[Anonymous]

[DJ_London]

I am a Global Procurement Manager specialising in Travel. I get to fly on most airlines in all classes and on this trip, I thought I would review the airline I am flying on.

In late November, I was travelling from Hong Kong to Frankfurt in Business Class with Lufthansa. Here are my experiences of their service, safety and comfort onboard my flight.

Lufthansa
Business Class – HKG-FRA
Depart: 13:20
Arrive: 19:00
Flight #: LH739
Seat #: 3A

MARKS OUT OF TEN

Boarding: 9
Welcome at door: 8
Direction to your seat: 2
Cleanliness of seat: 8
Easy to find in-seat: 6
[magazine, safety card, vanity bag]
Comfort of seat: 2
Easy to use seat controls: 8

FOOD
The menu was light and the starter (beef carpatico) was tasty and plentiful. The main (boiled beef with mash potato) was horrid. The mash was wet. For dessert I had the cheeses, which were bland in taste and a simple selection – no thought had gone into it. They old stocked a white Reisling and Chardonnay. NO Sauvignon Blanc

DRINKS SERVICE
The drinks trolley came around before take-off and a further three times after take-off and again with the each starter, main and dessert of the dinner service.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
The cabin crew in J class consisted of four old, aging ladies and one gent. There were no smiles, they were uninterested and seemed to have had their day. I tried speaking to one lady in galley, no effort was made to engage. I asked for the snack menu and was told to wait 20 minutes – I was not sure why!

WOULD I FLY THEM AGAIN
On a shorter long-haul flight yes I would – the service is very basic and the seat is comfortable for a shorter journey. If I was flying overnight on a sector longer than seven hours I could consider flying with another airline.

[Deleted User]

I think you will find that once LH bring out their new longhaul business class seat next year, it will be a case of all change. I used to fly LH business, but the product is in depserate need of renovation/modernisation.

[LuganoPirate]

Apart from the food, the description very much matches my flight FRA-SIN-FRA last June. After that experience I stuck with Swiss.

Will however try LH FRA-CPT in January. I’m in F, the wife in C and kids in Y, so will get to see and (briefly) sample each type of seat! Tempted by the 380, direct flight to CPT and the new seating. Let’s see how the staff measure up?

[Senator]

Hello,

As a loyal LH customer (Senator since 2000) I have over the last three years moved more and more of my business to Swiss.

From my market, Swiss offer excellent fares, product and ZRH is much better than FRA. MUC on the other hand, is a nice experience.

The SEN lounge at ZRH never gets as crowded as the FRA and MUC lounges.

However, I look forward to testing the LH First experience in the new cabin and with the FRA FCT which I have never done. I have been in LH First three times, it was splendid! However, I was upgraded at gate so I did not have a chance to test the overall experience.

[DJ_London]

Thanks for your comments. As it happens, I flew out Swiss to Hong Kong and their service was outstanding compared to Luthansa. The new flat bed product on the fight is comfortable and spacious. The service, which is far more important to me on a long haul flight, was First Class. The cabin crew were engaging and were able to hold a conversation. I felt there were pleased to have me onboard and to serve me, unlike the service on LH… They are now in my view worse than BA!!

[MartynSinclair]

Darren – were you flying Swiss Business or First – outbound? Interested to hear that Swiss are using flat beds (not angled), if its in business. Look forward to hearing. Many thanks

[DJ_London]

MartynSinclair – I was flying LHR-ZRH-HKG / HKG-FRA-LHR. Swiss’ new business class product is now on this flight, as of 1 October. The seat is fully flat.

[MartynSinclair]

wonderful. Are you able to compare to the other fully flat offerings such as British Airways and Finnair. And are all Swiss busienss seats fully flat.

[Senator]

Martyn,

Swiss has replaced older A330-200s with new A330-300s with new business and First. They are also in the process of updating the A340-300s with the new business. Latest I heard, all of these should be retro-fitted by summer 2011.

I like the new Swiss business and First very much. The one drawback I found in the new business is that you slide your feet under the seat in front. This gives a bit of a cocoon like feeling, and given my 192cm and 100kg frame slightly “trapped” feeling. However, given the staggard 1-2-2, 1-2-1, 2-2-1 layout of the cabin, staff informed to look for single seats where you slide under the storage area of the seat in front, not the actually seat itself. The BACW feels more open as the space around you is unrestricted, but I find the seat more “wobbly” for my large frame.

The new LX First; nothing but praise from check-in to arrival. I have been escorted through JFK and been out 10min after landing with carry-on only. Brilliant, absolutly brilliant.

By the way, the newest Finnair business is the same seat as Swiss.

[DJ_London]

I have flown all three airline’s business class.

British Airways is far more superior to Finnair or Swiss. The BA seat is both spacious and comfortable and when flat, you feel you are fully flat! Furthermore, the surroundings are nicer and the TV’s are bigger… It is a shame you have to jump over your neighbour to get out of the window seats, but because bed is low, it is not a big deal for those will long legs. There are also seats in each cabin section with direct access from window to aisle.

Finnair follows with the next best seat. It is very similar to Swiss. However, it felt more comfortable, though it is very narrow. I also found Finnair to offer superior food and my flight (HEL-NRT) served up some tasty and very filling food…

The Swiss seat, unfortunately, falls way behind BA in terms of space and comfort and is third to Finnair. Thought similar (if not the same as Finnair) the area around your feet when fully-flat is tiny. It is hard to move around if you are tall. The single seats (J, K) offer the least space. Service is however the best and the food was not bad either.

Sincere service delivered with a smile goes a long way. It is easy for humans to seek out those who are more genuine than others. Swiss delivers great service !!

[MartynSinclair]

so for those in search of “flatness” there are now 3 offerings: BA, Finnair and Swiss. ANy others??

[LuganoPirate]

I flew the new A330 with Swiss from New York in First. The seat is far more comfortable and is fully flat compared to that on the A 340. I actually managed to sleep from just after t/o to 30 minutes before landing at Zurich.

The “Maitre de cabine” mentioned they would start to fit the new seating in the A340 from March but I don’t know how correct that is. A Swiss captain I know quite well said he had heard rumours but nothing substantive just yet.

I’m flying JNB – ZRH on Sunday, so I will try and see if anyone knows some more.

[KSHaggag]

Gentlemen !

LH has NOT YET got it right when it comes to longhaul Business Class ..either inflight or even their relatively poor lounges !!!!!!!!!!!..even the renewed ones like Tower Lounge ,etc…………..I do enjoy flying LH only when it is in First ..nice lounges and good onboard product ,otherwise ,Swiss beats it by far ..head and shoulders above the pack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…………….

[LuganoPirate]

Anyone flown C on the LH A380? Curious if it is an improvement on the B747 seating. I’m flying with them to Cape Town in early January. My kids have just asked what Y is like? Any comments welcome.

[Author]

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