I’m in Luxembourg. It’s Friday afternoon and I just finished giving a course. This weekend is Pentecost, which means Monday is a public holiday. And then on Wednesday I’ll be giving another course in Luxembourg. So instead of going home for the weekend, I’ve decided to do something else and visit an old friend of mine. But first I must catch a flight to Vienna.

Getting to the Airport

Transport: bus line 747
Departs from: main railway station in the city centre of Luxembourg
Frequency: depends on the traffic, which can be quite bad in Luxembourg
Journey time: 25 minutes
Fare: I don’t know. Normally you can buy tickets for public transport as you board the vehicle. This does not apply to the airport bus though. I have no idea where to purchase the tickets. But if you play dumb, normally the driver will simply let you on anyway.

Today I shall be taking the taxi to the airport anyway, because I’m travelling with a large suitcase which I don’t fancy carting to the bus stop.

Check-in

Location: ground level, the bus stops right in front of the terminal
Facilities: self-service machines
Counters: dedicated Luxair Business Class counters

The taxi drops me off in front of the departures hall, which is at ground level. The airport is fairly busy this afternoon. There are the business travellers, probably on their way home after a busy week’s work in one of the many offices of the EU in Luxembourg. And then there are also the leisure travellers, presumably because there’s a long weekend ahead.

The Lounge

Location: one floor down from the departures level
Type of Lounge: Luxair lounge

There is a Luxair lounge in Luxembourg, which is very nice. In the evenings though, it does tend to become rather busy as it’s not very big and it’s also the only lounge there is in Luxembourg, so in fact it’s available to the premium passengers of most of the airlines operating out of Luxembourg.

Boarding

Boarding is via gate A16, which is a bus gate.

The Cabin

Configuration: 3 + 3
Seat: standard European-style Business Class with the middle seat left empty
Facilities: coat hook
Audio and Video: audio and video are installed, only video available on this particular flight.

Originally, when I booked this flight it should have been operated by a Dash-8-400. However, much to my surprise we eventually pull up next to a Boeing B 737-700. Needless to say I’m delighted with the aircraft change!

The cabin looks very neat, with blue seats and cream coloured, adjustable headrests and seatbelts. The seat pitch is rather tight though. There is no cabin divider to separate Business and Economy Class. I also notice that the seat rows on the left and on the right side are not aligned, although I’m not quite sure wherein the benefit of this should lie.

The Crew

The crew appear to be all from Luxembourg. They’re rather a nondescript bunch really. There’s nothing wrong with the way they go about their job and they’re not in any way rude. But it’s nearly as though they’re not really there. In fact you get the distinct impression they aren’t interested even in the faintest in their passengers. Later on during the flight, as soon as the service is over, they vanish into the galley and remain there until it is time for them to secure the cabin for landing.

The Meal

Choice: none
Delivery: traditional tray service
Type of meal: light snack
Menu: there is a small printed menu

1. duck and vegetable millefeuille in a tangy sauce
2. raspberry, melon and pineapple
3. lemon tart, brownie and white chocolate bavarois cake
4. bread roll
5. orange juice
6. coffee

The presentation of the meal is nice. I quite like it for the simple reason that it’s unusual and makes a difference from what you normally see on planes in Europe today. But I can’t really say I enjoyed the meal. I’ve never been partial to duck because I find it too fatty. And when it comes packed in between layers of gelatine, then I think I’d rather pass.

The desserts are alright, although the brown thing described as a ‘brownie’ in the menu is more like a mini piece of Black Forest gateau. The meal is quickly removed, I barely touched it. I spend the rest of the flight gazing out the window. My favourite pastime.

Arrival

After we land, we taxi on seemingly endlessly. It appears that we’re got more or less the remotest possible stand on the whole apron. A bus is expecting us to bring the passengers to the terminal.

Conclusion

So what about Luxair Business Class? To be honest, it’s really quite hard to say. There wasn’t really anything to complain about, but I don’t think there was anything about the experience that would make me seek them out for my next trip either. The meal was okay, if you like that kind of food. The pitch on row 1 though, was really just too tight.