Airline Review: Lufthansa medium haul Business Class

The Lufthansa Business Class on medium haul flights is rather disappointing. In this review, I’ll explain why you shouldn’t have your hopes up.

I’m flying Lufthansa a lot, especially on shorter flights in Economy Class. However, I already had the chance to try the Lufthansa regional Business Class as well as the Lufthansa long haul Business Class in an Airbus A380. On a flight from Munich to Ankara, I now also had the chance to try the medium haul Business Class. While everything about my flight was alright, the offerings are still a little sad for a flight of more than three hours.

Seating in the Lufthansa medium haul Business Class

The most disappointing aspect about the Lufthansa Business Class on medium haul flights is that those are operated by standard narrorbody aircrafts with the same seats as all other aircraft flying on shorter routes. That means that you are basically getting the thin and not especially comfortable slimline Economy Class seats Lufthansa uses on all its Airbus A319, A320 and A321 jets.

The only real different to Economy Class is a blocked middle seat, which is okay on shorter flights, but a little disappointing for medium haul flights.

The seat pitch is a tiny bit better than in Economy Class, but the difference isn’t remarkable. It also depends on where you are sitting as Business Class is flexible and goes up to row 15 on some flights.

As you’d expect, storage is rather limited on flights in the Lufthansa regional Business Class as you can only really use the literature pocket to store something. At least, you can store something on the middle seat (not for take-off and landing though), which is a plus compared to Economy Class.

That said, it’s still a disappointing product for a flight of more than three hours.

Catering in the Lufthansa medium haul Business Class

Personally, I like the Lufthansa catering on shorter flights. While the Lufthansa First Class catering is focusing on too many “expensive” items in my opinion, Business Class usually gets decent enough food without a lot of fuzz. On my medium haul Business Class flight, I was served a welcome drink of my choice, alongside packaged nuts and the menu for the flight upon we’ve reached cruising altitude.

There were three mains to choose from and I went with the seafood. The whole meal was served on one tray approximately 20 minutes after departure.

First, there was a simple salad, which you can use as much dressing for as you like.

Second, there was a starter of chicken breast, which was a little bland in my opinion.

Third, there was the main, which had some prawns, rice and a very tasty sauce. Definitely the highlight of the meal!

To finish off, there was a bowl of fruits, which was good.

After the meal, I was asked for drinks another two times and was brought coffee alongside a box of cookies.

Service during my flight was distanced, but friendly as it’s the norm for Lufthansa.

Entertainment in the Lufthansa medium haul Business Class

Lufthansa changed quite a bit in terms of entertainment in the last years. There are no newspapers and magazines anymore, not even in Business Class. Instead, you can download a couple of e-magazines prior to departure. So, if you are interested in reading in paper, you either need to bring something from the lounge (that’s what I did) or read the board magazine.

Other than that, Lufthansa is in the process of bringing WiFi to its fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft. As of now, only half of the jets is equipped and I ended up getting one without WiFi. Usually, prices are at least reasonable and the speeds are alright. If you end up getting a jet without streaming entertainment, there’s nothing else offered, no overhead screens or anything. Thus, better bring your own entertainment when flying Lufthansa, even when its in Business Class.

Overall impressions of the Lufthansa medium haul Business Class

The Lufthansa medium haul Business Class is a rather disappointing product. There’s no real difference to regional flights of less than an hour aside of the elevated catering. The seats are okay for shorter flights, but for flights of two hours or more, I’d expect more, especially in Business Class. The catering isn’t fancy or fascinating, but it’s totally fine for such a flight. Sadly, the entertainment options available are everything but great, too. I definitely wouldn’t recommend to pay more for Business Class when flying Lufthansa.

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