| Lufthansa | Paris (CDG) → Frankfurt (FRA) | A321neo | Economy Class | 21/12/2023 | |
| Lufthansa CityLine | Frankfurt (FRA) → London (LCY) | E190 | Business Class | 21/12/2023 | |
| Lufthansa | London (LHR) → Frankfurt (FRA) | A321neo | Business Class | 26/12/2023 | Current review |
| Lufthansa | Frankfurt (FRA) → Paris (CDG) | A319-100 | Business Class | 26/12/2023 | Short review - 4/5 |
| Lufthansa | Paris (CDG) → Frankfurt (FRA) | A321neo | Economy Class | 21/12/2023 | |
| Lufthansa CityLine | Frankfurt (FRA) → London (LCY) | E190 | Business Class | 21/12/2023 | |
| Lufthansa | London (LHR) → Frankfurt (FRA) | A321neo | Business Class | 26/12/2023 | Current review |
| Lufthansa | Frankfurt (FRA) → Paris (CDG) | A319-100 | Business Class | 26/12/2023 | Short review - 4/5 |
Hello everyone and welcome to another Flight review. During the first two reviews of my trip, I took you through Lufthansa's Economy Class experience between Paris and Frankfurt, and then Lufthansa CityLine's Business Class experience between Frankfurt and London-City. After a nice Christmas spent in London, it's time to head back to France. In this review, I'll take you aboard a Lufthansa Airbus A321neo in Business Class from London-Heathrow to Frankfurt.
I meet you on the tube platform at “Heathrow Terminal 2 & 3”. I took the Piccadilly line to get there. The journey from the Westminster area takes about fifty minutes and costs a little over 6€/7$. Much cheaper than the 30€/$-something of the Heathrow Express line.
An elevator is supposed to take us out of the platform. That was without counting on the monumental mess of this elevator, which opened on the wrong side when we reached the top floor, trapping us on the tube entrance side. So, impossible to leave the enclosed space of the tube without going back down to the platform…
Once this ordeal is over, I go to Terminal 2, "The Queen's Terminal," the terminal from which Star Alliance flights depart at Heathrow.
We take an escalator that should take us to the check-in hall. However, because the escalators are out of order, we have to go through the arrivals level to get to the departures area.
Now I'm in the Terminal 2 check-in hall, which is a very impressive and beautiful hall where all the Star Alliance airlines come together.
I finally reach the section dedicated to the Lufthansa Group.
Nobody in Economy Class. In First/Business Class, however, it's chaotic. Not many people, but very few counters open, and really slow service... I wait at least 10 minutes before I can check in. At least the ground staff is nice!
Then, off to the security checks. Strangely, no immigration or ID check. Just a security check.
A priority line with some waiting makes it possible to get through the checks in about 10 minutes.
Once airside, plenty of restaurants and shops. It's well supplied. Hard to get bored. Also, the terminal is really nice, clean, bright, and very pleasant.
After browsing the many shops, I make my way to my boarding gate.
The flight is scheduled for gate A23. Later we learn that it will change gates without knowing the exact number. A glance at Flightradar24 allows me to guess the gate in advance: it will be gate A19.
Nothing is displayed yet.
But my plane is there. It's D-AIEN "Neuss," a quite recent Airbus A321-271NX, delivered to Lufthansa in 2022. It wears the airline's new livery and a nice black mask!
The flight is finally displayed.
Boarding begins before the scheduled time. It starts with PRM and passengers traveling with infants, followed by Business Class passengers.
We take a rather long path that leads us to the jetway.
A glimpse of the plane.
Welcome aboard this Airbus A321neo. I quickly reach my seat, 06A.
As you can see, it's a European Business Class, typical of what you find with Lufthansa, configured in a 2-2 layout, with the middle seat remaining unoccupied.
This is, in fact, the new version of Lufthansa's short- and medium-haul cabin that I have presented to you on several occasions, characterized by a more modern style composed of several shades of grey.
Another interesting fact: this plane is the fourth A321 in Lufthansa's fleet to be equipped with the Airbus Airspace Cabin. The Airspace Cabin features a wider cabin with walls further away from the passenger.
The overhead bins are larger and can hold 60% more baggage by being positioned vertically.
The windows integrate a new blind system to maximize the window opening.
The overhead panel has also been redesigned with new signs.
As for the seat itself, there's a very decent legroom space.
The tray table is quite small. It barely fits my 14" laptop.
The seat pocket contains the usual Lufthansa items: a safety card, a sickness bag, the Buy on board “Onboard Delights” menu for Economy Class passengers, and a Worldshop magazine.
A coat hanger is provided at each seat.
The seat back reclines slightly, controlled by a button on the armrest: nothing more classic.
Strangely, there are no USB ports on board this aircraft. Although they are present on most A321neos in the fleet, the USB port locations have been disabled here. This seems to affect all A321neos delivered to Lufthansa in 2021/2022. Odd...
A Eurowings Airbus A319 is on our left.
Boarding is complete. The plane is two-thirds empty. The Business Class is not very full either. No one in rows 5 and 7. We have plenty of space!
We push back facing north.
We taxi to the threshold of runway 27R.
On the way, we pass an Icelandair Boeing 757.
A SWISS A320neo.
More original in Europe: a JetBlue A321neo LR.
A Virgin Atlantic A330.
We overtake a British Airways A321neo and line up on runway 27R.
We take off at 11:45 (local time), with a 15-minute delay.
Takeoff from the north runway offers a beautiful view of Heathrow Airport.
We make a left turn, keeping the airport in sight.
Then we pass the city. The Thames is clearly visible. With the London Eye and Big Ben in the middle. Hyde Park on the left. The City and Tower Bridge on the far right.
We continue the climb, entering a thick cloud layer. We will cross the English Channel above the clouds.
The seat belt sign is turned off. Before the service begins, let me introduce you to the entertainment on board. Spoiler: it's pretty limited.
No IFE screen and no portal with entertaining content. No interactive map either.
What's more, like most A320neo/A321neos with a dense configuration, this aircraft does not have Wi-Fi on board.
However, Lufthansa offers a good selection of magazines and newspapers to download before the flight. I covered this service in detail in one of my last Flight reviews with Lufthansa, in case you're interested.
The service finally begins as we are still flying over the English Channel.
It consists of a light cold meal tray signed "Heimat", the catering service offered by Lufthansa in Business Class on its short- and medium-haul flights.
As for the "main course", it consists of rather average pieces of cold cuts accompanied by vegetables. It was frankly not great. Very greasy and without any taste.
The brötchen (bread) was very hard, to say the least, inedible.
The dessert, a chocolate cake, was rather good, though not exceptional.
Definitely one of the worst meals I've experienced in Business Class...
I accompany it with a glass of apple juice and water.
The service was quite efficient. The crew was friendly. Even though they didn't want to move around unnecessarily (hence the glasses filled to the brim…).
As we approach Belgium, the purser brings us small Christmas chocolates, the only edible thing on this flight.
A few glasses of apple juice later, we slowly start the descent towards Frankfurt.
We enter a sea of clouds.
We align with the ILS of runway 25R.
The visibility is better than on my outbound flight. The weather remains cloudy though.
At 13:45 (local time), we land on runway 25R at Frankfurt Airport 20 minutes ahead of schedule, with a flight time of exactly one hour.
We vacate the runway and taxi to our parking position at Terminal 1.
We pass by several A330/A340.
As well as some 747s, including D-ABYT, the retro livery!
A Condor Boeing 767, whose livery reminds of the very old Thomas Cook livery.
A Thai Airways Boeing 777 departing for Bangkok.
Pass the world's most beautiful airplane!
We come to a stop at stand Z19, to the right of a SWISS A220.
Deboarding is quite fast.
Welcome to Frankfurt! I already complained about this last August when I arrived at gate Z23 with Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8 from Singapore: those stairs upon arrival are a shame, especially with luggage. Really not practical at all!
Off to immigration and gates A for my last flight to Paris.
Immigration was a breeze thanks to the automated gates.
Then I find myself in the Heinemann Duty-Free shop at gates A.
I will not be reviewing my last flight to Paris. It's a simple Lufthansa flight in Business Class between Frankfurt and Paris operated by an A320 family aircraft. A classic experience, as I have already presented to you many times. If you're interested, I refer you, especially to my August 2023 review between Frankfurt and Paris aboard a Lufthansa Airbus A320 in Business Class.
And so ends my third and final Flight review of this trip to London, aboard a Lufthansa Airbus A321neo in Business Class between London and Frankfurt.
Regarding Lufthansa, the flight was decent but not exceptional. The cabin was nice, especially being so empty. It was also nice to test the Airbus Airspace Cabin for the first time! But let's not deny it, it's still a typical European Business Class cabin... The legroom is good, and the free seat next to it offers quite a bit of extra space. Unfortunately, there are no power outlets or USB ports on this particular plane, despite being quite new. As for the service, it was very average. The meal was very disappointing, both the main course and the bread. The dessert redeemed it a bit, although it was not exceptional either. The crews were helpful and rather friendly, although a bit lazy. In terms of entertainment, nothing was offered except for an interesting selection of newspapers and magazines. No Wi-Fi is offered, not even a portal.
As for London-Heathrow Airport, the experience was a bit chaotic from the tube exit to check-in. Airside, it was better though. Pretty smooth, clean, comfortable, modern, bright, and pleasant. The food and shopping are very decent. Impossible to get bored!
As for Frankfurt Airport, it was okay. As usual, it was pleasant, smooth, and clean. Immigration was a breeze. A small disappointment, however, was the stairs when arriving at gate Z19... Escalators wouldn't have gone amiss with a suitcase.
Thank you for following my various Flight reviews. I hope you've enjoyed discovering these flight experiences during my trip to London.
Thanks for reading and see you soon for the next trip ;)
