Lufthansa Seat Reservations question

I have flown Lufthansa several times and never had that experience, either in economy or business class.

We had premium economy seats and were bumped up into business class. No complaints here. LOL!

Awesome Mary! I bought economy because it said Premium Economy was sold out. We are just very picky about seating and the last thing we want is to be stuck in the middle of a row of 4 way back for 9 hours. As of now the only seats booked in the upstairs economy section are our four bulkhead front row and the two seats on either side of the isle. Everything behind is still open.

Wondering is upper deck preferred over lower level front of plane (behind Premium Economy)? We are on the A 380-800.

We were bumped two times the last time we flew Lufthansa. As I checked in I noticed the new seats suddenly appeared on my boarding pass. Then as we were boarding, our seats changed a second time. As they scanned our boarding pass, they handed us a slip of paper and told us our seats had been changed from the one on our boarding pass. We were moved from seats in the middle of the plane to seats right behind the premium rows and we literally had a curtain pulled closed in our face. The curtain was touching me through most of the flight and even hitting our faces during takeoff. I was pissed and let Lufthansa know. They offered to refund me some money, but not enough for the aggravation and they also refused to apologize for the inconvenience. Lufthansa is happy to take your money to reserve a seat, but also more than happy to take it away. There are too many other airlines flying these days to have to deal with that kind of bs. So long, Lufthansa!

Exactly what we are afraid of - never have had an airline do this before and hope it doesn't happen this time. The only reason we didn't take British Air was because of the 3 hr. layover in Heathrow and this was a non stop.

We flew Lufthansa from the US to France the last 2 years (cheap economy), Lyon via Munich, and no seats were changed.

It won't make you feel any better, but about 6 years ago, we had advance-purchase (that is, discounted, but "revenue") Business Class tickets on Emirates from Nairobi to Dubai. We were moved without notice from a window/aisle pair to middle-seats in the center (4-across) Business section of the widebody. Infuriating, and they offered me nothing when I complained.

Booked Lufthansa last month for LAX to Rome via Frankfurt. Just received notification of seat changes due to plane change. I don’t care because it’s only from Frankfurt to Rome and we’re flying economy anyway. However, they better not mess with the flights from/to Los Angeles as I’m booked premium economy (Airbus) on the long haul.

I have traveled Lufthansa and haven't been moved at the last minute. That said, my last 4 international trips on United, my seats and those of my travel companions were moved at the last minute (and I am 100k status). This is typically due to a plane change. Now, regardless of airline, I get the app and sign-up for notifications. I have received notifications months in advance when there is a plane change and even a week prior. Then i make sure I actively check the app a week out and check-in as early as possible. On each of those occasions I was able to change my seats back. The hardest was this past year where I was flying 6 people (4 on points). Due to my status everyone got a free upgrade to premium. However, since my points people were not on the same reservation, I had to call to get their seats appropriately reassigned. Huge headache.

I hate to say that equipment can change for a variety of reasons and you are essentially renting the seat so therefore you are not guaranteed a seat. Think of it like Blockbuster Video you call them up and ask if they have a certain title and they say yes. When you get there they rented the last title or the one you wanted to rent was damaged by the previous renter. You are not guaranteed the copy of the DVD you want and availability is subjected to change. You are then forced to go to another Blockbuster but they will not compensate you for gas.

Lufthansa sold you a seat assignment and would refund you for this but they have the right to move you. I am sorry you were placed in a poor seat and while the curtain may have been a hindrance to enjoying your flight at least you were not placed in the last row of the plane. I have the Mobile App and I track any equipment changes and move my seats accordingly.

Really Lufthansa only owes you transportation to your destination safely and sadly no more or no less. If they run out of your choice of meal you cant simply ask for compensation. If they skip on your Special Meal perhaps they will throw you miles as a gesture of goodwill but is not required to do so. I expect less and if I get more I am happy but if I am given less I am not upset.

Do you expect Premium Economy on a Basic Economy Ticket? If so you may book Premium Economy or higher but if your fare is $800 round trip then expect to get what you put into it. For instance my Father and I are flying LEVEL Iberia from SFO-BCN for $280 one way for a Trans Atlantic Westbound Cruise. We don't expect First Class Treatment but at this price were so happy for a nonstop leaving at 8:20 PM arriving at 4:40 PM the next afternoon.

We are happy we got seats and are prepared for the worst and hope for the best. Remember Murphy's Law !!

Hope this helps!

My travel agent warned me that Lufthansa has been known to bump bulkhead passengers elsewhere if a baby needing a bassinet shows up. I haven’t seen this, but I trust her views. She’s been an agent for 30 years and has seen it all. Rather than counting on us, have you spoken directly with them about this?

Just to clarify to the Lufthansa apologists, equipment was not changed on me. I booked a seat on an A320neo, and flew on an A320neo. I have traveled frequently and am aware of the differences in classes on an airplane. I also have never had this happen to me on any other airplane ticket of the many, many tickets I have traveled on. I selected a seat in advance and paid extra for the privilege to do so, and that's all I expected to receive. I did not expect an upgrade or a better class of service, just expected to get what I paid for. My ticket was not free, and expecting to get what you pay for, even in economy class is not unreasonable. Lufthansa took my money and refused to deliver what I paid for. They even went so far as to take my seats away twice! Evidently it is not unusual with this airline. Simple as that.

Lesson learned, and my travel dollars will go elsewhere.

To answer one of your questions, the upper deck of an A380 is nice although really quiet and you can hear more of the noise from the flight attendants, etc when serving food.

As far as getting your seat changed, it happens on all airlines. It is only 8-10 hours of your life on a long flight. You can either worry about it and be grumpy or just deal with it. In the grand scheme of things, it is a very small problem.