When you think of airlines that offer a world class experience, carriers like Qatar Airways or Singapore Airlines might come to mind. It’s very rare for a small airline to really go above and beyond to offer a massively differentiated experience.
A while back, I wrote about how an airline was promoting what sounded like a very impressive product, but I wondered if it was really as great as it sounded. Well, a reader has kindly shared his experience on this flight, which I’d like to cover in this post (it’s not often I have guest quasi trip reports, but I can’t help but share this!).
In this post:
Luxair’s fascinating route from Luxembourg to Dubai
Luxair is the small national airline of Luxembourg, and the airline primarily operates regional flights within Europe. The airline also operates a seasonal flight between Luxembourg (LUX) and Dubai World Central (DWC).
The airline operates this flight with a Boeing 737 MAX, and specifically, one that has “proper” recliner seats. To be clear, Luxair doesn’t have flat beds, but at least it’s not operating this route with a plane that just has the standard intra-Europe business class.
A couple of months ago, I shared how Luxair was promoting its business class soft product on this flight, including a partnership with a celebrity chef, caviar service, and more. This made me very interested to try this route, though I haven’t had the chance to do so yet.
Is it really as good as it sounds, though? After all, lots of airlines promote partnerships with celebrity chefs, and can take really good professional pictures of what the airline food theoretically looks like.
Well, OMAAT reader Nico kindly shared his experience taking this flight, which I’ll post in full below (I won’t put quotation marks around it or indent it, but instead, the entire section below is from Nico). Wait until you read about this!
What’s business class like from Luxembourg to Dubai?
We took LG 9009 from LUX to DWC on December 6th.
It’s worth noticing, that after 20+ flights with Luxair, this flight was possibly the first one where priority boarding was actually enforced. Boarding started a little over 30 minutes before departure – and it was luckily one of the rare occasions of boarding via a jet bridge at LUX.
Regarding the hard product, there’s not much to say: decent recliner seats with ample of legroom and recline.
While an extraordinarily soft and plush blanket and amenity kit containing all the essentials (far superior to what LH provides nowadays in long haul business class) were waiting on our seats, just a very flimsy pillow comparable to those usually provided in long haul economy class of legacy carriers was provided.
After settling in, we were provided a choice of water, orange juice, or Rosé sparkling wine (I loved that the FA pointed out the fact that they have Alice Hartmann Brut Rosé on offer today while providing the welcome drink, rather than just “sparkling wine”).
We took off pretty much on time and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise over the Alps.
About an hour after departure, the crew handed out the first menu of the flight, containing just the first service of the flight, a continental breakfast, which was served shortly after.
They also had an adapted beverage menu for the breakfast service, containing espresso and (instant) cappuccino (which I had).
Minutes after the breakfast service, we were provided crackers. The crew did constant refills on the drinks throughout the entire flight.
Slightly less than two hours after the breakfast service, we were provided the second menu (main lunch service) and the wine list.
I loved the fact that they had some local wines on offer, and especially some options that felt upscale compared to what legacy carriers offer in business class nowadays. The only option that you could choose regarding the meal was the main course (beef or vegetarian option), leaving you with the caviar and seafood starter even when you opt for the “vegetarian alternative” – so one should definitely order a special meal if an all vegetarian meal is preferred.
After that, another aperitif was served, along with some nuts.
Then the main event was served, starters and main came on one tray.
The first starter featured the advertised generous serving of caviar.
While the truffle was pretty dominant in taste, the beef and jus of the main course were superb. Below is what the vegetarian option looked like.
Last but not least, we were served dessert – and of course some more drinks.
Before preparing the cabin for arrival, the purser came around to genuinely ask for and take note of feedback of the business class passengers regarding the service on our flight. Speaking of the crew, the purser and one additional flight attendant were working exclusively in business class. The service was professional, warm and pretty personal, with the decent crew to passenger ratio.
Arrival procedures were straightforward, with Smart Gates available for eligible passports. Luxair really tries to stand out with an unique soft product on the DWC flights. The quality and quantity of food provided on this 6.5 hour flight was no comparison to what competitors offer on similar routes. I’d actually prefer them over a generic lie-flat seat of another airline on routes like that.
Bottom line
In a world where so many airlines go for “good enough,” I really am amazed by Luxair’s soft product on its seasonal route to Dubai. Quite honestly, I can’t think of another business class soft product that exceeds what I’d expect to such an extent, as I would’ve never expected the experience to be this impressive. Kudos to Luxair, and I’ve gotta give this route a try!
What do you make of Luxair’s business class on the Dubai route?
Eh, I could care less about the service and food on an airplane, it looks nice, but still is airplane food.
On a 7+ hour flight, the hard product is the big differentiator for business class and generic recliners do not cut it.
Not a fan of caviar personally. Don't think I would fly this.
Thanks for sharing! That really is some of the nicest airplane food I've ever seen. Standouts for me include the viennoiseries, bread rolls, cheese course, caviar, and dessert(s). This really does look like food you would find in a highly regarded restaurant or bakery. Feels like there could be some small improvements made to presentation, stemware, and amenities (such as a better pillow).
Was there any IFE?
The food looks fantastic, hard product less so. This is exactly why I say that I prefer euro-J over american-F - the seat provides zero privacy, you're cramped right next to your seatmate with what, 10 cm separation? You don't even get separate armrests between you and need to share. Very little storage told, except under the seat in front of you (impractical with that kind of a legroom, you can't get anything out of...
The food looks fantastic, hard product less so. This is exactly why I say that I prefer euro-J over american-F - the seat provides zero privacy, you're cramped right next to your seatmate with what, 10 cm separation? You don't even get separate armrests between you and need to share. Very little storage told, except under the seat in front of you (impractical with that kind of a legroom, you can't get anything out of your bag while wearing seatbelt etc). The legroom is nice but that's the end of it imho.
I imagine the fantastic soft product can make up for the seat if you're travelling with someone else, but I wouldn't book this when travelling solo. The lack of privacy makes it unsuitable for longhaul J imho.
Nico’s a natural! OMAAT should hire him as a special correspondent
It looks like Meghan Markle, pardon me, Sussex, may have contributed to the food styling, due to all these flower sprinkles.
But seriously, the offerings look very pretty, portions are generous, and sound like are tasty too. I guess this may be the most what FAS can squeeze technically from their working space due to the objective limitations.
Is it just me or the reader is drinking coke with Champagne?
No, the champagne was served in a glass with a short stem. The coke (or is it iced tea?) is a standard glass.
Wow! For such a lame seat (recliner), they really do over-perform on food. That caviar was nearly EK First-level. Epic. (Though, all of this is completely unnecessary for most folks.)