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Some thoughts - Lufthansa vs BA business class

Some thoughts - Lufthansa vs BA business class

Old Jan 26, 2019, 11:07 pm
  #1  
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Some thoughts - Lufthansa vs BA business class

I did several trips last year in BA CW from the US to India and I just completed a similar trip in Lufthansa business class. A few notes while my thoughts are fresh on this topic:
  • My BA segments were all on 787 (both -8 and -9) or 777. The LH segments were either A350 or A330.
  • The business class seats were identical in both A330 and A350 on LH
  • My order of preference is BA 787 > Lufthansa (A330 or A350) > BA 777
  • BA unrenovated 777s are simply not competitive
  • The 2-3-2 seating pattern in BA CW is by far my favorite
  • BA seats are actually more comfortable overall and have more privacy
  • On LH, I found that I could not help but see what he person in adjacent seat was watching on his IFE - this is distracting
  • LH seat controls were nicer
  • LH seats have a nice little hook to hold glasses when sleeping
  • LH has a 2-2-2 seating pattern which makes things very awkward for the window seat passengers
  • The LH lounge in EWR was definitely nicer than the BA lounge
  • Service and food were similar
  • On LH, I connected in MUC - which was a good experience since there is no need to go through security - unlike LHR T5. I didn't have much time to enjoy the lounge in MUC but it seemed decent. The BA T5 lounge is enormous in comparison but feels packed even so.
  • For some reason, BA was not price competitive this trip so I picked LH but I think I will stick to BA next time
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 1:09 am
  #2  
 
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How can LH have any negatives, they are a 5 star airline for a business class seat that doesnt even exist yet!!
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 2:21 am
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  • LH seats have a nice little hook to hold glasses when sleeping
This would be so useful on BA CW Services with no storage when the bed is flat.. such as the 777 etc.
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 4:25 am
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Originally Posted by 2sk21
  • LH seats have a nice little hook to hold glasses when sleeping
This is always something that has set LH J seats apart for this wearer of face-furniture. For as long as I can remember, even when they had the angled lie-flat seats - where it was a little moleskin-lined cubby, LH always had somewhere handy to stick your glasses on the Long Haul J seat.

I guess this is a cultural thing - in Britain we rib people as "speccy four-eyes" for wearing glasses, and so our glasses are swept under the carpet, or in this case, lost, adrift in the seat mechanism.
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 5:01 am
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I hate the fact that there is nowhere to put your glasses when youre trying to sleep on BA. Theres nothing worse.
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 5:02 am
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Originally Posted by aidy
How can LH have any negatives, they are a 5 star airline for a business class seat that doesnt even exist yet!!
no, they are a 5 star airline because they are actually a good airline !
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 5:37 am
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Overall I find the BA CW (777 or 747) easy to sleep on ..
Upper deck is by far the best in a beautiful plane.
Privacy can be an issue, but personal storage in and around the seat , that has to be addressed
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 5:45 am
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Originally Posted by ahmetdouas


no, they are a 5 star airline because they are actually a good airline !
Their LH haul business class seat is a bigger joke than CW, their short haul business class is at best on par with Club Europe. Their buisness class lounges make Galleries shine.

Very nice First Class though (although in my one experience not as far ahead as BA F as people make out)
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 5:50 am
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For me neither offers a competitive hard product in business but I would choose the A350 in front of the 787 on any occasion and for me the LH soft product is superior and in particular catering from MUC.
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 5:55 am
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Originally Posted by Cap'n Benj

Their LH haul business class seat is a bigger joke than CW, their short haul business class is at best on par with Club Europe. Their buisness class lounges make Galleries shine.

Very nice First Class though (although in my one experience not as far ahead as BA F as people make out)
i think the 5 star is about consistency. Its like comparing British trains with German trains, I know which one I would prefer
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 6:06 am
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Originally Posted by ahmetdouas


i think the 5 star is about consistency. Its like comparing British trains with German trains, I know which one I would prefer
Going to Germany in order to get a train to Amsterdam night not be the best plan thoughh and not sure the German finder Arriva trains went too well.

Ive not flown LG for a decade, it was ok last time I flew them, would fly them again on the right route for a decent price.
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 6:14 am
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I largely agree with the OP's summary - it is balanced and factual. However, when there are F upgrades going (via either upgrade instruments or OpUps), you want to be on LH.

In saying that, if I wanted to be on a LH Group J product, it would have to be LX for me - far better than BA and LH J products hands down.
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 6:19 am
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Originally Posted by ahmetdouas


i think the 5 star is about consistency. Its like comparing British trains with German trains, I know which one I would prefer
Consistently sub par. Fair enough. Ryan Air should have 5 stars too then
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 6:24 am
  #14  
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My parents emailed me after their recent LH flight on their A340 in J, "Good service, and decent food. But the seats are rather narrow, aren't they?"

They're actually thin, and I have no idea why they found the seat to be narrow to be honest, but that's the impression they got.
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Old Jan 27, 2019, 7:11 am
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Originally Posted by rossmacd
I largely agree with the OP's summary - it is balanced and factual. However, when there are F upgrades going (via either upgrade instruments or OpUps), you want to be on LH.

In saying that, if I wanted to be on a LH Group J product, it would have to be LX for me - far better than BA and LH J products hands down.
Interesting- As it happens, I will be traveling on LX business class soon so I'll update my comparison based on my observations there
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