Review of Lufthansa flight Munich Toronto in First

Airline Lufthansa
Flight LH494
Class First
Seat 1A
Aircraft Airbus A330-300
Flight time 08:50
Take-off 30 Mar 16, 16:05
Arrival at 30 Mar 16, 18:55
LH   #64 out of 95 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 1589 reviews
hometoyyz
By 4480
Published on 10th May 2016
Welcome to the conclusion of this Around the World in (mostly, due to irrops) First Class Seat 1A RTW.

As much fun — if at times stressful — as this has been, I’m excited to be heading home, and for this last flight in the series, for a number of reasons. We’ll get to that in a second. But first, the rundown:

UA6127 YYZ-IAD 3/28/2016 - http://flight-report.com/en/report-13714.html
NH1 IAD-NRT 3/28/2016 - http://flight-report.com/en/report-13739.html
NH805 NRT-BKK 3/29/2016 - http://flight-report.com/en/report-13913.html
TG924 BKK-MUC 3/30/2016 - http://flight-report.com/en/report/13926/
LH494 MUC-YYZ 3/30/2016 - You are here

Lufthansa First holds a special place in my heart. It was my first international First Class experience — my first two actually, an old-style A340-600 on YYZ-FRA, followed by the fantastic bed-and-seat 747-400 configuration on FRA-BKK afterwards. But this will be my first time flying LH F to or from Munich. I’m interested to see how the experience holds up, although I suspect no matter how good the lounge is, it won’t come close to the awesomeness that is the Lufthansa First Class Terminal experience in Frankfurt.

It’s also my first time on the “new” First Class product on anything but the 747-400, from which it has sadly since been ripped out.

At present, this is the only Star Alliance flight with international First service to or from YYZ. I really miss that YYZ-FRA 747. Availability was almost guaranteed to pop up 14 days out.

But I think I know why they’ve pulled it from the 747 in general, and from the YYZ-FRA route in particular. There just aren’t that many routes that have real, legitimate international F demand anymore. And YYZ-Anywhere is not one of those routes. In fact, this flight would remain showing seven available F seats from the moment I booked until my arrival in Munich the morning of the flight and beyond.

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While this means LH is probably taking a bath on providing F service on this route most days, or at the very least losing revenues on seats it could be selling in Business, PE, or Economy, this raises the very exciting (to me) possibility of having the First Class cabin all to myself. Of course, it’s far from guaranteed — I know LH does offer sell-up to First, and may even upgrade a top-tier flyer or two for goodwill. However, with the flight showing C9 hours out, it seems unlikely there will be a lot of purposes for opups on this flight, so I’m interested to see if I am, in fact, alone in First on this flight.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? When last we saw each other, I had just arrived into Munich and cleared transit security.

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And since my ongoing flight is with Lufthansa, that means that it’s about time to find out what the LH First Class Lounge in MUC is all about.

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It’s not hard to find, fortunately.

I was shown in, and given a friendly welcome to the lounge. After confirming it was my first time joining them, the lounge agent gave me a brief rundown of the facility — showers are available, help yourself, there’s a cigar lounge, and a dining room. My passport had to be surrendered to an immigration officer in the lounge for reasons I’m not entirely clear on, since the lounge is in the non-Schengen portion of the airport. But whatever. That was taken care of quickly. Because I was in so early, and after such a long flight, the agent pointed out that there are a couple of rest rooms in which to sleep, should I be so inclined. My TG-issued boarding pass was, of course, replaced by a proper LH F boarding pass complete with its signature red and silver jacket. So fancy.

Thoroughly briefed, I entered the lounge. The FCL in MUC is not a very large facility, but quite nicely appointed. The “main seating area” is just one long corridor with comfy seats. There was a disappointing shortage of power outlets, though.

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For those who want to plug in, there are a number of nice, very private business cubicles available.

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The aforementioned cigar lounge. I did not partake.

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I decide to skip food, having just eaten on the plane, and make a shower a priority. There’s a shower attendant who takes down your details, and then off you go. She came across as very gruff, a stark contrast to the otherwise impeccable service in the FCL.

The shower suite is a decent size, and nicely appointed. Similar to the FCT in Frankfurt. The shower was good and hot, with decent water pressure. No complaints.

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Outside the shower area there’s a showcase of the various FCL duckies on offer, but with Ms. Permafrown manning the desk, I did not feel compelled to see if there was a ducky on offer for me to take home to the kids. Yeah… the kids. That’s right.

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Despite having slept pretty well on the flight up from Bangkok, I feel like a nap is in order here, so I request one of the sleeper rooms, to which I’m escorted with a smile. The room is basic, but darkens up nicely, and the bed, comforter, and pillow are quite nice.

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I liked that there was a choice of still or sparkling water in the room, as well as a decent sleep mask, ear plugs, and other amenities.

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With the lights out, the room was very dark, and reasonably quiet, aside from the high-heeled steps of the lounge attendants on occasion. I got a decent nap in, and also spent a couple of hours relaxing and working, since there was a power outlet and it was a nice quiet place.

Having emerged from my slumber quite well-rested, I decide to check out some lunch. There’s a restaurant area in the lounge, and a menu for table service as well as a small buffet, and a bar area.



The lunch and dinner menu today. (In hindsight, I really should have stopped by and at least checked out the breakfast menu.)

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I request the Munich sausage — when in Rome, I suppose — and the waiter suggests a nice Munich beer to accompany it. Who am I to deny logic like that?

The sausage isn’t the best thing I’ve ever eaten — I probably would have preferred the fried sausage to this… boiled?… poached?…. presentation. But the mustard was tasty and the pretzel was good. And I was still pretty full. Although the second beer did go down just as well as the first.

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There were a few people in the lounge when I first showed up, but when I emerged from the sleep room, it was all but empty. It filled in a little bit in the early afternoon, but remained pretty sparsely attended.

All in all, I found the FCL in Munich solid, but it didn’t blow me away. It feels like it lacks that certain “X” factor or signature service that many top First Class lounges offer. The catering felt a step down from the FCT in Frankfurt, and it lacks the FCT’s signature car ride to your flight (unless, apparently, you’re departing from a remote gate…). I enjoyed it, but I don’t feel the need to maximize my stay, in the way I would with Thai in BKK, or Lufthansa in FRA, or Singapore at SIN. That said, I found the lounge very good, and definitely a better experience than ANA at NRT. So it’s not that I’m tough on it.

About ten minutes before boarding time, I head out. On my way out, I collect my passport and the agent checks my departure gate hasn’t changed. It hasn’t. “It’s not a long walk. Maybe three minutes,” she says.

Maybe three minutes if I had been dead for a week. It was literally a matter of walking a few steps, turning left down the first hallway, and then walking the “depth” of the lounge, and hey look, there’s our boarding gate!

I only have to mill around the boarding area for a few minutes before priority boarding is called. It seems odd that there’s no specific First Class boarding call, just a general call for all priority passengers.

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Nevertheless, I’m quickly scanned through and shown towards my ride home. A first good look at my chariot.

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Flight: LH494
From: Munich (MUC)
To: Toronto Pearson (YYZ)
Date: 3/30/2016
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Registration: D-AIKG
Seat: 1A
ATD (STD): 16:06 (15:50)
ATA (STA): 18:57 (18:50)

Those first few windows? All mine for the next eight hours or so. So looking forward to this.

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At the door, I’m greeted by Andrea, one of the flight attendants who’ll be working First for this flight. She greets me by name, and says they’ve been expecting me. She shows me to my seat in 1A, confirms that I’ll be alone in First today, and suggests that I can pretty much eat whatever I’d like, whenever I’d like it. She asks if I’d like anything to drink before departure, and I, of course, choose some champagne.

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Quickly, the senior purser on board stops by to say hello and welcome me on board. She asks about my trip, and when I tell her I’ve just arrived from Bangkok this morning, she quizzes me a bit on what the TG First Class experience was like. Shortly after her, Olga, the flight attendant who was working the front galley, stops by to introduce herself, and hands over the menu for the flight. While the other two flight attendants thus far have commented on how fortunate I am to be alone in First, Olga goes the other way, joking that I’m going to be so sick of all the people attending to my every need, whether it’s needed or not. They’re both kinda right, actually.

While it was a little awkward being constantly checked on by a handful of flight attendants throughout the flight, the service was generally excellent. I found the crew friendly (in that not-exactly-warmly-outgoing German way), proactive, and very pleasant. It goes smoothly, except for one small thing.

Shortly after the rest of the flight attendants introduced themselves, another one stopped by and introduced herself, then said “I’m going to be quite frank…. are you well?” It seems that being a little bit socially awkward, and finding it more awkward still to have people non-stop hovering over me since I boarded, I had a little bit of sweat on my brow. That, combined with the fact that I was coming in from Bangkok, had this one thinking that I was suffering from some tropical malady, it sounded like. Of course, the question made me squirm a little bit more in my seat, before just saying I was a little bit hot, and found it a little bit awkward. It wouldn’t be a huge thing, but the way she said it — especially when she wasn’t a flight attendant who was serving F and would never speak to me again throughout the flight — made me believe it was more a “I’m concerned there’s a passenger with some horrible communicable disease from Thailand on my flight” thing rather than “I hope that poor fellow is feeling well” thing.

Other than that, though, the service was excellent. And it began with the promised champagne and macadamia nuts from Andrea. I settle back and relax after the slightly flustering exchange with Flight Attendant Number Three, and enjoy.

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Then, left alone for a few minutes, I take a moment to explore the F cabin.

Legroom shot.

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The IFE screen is large and bright (although not in this picture), and of course there’s the omni-present LH F rose.

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My view out the window as boarding continues through door 2L.

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The front of the cabin — I feel like LH’s F product oozes “class” from every pore, and its little touches like the aesthetics of the front of the cabin that make a big difference.

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No overhead bins over the middle, reducing storage for those passengers, but creating a much more open feel in the front of the 333.

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Looking back to the second row of F. Again, class. And oh-so empty. I’m really looking forward to this.

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An over-the-shoulder view of seat 1A.

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Plenty of storage, as there are a pair of large bins along the window side of the cabin.

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The IFE remote is hidden under the left-side armrest. I found it a little bit of an effort to get used to the touch-sensitive pointer control, but once I had it mastered, I found it really easy to use. Also, not in this picture and the picture above the most frequently-used controls have dedicated buttons on the armrest aside from the remote. I think this is a brilliant idea, and wish more premium seats had this kind of setup for most frequently-used IFE and seat controls.

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On the other side, intuitive seat controls. Once again, note the most frequently used buttons outside the covered area.

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And in case you needed any more storage, there’s some inside the ottoman. Really, if you need more stuff than you can store in this seat, you have too much stuff.

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Seat outlet are located in the front of the armrest, and the seat is very generously outfitted in that regard, with two power outlets and two USB.

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About this time Andrea pops by with the menu, very nicely personalized for me. She reiterates that I can eat whatever I’d like, whenever I’d like.

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Meal service.

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A rather extensive drink menu.



I tell Andrea that I’m not super-hungry right, and will probably start with the appetizers after take-off, and then maybe the main course a couple of hours after that. She says that sounds good, and asks if I’d like the caviar course. Bien sur!

Boarding is quickly done, and we push back pretty much right on time.

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During the rather long taxi out for takeoff, Andrea presents me the Bose noise-cancelling headphones. Very comfortable, and very good.

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Oddly enough, no amenity kit nor pajamas were presented. I didn’t really even notice this until after the flight, looking through my pictures. I tweeted LH about it, asking why, and they replied that an amenity kit should have been offered, but that pajamas are not offered on day flights. I do believe that’s new, as I’ve flow several FRA-YYZ F segments in the past, all day flights, and I’m pretty sure I’ve received pajamas each time. Oh well. I’ll survive.

With headphones offered, I select my first movie of the flight, Brooklyn. Nothing special, but I hadn’t seen it before.

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Continuing to taxi.

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Lufthansa Regional RJ and mainline A320-family as we taxi.

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And then finally, we’re off, into the mixed weather over Munich this afternoon. Some nice views of the airport though as we climb.



Checking out the rest of the cabin as out climb continues. “Hey, anyone mind if I take my shoes off? No? Great!”

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A quick trip to the lav ahead of the F cabin. Again, this is really nicely appointed, with a rose, a very attractive vanity, nice amenities, and a proper seat covering the lav itself. Y’know, to change into those pajamas that weren’t offered.



Back at my seat, and Andrea asks if I’m ready for the first part of my meal. Indeed I am. We begin with a delightful rose-scented hot towel.

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Followed by the amuse-bouche, which is a pleasant little bit of salmon.

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The bread basket is offered, and I am entirely predictable. Garlic bread and pretzels, of course.

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For this course, I stick with the champagne and request a glass of water to accompany the first part of my meal.

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The caviar course is then offered, and served right in front of me from the tin. A very generous helping is offered, and when I’m done, Andrea asks if I’d like any more. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m hungry enough to have some more, as much as I’d like to.

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When I’m done with the caviar, Andrea brings around the appetizers. Of course, I choose to try a little bit of everything, since LH tends to plate these as very light dishes, seemingly encouraging passengers to try a little bit of everything. I like this approach compared the usual “pick an appetizer” approach. All of the appetizers were very good.

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The scallop was perfectly prepared, and delicately flavoured so as not to overwhelm the seafood itself.

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The white asparagus salad takes me back to a memorable LH F flight from FRA to ICN, wherein the flight attendant serving me in the nose of the 747-8i all but insisted I have the seasonal white asparagus with ham and potatoes meal, as it was “that time of year” in Germany.

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The semi-dried beef tenderloin dish with mushrooms was also very good.

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The salad was nothing special, but quite fresh, and decently tasty.

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Fairly satisfied, I ask Andrea to hold the dinner service there, and we’ll pick it up in maybe two hours or so. She’s fine with that, and presents me with a bottle of water and some chocolates, telling me to just call if I need anything, before leaving me to relax for a bit.

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Time to check out the WiFi. One has to pay for it even in F, but I find LH’s WiFi fast and decently-priced, so it’s worth it, especially on a day flight like this. I fail to get a corporate shot, but do check in on my own flight. So much more detail than the moving map by hopping on FR24.

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I finish my movie, and then select another one — By The Sea. Not very good. It really stretches the boundaries of “acceptable plane movies.” The seat, both sitting up and into various lounging positions, is very comfortable — no surprise from LH.

A couple of hours flow by, and Andrea checks in to see if I’m ready for some more to eat. I say yeah, I think I’m ready to pick up dinner, and choose the veal dish for my main.

The second half of dinner begins with a basket of bread, although I don’t take much advantage of it.

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Next up is the red pepper gazpacho, which is absolutely delicious. Soups are always so good on planes — and this is a very nice soup indeed.

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The main course is quickly presented. I have to admit that none of the mains on the menu really spoke to me, but this veal dish was very good. A very pleasant surprise.

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Andrea brings around the cheese next, and gives me a little bit of everything at my request. All very good, and beautifully presented. I especially appreciate a large number and variety of crackers to accompany it — much better than the usual “three or four water crackers” offering.

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A quick update — we’re past Iceland now and hellbent for Greenland.

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Andrea asks what I’d like for dessert, and after I look at the menu to select for more than a second, she suggests I just sample both. Well, who am I to argue with logic like that.

The mouse presented with ice cream and berries was very good.

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But the millefeuille with passion fruit and peppered pineapple was the real star here. Just delicious, and an example of LH getting “to fancy” with desserts and it actually working well.

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I finish my dinner service with a delicious cappuccino.

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With dinner over, I choose another film — The Danish Girl — and settle in to do a little bit of work and generally relax in my seat. And now we get the corporate shot. Hey, that’s a good looking flight-report up top! Whoever wrote that must be some kind of flight-report superstar!

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Andrea asks if I’d like to sleep, and I say I don’t think so, as it’s a day flight. But she knows me better than I know myself, so sets up seat 1D as a bed, “just in case.” Surely enough, with my movie over, I decide that perhaps a little nap is in order. I really like the balance LH strikes between keeping the cabin open and providing privacy, with the wraparound barrier that can be raised when the seat is put into bed mode. This makes it very private indeed. Well, even moreso since there’s nobody else in the cabin. The bed is thoughtfully set up with another bottle of water, and some more chocolates. Just in case.

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We’re just passed Greenland as I settle into bed.

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The bed is very private, and of course the cabin is quite quiet with only my snoring and the dull drone of the jets so far behind me. I’m not quick to get to sleep, but after relaxing in bed for a little while, I do manage a couple of solid hours of shut-eye. The bed is very comfortable when all made up.

When I wake up, we’re over northeastern Canada, and about 1:45 out of Toronto. Feeling well refreshed, I head back to my seat over in 1A, and put on a documentary about the amazing rise of YouTube “stars.” Fairly interesting stuff. Here’s my rose, in the spotlight, in the dark of the F cabin.

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Shortly after I wake up, Andrea pops by and asks if I’d like anything to eat. I’m not terribly hungry, but this will likely serve as dinner for me today. I eventually select the burger, and ask for a Coke Zero to accompany it. Apparently, I have simple tastes at that moment.

I’m sure there was a hot towel that preceded my pre-arrival meal, but it was not captured for posterity. Perhaps I was tired of taking silly pictures of hot towels at this point? I’m not sure. My table is set, and my burger and Coke are soon delivered. The burger is excellent, juicy and tasty, with garnishes and accompaniments that find a nice balance between familiar and exotic. This may be the best pre-arrival Trans-Atlantic meal I’ve ever had.

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I request the fresh blackberries for dessert, and Andrea does me one better and presents me a fruit plate as well. All are very fresh and very delicious.

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Soon after the meal, we begin our descent, although it’s a little hard to tell, since it’s uniformly cloudy below.

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But my water bottle tells the tale.

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Soon enough, we break through the clouds over Lake Simcoe, headed southwest towards Pearson.

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We take a pretty direct route towards the northernmost runway at Pearson, and eventually we’re over the northern suburbs of the city as we continue to descend.

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Final approach.

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Crossing Airport Road and about to land.

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And finally on the ground, we taxi our way over to Terminal 1.

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And settle in next to this almost brand-new AC 787-9 down the end of the hammerhead of T1.

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After arriving at the terminal, Andrea, Olga, and the senior purser all stop by my seat to make sure I’ve had a pleasant flight, and we chat a little bit about where they stay and what they do during their brief stopover in Toronto.

They wish me a pleasant journey home, and pretty soon I’m on my way. It’s a long walk to customs, but with my Nexus card, I’m quickly through passport control, landside, and on my way home for a rest.

Thanks for joining me on this (almost all) First Class round-the-world journey. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, and I’ll see you soon for my next adventure!
See more

Verdict

Lufthansa

9.0/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering9.5

Lufthansa First Class Lounge - 2

9.1/10
Comfort9.5
Meal/catering9.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Services9.0

Munich - MUC

8.5/10
Efficiency9.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Toronto - YYZ

8.3/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

All in all, a very good end to this memorable trip. Aside from the small hiccup with the “are you dying?” line of questioning from the one flight attendant, this one was memorable for all the right reasons, with the typical excellent LH F hard product, very good service from Andrea and Olga, and catering that exceeded my fairly-high expectations. LH F remains a great product, and a great way to end this RTW adventure. It’s such a treat to fly this — an almost unspeakable treat to be alone in the cabin — questions of my fitness to fly notwithstanding.

Information on the route Munich (MUC) Toronto (YYZ)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 5 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Munich (MUC) → Toronto (YYZ).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Air Canada avec 7.5/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 8 heures et 48 minutes.

  More information

6 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 347854 by
    socalnow 976 Comments
    Greetings Hometoyyz and thank you for posting the conclusion to this grand adventure. I hope you are feeling better by the time of this writing ;P

    I will say that I am flying LH F next week on the A330 (DFW-FRA) so this report has even further frothed my excitement and anticipation! I won't have the entire cabin to myself however...

    "...I feel like a nap is in order here, so I request one of the sleeper rooms..."
    -This is an excellent feature. Etihad and Emirates need to take note of this.

    "But the mustard was tasty and the pretzel was good."
    -Yes, such a treat when in Germany!

    "It seems odd that there’s no specific First Class boarding call, just a general call for all priority passengers."
    -I agree, my experience had been a "private" boarding for 1st before any boarding.

    "I feel like LH’s F product oozes “class” from every pore, and its little touches like the aesthetics of the front of the cabin that make a big difference."
    -Totally agree. Like BA, the LH aesthetic is clean and elegant.

    " Really, if you need more stuff than you can store in this seat, you have too much stuff."
    -Ha!

    "and I, of course, choose some champagne."
    -And a nice champagne on this flight. LH seems to be all over the place with their champagne offerings. Nice to see the LPGS.

    The meal service looks very nice. The pace you set is honored by the crew. What a feast!

    Having a seat and separate (7) bed(s) is such luxury!

    "Apparently, I have simple tastes at that moment."
    -The simple pleasures can be the finest.

    Thanks again Hometoyyz for sharing this (semi)private jet experience on Lufthansa.

    Happy flying.
    • Comment 348135 by
      hometoyyz AUTHOR 539 Comments
      Thanks for the feedback!

      " I hope you are feeling better by the time of this writing ;P"

      Yes, my Ebola-Zika seems to have disappeared very suddenly. Truly a miracle!

      "I will say that I am flying LH F next week on the A330 (DFW-FRA) so this report has even further frothed my excitement and anticipation! I won't have the entire cabin to myself however..."

      Glad to have provided some appetite-whetting, as your SQ F reports certainly helped get my hyped for my next little adventure to be written up.

      "I agree, my experience had been a "private" boarding for 1st before any boarding."

      That's been my experience boarding LH F from non-LH hubs (ie: Toronto.) My only previous LH F boarding experiences in Germany were from the FCT, and that experience is obviously a beast unto itself. But even in Toronto, LH sent an agent to the AC lounge to collect F passengers, and then that agent escorted us all the way to the jetway.

      "The meal service looks very nice. The pace you set is honored by the crew. What a feast!"

      I loved the leisurely pace of serving food. I felt like I enjoyed every bit of the meal much more that way. And it helps that the food was all really good too.

      "Having a seat and separate (7) bed(s) is such luxury!"

      In hindsight, I really should have sat, at least briefly, in all eight seats. Missed opportunity, I'm afraid.
  • Comment 348050 by
    757Fan 632 Comments
    Wow, a whole F cabin to yourself? Sounds and looks incredible! Lufthansa F has to be one of the best cabins in the sky; their J and Y often leave quite a bit to be desired (in my opinion) from past experience many years ago, and recent reports I've read, but their F cabin looks amazing. Thanks for sharing!
    • Comment 348137 by
      hometoyyz AUTHOR 539 Comments
      Thanks for the feedback!

      "Wow, a whole F cabin to yourself? Sounds and looks incredible!"

      Not gonna lie. It was pretty incredible. Surreal in many ways.

      "Lufthansa F has to be one of the best cabins in the sky; their J and Y often leave quite a bit to be desired (in my opinion) from past experience many years ago, and recent reports I've read, but their F cabin looks amazing."

      I think that's a pretty accurate assessment. I've not flown their Y product in some time, but I remember it feeling thoroughly average when I flew it FRA-YYZ a few years ago. I only have one J/C experience, on the 388 with the old product. So I can't speak specifically to their new J product, other than the fact that it's a flat bed makes it automatically light years ahead of the dreaded "slider" on which I flew JNB-FRA. But not having all-aisle-access is a mistake in today's competitive market for premium carriers, I think.
  • Comment 348112 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    Thanks for this great report and series! I find it amazing that LH manages to have F on such small aircraft as an A330. And 8 seats at that, while AF only has 4 seats on the 77W! Most carriers, like AF, are doing away with F on everything but the very largest equipment (744/8, A388, 77W). LH must be doing something right that they are able to maintain an F product where other airlines are failing.

    "It’s also my first time on the “new” First Class product on anything but the 747-400, from which it has sadly since been ripped out."
    - Oh no, really? The 744 F class was so awesome! I guess they had to rip it out because it was just far too superior when comparing to F on other fleet types.

    Well, it's not the FRA FCT, but the lounge seems rather nice! I like that they have a cigar room! Makes me think of the new LX lounge in ZRH.

    "It seems odd that there’s no specific First Class boarding call, just a general call for all priority passengers."
    - Agreed. And one would expect more premium ground services in F like a personal escort onboard the aircraft, like AF and TG do. it's always nice to feel special :-)

    "She greets me by name, and says they’ve been expecting me."
    - That's a nice touch. It almost makes up for the lack or clear F boarding.

    "That, combined with the fact that I was coming in from Bangkok, had this one thinking that I was suffering from some tropical malady, it sounded like."
    - That's a hilarious story! I'd probably be sweating too from the awkwardness of all the attention---at least, until the champagne took effect! Then hover all you want! LOL

    Great cabin shots! How great to have an F cabin all to yourself. I like the decor and the little touches like the roses--you're right, it is classy, in a cold-ish German design sort of way.

    Thanks for sharing!
    • Comment 348138 by
      hometoyyz AUTHOR 539 Comments
      Thanks for the feedback!

      "Thanks for this great report and series! I find it amazing that LH manages to have F on such small aircraft as an A330. And 8 seats at that, while AF only has 4 seats on the 77W! Most carriers, like AF, are doing away with F on everything but the very largest equipment (744/8, A388, 77W). LH must be doing something right that they are able to maintain an F product where other airlines are failing."

      I find it odd that LH still has F on every 333, but has ripped it out of the 744 fleet entirely. I find it odder still that there's so much F operating out of MUC (I believe every longhaul flight, unless MUC is still featuring the 343 on some flights) compared to their super-hub in FRA.

      "Oh no, really? The 744 F class was so awesome! I guess they had to rip it out because it was just far too superior when comparing to F on other fleet types"

      Sad but true. I think the reasoning was to use the 744 on routes which there is demand for lots of seats, but not enough premium traffic to warrant an F cabin, as well as because of the sputtering economics of the 744 compared to its big-lift brethren. So LH still flies FRA-YYZ on 744, just with no F cabin. Too bad. That was such an awesome redemption back in the day. ;-) And SUCH a fantastic hard product.

      "Agreed. And one would expect more premium ground services in F like a personal escort onboard the aircraft, like AF and TG do. it's always nice to feel special :-)"

      Especially considering the quality of LH's F ground services otherwise, absolutely would expect pre-pre-boarding, if F pax were there in time for it. I was there. It just wasn't offered.

      "- That's a nice touch. It almost makes up for the lack or clear F boarding."

      And she had a pretty clear bet on it being me. "Oh look, an F boarding pass jacket. This must be my guy."


      "That's a hilarious story! I'd probably be sweating too from the awkwardness of all the attention---at least, until the champagne took effect! Then hover all you want! LOL"

      Yeah, oddly enough, after a few drinks, and once I'd gotten all my silly shots of the seat and cabin, I was much more at ease with people checking in on me. Oddly enough, Olga acknowledging the potential awkwardness of it, in a joking fashion, helped cut through said awkwardness as well. Well played on her part. The other one... not so much.

      "Great cabin shots! How great to have an F cabin all to yourself. I like the decor and the little touches like the roses--you're right, it is classy, in a cold-ish German design sort of way."

      It was a treat, absolutely. It's something I've read about from time to time on the blogs, and always thought "Now THERE'S an experience I'll never have." Bucket list item achieved.

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