Review: Lufthansa A320neo Business Class

D-AINU isnt new enough, the newer ones NV/NX) are delivered with the new seats that have power ports.

No LH A320neo has wifi so far, cause the antenna of the current system is too heavy and they are developing a new wifi system for the neos.

I don't get why are you blaming catering, if domestic US first class flights below 2 hours only gets you some $0.59 packs of almonds and a Dasani.
Intra-EU business and domestic US first are both miserable, but I still prefer a proper meal over a better seat on such short legs.

People repeatedly point out on your posts that intra-Europe business class is a total waste of money or points. What they often fail to consider is connecting passengers. As I'm Irish I need to connect though a hub if I'm flying anywhere long-haul apart from North America. If I'm buying or redeeming for a Business Class ticket I can't opt for Economy on the first leg. In the case of flights via LHR it's actually cheaper to buy a business class ticket from Dublin than London, as I avoid the air passenger duty. People shouldn't assume that everyone in Business has wasted money or points to be there - they could simply be connecting.

@ e30st -- "Blaming" catering? I'm pointing out the catering isn't great. And personally I'd take a US airline in first class any day of the week, even with zero service, over Lufthansa intra-Europe business class.

@ A -- Interesting, thanks for the explanation!

I concur with Declan's opinion.

Also, sometimes European airlines run J class promos where one can pick up quite a few miles without breaking the bank, and where the fare difference between Y and J is relatively small (think, for example, BA).

I purposely avoid LH for intra-Europe trips. Overall it’s just not a good product. I prefer Finnair and BA; in that order.

LOL “which even TAP Portugal is installing”. I don’t have a ton of experience with the airline but have always enjoyed TAP J class more than AF, LH, BA, LX, etc.

Too much pork and carbs for one airline tray - and way too little legroom. Not sure which is worse!

I get the economics they are trying to compete with, but LH short haul is a serious weak point in their service game.

I do rather like MUC connections though; you really can cut it down to the 35min MCT and still make it. @Lucky, next time you’re there, book a tight connection; would make for a great review!

Did you look under some of the trays to see if there was a menu or not? A couple of times I’ve done intra-Europe J, I’ve always found a little mini menu under one of the trays or under the utensils or under something basically. May not have been the case with LH, but just something to keep in mind to check out next time perhaps?

LH leaves a to to be desired in everything. Their long haul flights are nothing great in Business class. Even its FFP is bad to say the least and they are not the least bothered.

@Ben (Lucky)

Whilst I can see a higher need on longer routes, surely one can go a couple of hours without Wifi? haha 🙂

Comparing apples to apples (ie. BA vs LH vs KLM vs AirFrance vs other LH group airlines), catering onboard LH is really at the bottom of the whole lot.
I can't understand why they can't even provide a decent small hot dish.

Cheers!

Thanks for the review, after this I think it was good decision to choose the Avianca+british intraEU business instead Avianca+lufthansa intraEU business!

I think LH (and other airlines in LH Group) have 34 inches legroom in the first few rows, which decreases to 30 and then 29-28 at the very back of the plane. It's the same on most of the newer planes, Swiss has 34" for the first 8 rows of their A220-300 and then 30-31" for the rest for example. Though I haven't seen other airlines do this, BA still is 30" for the first 12 or 14 rows on the neos and then 29" thereafter with the Recaro seats.

Nice to see the aircraft registration! Hoping to see it more often.

P.S. Where's your comparison of ANA The Room and the Qsuite?

Look at the good side, There was some semblance of a meal. LH now claims that there is a non publicly acknowledged strike that impedes their ability to cater certain flights of up to 4 hours and skips catering or undercaters. They notify passengers upon check in even though they have been doing this for months, daily on the same flights. They could email passengers in advance much as they email gate info and check in reminders.

South America has set the standard For the European Business Class as nothing other than glorified premium economy , time for all European carriers on their short haul, with the exception of Turkish to follow suit

I wish the EU has much more comfortable business class products, I would prefer a wider seat to work and relax at during flight than access to an overcrowded lounge then 1.5 economy seats.

I don't understand why you like the US domestic first seats so much. They aren't really that comfortable. But beyond that, I know many people would prefer to have 3 economy seats than 1 US domestic first seat. In my experience, in European style business class I get 3 seats more than 50% of the time. With this, I can put my legs up, stretch out and be far more comfortable than one can ever be on those US style seats. Though of course, you will never have that privacy in the US because they will do whatever it takes to fill up their 'first class' cabins to be sure that a seat never goes out empty.
Furthermore, it is really funny that you then complain that the meal is not enough, considering that you actually got a meal. Fly with any US carrier on a flight of that length and they let you pick a piece of fruit or a bag of crisps.
And with the Eurobusiness, you get lounge access, to a generally significantly better lounge than the US domestic first.

I booked my Mom into Swiss Intra-EU business for 20$ less than economy..

I recently flew business from Birmingham to Istanbul (via FRA). The sheer size of FRA and time it takes to transit mean I had no time to eat in the lounge and was appalled to be given exactly the same dire meal that you received, on both flights. I really did not see any advantage to flying business class and arrived at my hotel late that night starving. I complained to Lufthansa and they credited me with 4,000 miles and more points.

I'm confused about your statement "even TAP...". It's not surprising, given the growing significance of Portugal as a destination for expats and the whole changing scenario in the country in terms of its recovering economy. Great if you are connecting from the States into other European cities, as well.

Perhaps they should install proper lie flat seats on their A320's to balance out the weight to install wifi 😉

@Stuart the FRA and MUC experiences have nothing in common, except they are both Lufthansa hubs.

FRA you need minimum 2 hours to connect and I would build in even more time. Security / passport control lines can be ridiculous, and there are some Loooooong distances. MUC prides itself on being able to connect you in 35 min (Ben's review says 45 but I could swear they allow less). They will drive you between gates - if necessary they will stop off at a rampside passport control check if connecting to a Schengen flight. It's fabulous.

I don't understand the obsession with power ports and WiFi on short haul flights. Until a few years ago, life was just fine without them. Sometimes, I wonder if we have forgotten the basic pleasure of deliberately doing nothing for a short while.

@ Vijay @ Rebecca -- There's no "obsession" with wifi or power ports, it's simply the direction the industry is headed. I review airlines from a competitive perspective, rather than from the perspective of "life is fine even without those things."

Wouldn't life also be fine if we had 28" of pitch on a 90 minute flight, and if there were zero service in business class?

I'm not sure if that's roast beef or ham...but I'm pretty sure meat isn't supposed to have a rainbow-ish sheen. I'd take Biscoff over that "snack" any day and twice on Sundays.

The reason for booking intra european Business Class for me are two armrests for my own without beeing forced to touch other people all the time. Space matters and ‚no frills‘ is not an Option. The seat is ok for me on a 2 h trip and the meals are quite good, given the options in the lounge. The only issue are departures arrivals from remote positions. LH doesn‘t have extra busses for Business Class.

Lufthansa have increased the pitch at the front of the neos after a lot of complaints about the NEK config on the ceos. To make up for it though, they tightened the pitch at the back.

On top of that, like BA they are now having balance issues because of the way too dense config and so LH do not sell the last row and BA do not sell the last two rows on the A20N.

Wouldn't you think they would just take the seats out and increas the pitch and with it passenger comfort, after all, removing even one row would allow everyone an additional inch of leg room.

I’ve flown this (and their crappy EU competitors) many times and find it okay when you’re seated in the first row. I would certainly prefer a US domestic first seat with no meal, but that’s not really an option for us in Europe 🙁

Here's the deal: an intra-Europe business class ticket gets you priority check-in, priority security, lounge access, priority boarding, a seat with better pitch, nobody sitting next to you, and a meal.
If you're an elite, you get the first four, usually the fifth, and sometimes the sixth (I've gotten a shadow recently).
But if you're not a FF, for many of your European flights, you could easily spend more time in the airport than on board.
Some people pay to have that go smoothly. Heck, sometimes that curtain is placed after row 10.

This is to show how good you have it in the states. Too many complaints when you really have it good.

I always find reports of LH's intra-European Business Class to be un-remarkable, and I'm surprised that for an airline that has earned so many awards, the service and food would be so lack luster. I have long thought that LH seems overrated ... unless you're flying with them in their F cabin.

Thanks for sharing this report.

We fiew TAP economy from Lisbon to Tenerife. Flight was 2 hours 15 minutes and we got snacks (ham, cheese, crackers and fruit,) free wine and great service. No complaints from me!

On the ground in Europe and North America, a great nosh seems to include cheeses, charcuterie and great bread. Fruit and veg. Add wine or beer. This should be the easiest food to pull off on a two hour flight. Should. A sweet treat. Think about the baked cookies and sundaes which have been served for decades on US carriers. Why? Travelers love them and get hangry in their absence.

Yesterday I flew from Marrakech (RAK) to Frankfurt in J in a LH A319. Unlike Lucky's flight, it did not have 34" pitch - maybe 30" tops. At least I could spread my legs, with one under the middle seat, and since I'm pretty skinny, I wasn't bothered by the seat width. They moved the curtain forward, so there were only four rows in J, and it was still only about 2/3rds full.

What is funny (not ha-ha) is that in the LH magazine, flights to RAK are shown on the "long-haul" map, not the Europe map, and this flight is nearly four hours long, but they use the Euro-config 319s and 320s on this route.

Also, after the safety demonstration, the FA told us that due to catering problems, the "normal" food was not available. That we got was basically a couple of pieces of finger food.

This was a much worse experience than you would get in J on a 319/320 in North America. Heck, it was worse than J on a UA E175.

5 star airline!

for anyone who has flown intra europe business many times, which seat is the best in terms of space and legroom? For example, is first row always the best option, is there more leg room, or it doesnt matter, all seats are the same?

I really like your intra-European Lufthansa reviews. Why? Because I don't have to read them. I know exactly what you will write. I call that bias. Being a Lufthansa HON I've done my fair share of intra-European flights and I'd choose Business over Coach every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Just the fact that guaranteed there is nobody sitting next to you is such a big plus that it outweighs the fact that the seats are pretty much the same than in Coach. Having said that: I always try to get seat 01C - since it is slightly offset from the bulkhead wall you got plenty of space in front of you.

What you never mention is quality of service, one of the most important aspects for me on a flight. And Lufthansa staff continuously is performing excellent. They are always friendly, provide great service and there is never a shortage of attention. At least for me, that is. I know that there are a lot of bad comments on Lufthansa Flight Attendants out there. I still have to come across only one of them bad ones. But then: since I board early I can watch other guests get onboard. And I am always astounded by the fact that for many of them words like "Good Morning", "How are you" or even a simple "Thank You" see to be missing from their vocabulary. Not a good basis for an enjoyable time together in a pressurised tube.

Finally: intra-European flying Business Class is the only way to earn HON-Circle Miles. And given that sometimes the surcharge is negligible, it is a good deal to me.

I recently flew from Beirut to Frankfurt in an A321neo and had those exact same thoughts!! Leg room felt much more than the presumed 30 inches (could it be the new seat design), and I was shocked that there was no WiFi on a new plane. Now that I know the reason, I am pretty mad that it’s because of further dense packing of seats. And for those wondering who needs WiFi on a short haul flight, in the absence of any inflight entrainment, what do you want to do for 3-4 hours??

@e30st
This is all third world stuff. The 65 minute hop from Jakarta to Singapore in SIA First Class gets you a proper mini suite and full meal in a wide body.

I have flown with Lufthansa A320 on route MUC - MAD and back. Seats are not the best but catering was very good. We had single tray lunch + hot main course. Food was good for 2 hours flight. There is no pillow or blanket only on requests (they mostly have only pillows). You can get glass of water for pre-departure drink on request. I usually ask for it if I ran to the airplane or if there is hot weather at the departure airport and I get it always. Sometimes from plastic cup and sometimes from proper glass. LH and OS are quiet good on short flights up to 2-2.5 hours. Crew is sometimes huge factor on those flights.

I don’t like flights to North Africa (AMM, CAI) operated by OS and LH because they use A320s. Those flights are up to 4 hours long.

I noticed the NEO seems to have more legroom in the first few rows as well.

As an Istanbul-based traveller who has experienced intra-Europe Lufthansa Business many times, I can comfortably say that I'd much rather fly intra-Europe Turkish Economy rather than Lufhansa Business. The food is terrible and is quite very little, very tight, not remotely comfortable. The lounge is the only nice part of the experience.

Reading an element of the report "2020, what a time to be alive" is fascinating given how close we were to a global life changing event at time of writing. Thanks for the review; I don't feel it's worth the upgrade for such a short flight and Lufthansa's lack of features seems a bit tight.