After a delightful stay in the First Class Terminal, it was time for the next leg of my journey, a Lufthansa A321-100 from Frankfurt to Munich in business class. Although the flight is short and the seat is anything but comfortable, I appreciate the soft product and extra space in European business class on short flights.
Lufthansa A321-100 Business Class Review
Since we were leaving from the First Class Terminal, we were driven to our aircraft, which was parked in the A gate area.
From the tarmac, we were led inside and up an elevator to the jetbridge, where we joined the boarding queue (and were amongst the final passengers to board).
Lufthansa 098
Frankfurt (FRA) – Munich (MUC)
Wednesday, August 3
Depart: 9:15 AM
Arrive: 10:10 AM
Duration: 0hr, 55min
Distance: 186 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Seat: 2D (Business Class)
Onboard, the purser greeted me by wishing me a happy birthday and shortly presented me with a cute little birthday card (a kid’s coloring book with a nice note on it).
Seat
The business class seat on a Lufthansa A321 is no different than the coach seats in terms of padding and comfort. In row two, a bulkhead on the starboard side, there is a bit of extra legroom. The key difference between economy class and business class is that the middle seat is blocked, giving you a bit more space.
In these bulkhead rows, tray tables are attached to the wall and slide out.
Many see no value in this type of cabin, but I do…coach is tight, and having the middle seat open makes a big difference.
Food + Drink
Shortly after takeoff, a light lunch was served. No menu was provided, but the meal included a sandwich and an apple. The sandwich included some sort of fish (I really could not identify it) with quark and dill. I love German Volkornbrot (whole grain brown bread) and nibbled at the sandwich even though I had eaten a large meal in the First Class Terminal.
I love that Lufthansa offers fresh-squeezed orange juice business class on morning flights.
Wi-Fi + IFE
Wi-fi was not available on this flight – Lufthansa is working to offer wi-fi on its narrowbody fleet, but it was not available on this aircraft. No power ports either or IFE of any kind.
Still, it’s always fun to look out the window in Frankfurt and Munich:
Lavatory
I used the lavatory prior to landing, which was tight and offered no additional amenities, but was clean.
CONCLUSION
It was a 186-mile flight…not sure what more I could expect. The service was friendly, the sandwich satisfactory, and the flight very quick. While the intra-Europe business class may not be much of an upgrade in terms of seating, I still appreciate the extra space and light meal.
What would Greta say about this 186 mile flight?
My entourage took a boat.
hahahahaha
“In these bulkhead rows, tray tables are attached to the wall and slide out.”
Except for the aisle seats?
OMG the sandwich. Not so long ago they offered far more than that in economy on German domestic services. How the mighty have fallen and are now treating their customers with contempt and as for the apples…
You are correct that sandwiches like this were the free meal in regional economy for years (probably decades).
In fairness to LH, quality has varied over the years:
https://liveandletsfly.com/lufthansa-domestic-business-class-meal/
When you realize DL and UA mainline, and even their regional partners, have better F seats than 6-star airline Lufthansa
LH business is simply not worth the upgrade on short haul. You get more or less the same in the front econo cabin. LH is now charging for seat selection ($12 for regular $18 US for “premium” even though I booked full fare econo on AC Upgraded on the YYC-FRA leg) and despite the fact I am SE MM+ (3MM)! AC was also surprised.
Depends on the cost- quite often the difference is only €50-60 extra per direction (two segments AAA-FRA/MUC-BBB) and the upgrade changes the luggage allowance from zero pieces to 2 (3 if you are *G) and, depending on frequent flyer programme, may also include a bunch of additional miles. It undoubtedly is worth it for non-status pax who also get priority check in, lounge access etc, but even as a *G who is no fan of the product, or even the airline, I find myself flying up front more often than not.
Huh? So which is it? Confusing.
“…the seat is anything but comfortable…” but you go on to say how much you “…appreciate the soft product…”
“Anything but” is used for emphasizing that a particular word does not describe someone or something, because the opposite is true.
Soft product means the service and food.
I’ve flown this version of business class on flights from Munich or Frankfurt to Cairo and find the seats uncomfortable on a 4 hour flight. They used to have the true business class with the flat bed seats. I find it disappointing. They used to be one of the top European airlines…I hope they can turn things around.
Flat beds on a narrow body? Or did they used to fly wide body planes to Cairo?
At Lufthansa as far as customer service is concerned, the only way is down!
According color could be smoked herring probably
Its all awful. Starting with that phony birthday card. Cringe. The gross Sandwich. The seat. No wifi. No outlets. Its low cost all the way but no professional low cost like Easyjet or Southwest