For the return trip, I was originally booked on a Lufthansa business class routing MXP-MUC-IAD for 75k UA miles. There was first class available on that route (only saw on United for some reason) a few days before the trip, but not on Aeroplan or LifeMiles. Instead, an earlier flight with MXP-FRA-IAD popped up on LifeMiles. With an 15% Amex transfer bonus, this turned into 75k Amex points redemption for LH F on the Queen. Schedule-wise the MUC routing would have been better, but I wasn't willing to pay nearly 35k+ more miles for it. In any case, always happy to fly F on the Queen.
LH247 - Business - Milan → Frankfurt - Airbus A319You are here
LH418 - First - Frankfurt → Washington - Boeing 747-8IComing soon
milan malpensa airport (MXP)
I got to MXP about a little over an hour before departure. It actually took me a while to find the Lufthansa check-in, but once I found it, they processed me quickly and I was on my way to fast track.
I came across this little stand right after security. Anyone know what this is for?
lufthansa lounge (mxp)
I went to the Lufthansa lounge to rest for a bit before my flight, which can be found in Terminal 1.
The Lounge is a long, L-shaped room. There are some tables to your left immediately after check-in, with lockers and the bathroom to the right.
Further into the lounge there are some interesting booth seats along the side.
There was a beverage station in the main room and a visually pleasant bookshelf wall.
A small, but reasonable spread of beverages and food stations:
WiFi in the lounge was okay. In any case, I didn't stay very long in the lounge–just a glass of water and a quick bathroom break.
lh247
My flight to Frankfurt would be on D-AILE, a 26 years-old A319-100. This is definitely one of the older plane that I've flown on recently.
Boarding began at 8:34am CET (on-time) and was complete by 8:54am.
As you can see, we had 4 rows of J on this flight, though it wasn't full.
Not much to say about European J seats–bulkhead would have been nice, but wasn't available when I booked.
I was originally in 2F, but was asked by the gentleman in 2D if I could switch with his wife in 2A. Turns out there was no one in 2C so I lucked out with a row to myself.
WiFi on this flight was 30 minutes of free messaging, 3€ for the whole flight. Alternatively, 5€ for 600 KB/s or 10€ for 15 mb/s.
Just as an aside, I found this amusing onboard sale offering for a bar stand made from a recycled A320.
We pushed back at 9:01am, 4 minutes early, taking off 9 minutes later.
Pretty soon we were flying across the Swiss Alps. Here's the sight of beautiful Lake Maggiore:
Service began 10 minutes after takeoff with a drink service. The meal was prosciutto, cheese, and some yogurt (but I did not partake).
Chocolates were passed around with about 20-25 minutes left in-flight. Coppeneur was unfamiliar to me, but pretty good.
We landed at 10:09 and arrived at Gate A34 (to my disappointment) 8 minutes later. I would have loved for a remote gate arrival so I could get picked up as a connecting first class passenger.
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Verdict
Lufthansa
6.0/10
Cabin6.0
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering6.0
Lufthansa Senator Lounge
7.0/10
Comfort7.0
Meal/catering6.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Services8.0
Milan - MXP
7.0/10
Efficiency6.0
Access6.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness9.0
Frankfurt - FRA
7.1/10
Efficiency5.5
Access7.5
Services6.5
Cleanliness9.0
Conclusion
Lounge: Lufthansa has an alright outstation lounge in Milan. I don't know what it's like when crowded, but for a quiet morning it was a relaxed place to spot by before my flight. It had the key amenities for an airport that Lufthansa only operates short-haul flights from: coffee and food.
Cabin & Seat: As always, there is little to say about European J seats. This is just what you get on European carriers. No bulkhead this time, but got a row to myself.
Service: Service was fine, the FAs did what they were expected to--nothing more, nothing less.
Meal & Catering: I haven't been a big fan of Lufthansa's intra-European J catering on my last few flights. I didn't partake, but what I could see didn't look particularly great.
Bottom Line: It was comfortable and short flight to Lufthansa's main hub at Frankfurt. Nothing much to report on. It's nice to see that Lufthansa operates its own lounge at MXP rather than sending you to a contract lounge, but there isn't anything spectacular (nor do I expect there to be).
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It really is hard to get excited about Euro-biz haha...and LH Group seem to excel at mediocrity (or worse in the case of SN). I don't blame you for skipping the tiny cold meal. I will say again, I'm reasonably happy to be a oneworld loyalist, because for IB and BA do way better in the catering department than most other European carriers on short Euro-biz flights.
Thanks for reading through these, Kevin! The LH Group tends to be what I fly the most in Europe as a Star Alliance guy, but that might be changing next year. The business class across the board (except Swiss or Austrian maybe) is just rather meh. It's quite disappointing given that I love LH F.
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2 Comments
Thanks for sharing!
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