Review: Lufthansa Airbus A350 Business Class from Munich to New Delhi

Wednesday newsletters always feature a hotel or flight review.

Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, I enjoyed a ‘colorful’ holiday in India. You can read my trip reports here:

• Review: Lufthansa Airbus A350 Business Class from Munich to New Delhi (today)
• Review: The Taj Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur
• Review: The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur
• Review: The Leela Palace Hotel, New Delhi
• Review: Lufthansa Airbus A380 First Class from New Delhi to Frankfurt

Today (July 15, 2020): Lufthansa A350 Business Class from Munich to New Delhi.

To travel to India, I booked myself a relatively cheap Business Class ticket with Germany’s flag carrier Lufthansa (and upgraded the return leg to First Class with miles). Although I am a big fan of Lufthansa’s efficiency, the carrier’s Business Class is light-years behind the competition. The cabin configuration (2-2-2), the Business Class seat itself (and especially its total lack of privacy) as well as the mediocre sleeping amenities are disappointing and not in line with what you would expect from an airline that was awarded a 5 star rating by Skytrax a few years ago. The good news is that Lufthansa will introduce a new Business Class seat and cabin layout by 2021 (if there isn’t a delay because of the current COVID-19 pandemic).

Have you ever flown with Lufthansa? If so, what was your experience? Leave a comment.

• Trip: Munich (MUC) to New Delhi (DEL)
• Airline: Lufthansa
• Aircraft type: Airbus A350
• Aircraft registration number: D-AIXG (delivered in 2018)
• On time departure: Yes: 12.20 pm
• On time arrival: Yes: 0.30 am
• Miles: 3660
• Flight time: 7 hours and 30 minutes
• Seat: 2A
• Class: Business Class

In this review (more information & photos below my Youtube clip & slideshow):

1. Cost of my ticket
2. Business Class cabin
3. Business Class seat (+ best & worst seats)
4. Amenities & bedding
5. Meals
6. Entertainment
7. Onboard internet
8. Other inflight experiences
9. My verdict (score)

1. COST OF MY TICKET

I paid 1050 euros for my return Business Class ticket from Germany to New Delhi. That’s a great deal (and about half the regular price) for a Business Class flight between Europe and India. I booked the ticket on the Lufthansa website during a promotion.

2. BUSINESS CLASS CABIN

Lufthansa’s A350 features 48 Business Class flat-bed seats with 180 degrees recline, 21 Premium Economy recliner seats, and 224 standard Economy Class seats (but no First Class cabin). The 48 Business Class seats are arranged in a 2-2-2 layout and spread over two cabins with a galley in between. The larger Business Class features 6 rows of 36 seats in total, while the smaller, aft Business Class cabin – located right in front of the Premium Economy Class cabin – features only 12 seats and has a more intimate feel. Both cabins have a clean and unremarkable yet very German-esque design, with white cabin walls and grey seat covers creating a neutral color palette. The only subtle colors you’ll see are the wooden panels between paired seats and the colorful pillows that are placed on the seats upon boarding.

The windows seats are staggered by a few inches (cm), while remarkably, the center seats are angled slightly towards one another. The latter is great for couples but not for solo travelers, since the feet compartment is located right next to the one of your neighbor, and it is possible that your legs and feet occasionally touch the ones of your neighbor while resting or sleeping. Overall, all seats lack privacy, and there’s not even a divider or privacy screen between paired seats, which is utterly strange for a relatively new Business Class product.

Click here for the seat map of Lufthansa’s Airbus A350.

3. BUSINESS CLASS SEAT (+ BEST & WORST SEATS)

The Lufthansa A350 Business Class seat is quite comfortable in the upright position, with a pitch of 162 cm (64 inch) and a width of 52 cm (20,5 inch). A reading light is located next to the head rest. One arm rest holds the seat controls, a handset for the inflight entertainment, and a fold out tray table, while the other arm rests holds a small storage box for the noise canceling headphones. Each seat is equipped with its own, large entertainment screen, whose position can be slightly adjusted. Two storage drawers are located below the TV screen, as well as a small footrest (ottoman) that becomes part of the seat when fully reclined. As mentioned above, center seats share their ottomans, with a small divider in between (although not sufficient to prevent accidental feet cuddling with your neighbor).

At the push of a button, the seat reclines into a full lie flat-bed with a generous length of 78 inch (198 cm). The seat is quite firm though and unfortunately, Lufthansa does not provide a duvet to enhance the sleeping comfort.

What are the best Business Class seats

• All seats in both cabins are quiet good, especially for couples. Make sure to prebook your seat online (which can be done free of charge) to avoid disappointment at the airport, since Lufthansa flights are often fully packed.

What are the worst Business Class seats

• The 2-2-2 Business Class layout does not make the cabin very attractive for solo travelers, since you will always end up sitting next to a stranger. And unfortunately, there is no screen between adjoining seats for added privacy.
• Window seats don’t offer direct aisle access.
• Passengers seated in the first row of both cabins may be bothered by the noise of the galley and passengers going to or returning from the lavatories.
• I also suggest to avoid the last row of Business Class, which is just in front of the Premium Economy bassinet seats.

4. AMENITIES & BEDDING

Lufthansa’s Business Class passengers receive the following amenities on longhaul flights:

• An amenity kit, which is presented as a stylish washbag, designed by the Italian bag company ‘The Bridge’ . The kit features the essential travel items (e.g. eye mask, ear plugs, toothpaste, toothbrush, socks and a single breath mint) as well as luxurious L’Occitane toiletries.
• A comfortable, multi-colored pillow.
• A warm, marine blue blanket.
• Noise cancelling headphones (which the crew collects prior to landing).

5. MEALS

On this day flight to New Delhi, lunch was served right after takeoff, and dinner about 90 minutes prior to landing.

I chose the following selection from the lunch menu:

• Appetizer: salmon trout with chive oil and apple & red radish salad
• Main course: fried breast of corn-fed chicken with stewed leek and sweet potato mash
• Dessert: Pistachio milk cake with orange

For dinner I had one of the Indian dishes: braised chicken leg with garam masala, cilantro, rice, and ragout of toor lentis. While it tasted ok, the presentation of the dish was absolutely awful.

6. ENTERTAINMENT

Lufthansa’s A350 inflight entertainment is controlled by a handheld remote or by directly touching the screen. The program itself offers a large choice with more than 100 films in up to eight different languages. Hollywood blockbusters, new German and European productions and films from Japan, China, India and many other countries cater for all tastes. There are also 200 TV programs available as well as a big choice of entertainment content for families and children. In addition, you can follow the latest news via the live TV channels CNN and Euronews, as well as sports highlights via Sports 24. The audio section features a large selection of CDs, audio books, playlists and podcasts from around the world. Bose noise-cancelling headphones are provided to guarantee the best sound quality. Lufthansa’s A350 are also equipped with cool tail and nose cameras, whose broadcast is directly streamed on the TVs.

7. ONBOARD INTERNET

In 2004, Lufthansa was the first airline to offer inflight internet to its passengers on international flights. What is pretty much the norm these days, was a ground breaking change at the time. Lufthansa offers onboard internet via Deutsche Telekom. On this flight, there were 3 individual tariffs for using the internet service:

• One hour of internet: 9 EUR / 10 USD or 3,000 miles
• Four hours of internet: 14 EUR / 15.50 USD or 4,500 miles
• Internet during the entire flight: 17 EUR / 19 USD or 5,500 miles

8. OTHER INFLIGHT EXPERIENCES

# CREW: The Lufthansa flight attendants on this flight were professional, efficient and discrete.

# LAVATORY: The Lufthansa A350 features two lavatories for Business Class passengers, located in the galley between the two Business Class cabins.

# BAR: A nice touch on Lufthansa’s A350 aircraft is the presence of a well-stocked serve-yourself snacks and drinks area.

9. MY VERDICT

• Seat comfort (upright): 8/10
• Seat comfort (bed position): 8/10
• Food (quality): 7/10
• Food (quantity): 9/10
• Inflight entertainment : 8
• WiFi: 9/10
• Service: 8/10
• Cabin design: 7/10
• Overall experience: good: 7,8/10

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