fly internationally, we go to Google Flights to see our options. Then we weed things by price, number of stops, and duration. The nationality of the airline has little to do with our choice.