Trip report: MAA-FRA on Lufthansa A340-300 Business Class

Work took me to Warsaw recently. I was quite excited about this trip for a variety of reasons, one of which was that I would be long haul flying business class on Lufthansa - something I've never experienced to date. My trip itself was confirmed only on the eve of my travel date, which was a good ending to all the anticipation!

MAA-FRA

Flight: LH 759 | 10h 40m | 4723 miles | Business Class

This was the first leg of a trip that had Warsaw as my destination, and was an early morning flight (1.50 am departure, as is the case with a majority of ex-India departures). I was hoping I'd get to experience Lufthansa's New Business Class, but a prior interaction with Ben of One Mile At A Time suggested that I might not be all that lucky.

So after a quick stop at the lounge (that is so much not worth writing about, that I will write about it soon), I headed out to get my nicotine dose before a 11-hour abstention. I could see my ride from there, though it wasn't clear (naturally) if it had the new business class product.

 I finally boarded a few minutes before the last call, and was pleasantly surprised.

LH New business class seats

It was indeed the new business class product, which is sort of like a reverse herring-bone configuration and positioning.

LH new business class footrest, screen and storage compartment

The seat pitch is quite good and offers a lot of space. In fact, unless you're 6'2 or taller, you'll find it difficult to reach the footrest when seated without any incline.

LH new business class cabin

However, it was only after settling into my seat that I realised it wasn't all that brilliant a product as I'd hoped it would be. I think the main issue is, while they've enabled a fully flat bed (as opposed to an angled lie-flat) that's close to 2 meters long, the seat width isn't spectacular. In fact, I remember thinking that it was only 2 or 3 inches wider than a standard economy seat on Jet Airways domestic flights. And it most certainly wasn't as generous as Jet's business class product.

LH new business class seat

Also, there isn't much storage space, but for the storage compartment below the TV screen, and that's quite narrow.

The flight is equipped with a wifi hotspot, and I found the rates quite reasonable - 15 Euros for 24 hours, and 10 Euros (or something close) for 2 hours. I wasn't in a mood to do any work, so I didn't use this, but good to know that the option exists.

LH new business class cabin

There is sufficient overhead storage space in business class, and there doesn't seem to be any actual restriction on number of bags that you can bring on board. There was one passenger that had 4 bags, including 2 really large ones.

An amenity kit and a bottle of water were already placed in the storage compartment below the TV.

LH new business class amenity kit and water bottle

The amenity kit had the essentials for a long haul trip like this (with an early morning arrival), but nothing spectacular otherwise.

LH new business class long haul amenity kit contents

We were then handed out menus (apologies for the bad quality of pictures),

and I chose the champagne as my pre-departure drink.

LH new business class pre-departure drink

The doors closed shortly thereafter, and after the safety video, we were soon on our way. About 20-25 minutes after take off, the FAs came round to dress our tables for dinner, followed by the actual dinner service.

Again, this was a bit disappointing. I had made up my mind to go with the Indian chicken-based meal, but I believe there's an unstated expectation among FAs that Indians will only opt for the Asian Vegetarian meal. Then why hand out menus, I ask! At the very least, I would've expected them to check with me on what I wanted, but they assumed and served me the Asian Veg meal. I had to clarify my expectations with them, and was finally served this (including the continental appetiser),

LH new business class Indian non-vegetarian meal

as also my other favourite drink with Lufthansa - the tomato juice with salt and pepper (and a refill of the champagne).

LH new business class champagne and tomato juice; Fading Gigolo playing on TV!

After dinner (which I didn't find appetising enough to finish), I watched a movie, sipping on some champagne and munching salted almonds, and then was off to bed.

LH new business class salted almonds

Morning saw me reset my watch to European time, and breakfast service was starting. This time I was asked before service, and I chose the continental breakfast.

LH new business class breakfast

Because of the lack of width on the bed, I hadn't slept well, and I was too sleepy and a bit disoriented, to enjoy breakfast much, but it is what it is! Most of the breakfast was so-so, but I do recall that the mash and the croissant were great!

LH new business class cabin

Breakfast service was wrapped up quickly, and we had a timely touchdown in FRA. And I was thrilled to be reunited with the thing that got me hooked on to travel - the split-flap display at FRA!

Overall impressions

To be honest, I wasn't all that impressed with this product. The hard product itself is only moderate at best, mainly due to the limited seat width in spite of it being a new business class product, and the lack of seat level storage space. The food quality was average, though quantity was good. Beverages were pretty good overall. The soft product - particularly in terms of FA friendliness and service quality - was quite pedestrian, especially their pre-conceived notions on Indians' food preferences.