On my way back home from visiting the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy where I toured MSC Cruises' new MSC Seaside under construction, my long-haul flight was aboard Lufthansa on an Airbus A340 in business class from Munich, Germany to San Francisco, California.
The twelve-plus-hour flight was quite a treat overall on one of my favorite aircraft-a four-engine, wide-body-flying today.
Check In/Security (9/10)
As the intercontinental flight was bookended by regional routes, I had already cleared security in Trieste, Italy, where I also checked in, but I very well expected I would need to do so once more before leaving for the U.S. In fact, not only was the Italian check in a breeze on-site in Trieste, simply checking my bag and printing my boarding pass thanks to a rare full-service representative, so were the proceedings in Munich.
The usual passport control was quick and easy with little wait, and although there was a full security checkpoint ready for likely most flights departing for the States, the agents there only checked our passports another time before waving us through without any additional screening. It was a better experience than TSA Precheck, but I wouldn't count on it every time, although it sure would be nice if we lived in a world where we could.
Terminals (9/10)
Meanwhile, the terminal experience before and after was nearly perfect as well. Munich was a beautiful airport, and its Lufthansa lounge was great to match. I didn't have much time there, but the chance to enjoy a genuine German pretzel pleased me even if the Fanta Orange soda fountain was out of commission. As my dad first discovered and shared with me, the European variety of the soft drink tastes better than our American formula.
On the opposite side of the pond and back on the west coast in California, the San Francisco equivalent, where I am currently composing this post, is also a delight. Here the United Club delights as the domestic Star Alliance partner to Lufthansa, and I must say after consistently poor experiences with United in the recent past, its lounge employees and facilities are impressing me. Although there could be a better selection of snacks, you can never go wrong with a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine for refreshments of the liquid kind.
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Seats/Space (8/10)
Overall, the business class seats on Lufthansa's A340 are very comfortable and outfitted more modernly than the British Airways ones I experienced only days ago. The lay-flat cushions can be mechanically extended out with even a surprisingly neat adjustment for firmness. It would be nice if the seats were a little bit wider, however. The entertainment system is top-tier, and thankfully the controller is a more contemporary handheld version with a touch-sensitive cursor control in lieu of a touchscreen.
The display itself is wide and bright, and the library of films and television shows is extensive. I myself enjoyed screening two movies and two episodes, although it was a bit bizarre that there was not an auxiliary port to plug my own in-ear Bose noise-cancelling headsets in. Nonetheless, the same model of on-ear cans were permanently hardwired in.
Also nice as I worked some were two USB charging ports, plenty for my iPhone and any other device I may have wanted to top off, and a standard electrical outlet was also welcome for the sake of my MacBook. Only the tray table was a bit cumbersome to get in place, especially if you had any equipment already out to place atop it while trying to fish and fold it out.
Amenities (8/10)
The best ancillary amenity of a business class experience is the great food, and Lufthansa's was no exception. A choice of appetizer plates from which I chose prawns on a bed of potato salad was a refreshing start before a small side salad and another choice of entrees. My restaurant-grade veal steak was quite good as was the cinnamon mousse that followed.
A smaller pre-landing second meal consisted of another leafy salad, well seasoned stew and decadent chocolate truffle cake. Throughout the flight, other snacks consisted of fresh fruit and a sweet cherry crumble that was either passed out or available for serving yourself as desired. Water and orange juice was also at the ready, dressed beautifully with fresh flower vases beside the serving tray.
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One of the coolest things about the A340 aircraft are the economy section bathrooms which are accessible by taking a stairwell down to the luggage deck. With much more room available there, the lavatories are larger and easier to navigate. It makes for the one economy amenity that is actually better than the regularly-sized stalls in business class.
If there was only one other omission compared to competitors, it would be some sort of toiletry kit, but I hardly ever use them myself. Besides, a number of the items that would usually be included were available in the bathrooms. And at least, this plane had WiFi internet access, which came in handy except for being temperamentally slow to download my emails.
Service (9/10)
Business class service aboard the flight was friendly as passengers were addressed by name. Attendants were also more visible than on other carriers, frequently walking the aisles with snacks and drinks beyond the usual main meals. They were also very helpful with answering most questions I had about the seat amenities. Only once did I not hear back about whether or not there was a standard electrical outlet beyond the USB ones, but I ended up discovering it on my own.
Overall (43/50)
Lufthansa has a solid product on its hands, pairing an ace aircraft with a very capable flight crew. Only a few minor gripes hold it back from a perfect score, ranking it just shy of my industry benchmark of Air France for the best in business class.
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