BA or Lufthansa - London to Denver??

[Denverite]

Currently looking at one-way air from London to Denver on April 21, 2017 through Princess EZ Air. Because it is one-way, it is much cheaper to book through cruise line.

 

British Airways nonstop London to Denver in Premium Economy on 747 (I think this is one of the 747s that has not upgraded Premium Economy, but not sure)

 

OR

 

Lufthansa, London to Munich (1 1/2 hr time to transfer) and Munich to Denver on A330-300, Premium Economy.

 

The Lufthansa flight is slightly more expensive but I don't think you have to pay to get seat assignment early. On BA I believe you have to pay or wait until 23 hours in advance to get seat assignment.

 

I have flown Lufthansa before and know the quality of service but have not flown with BA. You would think that the nonstop is a no-brainer but I have read some reviews of the older 747s and am undecided.

 

Advice?

[harpat0408]

Lufthansa love the service also

 

 

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[wowzz]

BA PE is not a bad product in general. As always with any flight, some crew are better than others. If you take the Lufthansa option, your first flight will be in the 'wrong' direction in economy, before you get into the PE cabin at Munich. So, a longer trip, some of which will be in economy. BA would be my choice.

 

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[Viv0828]

I would never chose a flight with a stop when there is a nonstop option.

 

 

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[Mr. Click]

Keep in mind that BA charges for seat assignments made before T-24....we flew them Newark to AMS in September and if we wanted confirmed seats before that point it was going to cost another $300 or so. We were booked in Biz so I let it ride to save the money but I would not try that in coach or even PE.

[4774Papa]

No way do I book a transatlantic flight when I have to sit in a middle seat. That could be the result in a delay seat selection.

 

Lufthansa is excellent, never been on BA.

[waterbug123]

I would never chose a flight with a stop when there is a nonstop option.

 

Certainly a nonstop would be my preference, but I never say never. Often they come at significant price increase, so I'd weigh the price difference, if any, against the increase in travel time and the connection timing, before making a decision.

[TruckerDave]

according to your profile you are Denver based. Do you fly United usually (as Denver is a United hub)? If so I would take the Lufthansa flight and credit the miles to my UA ff account. Now if you are a American Airlines flyer then take the BA and credit the miles to your AA account. Of course if you don't usually fly either, than ignore this post. :D

Edited December 24, 2016 by TruckerDave

[Gardyloo]

Try this. Add the price of seat selection to the BA price, then subtract the price of the Lufthansa ticket. Divide the result by 4.5, and that's the hourly cost of the difference.

 

For example if selecting a seat on BA costs $50 and the Lufthansa flight is $40 more than the BA flight before seat selection, divide the $10 difference by the additional 4 1/2 hours that the LHR-xMUC-DEN flight, counting ground time in Munich, will take, and you've got a difference of $2 per hour for the "hassle cost." You choose.

[Denverite]

Thank you all for your responses. Trucker Dave: We do fly United a lot and have lots of saved miles. I did a dummy booking on United for award tickets and I can get a 7:50am flight from Heathrow to Chicago with either a 1 hr 45 min layover or a 4 hr layover and then on to Denver. Their new pricing structure shows I can do Economy Plus Essentials (which is economy plus seating plus an extra bag which we don't need) and the total for two tickets is $927.72 plus 60,000 miles. The breakdown is about $166pp for fees and $298pp for E+. They also have a more expensive option where you get access to their premier lounge (I already have two passes) and a couple other goodies but the price outweighs the extra cost. This flight has a seating of 2/4/2 and United shows plenty of economy seats. I like the fact that you can actually view their seating chart, even though it may change if the plane changes from a 767-300.

 

My problem with both BA and Lufthansa is that you can't see what seats are available until you book, although the plane configurations are 2/4/2. The price for BA is $853.14 per ticket, or $1,706.28 for economy plus, plus whatever they charge for a seat assignment prior to check-in.

 

I think I have omitted Lufthansa because it is about $200 more expensive and I will probably go with the United mileage award tickets. I am willing to pay a bit more for more comfort, but looks like I might or might not get it with BA, although I like the nonstop.

 

Interesting to see the new United pricing structure.

[purduemom1]

Thank you all for your responses. Trucker Dave: We do fly United a lot and have lots of saved miles. I did a dummy booking on United for award tickets and I can get a 7:50am flight from Heathrow to Chicago with either a 1 hr 45 min layover or a 4 hr layover and then on to Denver. Their new pricing structure shows I can do Economy Plus Essentials (which is economy plus seating plus an extra bag which we don't need) and the total for two tickets is $927.72 plus 60,000 miles. The breakdown is about $166pp for fees and $298pp for E+. They also have a more expensive option where you get access to their premier lounge (I already have two passes) and a couple other goodies but the price outweighs the extra cost. This flight has a seating of 2/4/2 and United shows plenty of economy seats. I like the fact that you can actually view their seating chart, even though it may change if the plane changes from a 767-300.

 

My problem with both BA and Lufthansa is that you can't see what seats are available until you book, although the plane configurations are 2/4/2. The price for BA is $853.14 per ticket, or $1,706.28 for economy plus, plus whatever they charge for a seat assignment prior to check-in.

 

I think I have omitted Lufthansa because it is about $200 more expensive and I will probably go with the United mileage award tickets. I am willing to pay a bit more for more comfort, but looks like I might or might not get it with BA, although I like the nonstop.

 

Interesting to see the new United pricing structure.

 

Omitting Lufthansa is a good move. Airline is good BUT frequent strikes often disrupt flight plans. Choosing a U S airline at least eliminates strike worries-unless a strike involves airport ground employees. Also most foreign airlines have different baggage requirements especially for carry on items. For some this is not a problem but if you are a carry on only flyer, it does matter.

 

As for UAL pricing, they have added an economy price choice. Pax need to be aware of which level of service they are buying and what it does and does not include. It sounds like you have found a good choice for your flights.

[go sea]

We are using Princess air from London to Philadelphia on April 20 on British airways,in economy plus and did not have to pay extra for our seat pick. We did this eight weeks out.also if you keep checking checkingg after you pick your seat,you still can change again for free:)

[6rugrats]

You can see available seats on LH without booking. Do a dummy booking and pull up the seat map.

 

BA doesn't have E+ so I'm not sure where other poster is sitting, but did you have status that allowed seat selection before online check in? If not, I'm not sure how you were able to choose sears w/o paying.

[fbgd]

You can see available seats on BA using tools such as Expertflyer. It should be in every semi-frequent/frequent travelers arsenal....free trials available too.

[em-sk]

You also have to keep in mind that premium economy on Lufthansa and British Airways is not the same E+ on United. The E+ is simply an economy seat with a little extra room. Premium Economy on most European airlines and Air Canada is a bigger seat, better meal, plus potentially ssome additional baggage allowance and priority boarding etc.

 

If you want to earn or spend points in your United program then United or Air Canada are likely your best bet. Lufthansa is not bad but you start by flying in the wrong direction.

[sverigecruiser]

Also most foreign airlines have different baggage requirements especially for carry on items. For some this is not a problem but if you are a carry on only flyer, it does matter.

 

 

BA are extremely generous when it comes to carry on items, especially the weight limit.

[purduemom1]

BA are extremely generous when it comes to carry on items, especially the weight limit.

 

Just wanted to warn the OP to be aware that foreign airlines can have varying carry on rules. BA seems to be closer to US Irlines in thst regard. We flew BA last June and while they did not weigh my carry on, I did have to put my carry on in their sizer and adjust its contents. (Move some thinhs to my petsonal item bag) I haven't had this happen with any US airline and I always carry on.

[sverigecruiser]

Just wanted to warn the OP to be aware that foreign airlines can have varying carry on rules. BA seems to be closer to US Irlines in thst regard. We flew BA last June and while they did not weigh my carry on, I did have to put my carry on in their sizer and adjust its contents. (Move some thinhs to my petsonal item bag) I haven't had this happen with any US airline and I always carry on.

 

I have never put my carry on in their sizer and I have been on many BA flights.

 

If the carry on is small enough, the weight is not a problem.

 

Is any US airline as generous as BA?

[fbgd]

Just wanted to warn the OP to be aware that foreign airlines can have varying carry on rules. BA seems to be closer to US Irlines in thst regard. We flew BA last June and while they did not weigh my carry on, I did have to put my carry on in their sizer and adjust its contents. (Move some thinhs to my petsonal item bag) I haven't had this happen with any US airline and I always carry on.

 

I've flown BA hundreds of times in every cabin from shorthaul domestic to longhaul First. The only time my carry-on was ever examined in any respect was on an aircraft that isn't in service anymore and had limited overhead space.

[purduemom1]

I have never put my carry on in their sizer and I have been on many BA flights.

 

If the carry on is small enough, the weight is not a problem.

 

Is any US airline as generous as BA?

Perhaps I was just the "lucky" one. It was a BA flight from FCO to LHR last June-using my 21 inch roll aboard, was asked to put it into a sizer when checking in although no problem fitting it into the overhead. I have never had to put it into a sizer with any US airline and this bag goes with me on every flight as a carry on.