Originally Posted by
rzsionak
I fly in Europe pretty regularly and the European carrier's coach seats have very tight pitch (often 29-30" vs 31-32" for American carriers), have almost no way to purchase extra legroom seats, are less padded versions than American carriers use, and don't have on-board entertainment for non long-haul flights. On the plus side they usually offer a snack of sorts, though I prefer the buy on board selections with American carriers. Business class on short-haul European flights is terrible utilizing cramped economy seats. The biggest negative on European flights is that a lot of flights involve taking a bus to an airplane on the tarmac and walking up the stairs
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Yes there is a way to purchase extra leg room. KL has Economy Comfort. AF has Tempo plus (or the new name is Premium Economy) which includes a business class meal, and others either have the same thing or are planning to introduce it. And they are introducing or have introduced new economy seats for both short/medium haul and long haul.
And business class on most all Euro airlines means that the middle seat is blocked empty meaning you have plenty of room.
And the bus thing isn't everywhere in Europe and it even exists in America at some airports. LAX is one example where both commuter and sometimes international flights are bussed. In Europe they handle the buses quite well and it often means you have a much shorter walk that you would have if you parked at a gate. In the US the bus situation is really poor.
For long-hauls, I'd say it's a mixed bag. Some European carriers have nicer seats than American carriers, others are worse (e.g. AF has 10-across coach seating on 777s).
AF and KL are re-doing their LH seats in both economy and business class (as well as First for AF).
Service wise, I'd actually put American carriers slightly ahead of European carriers. AZ and AF are awful for customer service and even LH and BA aren't much to write home about if you are on a coach ticket. American carriers have at least put together options that can make the flying process quick and convenient if you use the system well, whereas on AF or AZ I just plan on waiting an hour to check bags and get a boarding pass.
I fly AF very often and never have to wait long to check bags. All airlines have customer service issues, both European and American. Let's classify it further as service to elites versus non-elites. I think that customer service for non-elites is horrible across the board. However as someone who enjoys elite status on dozens of airlines I can say that the Euro airlines are much, much better than the US airlines in most cases. The one area that US airlines are better is toll-free calls and 24 hour service. But as far as actually taking good care of the customer, the Euro airlines are the best.