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Lufthansa has announced that it will commence a non-stop service between Frankfurt and San Jose from Spring 2016.
Lufthansa is trumpeting the new service as the “first non-stop flights to the state’s Silicon Valley from a European airport” and, while that’s true, it’s probably worth mentioning that British Airways announced a non-stop service to San Jose (from Heathrow) back in August. The thing is that that Lufthansa’s service will commence on 29 April while the British Airways service won’t start until 4 May 2016….6 days later!
Somehow I don’t think the timing of Lufthansa’s service is a coincidence 🙂
Lufthansa will use an Airbus A340-300 to fly the route which will operate 5 times a week on the following schedule:
LH 488 FRA 10:40 – SJC 13:40
LH 489 SJC 15:20 – FRA 11:35+1 day
Published flight duration: 12 hours
The service will fly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and, according to Lufthansa, has been designed “to provide the best possible connections with other Lufthansa services from and to Germany, Europe, Asia and Africa at the Frankfurt hub“.
Lufthansa doesn’t offer First Class on its A340-300 aircraft so passengers will have a 3-class cabin for their trip (Business, Premium Economy & Economy).
Lufthansa Premium Economy – Image courtesy of Lufthansa
According to SeatGuru the Premium Economy cabin has seats with a 37″ pitch and 18″ width – which isn’t too bad – but while the economy cabin has a seat pitch of 31″ (bearable) the seat width is a miserly 17″ which is horrible.
The 1″ difference between the two seat widths may not sound like much but it makes the world of difference in reality….especially on long flights like this one.
Even the Business Class cabin doesn’t look to be anything to get particularly excited about…although, clearly, it’s considerably better then Premium Economy or Economy:
Lufthansa A330 Business Class – Image courtesy of Lufthansa
Lufthansa A330 Business Class – Image courtesy of Lufthansa
That’s 6-accross seating in a Business Class cabin when most of their competitors are busy installing 4-across seating…they’re about as up-to-date as British Airways!
Speaking of premium cabin products….
Lufthansa To Phase Out Its “Seat & A Bed” First Class Product
Lufthansa First Class has been one of those aspirational products that miles & points enthusiasts love to aim for. If you fly out of Frankfurt in First Class you get to use their purpose build First Class terminal and even get chauffeured to your aircraft in a Porsche. (Yep, it’s tough life for some! 🙂 )
But now the experience is about to get a little less special.
4 years ago Lufthansa announced a revolutionary new product (which I’m not sure any other airline has copied) when they offered first class passengers, on their 747-400 aircraft, a seat and a bed for their trip. On most airlines you get a seat that turns into a bed, but not on Lufthansa:
Lufthansa First Class 747-400 – Image courtesy of Lufthansa
Lufthansa First Class 747-400 – Image courtesy of Lufthansa
It is a fantastic product and the fact that it’s installed on the iconic 747 aircraft and on the very private upper deck, makes it even better.
Sadly, if you haven’t tried the product, you don’t have much time left to give it a spin. The Runway Girl Network is reporting that Lufthansa is removing First Class from the 747-400 as they revamp the aircraft one last time before they’re retired to the boneyards. It’s the end of 2-across seating on the upper deck of a 747 and the end of a very short (4-year) era where a bit of aviation glamour made a revival.
The news actually gets a bit worse for premium cabin travelers: Lufthansa will keep a 7-across configuration in the main Business Class cabin on the 747-400 when even the 747-800s have been reduced to 6-across (which is still not great).
I’ll be staying clear of the 747-400s if can help it – between the dense seating arrangement and the herringbone arrangement (in some areas) that makes it feel like your feet are about to touch those of the next-door passenger, it’s not a product I’m particularly interested in trying. There are a lot of better Business Class choices out there.
Featured image: Lufthansa A330-400 – Clemens Vasters va Flickr
