Is American or Lufthansa better to Europe?

Lufthansa scores 8.8/10 against American at 7.5/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, American wins 0 and Lufthansa wins 1. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.

Which is cheaper, American or Lufthansa?

On the 80 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), American was cheaper on 27 and Lufthansa on 53. Every pair of fares is the same departure and return date in the same cabin, so the difference is the airline rather than the dates or the cabin.

Does the aircraft change the answer?

Yes. American scores 10/10 on the 787-9P (Flagship Suite) and 8/10 on the 777-300ER / 787 (Flagship Business). Lufthansa scores 10/10 on the A350-900 / 787-9 (Allegris) and 5/10 on the 747-8 / A330-300 (legacy). Check the equipment on your date before deciding.

Has Jon flown either of these?

Lufthansa, in business on a Europe route. American has not been flown, so nothing here claims firsthand experience of its cabin.

Head to head

American vs Lufthansa

Lufthansa scores 8.8/10 against American at 7.5/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare.

By Jon Miksis · cabin data verified September 1, 2026 · fares for travel November 8–14, 2026

Best product each one flies

Scored on what can be verified. Service, food and ground recovery are absent deliberately: they need someone in the seat, and they live in the reviews rather than here.

One caveat on the Value line, stated rather than buried: Value is computed from business fares, and a carrier with too few of them does not get a Value score at all. Where you see a dash, we have fewer than three priced business routes for that airline and did not want to invent a figure from one or two — so its product score is the mean of three dimensions rather than four, and it is not directly comparable to a score built on hundreds of fares. The airlines with the most fares behind them are named on the business-class ranking.

American

787-9P (Flagship Suite)

Seat: 10/10
IFE: 8/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 2/10
Product score: 7.5/10

Lufthansa

A350-900 / 787-9 (Allegris) · flown by Jon

Seat: 10/10
IFE: 8/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 7/10
Product score: 8.8/10

Dimension by dimension

Seat: level
10/10 on the 787-9P (Flagship Suite) against 10/10 on the A350-900 / 787-9 (Allegris).
IFE: level
Screens, connectivity and power: 8/10 against 8/10.
Lounge & bags: level
What the fare includes before you board: 10/10 against 10/10.
Value: Lufthansa
Median premium over the cheapest carrier on the same route: 2/10 against 7/10.

Where both were priced on the same dates

Every fare is November 8–14, 2026, so a difference between two rows is a difference between two airlines and nothing else. These are economy fares, while the cabin scores above describe the business product — read them as how each airline prices against its competitors, not as what its business seat costs.

Route	Cabin	American	Lufthansa	Cheaper
SFO → BCN	economy	$757	$755	Lufthansa by $2
ATL → BCN	economy	$757	$1023	American by $266
DTW → MAD	economy	$1235	$760	Lufthansa by $475
DTW → BCN	economy	$1230	$767	Lufthansa by $463
LAX → ZRH	economy	$783	$769	Lufthansa by $14
DTW → MXP	economy	$1236	$771	Lufthansa by $465
IAH → DUB	economy	$773	$841	American by $68
AUS → DUB	economy	$784	$778	Lufthansa by $6
IAH → BCN	economy	$782	$1080	American by $298
DEN → BCN	economy	$782	$859	American by $77
IAH → MAD	economy	$783	$787	American by $4
AUS → MAD	economy	$783	$787	American by $4
AUS → BCN	economy	$793	$786	Lufthansa by $7
SEA → BCN	economy	$1145	$786	Lufthansa by $359
DTW → ZRH	economy	$1249	$787	Lufthansa by $462
DFW → LIS	economy	$790	$816	American by $26
SEA → MAD	economy	$911	$794	Lufthansa by $117
DEN → MAD	economy	$794	$852	American by $58
AUS → LIS	economy	$800	$922	American by $122
IAH → FCO	economy	$919	$801	Lufthansa by $118
AUS → FCO	economy	$970	$801	Lufthansa by $169
SEA → LIS	economy	$902	$805	Lufthansa by $97
IAH → ZRH	economy	$819	$806	Lufthansa by $13
AUS → ZRH	economy	$859	$806	Lufthansa by $53
SFO → MAD	economy	$806	$812	American by $6
DTW → MUC	economy	$818	$1079	American by $261
DTW → LIS	economy	$1198	$821	Lufthansa by $377
DEN → LIS	economy	$821	$936	American by $115
ATL → LIS	economy	$1179	$831	Lufthansa by $348
DFW → DUB	economy	$845	$835	Lufthansa by $10
MIA → MUC	economy	$846	$835	Lufthansa by $11
SFO → FCO	economy	$2056	$839	Lufthansa by $1217
MIA → MXP	economy	$842	$848	American by $6
LAX → FRA	economy	$864	$846	Lufthansa by $18
AUS → CDG	economy	$1244	$849	Lufthansa by $395
MIA → DUB	economy	$849	$853	American by $4
IAH → LIS	economy	$861	$1015	American by $154
DFW → FRA	economy	$868	$983	American by $115
DFW → ZRH	economy	$913	$870	Lufthansa by $43
DEN → ZRH	economy	$1392	$871	Lufthansa by $521
DFW → MUC	economy	$920	$872	Lufthansa by $48
AUS → MUC	economy	$1220	$872	Lufthansa by $348
SEA → FCO	economy	$1046	$904	Lufthansa by $142
DEN → AMS	economy	$909	$920	American by $11
DFW → EDI	economy	$1411	$983	Lufthansa by $428
MIA → EDI	economy	$985	$1491	American by $506
ATL → ZRH	economy	$1176	$1013	Lufthansa by $163
DTW → DUB	economy	$1157	$1015	Lufthansa by $142
DTW → EDI	economy	$1386	$1023	Lufthansa by $363
AUS → EDI	economy	$1023	$1023	level
AUS → AMS	economy	$1066	$1043	Lufthansa by $23
DEN → CDG	economy	$1051	$1319	American by $268
AUS → DUB	business	$4415	$6529	American by $2114
LAX → FCO	business	$4648	$4808	American by $160
SEA → MAD	business	$10230	$4868	Lufthansa by $5362
DTW → MAD	business	$10330	$4887	Lufthansa by $5443
IAH → FCO	business	$7563	$4992	Lufthansa by $2571
DTW → MUC	business	$12610	$5230	Lufthansa by $7380
SEA → BCN	business	$9888	$5326	Lufthansa by $4562
DTW → MXP	business	$10331	$5330	Lufthansa by $5001
DTW → ZRH	business	$10344	$5345	Lufthansa by $4999
ATL → MXP	business	$12651	$5347	Lufthansa by $7304
DTW → LIS	business	$10346	$5385	Lufthansa by $4961
DTW → EDI	business	$10590	$5662	Lufthansa by $4928
SEA → EDI	business	$6339	$5662	Lufthansa by $677
DEN → MAD	business	$6775	$5996	Lufthansa by $779
IAH → BCN	business	$9054	$6034	Lufthansa by $3020
AUS → MUC	business	$9381	$6118	Lufthansa by $3263
IAH → LIS	business	$10878	$6158	Lufthansa by $4720
ORD → MAD	business	$11115	$6352	Lufthansa by $4763
DFW → EDI	business	$7319	$6524	Lufthansa by $795
SFO → FCO	business	$6555	$8775	American by $2220
IAH → MAD	business	$6775	$6826	American by $51
DEN → LIS	business	$12028	$6790	Lufthansa by $5238
DEN → FCO	business	$6812	$7699	American by $887
IAH → ZRH	business	$10376	$6825	Lufthansa by $3551
DFW → FRA	business	$6838	$7792	American by $954
IAH → EDI	business	$7779	$10631	American by $2852
DEN → ZRH	business	$18428	$7780	Lufthansa by $10648
MIA → EDI	business	$7869	$11231	American by $3362

What happens if the aircraft swaps

Both carriers are paying-the-same-fare-either-way propositions on some frames. The worst product each one flies:

American

777-300ER / 787 (Flagship Business)

Seat: 8/10
IFE: 8/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 2/10
Product score: 7/10

Lufthansa

747-8 / A330-300 (legacy) · flown by Jon

Seat: 5/10
IFE: 8/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 7/10
Product score: 7.5/10

American: Reverse herringbone, direct aisle access from every seat, no privacy door.

Lufthansa: The cabin Allegris is replacing. Still widely flown on US routes into late 2026.

Common questions

Is American or Lufthansa better to Europe?: Lufthansa scores 8.8/10 against American at 7.5/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, American wins 0 and Lufthansa wins 1. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.
Which is cheaper, American or Lufthansa?: On the 80 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), American was cheaper on 27 and Lufthansa on 53. Every pair of fares is the same departure and return date in the same cabin, so the difference is the airline rather than the dates or the cabin.
Does the aircraft change the answer?: Yes. American scores 10/10 on the 787-9P (Flagship Suite) and 8/10 on the 777-300ER / 787 (Flagship Business). Lufthansa scores 10/10 on the A350-900 / 787-9 (Allegris) and 5/10 on the 747-8 / A330-300 (legacy). Check the equipment on your date before deciding.
Has Jon flown either of these?: Lufthansa, in business on a Europe route. American has not been flown, so nothing here claims firsthand experience of its cabin.

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