Review of Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Detroit in Economy

Introduction

Having been a long time flight report reader on this site I figured that it's time to write up a report myself. The routing for this journey was from Berlin-Tegel (TXL) via Frankfurt (FRA) to Detroit (DTW), a journey that I've taken numerous times on Lufthansa in Economy Class. But this flight was hands down the by far best experience I've had on board LH442. Initially, a bit of disappointment set in while checking-in for my flight as I noticed that the originally scheduled equipment had been swapped from a Boeing 747-400 to an A330-300. As more and more Queens of the Skies are leaving the fleets, it's always sad to miss the opportunity to fly on a 747. However, this flight still turned out absolutely fantastic due to my luck in securing seat 27A, the by far best seat one can reserve in Economy on Lufthansa's A330s.

Transfer & Boarding in Frankfurt

I arrived on LH177 from Tegel with an on-time arrival in Frankfurt, giving me about 40 min to connect to my flight to Detroit. As my arriving flight docked very close to the departure gate of LH442, only a short walk was required to transfer from one plane to the next. Had the opportunity to do a little plane spotting while walking to the gate before boarding the A330 bound for Detroit. Frankfurt really is my favourite airport as it is always busy with lots of planes and it's a joy watching all the action going on the tarmac. Also, it was nice to enjoy watching the many LH planes before that wonderful livery will be gone after that (in my view) pretty unnecessary rebranding.

Boarding was already underway when I reached the gate area. I scanned my boarding pass and made my way towards the aircraft. Boarding was very orderly and without any hectic.
Boarding Area

The Airbus A330-300 for this flight, registration D-AIKR, an almost-six-year-old bird.

Right turn for me.

After a warm welcome by the crew, I made my way toward 27A. This seat is located directly behind the premium economy cabin. As there is no bulkhead, there is almost unlimited legroom in this row. I would go so far and say that this seat is equally good as the premium economy class seating. What's also great is that this mini-cabin with three rows of PE and just 2 rows of Economy feels very private. Also, no real disturbance came from the proximity of the lavatories behind this little mini-cabin section. It's a really great choice if you are travelling in Economy on this particular LH bird.

The seat map shows that little mini-cabin I was seated in.

Taxi & Take-Off

It had started to rain a little bit so taking pictures on the way to runway proved difficult with the iPhone camera I was using.

Push-back was on time and we made our way towards runway 25 C.

Turning on to the runway.

Take-off was smooth as we left a very grey Frankfurt Airport. Soon after take-off, we broke through the thick layer of clouds.

Very grey outside…

And 8 hours of sunshine ahead!

Shortly after take-off, the purser came on the microphone to give some information about the service on today's flight and to also once again welcome the passengers onboard. This announcement is usually made after take-off on LH long-haul flights and gives a nice overview of what is to be expected in terms of service during the following hours. Nice touch. Service began about 30 min into the flight with a choice of beverages from the bar. The seat 27A has the tray table and the movie screen in the armrest, making it slightly narrower than normal economy seats. The screen on the back of the premium economy seat in front of me was quite big and had a much better resolution than the economy screen, however, it was disabled shortly after take off.
I chose a beer and a tomato juice as an aperitif, accompanied by some pretzels. The packaging of the pretzels already had the updated Lufthansa logo on it. I chose a movie on the IFE and made myself comfortable with the blanket and pillow provided.

A hot towel service followed shortly after the first round of drinks.

About an hour into the flight, the main meal service began. There were no printed menus provided. I've never seen printed menus in Economy onboard LH flights to North America, however, they usually hand out menus even in Economy on flights to Asia. The meal choice was between a pasta dish and chicken breast. I chose the latter.

The main dish was very hot and it took me quite a while to remove the aluminium lid. I ordered another beer and tomato juice for lunch. The salad was alright after adding the French dressing but still a bit boring as there wasn't even a tomato or anything interesting in it. The main was quite alright as the chicken and the mashed potatoes together with some sort of BBQ sauce were delicious, the baked sweet potato/butternut squash tasted pretty bad and it wasn't clear what it was exactly. The cake for dessert was also tasty. What is nice about the meal service on LH is that you get to use metal cutlery. All in all a nice and solid meal as always on Lufti, but really nothing too special. A little piece of chocolate was also provided on the meal tray and was featuring the new LH logo.

One feature about service on Lufthansa that I've come to like is the coffee and digestif cart. As always, I ordered a coffee with milk and a cup of Baileys on ice. Yummy! The coffee was served in a solid plastic cup that felt much nicer than these flimsy plastic and paper cups that Lufti usually provides in Economy.

As my seatmate got up, I took the chance to take a walk around the cabin and visit the lavatory. The bathroom was clean but on the smaller side. Took a picture of the nice little mini-cabin I was seated in. I finished my movie, reclined my seat and dozed off for an hour and awoke just as we were flying south of Iceland.

After waking up I went for another walk through the cabin back to the rear galley to get some water and to move my legs. There was a little self-service bar that the crew had put on the counter in the galley for the Economy passengers with a variety of drinks and some of the pretzels that were served at the beginning of the flight. The very kind FA suggested another cup of Baileys and I surely followed his suggestion. The crew was really friendly on this flight and provided a very professional service.

View from the very rear of the main cabin:

And back at my seat, watching the flight show and enjoying my cup of Baileys.

About an hour before landing in Detroit, the second meal service started. What's nice about being seated in the front of the Economy cabin is that you are being served first. The term 'meal service' may be overexaggerated as it's really just a snack. The crew offered a choice between a curry-wurst or pizza snack. It tasted fine but was really nothing to write home about. Another round of drinks was also offered.

Landing in Detroit

Shortly after the snack service, preparations for landing began and the pilot came on the microphone to give some information about the weather conditions at our destination. The initial descent began and the speed breaks were deployed.

We made our way towards DTW and the pilots made a very smooth landing.

Disembarkation was quick, however, immigration took almost 40 min. Lufthansa flights arrive and depart at the North Terminal which is quite small and it takes just two minutes to leave the terminal after collecting your luggage. Very convenient, except the usually understaffed immigration.