oliver2002

We were told at the event with the LH CEO CEO last October and the LH lurkers posted it here and on VFT. The airline has been working since one year to be approved for precheck and wanted to start at 9 or 10 of its 18 N. American Gateways this summer on a trial basis.

miamiflyer8

Which lounge does LH use at TPA. The Admirals Club or the Delta SkyClub.

FTstudent

I'd love to be told I'm wrong, but pretty sure the answer is NONE. There's an AA lounge in the terminal that LH uses. I opted not to walk into a One World establishment asking if they would accept Star Alliance customers due to the seriously high chances of being laughed out of there.

firefighterr

Hi All,
Has anybody flown this aircraft and can tell me about the Premium Eco Seats. I don't know if I should book row 4 or 5...row 4 would be behind Business Class is there a wall that separates that is far enough away to enjoy the seat or is it too close? Would be happy for somebody to comment.
This aircraft is used on FRA-TPA

ParisMoskau

The center section of row 4 (4 D-G) has excellent legroom, the outer sections less so. Just on that flight in 4G.

br0snic

Can't seem to find an answer. If there is please point me into the right direction.

What's the best Y seat on the Cityline A343? Also the seatmap on LH shows row 11 as the first row in econ, but when booking and selecting seats, econ starts at row 10. I can't seem to find any seatmap with row 10 as econ anywhere. Any advice? Right now 11 is open as well as 10HK. The 30s are already taken.

Thanks. Looks like this bird isn't affected by the strike.

East Coast Wing

Neither. My wife flew in paid business last Friday, February 10, and her group of three was told there was no lounge access at TPA. After years of doing this trip EWR-FRA it was letdown.

FlyerTalkUserName

A lot of consistent rumors on airliners.net of this flight going to mainline. Now floating a date of March '18 with either a 346 or 744.

Edit: Are there any current routes LH flies with a 346 that doesn't offer F? I know they have a few 330 routes where they don't offer F.

flyingfkb

The LH webpage confirms this. There is no lounge at TPA. On the other hand I tried many options to to fly FRA-TPA. I did via Dulles, via Charlotte and via Philadelphia and the direct flight FRA-TPA is still the best option. TPA is the first airport where immigration for non US-citizens is not a zoo. Compared to the chaos I know from BOS, JFK, EWR, Dulles, SFO I have encountered over the years. TPA is so relaxing.

NewbieRunner

This reminds me of breakfast in TPA oliver2002 and I had after a moderators' meeting there in 2015. oliver2002 was flying to IAD and I was flying to ORD both on UA but as there was no lounge we sat in a cafe close to our boarding gates. Who needs a United Club when you can have this for under $10?

FlyerTalkUserName

Yeah TPA is a dream, which is why I'm so excited about the idea of this flight going to mainline.

There's a contract lounge that BA uses, but the BA and LH flights depart within an hour and a half of each other so maybe that lounge isn't an option for LH due to overcrowding. Maybe LH will offer lounge access to F passengers but not J?

I'm mainly an award flyer and the flight apparently does really well in the premium cabins with the light J configuration of the A343 so it can be pretty tough to score partner award business seats other than right at departure.

Would love the opportunity to fly F to Europe without connecting somewhere in the US. Hopefully there are enough wealthy folks that will purchase the flight in F to keep it going.

When I initially read about the flight going to mainline I thought it would go to a 744 but considering the consistent Y availability and absence of J availability maybe the A346 does make more sense. Also it appears LH has more A346's than B744's so maybe that's playing a role.

oliver2002

LH has only 5 A346 planned for Summer 2018 ex FRA. Its highly unlikely you will get A346 service to TPA as these 5 A346 are coming from MUC to replace/swap A380 service. My bet would be on B744 service with no F. TPA has no F market.

FlyerTalkUserName

Thanks for the input! I was really skeptical when I read it at as well, which is why I asked the question upthread if there were any A346's operated on routes where F wasn't offered.

I also read on Airliners that the flight has done really well with cargo which might make more sense for the B744? Not sure what the cargo difference is between an A346 and a B744.

Other thing I just read is that Cityline is going away as a result of the Jump agreement and all of the flights are "returning to mainline"? So in theory there could be a switch to mainline without an equipment swap?

oliver2002

The premise of the JUMP project remains: refurbished A343 with small C cabin, PE and large Y cabin to sun & sand destinations or destinations that require a large Y cabin and low operating cost. The other A343 fleet has a slightly larger C cabin: 32 instead of 18 in Jump. A346 is another large C cabin: 48 to 60, B744 is even larger.

gpicur

Hogar, Sorry to hear that you did not get the PE upgrade. I love LH, but their Economy seats are tortuous. The food, drinks and entertainment however do make sitting in economy somewhat bearable. How was the TPA-FRA flight ? Were they overbooked in PE and/or J Class ? How was the LH Experience at TPA ? I understand that there are no Lounges for LH passengers. Was check-in and ground services similar to what you would receive at other LH USA Gateways ?