The old Lufthansa business class on their iconic 747-400 is the first business class I can remember flying. I was 13 years old at the time, flying with my father and 10 year old brother between Frankfurt and New York. Good times…
When I had the chance to try this long awaited cabin improvement, although it’s not exactly new anymore, I was thrilled to experience what Lufthansa had to offer.
Lufthansa Flight 639
Dubai (DXB) to Munich (MUC)
23 December 2015
Depart: 9:40AM
Arrive: 1:30PM
Duration: 6hr50min
Aircraft: Airbus A340-600
Seat: 11K (Business Class)
Airport
Lufthansa operates out of Terminal 2 at DXB, and I arrived around 7:40am for my 9:20am flight.
After clearing security and visiting the Senator lounge (I know, I was surprised Lufthansa had their own lounge in Dubai too), I hurried to the gate to be the first to board so that I could record the cabin while it was in its best condition.
Boarding
I was quick to board, which allowed me to snap these awesome pictures with no one else in sight!
The business class cabin itself is in a not-too-groundbreaking 2-2-2 configuration. However, the business class cabin was only about 50% full so while three of six seats in my row (row 11) were taken, no one was seated next to me – SCORE! If traveling with someone you know, this configuration shouldn’t be a problem, but I’m excited to see what Lufthansa can do for their even newer business class on the 777X.
As soon as I sat down, the flight attendant serving my aisle came by and welcomed me onboard, asking what he could get me to drink. I asked for the magic OJ from my outbound flight, but apparently it was not available. Sadly, I had to settle for normal OJ or champagne 😉
Waiting at my seat was an amenity kit, a colorful pillow and a blanket. I appreciated the quality of the blanket, and ended up wrapping my legs in it for most of the flight. The Reisenthel amenity kit was also great, and contained an eye mask, socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste, lip balm and body lotion.
The headphones are Lufthansa branded Bose QC3s, which are connected and stored in a small compartment to the right of the seat, in my case. After trying the QC3s on this flight I decided to replace my “old” QC25s with a pair of these – they were that good!
Kudos to Lufthansa for providing business class passengers with amazing audio.
The seat was comfortable with ample legroom. I was impressed by the amount of storage areas on this seat, which I can’t say for all other seats in a similar 2-2-2 layout. There was a large storage area by the footrest containing the amenity kit and a water bottle.
The menu indicated that I’d be served a small snack after takeoff, and a hot meal before landing. This was the first time I’d seen a meal service in that order, and I know Ben was new to the idea until recently as well.
Boarding took quite a while. Then, without much warning, we began pushback and the safety video started to play.
The sun was shining as we taxied across the airport toward the runway. There’s nowhere like Dubai if you’re an A380 fan! The city stretches around the airport, so regardless of the side you’re seated on, you’ll have some spectacular views when departing to the northwest.
After takeoff, we turned right and flew up the UAE coast toward northern Oman and then Iran.
Soon the FA serving my aisle came by to offer hot towels and beverages in preparation for the meal service.
I took the opportunity to browse the entertainment system, which was the same as on my outbound flight. A little note to future LH flyers: the remote is touchscreen, even though it doesn’t look like it. That took me a good 10 minutes to figure out!
Since I had already exhausted all but one episode of Parks and Recreation on my previous flight, I decided to get some work done, but not before listening to the Tim Ferriss podcast for a while (I highly recommend it), and watching the last episode of course.
Before I knew it breakfast the snack was served. It was basic, but tasty, consisting of a few sandwiches, with some fresh fruit, vegetables and passionfruit juice.
Service from the male flight attendant serving my aisle was extraordinary throughout the flight. He saw me recording and helped me out, joking with me and clearly making an effort to pamper me (and everyone around me).
After the meal we spoke for a while, and I’m devastated I didn’t get his name because he was truly the best flight attendant I’ve ever had (to date).
Since this was a six and a half hour daytime flight, I worked by preparing a few college essays (aka was “forcefully” fed champagne and chocolate by the FA who insisted I have more because “oh no what a tragedy it would be to throw away such good champagne”) all the way to Munich. Anyone who is familiar with my videos knows how much good service can impact my perception of a flight and this was an A+.
In the end, a genuine smile and concern go a long way for me.
Lufthansa has Wi-Fi available for purchase for as little as €12 for 24 hours. The speeds are usually good and great for working…
I tried reclining the seat even though I had no plans on sleeping. The foot space was larger than I’d expected, and I suddenly wished my flight had been a 12 hour redeye because the bed was temping me to doze off. There was also quite good privacy when reclined.
About two hours from Munich the real lunch service began. For the appetizer I chose the Arabic Mezze, which was rather soggy, but tasted good.
For the main course I choose the rubber chicken tandoori. This course was a little disappointing.
Lastly, “my” FA served me all the desserts so I could get them on camera – they were all pretty yummy.
Although the appetizer was fine and the dessert was enjoyable, the food ended up being the only disappointing aspect of this flight.
Soon enough we began our descent and I was bummed to say goodbye to the crew.
The sun followed us the entire way from Dubai, and we touched down at MUC a couple of minutes ahead of schedule.
I asked if I could get a photo with the entire crew after landing, to which they gladly agreed.
After that, I left the beautiful A340-600 and made my way toward immigration and the lounge, where I showered and enjoyed a few Christmas snacks.
Here’s my video review of the flight:
Bottom Line
I’m not sure whether or not my experience with the food was out of the ordinary, but it ended up being the only aspect of the product that wasn’t incredible. As I said, the service blew me away, as did the headphones, Wi-Fi-pricing and the overall comfort of the seat.
I look forward to seeing Lufthansa introduce their new business class in a few years. Hopefully, we see direct aisle access from every seat this time around. Until then, I would recommend you try Lufthansa if you want a fantastic soft product and a good, fully flat seat, especially if you’re flying together with someone else. I’m really excited to try their new A350, which is being delivered later in the year.
Have you flown Lufthansa product business class? If so, was your experience similar or different to mine? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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