Hello to everyone, this is my first post here.
First of all, I read this forum since almost an year, and I found it quite useful, and I love the open discussions between members.
Now, going to the subject, what the OP says is really happening. For instances, I fly frequently the OPO - FRA route, and for years the passangers had an hot meal or, instead, if the flight was at 6:05 am, a cold (but full) breakfast in Economy. In the picture that Olivier kindly posted, it was the level 5 in Y (155 minutes OPO - FRA, 160 FRA - OPO).
In the 29th December, on the same flight, all we had was a sandwich, and yesterday it was a muffin! The FA were embaressed, and the purser was apologizing, because she thought that could only be a mistake. She said she had a discussion in FRA airport, when the catering was loaded, beacuse, it was not possible that a 160 minutes flight had that kind of meal.
I have written a complaint (and I was not the only one in that flight, even the purser said she would made the same) but I am not expecting anything.
So, it seems that Lufthansa it's selling a downgrade in Catering (at least, in some routes) as an Upgrade.
That plus the end of U fare makes me feel that Climb 2011 is a kind of "Iberiazation" ("Ryanairization" is another kind of matter) of the product in the intra-Europe flights.