| Lufthansa | Paris (CDG) → Munich (MUC) | A320neo | Economy Class | 02/11/2022 | Current review |
| Lufthansa | Munich (MUC) → Frankfurt (FRA) | 787-9 | Premium Economy | 02/11/2022 | |
| Lufthansa | Frankfurt (FRA) → Munich (MUC) | 787-9 | Business Class | 02/11/2022 | |
| Air Dolomiti | Munich (MUC) → Paris (ORY) | E195 | Economy Class | 02/11/2022 | Short review - 3.4/5 |
| Lufthansa | Paris (CDG) → Munich (MUC) | A320neo | Economy Class | 02/11/2022 | Current review |
| Lufthansa | Munich (MUC) → Frankfurt (FRA) | 787-9 | Premium Economy | 02/11/2022 | |
| Lufthansa | Frankfurt (FRA) → Munich (MUC) | 787-9 | Business Class | 02/11/2022 | |
| Air Dolomiti | Munich (MUC) → Paris (ORY) | E195 | Economy Class | 02/11/2022 | Short review - 3.4/5 |
Hello everyone, and welcome to this new Flight review!
Today, I set myself the challenge, to make four flights in one day to try the first Boeing 787-9 of Lufthansa.
My journey starts at Paris-Charles de Gaulle for the first flight, to Munich.
I didn't plan to report this first flight when I booked it. A CDG-MUC in Economy class on an A320, it's seen and seen again. Nothing very original. However, I remembered that this will certainly be my last time in T2B at Roissy with Lufthansa as the German airline plans to migrate its operations to Terminal 1, as soon as it reopens next December. Moreover, my plane will not be a traditional A320 that we know by heart but one of the last A320neo received, benefiting from the "new" short-/medium-haul cabin. These two reasons pushed me to finally share this flight with you!
It all starts at CDG at 4:30 am. If the airport is calamitous in terms of accessibility during the day, I'm not even talking about it at such an early hour. So I had to arrive by Uber, which cost me the modest sum of 56€... (almost the price of one of my flights).
Once I arrived at Terminal 2B, I went directly to the signs. The flight is scheduled on time. This will be the first flight of the day at T2B!
The easyJet check-in was completely deserted: the kind of thing we are not used to see!
Almost everything is still closed...
Not having any luggage to check in, I go directly to the security checks.
No waiting at the security checkpoint, passed in less than 5 minutes.
Duty-free is closed at this hour. So we go through the secret passage...
Once in the transit zone, CDG is still sleeping... Only a Relay is open.
I am generally not a big fan of the aging architecture of CDG but I find the junction of T2B/T2D rather nice! Whether it's the check-in area, the security checkpoint, or even the area with the few shops, it's pretty clean.
Then let's walk to the gate. The D51 is planned. Very little walk.
On the way, D-AISL, an Airbus A321-231 of Lufthansa will leave at 07h25 for Frankfurt.
Arrived at the gate.
We see our plane half hidden. It is D-AINV, an Airbus A320-271N (or A320neo) 2 years old.
At 05h40, the boarding is announced, beginning 5 minutes before the scheduled hour.
A fuselage shot allows us to admire more this beautiful A320neo!
We are well welcomed by the cabin crew who (new at Lufthansa) are no longer masked! It's a pleasure to see their smile again!
Arrival in the cabin. 3 Business rows on this flight, then the Economy.
My seat will be the 05F.
We notice the presence of this new short-/medium-haul cabin, a cabin introduced by Lufthansa in 2019 with its Airbus A321neo. This new cabin is also present on the most recent A320neo (i.e. D-AINV, NW, NX, NY, NZ, and all D-AIJs...).
The main differences compared to the old cabin are a new, slightly more modern, sober, and Premium design, juxtaposing different shades of grey.
In addition, USB-A and USB-C ports are available on each seat.
The seat reclines slightly backward with a button on the inhibition.
A coat hanger is available at each seat.
The pocket contains the safety instruction card, the WorldShop onboard sales catalog (it's nice to see it again!), and the "Onboard Delights" menu (we'll come back to that).
The legroom is really excellent. I am 1m82 and I have no problem extending my legs to the maximum, without ever touching the seat in front of me.
Regarding the seat pitch in Economy on short-haul at Lufthansa, just a little tip (no matter the cabin): always book a seat as forward as possible. As the size of the Business cabin varies according to the flight, the first rows of the plane all have a very good pitch. However, at the back, the legroom is quite limited.
A tray table is also available. Concerning the latter, I don't really appreciate it, which is, in my opinion, way too small. It is really not practical to support a computer in particular.
On the right, we can see D-AISL again.
Boarding completed in advance. The plane is half empty. And I'm lucky: there's nobody next to me! The purser passes beside to see the passengers to propose to them to move and to put themselves at ease in the plane.
We push back and we start the taxiing, with this superb sight on the magnificent engine PW1127G!
We pass (necessarily) through Air France Land.
And from T9, we align ourselves on runway 26R.
Takeoff just on time with a beautiful sight on T2A/B/C/D, and in the distance the Terminal 1, the whole lit.
10 000 feet are passed, and the seatbelt sign turns off.
The service is limited to a small bottle of water. Nothing exceptional but it's something. Not all airlines offer this in Europe. However, a hot drink would clearly not have been too much. No chocolate either...
The "Onboard Delights" service starts at the same time. A paid meal/drink offer was introduced at Lufthansa in 2021. The prices are reasonable compared to what is done elsewhere in general.
A small preview of the 2022 fall menu:
I will not be taking advantage of this service, however.
Regarding entertainment, no IFE as you can imagine.
No Wi-Fi either. The reason is simple: this is an A320neo in a CY180 configuration. It's hard to blame the airline for this lack when the problem comes from the aircraft itself. However, Lufthansa Technik has been talking about developing its own Wi-Fi system on board for a few years now. We are still waiting...
No Wi-Fi, so no portal with information about the flight, the airline, the connections, or an interactive map (like the one found on Lufthansa's A319/A320/A321 equipped with Wi-Fi).
No paper press. However, it is possible to download magazines or newspapers before the flight. We often hear about it, but I wanted to try it this time. It happens on the Lufthansa website between 5 days before the flight and the day of the flight.
In Economy Class, you are limited to one free downloadable magazine. Three are offered in Business Class.
The selection is really not bad. Many categories are available.
Anyway, it seems that on this morning flight, the favorite entertainment for most of the pax is sleep ^^
The sun starts to rise, overhanging a sea of clouds.
I always find it so magical to fly during the sunrise.
After 50 minutes of flight, the seatbelt sign is turned on again. The descent is announced by the captain.
We see the airport during the approach.
Then we make the complete turn to land on runway 26R.
We land at 07:25, after a 01:10 flight, and 10 minutes in advance.
Then we taxi towards gate K4, located within the satellite of terminal 2 (gates K, L).
The deboarding is done quickly.
And let's go to the main concourse (gates G, H).
I take for that the shuttle which ensures the connection of the two concourses.
It is always such happiness to go through this airport so modern, beautiful, bright, and fluid!
Finally arrived at the gate G28, for the second flight of the day...
To conclude, this little morning flight on board Lufthansa was very correct. An A320neo with a nice and clean cabin, comfortable seats, legroom, USB ports at each seat, great crews (especially without masks!)... No Wi-Fi unfortunately but a nice selection of digital magazines and newspapers available. A complimentary drink offer is limited to a bottle of water (I'm still waiting for my chocolate by the way). That's enough, but a tea or a coffee would not be too much... The Onboard Delights offer seems interesting and rather attractive, although I didn't try it.
Concerning CDG, it was very fluid at this time. In any case, the wait is never very long when you avoid the AF terminals. The T2B/D junction is really nice and clean, especially compared to some of the average terminals at Roissy. Almost all stores and restaurants/cafes are closed: the early hour justifies this of course. One point that remains to be noted though is a definite lack of accessibility. I don't think I'm the only one who travels at 6 am; a transport solution from Paris should be in place, we're talking about Paris-CDG after all! When we promote the fight for ecology, it's ridiculous to have to force each passenger to take a personal car/taxi/Uber.
Finally, concerning Munich, not much to say. Clean, beautiful, modern, bright, pleasant, fluid, and full of stores and restaurants. An airport that will always remain (in my opinion) number 1, all categories included.
I hope you enjoyed this first review. I'll see you soon for the second episode, which will take place this time aboard Lufthansa's first Boeing 787-9 in Premium Economy.
Thanks for reading and see you soon ;)
