Surviving 12 hours in economy with Lufthansa: great service and with the right seat is better than premium
Lately in the comments of my videos and on TFC's social channels, many messages have come in where I get yelled at because [...]
Lufthansa
Star Alliance
MUC
Japan
Learn more from this trip
Lately in the comments of my videos and on TFC's social channels many messages have come in where I get yelled at because I only review business and first class seats. I honestly don't think that's true, but the fact is that reviewing a premium chair is definitely more fun and richer in insights than just any economy chair.
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- A350/900
- Class:
- Economy
- Treat:
- MUC - HND
- Price:
- 560 €
- Book
To make it up to you, I decided to fly to Japan with Lufthansa in economy basic, that is, the lowest fare with the fewest possible benefits. I did this because I wanted to try the company that will soon take over ITA Airways and also make a comparison between the two carriers, since I flew on the same plane, to the same destination with the Italian company last October.
This is not my first flight with LH, but my first post-pandemic flight in economy on long-haul. Last year I had flown Frankfurt to Tokyo in the upper deck of Her Majesty the Queen of the Skies, while in pandemic or near pandemic I had often flown to Europe.
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The ticket
This flight is a paid flight, is a ticket taken in early May to fly to Tokyo and meet Marika. Together we will embark on a super trip aboard Emirates And, to compensate for the many hours in tourism, we will pamper ourselves in all the first classes of the Dubai-based company.
This ticket cost me just under 1,000 euros., 930€ to be exact. A multi-trip itinerary From Malpensa to Munich on board Air Dolomiti., from there to Tokyo Haneda with Lufthansa's A350/900. The return, however, will be with Swiss from Bangkok to Malpensa via Zurich. First leg aboard the 777/300 and second with A220.
Since December I tried Austrian's economy and business, I will thus complete the LH family, also because with Brussels on long haul I don't think I will travel in the future.
At the airport
I arrived late from Milan, but the connection was quite convenient, so no problem with the second flight. Passed passport control, I reached the LH lounges in the H door area., those of non-Schengen direct flights.
Quick stop just to munch something, pop into the bathroom and refill my thermal water bottle while traveling in Echo: better be organized, you'll ever want to die of thirst. The benefit of having Star Alliance gold status allowed me to enter the Senator Lounge. And spoil myself a little bit.
Twenty minutes before the gate opened, I dropped by the Lufthansa service desk to Consider taking a paid upgrade. I wrote a detailed article explaining how upgrades work When flying with a German group company.
Compared to other companies, you can buy class upgrade from Economy to Business without any problem, other carriers, on the other hand, limit the ability to go up only one level.
The asking price was 420€, lower than what was available online until the night before departure. I asked to see what seats were available and since there were only the middle seats, from the middle row, I said no thanks and stayed in my seat in Economy.
On board
Boarding began on time and was via two automatic gates. The first for business class passengers and Gold Star Alliance members and the second, once the first tranche of passengers was completed, for those flying in PE and Economy. No chaos, no gathering, everyone relaxed.
Again, it was good to have the status, because I was able to board first (among those in economy) and sit in my seat.
The configuration of these A350/900s is the standard 3-3-3. LH set them up with 3 cabins: business, premium economy and tourist.
The business is the usual, very sad, cabin configured 2-2-2, the same one found on the fleet's 90%. Waiting for Allegris to arrive, the new era of premium cabins of the German company.
The first thing I did as soon as I arrived at my seat was to ask the flight attendant if seat 28j, the one next to mine, was free, receiving an affirmative answer. This was the best news of the day and the best way to prepare me for takeoff.
Not only did I grab the best seat in the whole plane, but I had no one sitting next to me.
I'm not crazy: an economy is not better than a business seat but since no passenger sitting in business or premium economy by the window has direct access to the aisle, this seat has an advantage that no other passenger (except one) has. This configuration is present on all A350s, including ITA.
Considering that the plane's fill rate was all but full, it was a really nice way to travel for almost 12 hours
My armchair was the 28K, without a doubt the best economy armchair of the whole plane along with 28A on the opposite side.
The configuration of all A350s is identical and this economy seat: is the only window side that allows access to the corridor, and that means getting up when you want to without disturbing anyone and stretching your legs endlessly since you don't have a chair in front of you.
Of course, one has to be willing to give up the IFE screen in the seat, since it comes out of the armrest, and to travel with a slightly smaller coffee table.
Actually there would be the minus of storage as well, but only during takeoff and landing since during the flight you can take your backpack and put it in front of the seat, without disturbing anyone.
Unfortunately, no personal air vents. and I really missed it since I had a neighbor who kept flooding me with his intestinal gases.
Service
If a good day is seen in the morning, Looking forward to the completion of the sale of ITA Airways to Lufthansa and that then the two companies are able to amalgamate by taking the good from both.
The night kit is the economy standard: pillow and cover. All left on the seat without any protection, and I don't like that very much. Okay, there is no plastic, but the seats are not always clean.
The difference with ITA is all in the details, but as always it is the details that make the difference.
First was the announcement by the purser, or cabin manager, who explained the various services on board, while attendants distributed menus and headsets for IFE. The former on ITA is not even given in premium economy, and the headsets on ITA are systematically distributed once the cruise quota is reached, as opposed to On LH everything happens as soon as the signal is given of "boarding complete"
My doorbell challenge has been overcome, as never before today. Not only in the middle of the night did the attendant arrive at my place after 57 seconds, but she came directly with a bottle of water in her hand. Of course, I could have asked for more, but when in doubt she already arrived with an answer to my need, even before my request. TOP.
During the course of the night the crew never stopped by with to offer drinks, but 3 times the toilets were put in order. I have no idea what the standard is, but recently I don't remember such punctual attendance in economy.
Food & Beverage
As mentioned, there is a menu, it is paper and in 3 languages and explains the options available. It's not difficult and it doesn't have to be too expensive either, I really don't understand why there are companies that don't distribute it (or they don't use IFE to give this kind of information).
The service is very quick, about 90 minutes after takeoff the hot drink cart had already passed by, really good.
The choice was between three options and Japanese curry pork did not convince me at all, indeed. Of the whole tray the only thing worth mentioning was the tangerine cupcake. I'm going from memory, but the dish I had. Was the same recipe offered by ITA aboard planes bound for Japan. In this respect ITA wins (at least when considering flights departing from the home airport).
About 90 minutes before arrival, a breakfast/snack is also served. A mozzarella tomato and "pesto type" sandwich, a yogurt and a candy bar. All in a small tray. Again better than ITA handing you a paper bag, or directly a plumcake without a tray
IFE
Let's start with the wi-fi because it is great and with the right packages. The ability to text as well as download mail for only 6 euros for the entire flight is perfect. If you want, there are then two packages To navigate 2 hours or the whole trip.
Navigation is time-based, not band-based. This means that you will be able to do what you need to do without caring of traffic. The price is 15€ for two hours or 25 for the whole trip. The speed is nowhere near what JetBlue and La Compagnie offer, but on the same route ITA Airways' A350 had significantly worse performance and several areas of no coverage.
Coming to the screen, it's not huge or even 4k. It's obviously touch.
My seat had a screen coming out of the armrest, unfortunately a screen that can only be used during the trip not in the landing and takeoff phases, but little bad because I ended up working and watching some content that I had downloaded on my Ipad.
Under the screen is a USB socket and headphone jack: I as usual. I hooked up my adapter and enjoyed my Airpods Max isolating me from the cabin and the several children on board.
The real issue is the interface of the IFE, really not very user friendly to search for something to see. No big icons and only one listing, with no description other than the title.
I was awake all the trip, worked, and watched a couple of movies and an interesting documentary that chronicles the "war" between Boeing and Airbus and especially talks about the 747 and A380.
There was, however, the seagull-view webcam, basically my favorite movie whenever I'm on board an airplane.
In conclusion
I was really satisfied. It had everything I expect from an economy ticket.
Of course, seat choice depends on how far in advance you book and whether you are willing/able to pay the extra of seat choice. In this case categorized as XXL and charged 100€ as an extra, but worth it all.
Pro
- The chair
- The service
Against
- Interface of the IFE