ded0r

looks more useful than most LH Business kits if you ask me

LufthansaFlyer

There is going to a new C kit in August, made by Samsonite.

af fp

Fully agree. Even AF did it before them! Only USA airlines and a few small European ones are behind!

moeve

OK now who has already had their behinds in one of those for test sit? You know they may look good on the Photo but these new NEK seats are modern torture instruments to me and these seats look no better to me right now! Now add an 8 hour or more flight to the equation......

dvs7310

My company doesn't even balk at a $3k Premium Economy fare but won't allow a $3k Business Class fare... it's where perception and bureaucracy prevail over common sense. There are a lot of business travelers in similar situations.

If LH comes in at $2k-3k for this Asia-Europe I think it looks good. This is much newer and fresher than SK SAS Plus and I don't like CPH since there is no lounge in the non-Shengen area, forcing me to go through passport control to use the lounge if transiting to LHR for example. I have seen BA FAR cheaper for advance purchase Y+, supposedly a good product but it's not *A so not even in consideration for me. I don't think NH is competitive on product or price for their Y+. It's probably fair to say that the seat of TK Comfort Class is far nicer, but from IST-Europe is just standard Y, not terribly appealing. Once this gets rolled out beyond the 748 fleet I see it as a big plus for LH.

Kacee

So you would buy PE to upgrade to J - a little pricier than the W premium you pay now, but the default would be PE rather than E+ if the upgrade misses. Just like BA.

kasi

The main
difference is: When flying Eco SEN get status miles to retain their status,while HON don t get the miles to retain their status. :-)

whiskey_sk

how dare you fly in Y if you're a HON

karaokequeen3

Coolest pencil case ever. ^

NewbieRunner

Does this mean the new F kit will also be by Samsonite?
Improvements in every travel class and on the ground – amenity kits from Samsonite

txlflyer

I do not understand why managers still accept to fly long-distance in Eco ? I have declined various extremely well-paid job offers in the last 24 months ( especially from US-corporations) who pay great salaries, provide you a 5-series BMW, but expect you to fly twice a month long distance in cattle. As long as enough prospects accept it, the company policies often made by non-travelling accountants will never change. I often have trips to Asia where I arrive after midnight and have to participate in workshops or lectures early in the morning.
If sitting upright for ten hours in Eco I can´t sleep a minute and will need three days to get back to normal. If I can sleep 7 or 8 hours in business class I am fit for work and jetlag doesn´t kick in this badly. If you live in Japan and fly frequently to Europe or the US you can negotiate with airlines special deals where you promise that you and your team fly 20, 50 or 100 times a year with them. This will bring down the price for business class flights dramatically ( done that some years ago as I was managing the Japan branch of a European company).

oliver2002

We tested it a bit, it feels firm yet well cushioned, definitely not slimline. Of course sitting in a prototype in a trade show is far different from a regular seat in an aircraft for 8-12h.

N1003U

I find the Porsche Design kit is at least as cool as a pencil case, but I suppose it is a matter of taste...

I am looking forward to trying out the new Y+ product both hard and soft. I see it as a nice compromise when I can't justify an overly expensive (in my mind) C ticket, yet I am getting to old and spoiled to suffer an intercontinental flight in regular Y except for the most dire of circumstances.

A few hundred euros for a few extra cm to stretch, a foot-rest, and a power supply (hopefully better than those in the old C seats) are worth it for me.

whiskey_sk

you'll have to get the bulkhead row for the leg rest, though. If there are basinets there, hmmmm...

N1003U

Yes, it is clear to me as well that managers who say "the back of the plane arrives at the same time as the front", or "you are there anyway (and billing hours), it doesn't matter if you sleep well or not" (as one fellow FTer described his company policy to me) are often not the people who have to travel multiple times per month, or do not have to face customers who are very aware of the price they are paying for your presence and expect you to be in top form, or do not understand well the need to perform without recovery time on arrival.

OTOH, I am a small independent consultant who does not have the buying power to negotiate pricing, so I need to make compromises when the retail value proposition becomes poor. LH is in my eyes famous for outrageous retail prices, while their contract business is fairly competitive (product features are a separate discussion).

For example, for me when a long-haul Z ticket starts to go above ca. 4k€, which is not unusual ex-FRA or ex-ZRH (I can sometimes plan my travel a few weeks in advance), then Y+ and sleeping a few hours extra in the hotel on arrival begins to look like a real bargain.

For others, the stupidity of corporate bureaucracy is a fact of life, and if this product represents an approved class of travel and gives them a bit of relief, then it seems to me a win-win for both passenger and LH.