Lufthansa

Lufthansa is a full-service airline for long-haul and European travel, with hubs, connecting flights, and the usual mix of economy, premium economy, business, and first class. By our assessment, its real strength is the dense route network and the sense that it is built for people who need to change planes and keep moving. The trade-off is the familiar legacy-airline feel: more rules, more fare tiers, and less of the stripped-down simplicity low-cost carriers sell. In practice it is a scheduled airline experience, with lounges, baggage options, and a lot of airport procedure around the trip. Compared with budget airlines it gives you more reach and more cabin choice, but it asks for more attention to fare conditions and connections. The company is German, and that usually shows up in the orderly, bureaucratic side of the product. The ceiling is that you are still flying in the crowded, delay-prone world of modern airlines.