by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 14, 2014 | Business Class, Featured, Lufthansa, On Board Experience |
Lufthansa has announced that beginning with the Summer 2015 timetable, all long-haul flights operated by LH will feature their new concept in Business Class hospitality referred to as Business Class Signature Service.
Up until recently, this concept was in pilot phase and was tested on random long haul flights for several months. After feedback from crew and passengers, LH has decided to make it permanent and use it to build upon their quest to become a 5 Star airline.
The concept is designed to allow flight attendants to focus on a limited amount of passengers during a flight in the hopes of personalizing the experience for the passenger. As part of the program’s design, flight attendants will have the responsibility for only a group of 8-12 passengers.
With Business Class Signature, the number of flight attendants on a give long-haul flight may be adjusted to account for large load factors. For example, with full Business Class loads on the 747-8i or A380, it would result in additional flight attendants being assigned in order to keep the ratio of passengers to flight attends at no more than 12:1. In a long haul aircraft, this typically results in a flight attendant working an area of only 2-3 rows, giving him or her more opportunities to interact with their passengers.
I’ve yet to experience this product since the tests were only done on a handful of flights, however I have had several readers comment to me on how much better and different this new experience has been.
There are additional test flights scheduled in November and December for this new program. Passengers flying between Frankfurt and Shanghai may find this service in November, while Munich – Haneda passengers may experience Business Class Signature Service in December.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 13, 2014 | Featured, Lufthansa, On Board Experience, Premium Economy, Route Announcements |
In this final installment that covers Lufthansa’s recent announcement concerning the Long Haul Fleet for 2015, I look at changes taking place to the A330/A340 fleet. If you missed my previous posts concerning these updates here are the links: PART I (747-400) , PART II (A380) , PART III (747-8i). For the new seating charts reflecting Premium Economy across the fleet, please visit this post containing all the maps.
A340-300:
Starting with the A340-300, beginning on April 27, cabin configuration will change from 42 Business / 225 Economy to 30 Business / 249 Economy seats on the following routes:
Frankfurt – Atlanta
Frankfurt – Bangkok (On June 3 will change to 30 Business / 28 Premium Economy / 221 Economy)
Frankfurt – Chennai
Frankfurt – Dallas
Frankfurt – Dubai
Frankfurt – Kuala Lumpur (On June 3 will change to 30 Business / 28 Premium Economy / 221 Economy)
Frankfurt – Montreal (Beginning on July 3)
Frankfurt – Nagoya (On June 3 will change to 30 Business / 28 Premium Economy / 221 Economy)
Frankfurt – Nanjing
Frankfurt – Philadelphia (Beginning on April 29)
Frankfurt – Shenyang
For A340-300s that are based in Dusseldorf, they will switch on May 4 from 42 Business / 225 Economy to 42 Business / 28 Premium Economy / 181 Economy seats on the following routes:
Dusseldorf – Chicago
Dusseldorf – Newark
A340-600:
Turning to the A340-600s in the fleet, several changes are in store for the routes they fly:
Beginning on May 14, A340-600 flying on the following routes will change from 8 First Class / 56 Business Class / 217 Economy to 8 First Class / 44 Business Class / 245 Economy Class seats. Then on June 15 the cabin configuration will change to 8 First / 44 Business / 32 Premium Economy / 213 Economy seats:
Munich – Boston
Munich – Chicago
The A340-600 will debut a 4 class cabin (8 First / 44 Business / 32 Premium Economy / 213 Economy seats) on May 12 for the following routes:
Munich – Beijing
Munich – Los Angeles
Munich – Mexico City
Munich – Newark
Munich – San Francisco
Munich – Sao Paulo
Beginning on July 27 the same cabin configuration will debut on:
Munich – New York (JFK)
Beginning on August 20 the same cabin configuration will debut on:
Frankfurt – Bogota
Frankfurt – Detroit
Frankfurt – Tehran
For certain Premium Economy Routes that are scheduled to start in January from Munich, there will be a minor cabin layout adjustment. Initially these A340-600s will be configured with 8 First / 56 Business / 28 Premium Economy / 189 Economy seats. The cabin layout on the following routes will change to 8 First / 44 Business / 32 Premium Economy / 213 Economy seats:
Munich – Tokyo (HND) beginning on March 29
Munich – Hong Kong beginning on May 14
Munich – Seoul(ICN) beginning on May 14
Munich – Shanghai beginning on May 14
A330-300:
The A330 – 300 seating chart will change on May 1 from 8 First / 48 Business 161 Economy seats to 8 First / 36 Business / 193 Economy seats for the following routes.
Munich – Boston (Until May 15 when a 3 class A340-600 take over, followed by a 4 class A340 on June 15)
Munich – Charlotte
Munich – Dubai
Munich – Mumbai
Munich – New York JFK
Munich – Riyadh
Munich – Toronto
Munich – Vancouver (beginning May 14)
Munich – Washington Dulles
I know that this is a lot of information to digest, so in the event that you need more details or a deeper explanation of the changes and how they may impact your travels, please leave a comment or contact me directly.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 11, 2014 | Featured, Lufthansa, On Board Experience, Premium Economy |
Following up on Part I of Lufthansa’s Long Haul changes for 2015 that dealt with the 747-400 and removal of First Class cabins, Part II looks specifically at A380 operations. This includes the timing of Premium Economy rollout as well as an update on the A380 taking over a few 747-8i routes.
Here is an update to the A380 route ‘map’. Beginning in late march, the A380 will replace the 747-8i on the following routes:
March 29: Frankfurt – Los Angeles (LH456 & LH 457). This is the mid-afternoon LAX departure.
April 16: Frankfurt – Beijing.
April 26: Frankfurt – Seoul (ICN).
Here is the most recent schedule for Premium Economy rollout for the A380. The seating configuration will be 8 First Class / 78 Business Class / 52 Premium Economy / 371 Economy. (Click here for my earlier post showing the Premium Economy seating maps):
March 29: Frankfurt – Los Angeles (LH456 & LH457).
March 29: Frankfurt – Seoul (ICN).
April 16: Frankfurt – Beijing.
April 22: Frankfurt – Delhi.
April 22: Frankfurt – Houston.
April 22: Frankfurt – Johannesburg.
April 22: Frankfurt – Miami.
April 22: Frankfurt – New York JFK (LH400 and LH401).
April 22: Frankfurt – San Francisco.
April 22: Frankfurt – Shanghai.
April 22: Frankfurt – Singapore.
You may be wondering how 8 A380 aircraft will all debut Premium Economy exactly on the same day. In fact, the Premium Economy seats will be gradually phased in a few days / weeks prior to the official launch date. In the event that Premium Economy seats will be on an aircraft/flight prior to the official launch date, LH will provide passengers with complimentary upgrades and offers to upgrade to Y+ on a flight by flight basis. The firm dates listed above are the dates loaded into LH’s reservation system for purposes of booking Premium Economy.
