This is my First Flight-Report in English. I've already written this one in French and this flight dates back to 2016. At the time, a Flight-Report meeting took place in Washington D.C.
Lufthansa introduced their Premium Economy product in 2014 and I got a pretty good deal at that time for this trip, around 900 EUR. I also got almost 10k miles on Miles and More.
Enough chit-chat, let's get down to it :)
Routing
LH418 - Premium Economy - Frankfurt -> Washington Dulles - Boeing 747-8IYou are here
LH419 - Premium Economy - Washington Dulles -> Frankfurt - Boeing 747-8IComing soon
I live near Strasbourg, France and to get to Frankfurt am Main I chose to take the German High Speed Train (ICE) from Baden-Baden, near the border. The ride is not very comfortable with no seat included in the base fare but the it is quite short, around 1 hour and 15 minutes from Baden-Baden to Frankfurt Airport Station. My ICE has a typical 5 minute-delay that affects many DB trains but it's no issue as I have more than 3 hours before take off.
The way from the train station to Terminal 1 is short and easy to find.
Just follow the signs to T1 A-Z.
And after a 5 minute walk, I can already see the famous FIDS of FRA.
As I only have a hand luggage, no need for me to go to a check-in desk. I use an automated one to have a boarding pass printed.
My flight leaves from the Z Gates, which means upstairs. After a quick passport check, I'm headed for security check.
Security check is done in no time and I'm through the duty-free.
The famous central plaza of FRA.
Quick look at the FIDS, my flight is on time and no gate has been asigned yet. I've got plenty of time to visit the LH Business Class Lounge which costs 25€ if you hold a Premium Economy ticket.
The lounge is huge and not too crowded (yet)
View is unfortunately not great due to these black lines all over the windows…
As this flight dates back to 2016, the A320neo was only a couple of months old and I was very pleased to spot one of them !
Let's take a tour of the facilities
Food offer is standard for any LH lounge. We've got the famous Haribo ^^
Tap beer selection includes Franziskaner Hefeweizen and Beck's Gold
And when it comes to food, Wiener Schnitzel is proposed today as a special
My light selection for a first meal. I still have a meal on board to eat :p
I leave the lounge around 12:15 and head to the gate. Boarding is about to start !
I find FRA sometimes confusing but these Z Gates are very well lit and signage is good.
A380s
Walking time can be a bit long if you have to go all the way to the end of the pier :)
A 747-400
Gate Z66 is ours today. Preparations are well underway.
A living memory of Germany's 2014 World Cup success !
Unfortunately it's not the plane that will get me to Washington. This one is ^^
Boarding starts on time and Premium Economy boards with Economy class.
And we follow the Y signs.
A dream would have been to do this flight right here… but at 14'000€ a seat, I'll pass ^^
Fuselage shot
My seat, 23K. Premium Economy cabin is located between two Y cabins, not very clever I must say…
Yet the seat is comfy and the pitch is very good.
IFE is modern and complete
A pre-departure drink is offered. Orange juice with some mint.
A bottle of water is already stored at your seat. As I don't have a neighbor for this flight, I've got 2 of 'em :)
Bye bye FRA :)
Safety demo is underway
And let's go !
Take off was on time and flight time was surprisingly short, only 7 hours and 35 minutes today! This will make us arrive around 50 minutes ahead of schedule !!
This 747-8I is fitted with cameras which is a nice touch
Let's take a look to what we'll have for lunch
Premium Economy meal is the same as in Economy but served in china
A small appetizer is served with a Warsteiner for me.
A small oshibori is given by the crew
Meal is served. Chicken in BBQ sauce, how American ^^
Lunch is done and we're passing Bath, England. I was satisfied with the main course yet the BBQ sauce can be a bit heavy.
Enjoying some movies during a transatlantic flight is great as I don't go to Movie Theaters that often ^^
Let's have a look to the complimentary amenity kit
Wifi is avaible on this flight, a 17.99 EUR pack will give you unlimited access for the entire flight which sounds like a correct deal. A very old Flight-Report website here ^^
Lavatories were clean.
We're already approaching the coast of Northern Canada
Let's finish this flight with some good music ;)
As I'm up for a small walk accross the cabin, I notice the second "meal" is almost ready to be served.
As for Y+, Y was not full this thursday afternoon. Another Flight-Reporter was on board yet we didn't know eachother and met later in the afternoon at the Flight-Report meeting ^^
Second meal is served, it's a cold one with some cheese, ham and potato salad. Typical german meal.
Another oshibori is given by the crew.
We're nearing Washington D.C. and the end of this good flight.
And touchdown at 15:05, 45 minutes ahead of schedule.
We'll be parked next to family, an Austrian 767.
While getting off the plane, quick look at the Business Class, which is "footsie-footsie"
Last look to our wonderful 747 :)
And then, the 45-minute gain is reduced to… 0 due to a 45-minute wait at the Immigration check. Could have been worse but still not very funny to wait that long.
Thanks for reading ! See you soon for the second leg of this trip :)
Jules
See more
Verdict
Lufthansa
8.1/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering7.5
Lufthansa Business Lounge Z50 - Z
7.6/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering7.5
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Services8.0
Frankfurt - FRA
8.6/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness10.0
Washington - IAD
7.1/10
Efficiency5.0
Access7.0
Services7.5
Cleanliness9.0
Conclusion
Reflecting on this flight 4 years later, I must say that the Lufthansa's Premium Economy is solid. Food was good, cabin was very confortable for a daytime flight, especially with wifi on board for a reasonable price.
LH Business Lounge FRA Gates Z : not worth 25€ yet I had some time to kill and for sure it's more comfy to wait there than in the terminal.
FRA : A good experience (I've had a couple of bad ones since then but it's usually in transit and due to very long lines at security).
IAD : 45 minutes isn't that bad in comparison with JFK but still could be better !
5 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Merci beaucoup Jules pour votre premier flight-report dans la site anglaise! I hope there isn't any mistake in my sentence, feel free to tell me if yes. Would be kind of a blamage after 5 years of French at school. It is a language with a beautiful pronounciation, in my opinion, but in the end I opted for Spanish in the 'Oberstufe', that's the two years before the baccalauréat, if you aren't familiar with the German school system, as I fluently speak Portuguese and it would be much easier to do the exams in Spanish!
My ICE has a typical 5 minute-delay that affects many DB trains
Oh how well I know that situation, DB already managed to make me miss my flight with a 2 hours layover in FRA, thanks god I got the whole refund from them. The Lufthansa Lounge looked nice and like every other, offering solid service, in comparison to some competitors. Yet I wouldn't pay 25€ for the access. 14.000 freaking Euros for the First ticket just on the FRA IAD sector, that's hilarious haha ;)! Better watch out for LHs CDG AMS and HEL F sales where you can get F round trips to HKG PEK and PVG for 1.700€ return! That meal service after take off looks very nice, I have to admit! Please dear, Lufthansa, change your european business class meal service for that BBQ chicken, I cannot see the corn fed chicken at all! Also the second meal service looks fairly nice, as a German I must say that I would love to get that now :). Cheers and stay safe, Lars
How nice! Your french is very good! Great to see a German reading my FR. I live near the border and I've worked in Germany, so I know about the infamous delays of die Bahn haha
Lufthansa can serve either very good meals or things I wouldn't give to a dog. I've so far been quite lucky with them on my flights.
Hi Jules, nice to see a report from you in English! Wow, it's crazy to think the meetup in DC was almost 5 years ago! It doesn't feel like that long ago. Such a great time 😊
It seems LH Premium Economy service hasn't changed much since then and it remains a pretty solid product overall with comfortable seats and upgraded catering.
I loved seeing the beautiful LH 748s at IAD when I still lived there.
And then, the 45-minute gain is reduced to… 0 due to a 45-minute wait at the Immigration check.
Haha, yeah typical IAD! It's usually even worse, which is why I ended up getting Global Entry...so worth it not to have to stand in line for an hour after a long flight.
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4 Comments
Oh how well I know that situation, DB already managed to make me miss my flight with a 2 hours layover in FRA, thanks god I got the whole refund from them.
The Lufthansa Lounge looked nice and like every other, offering solid service, in comparison to some competitors. Yet I wouldn't pay 25€ for the access.
14.000 freaking Euros for the First ticket just on the FRA IAD sector, that's hilarious haha ;)! Better watch out for LHs CDG AMS and HEL F sales where you can get F round trips to HKG PEK and PVG for 1.700€ return!
That meal service after take off looks very nice, I have to admit! Please dear, Lufthansa, change your european business class meal service for that BBQ chicken, I cannot see the corn fed chicken at all!
Also the second meal service looks fairly nice, as a German I must say that I would love to get that now :).
Cheers and stay safe,
Lars
How nice! Your french is very good! Great to see a German reading my FR. I live near the border and I've worked in Germany, so I know about the infamous delays of die Bahn haha
Lufthansa can serve either very good meals or things I wouldn't give to a dog. I've so far been quite lucky with them on my flights.
Second meal is "typisch deutsch" ;)
Bis bald und bleib Gesund
Jules
It seems LH Premium Economy service hasn't changed much since then and it remains a pretty solid product overall with comfortable seats and upgraded catering.
I loved seeing the beautiful LH 748s at IAD when I still lived there.
Haha, yeah typical IAD! It's usually even worse, which is why I ended up getting Global Entry...so worth it not to have to stand in line for an hour after a long flight.
Thanks for sharing! Bonnes Fêtes et bonne année !
Can't even believe it was in 2016 ahah ! Yep, we had a very fun meeting indeed!!!
Global Entry is a very good thing but not very useful for a guy like me who doesn't travel regularly to the US :(
Bonnes fêtes à toi et ta petite famille ! Portez vous bien ! :)
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