Lufthansa German Airlines has succeeded over British Airways to become Europe’s largest carrier. With a range of innovations in the field of e-solutions, Lufthansa also seeks to be the most modern airline worldwide. Here comes a complete check of the product and service quality of Lufthansa.
- INTERCONTINENTAL FLIGHTS
Lufthansa operate an longhaul fleet of Boeing 747s and Airbus 340s. Their intercontinental network totals direct flights to 71 destinations, including 17 in North America, 7 in South America, 18 in Asia, 18 in the Middle East and 11 in Africa.
1.1. ECONOMY CLASS / INTERCONTINENTAL
Lufthansa’s longhaul Economy Class was completely revamped in 1999, but is till only average. There is no inseat video like on most Asian airlines. Video only comes in the form of large cinema screens without individual programming. The seats are rather comfortable though, and the leg room is above the industry standard.
Depending on the length of the flight, two or three meals are served (hot meal, movie snack, breakfast). Economy meals aren’t gourmet food on any airline, but on Lufthansa’s longhaul flights they are quite eatable. And if you don’t want to go with the standard two meat and one fish options, you can pre-order around 30 special options, ranging from vegetarian (Asian or western), vegan, low protein or diabetic to Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim or kosher.
1.2. BUSINESS CLASS / INTERCONTINENTAL
Lufthansa’s intercontinental Business Class offers state-of-the-art seats with everything from 12 channel inseat video (10 inch screen) to laptop power. The seat can be set with five functions, adjusting anything from headrest to lumbar support.
Business Class meals have been a particular strength of Lufthansa since the introduction of the ’’Star Chefs’’ concept on longhaul flights some years ago. The meals are created by famous German and European chefs and come with a wide range of starters, salads, side dishes and desserts. In this category, Lufthansa is only second to Lauda Air.
At many airports, Lufthansa offers an arrival service for Business passengers, including a shower and a breakfast in the lounge.
1.3. FIRST CLASS
With only 8 to 16 seats on the upper deck, Lufthansa’s First Class is the climax of exclusivity and luxury. I have had the pleasure twice and had the two best flights of my life.
The top ten international airlines have all introduced fully convertible seats which can be turned into flat beds, and so has Lufthansa. Lufthansa’s appear to be among the industry’s widest. In addition to all possible kinds of seat adjustments, inseat video, etc., the seat/bed includes a personal video player with a 14 inch screen, and you can select movies from the onboard videotheque.
The food is excellent! It usually starts with the highest quality of Caviar from the Caspian Sea. You can then choose between five different meals, and decide yourself when you want to be served. Except for the grilled meat option, they are all excellent. The wines in First Class are just fantastic! If you go through the whole meal and arrival breakfast on a seven hours flight from Boston to Frankfurt like I did, you only have three hours left to sleep (or watch videos). But you can get some sleep in the sleeping room of the Senator lounge, or have a refreshing shower there.
- EUROPEAN & DOMESTIC FLIGHTS
Lufthansa serves over 320 destinations in Europe by itself, and another 200 in co-operation with its European Star Alliance partners British Midland, SAS and Austrian Airlines, and its Team Lufthansa franchises. The continental fleet consists of Airbus 319/320/321 single aisle, Airbus 300/310 widebody and Boeing 737-300/500 aircraft.
The seat pitch is quite comfortable and the seats are real leather. Seats are configured 3 - 3 on single aisle planes and 2 - 4 - 2 on widebodies. On non-domestic flights, business class seats are converted to provide more space in 2 - 3 and 2 - 3 - 2 configurations respectively. There is no in-flight entertainment at all, neither audio nor video, onboard Lufthansa’s European fleet.
In-flight catering is a real shame on Lufthansa’s continental flights, both in Economy and Business, and very much in contrast to the good meals on longhaul flights. On domestic flights, there are NO meals in Economy flights and in Business you only get a small role with ham or cheese. Meals on non-domestic flights differ with length of the flight. On flights below two hours, Economy passengers get served a role, Business passengers get a full, yet cold meal. On flights over two hours, hot meals are served in both classes. I have found some of business meals so bad that I had to return them and opt for the economy meal instead.
- CABIN CREW
It has been said that Lufthansa staff have an attitude problem, and I would probably agree with that. A smile and some basic friendliness and attention are sometimes not included in the price. The service quality depends very much on whether or not your stewardess has ’’a good day’’. Some of Lufthansa’s staff can be quite arrogant, as if they were the ones who paid for the flight. But I have also found extremely friendly and helpful cabin crew and ground staff. I believe I am right to demand from professionals that they leave their personal problems and attitudes at home when they deal with customers. With Lufthansa, you can’t take that for granted.
- DELAYS, BAGGAGE HANDLING & COMPENSATIONS
Lufthansa has heavily invested into reducing flight delays. Recent measures include a new punctuality control centre and eight stand-by aircraft at Frankfurt and Munich hubs. In 2000, Lufthansa ranked first among the AEA’s (Association of European Airlines) punctuality table. If, however, you do get delayed and miss your connecting flight, Lufthansa is extremely generous with compensations.
I have never lost my luggage with Lufthansa, but twice my luggage missed the tight connection, only to arrive a day later. In this case, Lufthansa pays 100% of your expenses for toiletry and 50% of any cloth you may want to buy. You can also chose to return the purchased cloth to Lufthansa for full reimbursement.
5 PRICES
Lufthansa’s European Business fares are the same as everyone’s, but they often have Business Specials at around 80% of the regular price. As for economy tickets, Lufthansa usually can’t beat the dumping prices offered by KLM or Sabena, let alone the no frills carriers. Don’t book Economy Class directly with Lufthansa, the specials offered by travel agents are usually far below Lufthansa’s own specials.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is an edited and condensed version of a far more detailed review which I have published at another website. Should Mouthshut modify its Terms & Conditions to better respect copyrights to authors, I will be pleased to publish the article in full length.