BACKGROUND Lufthansa flies from its northern German hub at Frankfurt to London Heathrow ten times a day (except for Monday with eight flights). My flight, LH4744, departs from Frankfurt T1 at 2135 and arrives in London Heathrow T2 at 2210 local time (-1hr). It is served by a two-class Airbus A320-200, and the official flight time is one hour 35 minutes.
CHECK-IN I’d arrived at Frankfurt as a transit passenger from Tallinn, and what little time there was between flights I spent in Lufthansa’s business class lounge. To read the review of the inbound flight, click here.
THE LOUNGE The Lufthansa business class lounge at Frankfurt is typical of Lufthansa – yellow, grey, brushed aluminium and very functional. Unlike the business class lounge at Munich T2, this one was more enclosed and less relaxed, despite all the people lying around with their shoes off. There was no area specifically aimed at socialising over draft beer, like Munich’s newly opened “biergarten”. Instead, upon entering the lounge, I personally felt as if I was stepping through the doors of an open-plan office, an illusion strengthened by the free-to-use workstations visible behind the reception desk.
The food was identical to that served in Munich – frikadellen (fried meatballs) with potato salad, excellent with a big dollop of mustard. There were also turkey frankfurters, gherkins, and a large wine and beer selection. The draft beer, glass steins and all, tasted great with the frikadellen.
Wifi in the lounge is not free, however as mentioned briefly before, there are four free workstations. These of course were in high demand, the lounge really could have done with a few more. There were however numerous power sockets for laptops.
BOARDING Gate B20, a short walk from the lounge, was called at 2110. I made my way there, and it was about ten minutes before boarding actually started, during which time I read (and threw away) USA Today. There was no priority boarding, but I managed to get to the front of the queue so it didn’t take too long to board. There were two queues to board - one that was staffed and one that allowed passengers to scan their boarding pass themselves. I opted for the latter, the least popular choice it seemed, and this allowed me to jump the queue a little.
THE SEAT By 2130 I was settled in my seat, 7F, a window seat in the second to last row of the business class cabin (rows one to eight). To see the seatplan, click here.
This A320 seemed almost brand new, with a bright, clean interior in pearl white. It was also quiet (relatively) and surprisingly it smelled fresh, like a new car. As on other Lufthansa short haul business class flights, the middle seat in this 3-3 configuration (ABC-DEF) was unsold. Where a passenger would normally sit, was instead an extra table.
The seat itself felt wide thanks to the armrest which had been adjusted, and moved sideways in towards the unsold middle seat. This would not have been the case in economy. The legroom wasn’t generous, but it was ample for a two-hour flight. According to official figures, the business class seats (rows one to eight) have an inch more legroom than in economy. In all other ways bar width, the seats are identical.
WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? All the seats in business class are much the same, so it’s really only down to whether you want a window or aisle seat. I would tend to go for a row towards the front of the cabin, on an earlier Lufthansa flight I was denied a choice of meals because everyone in front of me wanted beef.
THE FLIGHT We pushed off and taxied around for a while, eventually taking off at 2150. Because it was a night-time flight, we were served only a light meal consisting of several small, cold dishes. On one was a cured pork with salsa, another had gravadlax or smoked salmon with a dollop of salad cream, and there was also a greek salad with little pieces of feta. It was all excellent when eaten with the warm rolls on offer. To finish there was a summer fruits pudding with cream.
ARRIVAL We managed to make up quite a lot of time, and landed at 2200 local, ten minutes early which was much appreciated considering I had work the next day. By the time I reached the luggage carousel, it was already running and my suitcase was just about to disappear once again into the depths of Heathrow T2, having already done the first circuit of the belt. It’s the first time I’ve ever had to run to get my suitcase, it was off the plane that quickly. Well done Lufthansa and Heathrow.
VERDICT Despite the late take-off we landed early, meaning I could get home to bed that much sooner.
PRICE A mid-week return in June, from Lufthansa’s website, starts at €750.
CONTACT lufthansa.com
Andrew Gough
