My wife and I are flying to Germany over christmas (leaving around the 23rd) and new years and wanted to book Lufthansa business class tickets.
Now my question which machines are already equipped with the new C-Cl or which ones would be the best to fly with if you had to pick. I guess the options are:
LH403 Boeing 747-400
LH401 A330-300
LH405 A340-600
Alternatively we could book UA on the 767-400 EWR - FRA or UA 757-200 EWR - STR
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Welcome to FT, Siriuscom!
I can confirm none of the aircraft listed will have the new Business seats to/from FRA. You have a slight chance of getting the new C if you fly JFK-MUC.
thank you newbierunner.
that's too bad as someone from lufthansa told me they are changing all the 747-400's to the new c-cl till january 2013... I guess not.
anyways, are all the other planes pretty much the same when it comes to seat comfort service etc or are there differences?
elsie, I flew with Lufthansa business about three years ago and really enjoyed the service on board so i would like to fly with them again.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Siriuscom
ok so lets forget about the new c-cl any prefernces on any of the LH flights to frankfurt?
One more vote here for SQ25 (much better hard product) if FRA is your final destination and nice on-board C experience is desired. On the ground in Terminal 4 JFK you will get stuck in mediocre contact lounge.
If you really want to fly LH, personally I find any of the NYC-FRA flights in C are comparable on-board (LH401,403,405) although I notice that LH400/401 has been operating with smaller equipment lately (today was an A330). It just depends on what time you want to depart NYC/arrive FRA.
If you are going beyond Frankfurt in the EU, I find LH401 (JFK) desirable because it arrives usually just before 06:00, and it is easy to catch an early onward connection, or have a shower and breakfast in the Welcome Lounge and get an early onward train.
LH403 arrives in FRA typically between 07:00 and 08:00 if you want to land a bit later, but then you have to suffer the lounge in EWR (any votes for EWR as worst LH lounge in the network? :-) ). The equipment is typically a 744.
LH405 is great if you want to spend the whole day in NYC and then depart late around 22:00 and arrive in FRA at about 12:00. If you are staying in or around FRA you can often go straight to the hotel, and sometimes even have a room ready for check-in. The equipment is typically a 744 non-peak and an A380 during peak season. For some reason I personally have remarkable luck with OP-UPs on LH405 (and the lounge staff at JFK is outstanding if you need any help with your reservations, etc.).
For comparison, SQ25 departs around 20:00 and arrives in FRA at about 10:00. The SQ equipment is an A380, and the C seats are very wide (in cubicle-like arrangement with good privacy), and you can even order your in-flight meal in advance from a special "book the cook" menu. And of course you will get the usual polite and consistent SQ soft product.
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Since I can't comment on SQ, I'll try and answer the OP's question.
The Business seats are the same on all the flights/aircraft types listed, as is food and service (in theory anyway). The lounge in EWR is and the JFK lounge is one of the better LH lounges.
The seating on the 747-400 is 2-2 in the nose and 2-3-2 further back. On Airbuses it's 2-2-2. I think the choice as N1003U points out is between LH401 and LH405 based on the preferred departure/arrival time.
If you look for a direct flight from NYC to FRA I would also advocate for SQ. The have a decent product and a very good schedule (late morning arrvial in FRA and being back at NYC around noon).
If you want to fly LH by any means it really depends on your preferences time-wise. I rather prefer to depart late in NYC and therefore my choice would be LH405 or possibly LH403. I hate to depart at NYC in the afternoon and arrive in FRA at 6am because I find it much more difficult to sleep on the plane but that's probably just me.
Before you book UA I would also consider LX either via GVA or ZRH. LX has a very good C product.
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The SQ westbound flight is great if you want to be in Manhattan early for some work. The SQ eastbound is at 8pm, which is OK, but you are pretty certain to experience the 1 hour taxi from the gate to the runway. The 10pm LH flight is much better, you just taxi for 10 min.
The eastbound on LH or SQ is far too short to get any sleep if you even dare to 'enjoy' the onboard service. Hence the LH flight wins since you can eat in the lounge and then just sleep on board.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oliver2002
The SQ westbound flight is great if you want to be in Manhattan early for some work. The SQ eastbound is at 8pm, which is OK, but you are pretty certain to experience the 1 hour taxi from the gate to the runway. The 10pm LH flight is much better, you just taxi for 10 min.
The eastbound on LH or SQ is far too short to get any sleep if you even dare to 'enjoy' the onboard service. Hence the LH flight wins since you can eat in the lounge and then just sleep on board.
+1. Also excellent comments, especially with respect to the eastbound flight.
Business must be a bit slow if LH405 is scaled down to a 346 at holiday travel time.
As NewbieRunner points out, in principle (and IME) all of the LH flights in terms of hard and soft product are similar.
The SQ westbound flight is great if you want to be in Manhattan early for some work. The SQ eastbound is at 8pm, which is OK, but you are pretty certain to experience the 1 hour taxi from the gate to the runway. The 10pm LH flight is much better, you just taxi for 10 min.
The eastbound on LH or SQ is far too short to get any sleep if you even dare to 'enjoy' the onboard service. Hence the LH flight wins since you can eat in the lounge and then just sleep on board.
Getting four hours sleep on a seven+ hours overnight flight is no problem on SQ. Their supper service is fast and the seat wonderful compared to the old LH angled lie-flat seat. For similar fare, or even higher fare, I would choose SQ A380 over LH any time. And I would avoid back problems.
and the JFK lounge is one of the better LH lounges.
when up front
