#66 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
1597 reviews
Hello all and welcome to this first series of flight to Istanbul!
Miles & More claimed: 104
Miles Status earned: 500
I haven't flown with Lufthansa since … 2014! So it was almost a first for me.
Since I don't usually fly enough to have a status on more than one alliance, I try to stick to one (Skyteam for me since I moved back to France). The prices of KLM were simply too high for the return booking and AF was just operating a daily flight that lands at 3AM… So here I was back with LH.
I am not super familiar with the LH app, so instead I used their website to book our tickets old school is the only school!.
I then retreived my booking on the LH app, which features a lot of functionalities and options, but could have a more user friendly experience I think.
The flight was meant to be operated on an A320Neo but LH changed it the day before for a classic A320 of 168 seats
I often post bonus of the desination but rarely of the origin, so here are two pictures of Lyon: the Celestins Theatre and the Fourviere Church.
We arrived a the Terminal 2 (now closed for works) - an oddity since this terminal was usually dedicated to Skyteam & friends.
A lot of passengers at the AF counters , you can tell this is the mid terms!
We go through security very quickly, this terminal sees passengers that are typically more used to fly than the T1 where the low-cost carriers are.
Airside the usual shops facing the gates.
Vinci is the company managing the airport (which has been privatised for some years) and engaged a battle with AF about the lounge. The sad outcome is that the lounge has not been reopened since covd, a real shame.
The most southern gates of the T1, typically used for non schengen flights.
Our boarding gate.
Boarding starts in German - which is clear as mud for me - followed in English, following strictly the priorities.
Aircraft: Airbus A320-214
Tail Number: D-AIZO
Engines: 2x CFM56
Age: 9 years
Layout: Y168
Named: Leinfelden-Echterdingen
One of my first and glorious "door moments"!
We didn't have an A320Neo but some sharklets on a classic A320.
I am (re)discovering the LH NEK seats, which seemed a bit inconfortable with just 3-4cm of thickness, but they were actually not that bad.
No USB plug, adjustable headrest nor a thick armrest here, but they are reclining a bit.
The famous crane bird..
If you fly with Lufthansa, you need to love Grey… This cabin is like a remake of 50 shades of grey.
We are pushing back on time, and the safety demonstration done in both German and English, the crew hadn't spoke any french during the flight.
The safety card and BoB menus.
We are taxiing next to the most beautiful ATC Tower of the World, and the most beautiful airport of the World of the Best City of the World XD
This was the sad time when Air France Hop still had loads of CRJ…
Viiiaaaoummmmmmm
The two parallel runways of the most beautiful airport in the world in the background…
Flying over the Dombe region, famous for its chicken and frogs legs (yummy!!)
Aix les Bains and its lake.
Followed by the "Venice in the Alps" aka Annecy.
And another lake with Geneva this time.
Lufthansa took the decision to go full Buy on Board, except a tiny piece of chocolate and a bottle of water. As you can see, it is not that cheap: €3,50 for nuts, €7 for a biscuit and €3 for a coffee.
Clearly Lufthans here is looking for an additional source of income!
The card machine didn't work at first.
The Elizabeth water is "free".
The crew is coming back with the "dessert" meaning the free chocolate!
I might be old school but I think I prefer a legacy carrier to offer complimentary snacks, even if there is not as much choice as a BoB.
The Wifi was working from 10,000 feet but there was no free messaging service pass, unlike what AF and KL offer.
Shame there was also no digital press app nor streaming service or games, just what you can find on Latam for example.
But the good thing is the connecting flights being displayed on the page.
Approach already started.
Not sure what happened, usually a plane follows a STAR approach that is typically made of straight lines..
The landing was an amazing kiss landing.
Looking forward to see how the new terminal will look like.
Lufthansa is the latest airline in Europe to use so many old planes like the A340-300, A340-600 and of the course the Queen of the skies.
Looks like the Mordor gate to me!!
Beautiful arrival at A gates next to these B748 and A343
And on the background this vintage livery of B748
When leaving the plane we have the good surprise to see a woman wearing a High visibility jacket with a LH1298 sign (our next flight) and offers to escort us by bus to the next plane as the transfer time is now quite short (45 min), a nice and rare gesture at FRA.
See you at the next episode
LYS: Efficient as always.
LH:
Cabin is too grey a abit boring but the legroom is quite generous - even though the seats are somewhat just below the average for a legacy carrier. The crew was very professional, the WiFi was there but no free messaging service and no magazine anymore - shame.
In terms of catering OK it is not a hard BoB but still not a big fan of it.
FRA: A very nice gesture to be escorted to the next gates but the airport is really not that well organised. I think I will fly again with LH, it is like a nice meal but one that you will not remember for ever, a bit flavorless.
For memory here are my criteria to try and be fair at each report
-Entertainment: None < 4.5 Magazine 6< a smartphone application 7< Wifi 8 < IFE = 10
-Cabin: visually interesting, comfortable and user friendly> 7.5. For example, "Ironing boards" are <7
-Crew: Went for the extra mile, they've outdone themselves > 7.5
-Meal: : Buy On Board <5 Free <7.5< Visually interesting, satisfying, visually good and yummy
4 Comments
Yes a bit of a shame for the price paid really, it seems like the complimentary catering was a century ago.
I don’t know if LH group has planned to use anything else than NEK seats, even on the brand new planes you can find NEK seats.
See you soon!
Then there's the BOB, which while decent, is a shame for a legacy carrier. Again, there AF/KL do better with free offering and especially free alcohol (which helps dull the pain of being in Economy ?).
Being loyal to oneworld, I don't really get the chance to fly either AF or LH within Europe anymore, but given the choice based on product alone, I would choose AF over LH any day of the week.
Between the crappy NEK seats and having to pay for food/drinks, unless someone is a *A loyalist and needs to accumulate the points/miles then there's little difference between LH and Ryanair/EasyJet/Vueling etc when flying in Y.
Thanks for sharing!
I don't think one can describe any better the lack of consistancy of features in the LH cabin ahah
Exactly
Really not a big fan of BoB, even if those in favor of it will tell you that it means more choice, but to me it means that you need to get your credit card twice when flying: at booking and when for asking for a coffee..
We have done Revolutions for Brioche in France so they betta dont!
I have not repeated the experience, for a similar price I now fly more AF.
You have summed it up very well!!
See you soon!
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