Review of Lufthansa flight Toronto Frankfurt in Economy

Airline Lufthansa
Flight LH471
Class Economy
Seat --
Aircraft Boeing 747-400
Flight time 07:50
Take-off 14 Mar 20, 19:10
Arrival at 15 Mar 20, 08:00
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
loukas
By 3209
Published on 25th September 2020

Hi,

After a long break welcome to the fifth flight of this new series covering my late winter getaway to Cuba with stopovers in Munich, Germany and Toronto, Canada. The whole trip consisted of the following 6 flights operated by Lufthansa, Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge:

28.02.2020 - LH1613 - WAW-MUC
29.02.2020 - AC847 - MUC-YYZ
29.02.2020 - AC1876 - YYZ-HAV
14.03.2020 - AC1877 - HAV-YYZ
14.03.2020 - LH471 - YYZ-FRA - you are here!
15.03.2020 - LH1348 - FRA-WAW

but as the last flight has eventually been cancelled due to covid-19 pandemia and closing of Polish borders on the 15th of March, we've been offered a flight to Berlin instead:

15.03.2020 - LH178 - FRA-TXL


I didn't really have much time for the flight reports lately and the whole aviation crisis made me so upset I didn't even want to think about travelling and flying. When I'm writing this report, the situation seems to be worse again, but at least for the couple of months we are able to travel and fly again and, despite the stress and restrictions, it's worth the pain (when I finish this series I will describe this summer's trip to Greece).


STOPOVER IN TORONTO


But first let's get back to the 14th of March when all was just to begin. We arrived on an early morning AC Rouge flight from Havana having already been informed the previous day that when we reach Europe on the 15th of March, Polish borders will already be closed to air traffic. Nobody knew what was going to happen and we were anxious about our trip back home, but as our flight to FRA was scheduled to depart in the evening, we had a whole day to spend in Toronto. Air Canada information desk couldn't tell us anything more than we knew about our FRA-WAW flight that was cancelled. They sent us to Lufthansa desk that was going to open 4 hours before the flight to FRA, so we decided to visit dontown Toronto as the immigration officer told us we could do this normally, however many places of interst may be closed due to covid pandemia. So… welcome to Canada!


photo img_1833

We took the so called UP (Union-Pearson) Express that for 12,35 CAD took us to the city center in 20 minutes.


photo img_1834

Union station looks very nice both inside and outside


photo img_1835photo img_1836photo img_1860

But it wasn't the station we came there for. It was the CN Tower that…was closed for a month beacuse of covid! What a shame. At least we were able to see how huge it is.


photo img_1838photo img_1844

Wise people say that if you can not have what you want, try to get satisfied with what you may have. So we did. A nice lady (everyone we met in Toronto was extremely nice and helpful!) told us we can take a ferry to the Ward's Island that has a great view on the skyline. It was cold as hell as there were only 3 degrees Celsius compared to 30+ in Cuba, but we took enough winter clothes with us to be fine. The trip was great, even if the wind on the ferry was ice cold.


photo img_1846photo img_1847photo img_1854

We didn't stay in the city for too long for two reasons: it was cold and we didn't know how we were going to make it back home from Frankfurt. So after a couple of hours we took the UP Express again and came back to YYZ.


photo img_1865photo img_1866photo img_1869

We went to Lufthansa desk to discover that nobody knew what was happening in Europe, the staff, that was very polite and helpful, had no idea about the borders being closed. We asked then if we can have a FRA-TXL flight instead of the FRA-WAW (Berlin is very close to Polish borders so we could go home from there by train or bus). There was an option of a direct LOT flight that despite the restrictions was supposed to arrive normally to Warsaw the next day, but, as we were informed, LOT didn't agree to rebook us for this flight (shame!) and the Berlin option was the one and only. On the other hand I didn't want to loose my first (and perhaps the last) 747-400 flight, so I was fine with flying to TXL. We were rebooked without problems and once again all the Canadians involved were friendly and helpful.


THE FLIGHT


I was so tired after a sleepless night and this cold day in Toronto that all I wanted was to be flying back home as soon as possible. Luckily our 744 arrived on time and boarding started as scheduled. Despite being tired, I was thrilled to fly the classic Jumbo that, as I know now, disappears from the sky so rapidly.


photo img_1872

We passed through the whole cabin as our seats were in the tail section.
Premium Eco seats


photo img_1875photo img_1876

Economy class


photo img_1881

While checking-in online I was able to choose the double seats in the very rear section of the plane that are normally blocked. This time the flight was almost…empty so maybe that's why they were available. Anyway it was a great choice as this seats offer plenty of legroom.


photo img_1882photo img_1883photo img_1884

You may also have an access to many windows, so it was more than nice.


photo img_1879

There were only 2 rows and toilet behind.


photo img_1888

I couldn't believe my eyes when I heard "boarding is completed". FA told me it's probably because of the pandemia that many pax cancelled their reservations.


photo img_1894photo img_1895

Let's have a look on the cabin. It looks old and, no doubt, worn out but is clean.


photo img_1877photo img_1896photo img_1897

The seats are not so bad and the screen is OK as for an aircraft of this age (the cabin must have been retrofitted at some point).


photo img_1886photo img_1889photo img_1898

After the safety demo, we were ready to go


photo img_1891photo img_1892photo img_1893

Have I already told you I really enjoyed my seat?


photo img_1905

As the flight was empty, take off was quite quick as for such a big bird.



The first thing to do after take off was to check the flight map that was quite modern and worked quite well.



There was a blanket and a pillow on every seat and as the pillow was of a very good quality, the blanket was terrible! It looked like an old curtain.


photo img_1878photo img_1921

Not long after take off supper was served. There was a choice between beef and vegetarian pasta. After having a burger in Toronto I was ok with the pasta. First we were offered drinks and salty snacks.


photo img_1922

Then the main tray arrived. The pasta dish and cheesecake were good, but the salad and the roll were unacceptable!


photo img_1923photo img_1925

After the meal there was time for a movie and some sleep.


photo img_1899

Breakfast was served when after crossing the Atlantic, we reached Irealand. I didn't expect much as the flight was relatively short (we had a strong tail wind so the whole flight time was supposed to be just 6:30) but this breakfast was more than poor.


photo img_1927

We started our descent after crossing Belgium.



Landing


photo img_1944photo img_1946

Nice to be back to Europe



The safety card of this 744


photo img_1887

Cabin during deboarding and great view on our aircraft from the jetbridge


photo img_1953photo img_1959

So were are back to Europe, yet still far away from home. The plan is to have breakfast before flying to TXL and try to search for some Berlin - Warsaw transport facilities in the meantime. To be continued soon. Thanks for reading!

See more

Verdict

Lufthansa

7.4/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Meal/catering6.0

Toronto - YYZ

8.6/10
Efficiency8.5
Access9.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Frankfurt - FRA

7.9/10
Efficiency9.0
Access5.0
Services8.5
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

As I know now it was one of the last chances to fly the 747-400 and I'm happy we made it. The main meal, except for the bread and salad, was ok, the breakfast was very basic. The cabin, despite being old fashioned was ok and my seat had a perfect legroom. Cabin crew on this flight was very nice and helpful.

Information on the route Toronto (YYZ) Frankfurt (FRA)

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


Useful

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

La durée moyenne des vols est de 7 heures et 41 minutes.

  More information

1 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.