PetzLUX

Same seat.
IFE: more modern at OS (touchscreen)
Crew: better service at LX.
Food: my vote goes to LX, as at OS 50 % of the menus were horrible (outbound from VIE, Do&Co was just hit or miss ; inbound to VIE the food was better)

Just my 2 cents.

YuropFlyer

Seat: About the same (very small advantage OS, I would say, as it's newer installation)
IFE: Small advantage OS
Food: Big advantage OS, while LX isn't bad usually, this is where OS does still shine (on long haul)

All together, I would prefer OS on long haul over LX in C..

pnt1

Very differing opinions here...

RandomBaritone

Forgive my resurrecting an old thread, but I have a slight wrinkle to this question. My spouse and I have a BOS>ZRH>ARN award trip booked soon in LX J, and now that we're past T-14, all kinds of new inventory is appearing on LH flights, including LH F via FRA or MUC. I've been wanting to fly LH F for years, but -- and this is a big but -- I'm not sure it makes sense to blow the additional 80K UA miles on what's just a 7+ hour flight.

I value UA miles at about 2¢ each, so the 80K mile cost for the two of us would be roughly $1,600. The comparison that's making this so tough for me is that the Windstar cruise we're boarding is offering suite upgrades for the entire 10-night cruise at just $500/person. It seems unfathomably decadent to drop $600 more than that for an experience that will last a single day.

Is there anything especially compelling about the LH F experience that can't be conveyed in a trip report? For example:

* Is the FCT worth a special visit even in the morning, when I won't be in the mood to enjoy unlimited Johnnie Walker Blue?

* Is the MUC FCL just as good? The better of the two alternative itineraries goes through MUC, though trip reports seem unanimous that the FCT is worth a visit. I personally loathe making connections at FRA ...but I've never flown LH F....

* While most would consider us foodies, neither of us has what you'd call an especially adventurous palate. Some of the LH F menus I've read make me drool onto my keyboard, while others leave me shaking my head. Would someone like me probably find LX J "good enough"? To give you a sense of our likes and dislikes, we both loathed the food in LH J two years ago, but loved the food in TK J on the same trip. It just seemed so much less fussy.

Thanks all. I know this is a personal choice, just trying to accumulate as much solid data as possible.

HadesNL

If you wanted it for years, you should try it before you feel sorry to miss out.
- FRA FCT warrants a longer connection time to be enjoyed and don't forget to factor time getting there from the main terminal, so take that in account when rebooking transit-time
- FRA FCLs and the MUC FCL are perfectly fine too, better facilities, amenities then LX FCL ZRH
- although food taste is subjective, i wouldn't say LH first food is touted as gastronomic horrific, there is always sometimes on the menu that is traditional and simple, try to take a look at the menu thread on FT what's on
- and if you travel with your spouse and it is a special occasion, just splurge and don't obssess about the miles per point value, the experience/enjoyment is priceless and unique

Or if you plan on travelling again just save the miles for a different occassion if you think that suits the occasion better.

RandomBaritone

Sensible advice, thanks.

We plan to stick with *A for the time being -- and I'd happily hold off, since 7 hours seems too brief to enjoy the in-flight experience -- but from what I've heard, longer saver F awards are tough to snag with UA miles.

Obviously there's no "right" answer, but I'll keep weighing my options. Part of the fun is just knowing we have this choice to make, so I appreciate the help!

Lack

Take notice that it costs the same amount of UA miles to EU in F as it does to Japan. You can route via EU and have a stopover there. Return from Japan is only 5k more expensive in partner C.
So if you have a flexible schedule, you can get two long hauls with LH F and a side trip to Japan for virtually no extra cost.

RandomBaritone

Thanks! That's a fascinating option, though we were just in Japan last autumn, so it may not be right for us. And I'll bet two seats in F on those routes are tough to snag.

While we accrue miles at a fair clip, I'm not one of those people who opens new credit accounts willy nilly just for the bonuses. So after having slept on it, perhaps LX C is aspirational enough for us right now....

Kleffen

Hi,

I certainly understand the dilemma.

I think an important thing here is to consider alternatives if you do not do it now, in terms of using the miles for LH F.

Can you imagine better alternatives in the future where you fly LH F, to other destinations, other transits etc. ?

If I were in your situation, there are a couple of things I would have considered :

1:
Have a substantial time in Frankfurt for the FCT, and if you are not in a rush to get to Sweden and are interested in cars and nature, I would consider doing the Porsche ride on one of the scenic routes around Frankfurt. It will cost you 99 euro, but is worth it as part of the F experience. It is nice to see beautiful german nature on your way to somewhere else.
2:
Does your spouse care about these things that childish guys like about F. Booze, cigars, porsches to planes, etc. ? I actually took a buddy on an F trip instead of my girlfriend, because she does not really care about those things, and does not like to see my drunk and silly. I sure would feel better with splashing those 80K extra miles, if I knew that my spouse would love the experience that F gives, and it not being only for myself.
3:
Who knows what will happen with redemption of award tickets in the future. Since LH are cutting out F routes, and cabins have less F seats than before, the award tickets might be more difficult to get.
4:
I'm not sure if 7 hours or 11 hours on plane makes much difference. I have flown dubai-frankfurt, as well as singapore-munich, and can't say the experience was any different even if the F trip was twice as long... Others probably have different opinions on this.

Good luck with your choice

RandomBaritone

Thanks for your thoughtful response! Really intriguing points. To answer your questions:

1. I could go either way on this one. While I like checking into hotels on the early side, so I can get the best possible room within my category, it can also be advantageous to check in late, when a last-minute upgrade may be possible. Currently our LX itinerary won't permit us to check in until 9pm, which rankles a bit, especially since there's an earlier LX flight ZRH>CPH that's only 25% full. It just doesn't have any award seats available. I asked in another thread about the likelihood of standing by for that flight, and the verdict was that that's not how things work on LX.

If we were to switch to LH F, I'd schedule a good 4 hours layover to be able to enjoy the FCT. There's tons of open award inventory FRA>ARN on LH.

2. Great question! He's certainly not a hobbyist the way I am, but he appreciates the finer things. But he's also a minister (!), and when I mentioned I was considering spending $800 each on F upgrades, he was a bit shocked. He asked "Don't we already have flat bed seats?" ... to which I mumbled something about these being better flat-bed seats....

3. This one you're right about, no question. May be our last chance. But in fact, we may be slumming it in the future: premium economy on LH and AC looks pretty darn good, essentially the same as US domestic F.

4. The more I think about it, it's not the length of the flight as much as the fact that it'll basically all be a redeye. I have to work that day, so I'll be fairly exhausted. If we were flying westbound it'd be a different story.

Thanks again. Really got me thinking.

nikolask

Hi all and a happy new year,

I'm planning a trip to New York this summer (flying out of Germany) and it's going to be my first long-haul business class experience.

Since I've never flown business class before I was wondering whether you could give me some advice what to choose. I credit my miles to A3 and since Lufthansa's P class (Z, D, J fares are way too expensive) doesn't earn anything there compared to Swiss' P class (100%) I am tempted to book flights with Swiss.

I've read some reviews online for both but still haven't decided whether to go with LH or LX. LX's business class looks more outdated to me but the reviews all say that it's a great product with outstanding service. I've flown the A380 before so this is not a priority but would be a nice thing..

Thanks for all the help!

Lack

I'd have no doubts about choosing LX in this scenario. Maybe try to get the new 77W plane with an updated C.

Viennafly

not even considering the mileage earning/booking class issues that you raised, I would always pick LX.
In my opinion (and many others), the LH C seat is more than suboptimal due to the lack of privacy, aisle access and I do not sleep very well in this seat. In addition, I remember a number of awful main courses, many starters that were a joke and some completely unexperienced and clueless FAs on LH. Also while ZRH is on a par with MUC, I try to avoid transferring in FRA, if possible.

fly747first

I have consistently found the LX J product to be superior over LH C both in terms of hard and soft products.

malmostoso

+1 for LX, even more so for the mileage situation.