Lufthansa business class??

[jimboivyo]

Airplane food is always bad, even in First Class!

 

beg to differ. Cathay and Singapore in F run a quality service, including catering

[Steven_Draker]

beg to differ. Cathay and Singapore in F run a quality service, including catering

 

I understand some airlines even have a private chef onboard. Cannot vouch for that but that's what I hear.

[Diverdan]

Based on all the comments, I guess I must have been very lucky on LH. My flight from Frankfort to Beijing was in the upper cabin on a 747... dinner cooked to order, 180 degree flat seats for sleeping, complimentary pajamas which all the passengers (12) (there were 4 empty seats in FC) used. Time in the am to clean up and change and a wonderful hot breakfast before arrival. A similar experience on the Frankfort to Johansburg flight in LH FC. But that is a couple of years ago, so they may not have kept it up. I have had wonderful experiences on Singapore Airlines and also on Thai. Air France has been my worst experience in flight regardless of class of service. Good luck and check out the particular flight and seating before you travel, as that is the only way you will know what you are getting.

[ncc1701d]

You are not in the minority NYCman. I avoid Luftansa exactly for that reason. If you are paying/cashing in points, you might as well get better. Seatguru.com is an excellet resource

[gallahadesquire]

Regarding Lufthansa: a perusal of http:seatguru.com, which has recently changed its format, showed almost all of its business class seats to have the same pitch / width as coach. I think this may be a mistake on Seatguru.com's part, but I agree: 180 flat or nothing.

 

I also understand their goose with rotkohl is exceptional, although only served around "the holidays"

[Steven_Draker]

How about this ...?

 

 

 

A PLANE IS ON ITS WAY TO TORONTO, WHEN A BLONDE IN

 

ECONOMY CLASS GETS UP, AND MOVES TO THE FIRST CLASS

 

SECTION AND SITS DOWN.

 

 

 

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT WATCHES HER DO THIS, AND ASKS

 

TO SEE HER TICKET.

 

 

 

SHE THEN TELLS THE BLONDE THAT SHE PAID FOR ECONOMY

 

CLASS, AND THAT SHE WILL HAVE TO SIT IN THE BACK.

 

 

 

THE BLONDE REPLIES, "I'M BLONDE, I'M BEAUTIFUL, I'M

 

GOING TO TORONTO AND I'M STAYING RIGHT HERE."

 

 

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT GOES INTO THE COCKPIT AND TELLS

 

THE PILOT AND THE CO-PILOT THAT THERE IS A BLONDE

 

BIMBO SITTING IN FIRST CLASS, THAT BELONGS IN

 

ECONOMY, AND WON'T MOVE BACK TO HER SEAT.

 

 

 

THE CO-PILOT GOES BACK TO THE BLONDE AND TRIES TO

 

EXPLAIN THAT BECAUSE SHE ONLY PAID FOR ECONOMY

 

SHE WILL HAVE TO LEAVE AND RETURN TO HER SEAT.

 

 

 

THE BLONDE REPLIES, "I'M BLONDE, I'M BEAUTIFUL, I'M

 

GOING TO TORONTO AND I'M STAYING RIGHT HERE ."

 

 

 

THE CO-PILOT TELLS THE PILOT THAT HE PROBABLY SHOULD

 

HAVE THE POLICE WAITING WHEN THEY LAND TO ARREST

 

THIS BLONDE WOMAN WHO WON'T LISTEN TO REASON.

 

 

 

THE PILOT SAYS, "YOU SAY SHE IS A BLONDE? I'LL

 

HANDLE THIS, I'M MARRIED TO A BLONDE. I SPEAK BLONDE."

 

 

 

HE GOES BACK TO THE BLONDE AND WHISPERS IN HER EAR,

 

AND SHE SAYS, "OH, I'M SORRY," AND GETS UP AND GOES

 

BACK TO HER SEAT IN ECONOMY.

 

 

 

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT AND CO-PILOT ARE AMAZED AND

 

ASKED HIM WHAT HE SAID TO MAKE HER MOVE WITHOUT

 

ANY FUSS.

 

 

 

"I TOLD HER FIRST CLASS ISN'T GOING TO TORONTO."

 

------------------

 

[inheat75]

LOL. Steven, this is Gold!

 

How about this ...?

 

 

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT AND CO-PILOT ARE AMAZED AND

 

ASKED HIM WHAT HE SAID TO MAKE HER MOVE WITHOUT

 

ANY FUSS.

 

 

 

"I TOLD HER FIRST CLASS ISN'T GOING TO TORONTO."

 

------------------

 

[HardnThick]

Which airline is best....Arggh?

 

There may be a chance to switch my long-haul flight from Lufthansa business (with their non-flat 165 degree seat) to United business. But from what I’ve been reading in this thread, I can’t tell if that would be an improvement.

 

LH will use a 747-400 and UAL a 777-200. By the way, SeatGuru.com had incorrect info. Guru showed 2 + 2 seats (fully flat) in nose of plane for business (no first class). LH’s live person and website say there is a first class on that flight and business seats are 2 + 2 + 2 across. Although LH’s website claims fully flat seats on long-haul business, their telephone rep told me that my itinerary has only 165 degree seats.

 

So alternatives to LH are UAL, Austrian, Swiss and Singapore. These would all entail an additional stop enroute and would only become available if some already ticketed person cancels/changes their ticket.

 

Do you think the difference in service between LH and the others is worth the additional stop and calling every day to see if seats became available?

 

Thanks so much!

[Diverdan]

For what it is worth, I have done the UAL 777 FC trips and they were good and had the fully flat seats in FC. I never like to do additional stops on a long haul and a lot will depend on what the additional cost might be. Good luck and as you said, it is best to check directly with the airline. I have had eroneous information from various other sites.

[Diverdan]

PS to Steven and others,

Great story. I have met some blonds in FC who would have absolutely believed the Captain... sad and funny, but a lot of truth in that joke!

DD

[fedssocr1]

There may be a chance to switch my long-haul flight from Lufthansa business (with their non-flat 165 degree seat) to United business. But from what I’ve been reading in this thread, I can’t tell if that would be an improvement.

 

LH will use a 747-400 and UAL a 777-200. By the way, SeatGuru.com had incorrect info. Guru showed 2 + 2 seats (fully flat) in nose of plane for business (no first class). LH’s live person and website say there is a first class on that flight and business seats are 2 + 2 + 2 across. Although LH’s website claims fully flat seats on long-haul business, their telephone rep told me that my itinerary has only 165 degree seats.

 

So alternatives to LH are UAL, Austrian, Swiss and Singapore. These would all entail an additional stop enroute and would only become available if some already ticketed person cancels/changes their ticket.

 

Do you think the difference in service between LH and the others is worth the additional stop and calling every day to see if seats became available?

 

Thanks so much!

 

There are online tools you can use to see if seats are available. I like ExpertFlyer.com. There is a free trial period but otherwise it is not free. Lots of nice tools including seat maps. And you can set it to alert you when award seats become available or seats in a particular class.

 

LH 747-400s have first class upstairs. On the new 747-8 first class is downstairs and there is more business class upstairs.

 

UA 777's have fully flat seats in business class. Some of the seats face backwards and seating is 2-4-2. Their 767's seem better laid out.

 

Austrian is in the process of re-doing their business class on all long haul aircraft. The new seats are fully flat. On the 767's it is 1-2-1 layout. 777s are staggered layout with some single seats. Supposed to be completed by fall, some are already flying. Their old business class is apparently pretty bad.

 

Singapore is probably the best choice. Enormous business class seats 1-2-1 layout.

 

Swiss is supposed to be pretty good too I believe on most of their aircraft.

[+ FreshFluff]

Does fully flat mean 180 degrees angled upwards or 180 degrees on a level surface?

[Guest]

Does fully flat mean 180 degrees angled upwards or 180 degrees on a level surface?

 

Flat generally means horizontal, parallel to the floor. I'm flying to Rome in a couple of weeks on one of USAir's A330-300's with fully flat Envoy Class seats with the 1-2-1 layout: a window seat with direct aisle access. A barbiturate, an ambien, and a couple of cognacs, and I'll be out!

[Poppie]

USAir Envoy Suites look amazing. Love the 1-2-1 configuration. Is the service, food and comfort as good as it looks?

[+ FreshFluff]

Looks like Singapore Air, which has truly private suites, has already anticipated the obvious. I assume that they know they'll never be able to stop anyone, but they don't want it to turn into an orgy.

http://gizmodo.com/316264/sex-not-allowed-in-airbus-a380-double-bed-suites

[Guest]

USAir Envoy Suites look amazing. Love the 1-2-1 configuration. Is the service, food and comfort as good as it looks?

 

I found it comparable to Singpore Airlines' long-haul business class, better than Lufthansa's or United's...

[gallahadesquire]

Flat generally means horizontal, parallel to the floor. I'm flying to Rome in a couple of weeks on one of USAir's A330-300's with fully flat Envoy Class seats with the 1-2-1 layout: a window seat with direct aisle access. A barbiturate, an ambien, and a couple of cognacs, and I'll be out!

 

WHOA! I'm into polypharmacy but that's a little bit over the top!

[fedssocr1]

I found it comparable to Singpore Airlines' long-haul business class, better than Lufthansa's or United's...

 

Except SQ's business class seats are enormous. The USAirways Envoy seats are comparable to the latest product Cathay Pacific is using

[+ Charlie]

I just returned from a trip to England, flying "upper class" (that's all they have besides economy) on Virgin Atlantic from LAX to LHR. The lie-flat seats aren't quite 180 degrees, but close. There were ten of them on the upper deck of the 747 behind the cockpit (that's where we were), and the rest on the lower deck. The service was as good as UA first class used to be, although I haven't flown that for several years. It was the first time I have had a lie-flat seat, and I did manage to get a few hours sleep, which I can hardly ever manage sitting up even in first class. The Virgin Atlantic lounge at Heathrow is nicer than any of the hotels I stayed in.

[Guest]

WHOA! I'm into polypharmacy but that's a little bit over the top!

 

I've tried a number of times with less, but I just can't sleep in that case. One of the problems is that since I'm flying from the West Coast, the night over the Atlantic is WAY before my bedtime. When I come off of this combination, however, I feel "ready for action" even after a brief sleep!

[+ FreshFluff]

I've tried a number of times with less, but I just can't sleep in that case. One of the problems is that since I'm flying from the West Coast, the night over the Atlantic is WAY before my bedtime. When I come off of this combination, however, I feel "ready for action" even after a brief sleep!

 

I have a hard time sleeping on planes too, even in First and with a sleeping pill. I need quiet and a flat bed, and domestic first seats barely have any pitch. Also, a little "me-time" (ahem) helps me get to sleep, and that's not possible on a flight.

 

Of course, if I could book one of those air suites, I'd sleep like a baby.

[1sf]

San Francisco to Frankfort

 

Lufthansa's service is some better than United's which I more often must fly, but not nearly as good as Singapore's. I agree.