Review : Lufthansa Business Class, Munich-Franckfurt, A321

As part of a “trip” between Paris and Singapore on Lufthansa, I had to make connections in the two hubs of the German airline, Munich (where I could try the First Class lounge in Terminal 2) and Frankfurt, which is the subject of this report.

Before going any further, let’s note the power that the existence of two large hubs on its national soil gives Lufthansa, which allows great flexibility. No more seats on a Paris-Frankfurt or not at a “decent” rate, we’ll go through Munich!

In this article:

Check-in and ground course in Munich
Boarding in Munich
The business class cabin of the Lufthansa A321
The flight and the service
The Lufthansa crew
Arrival and disembarkation in Frankfurt
Bottom line

Check-in and ground course in Munich

Being checked-in since my departure from Paris this point does not desserve comments.

Being in connection on a flight where I was travelling in First Class and the plane at the arrival from Paris being parked at a remote stand I was entitled to a transfer to the First Class Lounge with the Lufthansa Limousine Service by Porsche.

Porsche Lufthansa Limousine Services transfer

As for the lounge experience, it has already been reviewed here.

Then I had to go to my boarding gate from the lounge. The aircraft being in contact, no new transfer in limousine but a little walk in the terminal. Very little walking by the way because the door was close to the lounge and the terminal was rather well designed and easy to experience: impossible to get lost!

In short, nothing to report or tell, proof of a fluid and smooth experience.

Boarding in Munich

We are told that boarding will be delayed by ten minutes: logical, as I arrive at the gate the last passengers of the previous flight are just leaving the plane. Will this make us late? I don’t think so: I’m getting used to Lufthansa’s ability to make ultra-fast boardings and leave on time even when you don’t think it’s possible.

We thus begin to embark with these ten minutes of delay. Everything goes in order with a strict respect of the boarding priorities.

The aircraft is an A321, that’s a lot of people to board in 15 minutes, but I think they can make it.

Surprise when arriving in the jetway: we use two jetways to board this medium-haul single-aisle aircraft: one for the front (business) and one for the back (economy).

Of course, it will go faster this way .

I don’t remember, at least in Europe, any airline using two jetways to board this type of aircraft, a “privilege” reserved for large long-haul aircraft.

If I think about Roissy, I don’t even think that the gates at the 2F are equipped with two jetways, so Air France could not use this “trick”. But on the other hand the old “2F2” was “non schengen” and welcomed long haul flights to Montreal, Mauritius etc (for the ones I remember taking)…so theoretically there must be some gates with two jetways even if I never paid attention. Perhaps the airport operator charges more to use 2 of them if necessary? I wouldn’t be surprised.

In short, if you know Roissy and the 2F well and can share information on this subject you are welcome in the comments of this article.

I arrive in the cabin.

The business class cabin of the Lufthansa A321

I enter the cabin, and there “große surprise”! We are talking about a domestic flight where we will spend about 35 minutes in the air and we have a cabin of …. 10 business class rows!!! Olivier told me that he already had 13 on this same route!

Otherwise nothing new about the seat and the cabin. The grey and blue tones are quite premium and of the best effect, a very pleasant leatherette seat, and a seat model (the NEK) that I always find a little too hard at first contact but which is no worse or better than any other in use.

When you’re used to French domestic lines, it’s still a shock.

For the record, the flight will be full in economy and business.

On the other hand, when you are 1m88 tall, you can thank the designers of the cabin: stretched legs, crossed legs, everything is possible and it is pleasant on a medium-haul plane in Europe.

So it’s time to get going under the beautiful Munich winter sun.

The take-off is as normal as possible and we are in the air for a little less than 40 minutes.

The flight and the service

Although I was in business class, I didn’t expect a very high level of service on this flight, which I would describe as a “shuttle”. To be honest I already took it this summer but after a Beijing-Munich in First Class and a passage in the lounge of the satellite I had fallen asleep immediately and had voluntarily skipped the service, my stomach not being extensible to the infinite.

The service starts quickly and they have to be quick because of the size of the business class cabin. Here is the meal of the day.

Business class meal on Lufthansa medium-haul flight

Let’s take things in order.

The vegetable skewer is delicious with its pesto sauce.

The vegetable wrap is also very good, full of taste, and is very light.

As for the charcuterie (not copious enough for my taste) it is also very good with its mango chutney.

I’m always a little wary of desserts but this one will be light and melt in your mouth. Important when you have several flights and lounges in one day: the quantities may seem small but you can easily find yourself on the verge of exploding, which is not at all comfortable when you travel.

An excellent service that I did not expect on a very short flight like this.

In the end, a light and fresh meal that will leave me an excellent memory.

The trays will be quickly cleared and the descent to Frankfurt will pass without memorable anecdote.

The Lufthansa crew

What to say about such a short flight? And although to serve “properly” in such a short period of time a full cabin without being in a hurry requires a little organization.

Everything was perfect, with a smile and friendliness to boot, proving that even under time pressure you can be friendly, professional and not throw trays in the face of the customer.

Arrival and disembarkation in Frankfurt

After a rather long “cab” sequence which allowed us to admire the architecture of the place, we are going to park at the contact beside an A320 of the house.

I hate disembarking by bus but this time I would not have been against it, which would have allowed me to benefit from the transfer by limousine as in Munich and as we had already had in Frankfurt this summer.

So here I am in the terminal, going to the First Class Terminal to wait for my flight to Singapore. As we have already written, the First Class experience at Lufthansa out of Frankfurt is really designed for the people departing from Frankfurt.

The connecting passenger has access to a classic business/first lounge in hall Z from which my next flight leaves, a lounge that is totally acceptable when flying in business class but disappointing when flying in First Class.

There are real first class lounges but not in Z, so the savvy passenger will remain in the Schengen zone in A where there is a real nice lounge First and will go to the non-Schengen zone at the last moment (this is done in a few seconds, the controls are fast and there is never a queue). But if he doesn’t know, no one will tell him.

And the passenger departing from Frankfurt benefits from the superb First Class Terminal. Here again, the connecting passenger has no information on the subject and if he is lucky enough to be transferred by limousine, he will never be taken there. On the other hand, if his connection is long enough, which is my case, nothing prevents him from going “landside” when leaving the terminal, even if it means going through immigration if he is in a non-Schengen zone and without worrying about his luggage, walk to the First Class Terminal 2 minutes away, return, go through security and experience the full “Lufthansa First Class” experience.

But if he doesn’t know, no one will explain it to him.

The Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt

Bottom line

The main interest of this report, as you understood it, is to show that it is possible to make a “nice” business class service on a 35 minutes domestic flight and, when you have two jetways available, to use the two doors of an A321 to board faster, even on a domestic flight !

Otherwise, as usual, a solid performance by Lufthansa.

For the record, my routing :