Kudos to Lufthansa

With all the new fees and reduced services by airlines these days, I have to say the Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to San Francisco was just about as good as I've ever had--at least in steerage class. They didn't make you pay for drinks, even alcoholic ones--and the drink service was frequent enough to be impressive. The food was edible and they didn't charge you for that either. And I especially appreciate that Lufthansa staff makes sure the lout in front of you doesn't eat with his seat back positioned in the in-your-face mode during meal time.

Check in at Frankfurt Airport was easier than it's ever been. Walk up to an available machine, enter your name and e-ticket booking number and it spits out your boarding pass. Then walk over to the luggage drop-off, where about 10 agents are twiddling their thumbs, and hand in your bags. 10 minutes or less for us to check in. No lines. (Does anyone really twiddle their thumbs any more? Is there time in today's world?)

But here's the real question: can the tide be turning with the economic downturn? Will airlines (and airports) have to play to the demand side of the economy for a while and actually try to outdo each other with passenger services to win an increased share of dwindling traffic?

Boy, I hope so. We the people are long overdue for some nice treatment.

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