Review of Lufthansa flight Frankfurt Seattle in Economy

Airline Lufthansa
Flight LH490
Class Economy
Seat 37K
Aircraft Boeing 747-400
Flight time 10:20
Take-off 02 Mar 17, 10:30
Arrival at 02 Mar 17, 11:50
LH   #64 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 1610 reviews
NewYorker
By 1530
Published on 15th December 2019

Welcome back to the final part of the series from 2017! In this post, I'll be flying a Lufthansa 747-400 in Economy Class from Frankfurt to what was my home for 5 years, Seattle. As a quick reminder, the itinerary of the trip looked like this:


Routing


When last we saw each other, I had just landed in Frankfurt after a short Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna. After a very uneventful transfer, I found myself at the relatively-new Pier A-Plus, where my flight would be departing from. I also spotted the aircraft that brought me to Europe 2 weeks before, D-ABVY.


photo img_1157

Lufthansa A320 (D-AIZP 'Plauen')


photo img_1158

Already at my gate when I arrived was the majestic 747-400 that would fly me across the pond, D-ABVR, built in March 1997.


photo img_1159photo img_1161

I also spotted the aircraft that brought me from Vienna, OE-LBA.


photo img_1162

Lufthansa A380-800 (D-AIML 'Hamburg') to Houston as LH440.


photo img_1164

Today's flight info.


photo img_1167

Shortly afterwards, it was time to board the queen.


photo img_1168photo img_1169

A look at the fuselage.


photo img_1170

Lufthansa's crane at the purser's station.


photo img_1171

And on the IFE screen, a wonderful photo of Seattle's beautiful waterfront.


photo img_1173

Nice to get a perspective on how massive the wing is, as it's hard to tell from the upper deck. Our neighbor was a Lufthansa A340-300 (D-AIFD 'Gießen'), which was to fly to Atlanta as LH444.


photo img_1174

Our mighty winglet.


photo img_1179

10 minutes after our scheduled departure, Captain Dietmar came on the PA to welcome us on board, apologized for our delay, but promised that we'd make good time due to favorable winds. We pushed back a few minutes later.


photo img_1183

Lufthansa A330-300 (D-AIKS) to Detroit as LH442.


photo img_1184photo img_1185

Air Canada 787-9 landing.


photo img_1189

Checking the flight controls.


photo img_1190

Flaps set for takeoff.


photo img_1191

Our reflection and a bunch of empty seats.


photo img_1196

Lufthansa 747-8i (D-ABYI 'Potsdam') to JFK as LH400.


photo img_1198

FRA's tower (the active one, I think).


photo img_1201

Lufthansa 747-400 (D-ABVX)


photo img_1204

Air China 777-300ER with a mismatched nose.


photo img_1213

Delta 767-400 taking off.


photo img_1214

Lufthansa A380-800 (D-AIMJ 'Brüssel') landing.


photo img_1215

Lufthansa 747-400 (D-ABTL) taking off.


photo img_1216

Lufthansa A380-800 (D-AIMN 'Deutschland') to San Francisco as LH454 ahead of us.


photo img_1220photo img_1222

The 747 from earlier.


photo img_1223

Lufthansa A320 taking off.


photo img_1224photo img_1225

Lufthansa A321 (D-AIRT 'Regensburg') holding short.


photo img_1226

Another control tower.


photo img_1227

LH454 taking off.



Lufthansa Cargo 777F (D-ALFB 'Jambo Kenya') behind us.


photo img_1232photo img_1233

SAS 737-600 landing.


photo img_1236

Our turn!


photo img_1242photo img_1243

The always-beautiful Yankee Tango.


photo img_1244

Rotate!


photo img_1245photo img_1246

Climbing into the German skies.


photo img_1247photo img_1248

"Lufthansa 491 Heavy, contact departure."


photo img_1250

The classic left turn after departure (FRA edition).


photo img_1251photo img_1252

Flaps coming up.


photo img_1258

Takeoff video.



Turning back toward the US.


photo img_1261photo img_1263

Headrest and antimacassar.


photo img_1264

The large screens throughout the cabin showed the airshow for thee entire flight.


photo img_1268photo img_1269

The service around 30 minutes after takeoff with Soletti.


photo img_1270

Up next was a hot towel.


photo img_1271

Then the drink service began. I chose tea.


photo img_1272photo img_1274

15 minutes later, the main event came.


photo img_1275

A tiny salad, which was unmemorable.


photo img_1276

A tasty dessert.


photo img_1277

And the main dish was a delicious pasta with cheese sauce and spinach. Not the healthiest meal, but really, really tasty.


photo img_1280

And another dessert, this tasty little chocolate.


photo img_1284

After lunch I went to visit the Premium Economy, which was fairly empty.


photo img_1287

Antimacassar very similar to the ones in Business Class on LH narrowbodies.


photo img_1288

Overall a comfortable seat. I'd like to try it sometime.


photo img_1290

The view from 5L.


photo img_1291

The flight attendants came around midflight with drinks. This time, I went for an OJ.


photo img_1300

I binge-watched Veep.


photo img_1301

Our winglet.


photo img_1304

Over icy Northern Canada.


photo img_1314

A 747-400 wing with GEnx engines? Hmm… ;-)


photo img_1315

Around 1h20m before landing, another snack was served. They called it dinner, but at 10:20 AM local time it's bunch at best.


photo img_1316

A bread roll with pudding.


photo img_1318

And the main course was a vegetarian ravioli. It was alright, but not nearly as good as the previous pasta.


photo img_1319

The pudding was great.


photo img_1321

After the meal was cleaned up, the captain came back on the PA and announced the weather in Seattle as rainy and windy. Typical Seattle!


photo img_1322

Commencing our descent over British Columbia.


photo img_1326

Cabin during descent.


photo img_1331

Into the clouds.


photo img_1333

Flaps coming down.


photo img_1339photo img_1340

First view of Seattle.


photo img_1344

Lake Union.


photo img_1345

Downtown Seattle.



CenturyLink Field and the Seattle Waterfront.


photo img_1350

Harbor Island and the Industrial District.


photo img_1353

On final.


photo img_1354photo img_1358

Leaving a bit of a vortex behind.


photo img_1360

Short final.


photo img_1363

SeaTac in sight.


photo img_1364photo img_1365

Almost no flare and…


photo img_1366

…a rough landing on Runway 16L!


photo img_1367

Retracting the flaps while still on the runway.


photo img_1368photo img_1369

Landing video.



Icelandair 767-300 (TF-ISN 'Svörtuborgir').


photo img_1370photo img_1371

Air Canada E190 (C-FNAN) to Toronto as the very delayed AC540.


photo img_1373

Pulling into our gate.


photo img_1374

IFE screen reset.


photo img_1375

One last look at my seat.


photo img_1376photo img_1377

And a final glimpse of D-ABVR, soaking in the Seattle weather.


photo img_1378

Immigration was quick and I was home around an hour later. Thanks for coming along this trip we me, and i hope to see you in another series in the not too distant future! :-)

See more

Verdict

Lufthansa

8.4/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering8.0

Frankfurt - FRA

8.2/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness7.5

Seattle - SEA

8.1/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

Good flight as always with Lufthansa. They are always consistent, and always great.

+ Tasty meals
+ Very friendly Flight Attendants
+ Great IFE selection
+ Comfy seats

I honestly don't have any bad things to say about this flight. LH, LX, and UA are definitely my top choices for TATL flights, regardless of class of service.

Related

2 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !

Login to post a comment.