Getting to the Airport

I’m finally on my way home, and I’m flying Lufthansa. I’m curious about this flight because it’s been ages since I last travelled with Lufthansa in Business Class. To be honest, if I’d had it my way, I would be travelling on Air France, but their daytime service from Dubai was already sold out when I booked the trip.

I leave the Sofitel Downtown Dubai just after 07h00 in the morning. At this time of day, and being a Saturday, the journey takes a little less than twenty minutes.

Check-In

Lufthansa checks in on row 4 of Terminal 1. There are dedicated queues for Economy Class, Business Class, and First Class passengers, even though there is no First Class cabin on the service to Munich.

Oh, good – it looks like all the odd balls are travelling today. I enter the line for Business Class, which is empty. Just as I reach the head of the queue, the person ahead of me leaves the counter and the check-in agent asks me to come forward. But the guy at the head of the Economy Class queue isn’t having any of it. “Hey, hey, hey, I come first”, he yells with a thick German accent. I must say, though, that the DNATA agent handles the matter very well. He explains to the guy that I’m in Business Class, which gives me priority, and that he’ll personally see to the him as soon as he’s done with me.

From check-in I head to immigration and security. And there’s more of them here. The first guy in the queue approaches the belt for the x-ray machine at security. He points to his baseball cap and asks, “I remove sis?”. Another German. The agent tells him yes, to remove belts, empty pockets, everything. So next, the passenger points to his belt and asks, “sis too?”. And again the agent repeats his instructions. I’m watching the scene and wondering, is he going to do that for every individual item? Alas, the tragic answer to that question is a very frustrated yes. No wonder this is taking so long. The next guy, behind him, inquires if it’s okay to take his banana through security, which kind of has me wondering what exactly he’s planning to do with the damn thing?

Lufthansa Dubai Lounge

Lufthansa has its own lounge in Dubai, which is located one floor up from the airside concourse. It is divided into a Senator section and a Business Class section, although the staff don’t seem too bothered either way. The lounge has no outside views. The windows look into the terminal. It’s not really very exciting as far as lounges go, but it serves its purpose, I guess.

Boarding

My flight to Munich is boarding through gate D6, which is a closed gate. There is a separate queue for Business Class passengers to enter the gate area. Inside, there is a segregated area sectioned off for passengers in boarding groups 1 and 2. Although it looks as though half the aircraft is in boarding groups 1 and 2. Boarding starts 45 minutes before departure.

The Cabin & Seat

The cabin is divided in two sections, with rows one to six in the forward section, between the L1 and L2 doors, and rows seven and eight in the rear section between the L2 door and the Premium Economy cabin.

The seats are laid out in a 2+2+2 configuration, which is more than just a little retro. The seat pairs by the window are slightly staggered, so that the aisle seat is slightly behind the window seat. I’m guessing this is supposed to give you more privacy. De facto, what it comes down to is a perfect view for the guy on the aisle of whatever the person on the window is reading or watching on their laptop. So much for privacy. Fortunately, the seat next to me remains empty on this flight.

In terms of storage, the seat is limited. There is a small drawer at the bottom of the back of the seat in front, but that’s rather small. It contains a bottle of still water and the amenity kit. Which is unfortunate, because I close the drawer in preparation for take off, and then after, I can no longer open it. Luckily, I haven’t put anything valuable in there.

In the bed position, the seat is comfortable enough, if perhaps a bit narrow around the shoulders. At least the armrest on the side of the window can be raised for some extra space. What is noticeable about the seat is that the motors that operate the individual parts are fairly noisy. Although, to be fair, I think that, partially, the issue is also that the A 350 is such a quiet aircraft. All in all, this really is quite an ugly seat. It’s out of date and certainly cannot compete with the hard product on other carriers.

Amenities

Already at my seat when I board the aircraft are a nice, thick blanket and a plump pillow. They’re really nice. The amenity kit is in the storage compartment with the water and is remarkable only for how ugly it is.

The Service & Crew

The service concept is a bit strange. Rows one to four of the forward Business Class cabin are served by the cabin crew working the forward galley, whereas rows five and six are served by the cabin crew working the second galley, together with rows seven and eight in the rear cabin section. During boarding, the flight attendant serving from the forward cabin passes through the cabin with welcome drinks and little packets of nuts. He reaches row four, and then abruptly turns back and doesn’t continue – because of course our row should be served by the other cabin crew.

It makes no difference, really, because, luckily, I can take the bottle of still water from the drawer of 1C, which has remained vacant. But the American behind me doesn’t get it. And when the cabin crew from the forward galley appears in the aisle the next time, he asks him if he could also have a welcome drink. To which the flight attendant answers that he’ll have to wait for his colleague who’ll be passing through from the rear. She doesn’t.

The Meal – Breakfast

The meal service begins as soon as the fasten seatbelt sign comes off. Most passengers don’t seem to want to eat and are already reclining or sleeping. Ahead of the meal, the crew hand out hot towels, and they really are piping hot!

The whole meal is served on one tray. For the hot meal, I’m having the savoury breakfast with hash brown, spinach, eggs in a tomato sauce, and grilled mushrooms. This dish is actually rather good, and the portion is a good size.

Also on the tray is a small plate of fruit and a bowl with a really lovely Bircher Müsli. There’s a nice selection of warm croissants and bread rolls, and the crew make several passes with the bread basket. To drink, I have a coffee with milk, which doesn’t even taste that bad.

One hour and thirty minutes after take-off in Dubai, the meal service is completed and the cabin crew come to remove my tray. I then recline my seat and read in my Kindle until it’s time for the second service.

The Second Service – Light Lunch

For the second service there are two choices. One is shrimps and the other is a mezze plater, which is what I have. The dish is rather nice and just about the right size. With that, the crew serve a small bowl of mixed berries.

Arrival

It’s a lovely day for flying. As we descend into Munich, I’m glued to the window. I’d like to say it’s because of the gorgeous mountains. But I think we all know that’s not quite true. I am just mesmerized by the A 350 and the simple, clean lines of its wing. This is such a pleasant aircraft to travel on, at least as a passenger.

Just before we descend into the clouds, the purser passes through the cabin with boxes of chocolate and thanks passengers for choosing Lufthansa. Apparently, she hasn’t noticed that nobody has been sitting in 1C since we left Dubai, because she places a box of chocolates there too. No information is provided on the screens to passengers with onward connections, like me.

Conclusion

This flight with Lufthansa was surprisingly okay. On this trip everything went according to plan, which helped. Other than that, I liked the quality and quantity of the food. The cabin crew were a bit nondescript, but I guess that’s better than saying they were rotten. The seat is, I would say, the weakest selling point, but I guess that will improve with the introduction of Allegris sometime in the next millennium. One thing in particular that struck me on this flight, especially if you compare it to a similar trip on Air France, is the complete lack of recognition for passengers with frequent flyer status. It’s not important, it’s just that the difference is quite striking.