Background
This series covers a recent TATL trip. I wanted to maximize time at home, so booked a flight out on the last *A TATL flight of the day, which is the LH service to MUC that departs at 20:35. While LH is obviously not the most competitive product under most situations, SFO recently switched to an Allegris A359 on the MUC route so it turned out to be a fortuitous opportunity to try their new long-haul product. There is 2x daily non-stop service between SFO and MUC, with UA operating a B777 on their 13:35 departure.
Routing
We'll start this series off with the ~11h hop from San Francisco to Munich on their new Allegris product:
Flight routing
- 1LH459 - Business - San Francisco → Munich - Airbus A350-900
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Check-in/Security
Arriving at SFO at 18:30, I head over to Aisle 1 for LH Group check-in.
I guess I could have used the F lane with status, but just went into the J queue since there were no lines.
I waited a minute before being called up to one of the red carpets. Having checked ExpertFlyer earlier, I saw that 7A was blocked since it is a basinet seat so I asked the agent if I could switch to it. She called over her supervisor who promptly unblocked it and handed me my boarding pass with a smile. With no bags to check, I was quickly handed my other boarding passes and directed towards the security and lounge.
SFO Concourse G is very quiet at this hour and there was no line at security and I was airside instantly.
The FIDS tonight, our flight is on-time from G4.
Polaris Lounge
Since LH Group uses Concourse G, it will be the Polaris Lounge tonight.
I scan my boarding pass and head straight upstairs.
Having just ate dinner, I go to the left side opposite from the buffet to find a quiet place to work.
My modest offering.
Pre-flight
I left the lounge at 19:45 to go walk down to the gate and see what planes were left.
NZ B789 pushing back for AKL.
Reaching our gate, a first glimpse of D-AIXV, a 4-month old baby. Our side of the terminal, unfortunately has dots on the glass since it faces the westerly sunset making photography challenging.
Pilots are at least on-board.
The gate area is packed and at 20:05, an announcement is finally made that we would have a 20-minute delay for boarding.
I killed the time by walking to the end of Concourse G to use the outdoor terrace, a hidden gem of this concourse since it has to be accessed from inside a restaurant.
There is a nice garden and some seating areas.
A pair of UA B772s below.
OZ A359 and NH B77W in the distance awaiting their turns to be towed into gates.
SQ A359 around the corner.
Walking back to the gate, a better look at the SQ A359 as it prepares to pushback.
Heading down to the gate area, which has no free seating.
I wait along the windows and confirm our plane will be called Ludwigshafen am Rhein. Surprised it is not sponsored by BASF.
Boarding
Boarding was finally called at 20:28. After Group 1, I joined the back of the Group 2 crew to enter the beast. A pleasant greeting on board and directed down the aisle.
The first class cabin, well, maybe in 5-10 years it will finally be installed^^
Making my way back to the rear of the forward J cabin, I find my seat. This seat configuration is called a Privacy Seat with Bassinet. There are only 2 of these on the plane and are the best seats outside of the Suites since they have a large side table to hold a bassinet and a storage locker underneath.
In addition to the wide side table, there are also 2 storage compartments, the tablet, reading light, air nozzle, lamp, and literature slot.
The seat is fairly wide with plenty of lateral space.
Under the arm rest is the storage compartment that can fit a back pack or other small bag.
Water bottle and headphones were pre-placed in the side compartment that has a sliding door. Below are the USB-A, USB-C, and universal power outlet.
The open storage compartment in the back is less useful and could have done with a door.
Wireless charging is also included on the side table.
The screen is large and crisp.
The foot cubby is wider than the screen and has no restrictions during sleep. I like how LH designed these seats to maximize the cabin width of the A350.
Literature is a duty free catalog, safety card, and air sickness bag.
Seat controls are on the side arm rest, which unfortunately does not retract in bed mode. The other seat controls are on the tablet, but that was very hard to turn on/off so never used it.
Bright reading lights, and LH overcame the absence of air vents on A350s by installing them on the side table.
Pre-placed at the seat was a mattress topper by Paradies.
Pillow and blanket are both okay, nothing remarkable.
Settling in, I'm offered a selection of water, sparkling wine, orange juice, or Avionic. I grab an Avionic cocktail and water, served along with a packet of salted mixed nuts. I'm assuming these are given out at PDB since LH has added an amuse bouche to their service. The paper bag looks better than plastic and is probably much more environmentally friendly.
Menus are then handed out as I'm welcomed aboard by my FA.
The food offering, which is also available online now. Pre-booking meals is only possible on ex-MUC/FRA flights.
The drinks menu. I like the inclusion of the pictures of the bottles.
Boarding was done at 20:49. Well done by LH to board a completely full A359 in just 20 minutes. The safety video played as we prepared for pushback.
We push back at 20:54, ~20 minutes late.
A view of the cabin as we start our taxi out. It is very airy with the center bins removed.
We have a long taxi around to runway 28L. We finally take off at 21:21, ~45 minutes late.
Crossing over Daly City.
Making our u-turn over Marin County to start the trek east.
Service started with hot towel.
The tray table deploys from under the screen and is bifold and huge (~1m length). It can be slid forward and backwards providing aisle access when deployed.
Linens were laid, highlighting how big the tray table is.
I had moved my laptop when the FA laid the linens and he told me to just keep working and that he would set up everything on the other half of the tray table.
Service starts with the newly introduced amuse bouche service as part of the Allegris rollout. A glass of the Collery Blanc De Blancs Brut Grand Cru to accompany it.
The starter is served on a tray along with the side salad. Warm breads were then offered from a basked, the olive bread was quite good and the butter was soft. Asking the FA about the red wines, he encouraged a tasting so promptly brought out a set of glasses.
They had French, Portuguese, South African, and German options. Didn't snag a photo of the last 2 bottles, but went with the German red that was not listed on the menu as part of their Vinothek rotating options.
The Wagyu Beef Bresaola with Farro Salad and Burrata was nice in flavor and presentation, complete with flowers.
Arcadian Salad, Fennel and Cherry Tomato with delicious Dressing. The "delicious" dressing was just a packaged balsamic vinaigrette…
The tray is then removed and the mains are brought out. I had ordered Pan fried Cod Filet with Saffron Dill Cream Sauce, Fennel Puree, green Asparagus, mixed Carrot and Chanterelle Mushroom since both other options were surprisingly Asian. It paired well with the Riesling.
Not the most glamorous dish, but the fish was decently cooked and had enough sauce to prevent it from being too dry.
The FA encouraged me to try everything, so brought me a tray with the fruit, dessert, and cheese plate. I accompanied these with a glass of cognac and an espresso.
If that's not enough, Lindt chocolates were then handed out.
As the service items were cleared, van Laack sleeping shirts were handed out.
Cabin lights were dimmed as we were crossing Saskatchewan.
The lavatories on the A350s are very nicely appointed though lack a window. Trays with amenities were later placed in the bathroom with tooth brushes, eye masks, ear plugs, mouth wash, etc.
Not a fan of the clear plastic amenity kit and its contents are basic: socks, eye mask, earphone covers, ear plugs, dental kit, and mint. The L'Occitane pouch containing just 2 small lotions.
The seat in bed mode with mattress topper on.
With pillow and blanket. A long spacious bed for sleeping and with the huge footwell really made for a comfortable sleep.
I slept for 3.5-4 hours and woke up as we were reaching Greenland to help with adjustment to CET since it was approaching noon.
The galley was setup with some snacks/drinks, but not necessarily a formal bar area.
A juice to start the day.
Crossing Greenland is always a treat with the nice snow covered topology.
Wi-Fi was available and the prices for full flight are comparable to the competition, but I find the messaging expensive since it is complimentary on intra-European flights.
The new IFE interface is a lot more intuitive to use versus scrolling through a long list of titles. The selection is not as extensive as US carriers, but was more than sufficient in variety.
They use flightpath 3D for their moving map.
There is now Bluetooth so you can connect your own headphones/devices and there are also other seat control features like heating/cooling, but I didn't play around with those.
The cabin lights slowly came on around 1h45m to arrival as we crossed the Orkney Islands.
Very cloudy over Europe as rain was in the forecast across the continent.
A hot towel to start off the service.
Linens were laid.
I opted for the hot breakfast and espresso, which is served on a single tray along with a fruit cup, warm breads from a basket, and a selection of jellies.
Fresh fruit.
Scrambled Egg with Cream Cheese and fresh Chives, roasted Portobello Mushroom, seared Tomato and green Asparagus.
One of the better scrambled eggs I've had on a plane recently and an improvement on the small quiches they used to serve.
Sunset over central Germany on this nighttime to nighttime flight in the winter months.
The service concluded with a thank you from the purser and distribution of more chocolates.
Our approach into MUC with the final descent occurring near Regensburg.
Low lying fog in Bavaria as we approach from the east.
We have a smooth landing at 17:02, ~30 minutes late.
Welcome to MUC.
We had a short taxi and took our slot at the end of a quiet Terminal 2.
Deplaning through L1 with a warm farewell from the crew and I was quickly on my way towards immigration.
I'll leave off this series here as I start my layover in Munich, thanks for stopping by!
Flight information
Lufthansa, LH459
Equipment: Airbus A350-900 [D-AIXV “Ludwigshafen am Rhein”, delivered July 2024]
Departure: 20:35 (ATD: 21:21)
Arrival: 16:35 (ATA: 17:02)
Flight time: 10:41
A very nice experience!
Thanks for stopping by!
Oooh you caught the elusive Allegris product! There's like what...3 frames outfitted?! Haha. Lucky you!
You managed some very nice shots in spite of the dots!
Sounds about right...sigh
It's funny how an amouse-bouche elevates the dining experience! It really is just such a small touch that makes the meal service feel so much more premium
That's great service! A impromptu wine flight. Love that...would never happen on a US carrier (Yes, I remember UA tried it when they first rolled out Polaris and it was rolled back along with most service improvements). Also love that you got cheese AND dessert...again, normal for Europeans since they should be separate courses, but something you don't see on US carriers.
It does indeed look very spacious. but this is one of the extra space, or "extra long" or whatever they're calling this seat type. It's super confusing how many different types of seats they have in the Allegris cabin because it's hard to know exactly what you're getting, but I also do like that they have such a diverse set of products. I would most certainly select duo seats when travelling with family whereas I would pick these solo seats when travelling alone.
It's still going to be a hard product to catch...considering it took like 8 years after the announcement to even outfit 1 frame...and it doesn't even have the F cabin installed (how embarassing!)...it's going to be a loooooooooooooooooong time before there's any good chance of getting an Allegris-outfitted plane consistently.
Yes, this product is nothing revolutionary and LH really look ridiculous with the world's slowest rollout of a product ever, especially after hyping it up for so many years! BUT it is a HUUUUGE improvement for LH!
Beautiful report as always. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by Kevin!
SFO and PVG are the lucky routes currently, it’s so limited and subject to availability that I was not convinced we would actually get it until I saw the registration of the plane leaving MUC.
Haha, not sure if UA’s wine list is worth a tasting. LH at least has a decent selection. Overall, LH’s catering has improved from when I last flew them in 2019 and that was before the pandemic took effect on their service so I think they are trying to correct course with the new Allegris service.
There aren’t any other than the suites which are likely to be snapped up by HON passengers. As a formal 2-3-2 on the A359, it doesn’t have the pure honeymoon seats on offer like in 1-2-1 or 2-4-2 configurations which might have been intentional since LH doesn’t market itself as a leisure carrier.
If you take the average seat, it really just puts them on par with Polaris which is about a decade old. AF has introduced how many hard products in the meantime?
I must congratulate for the honest, straightforward and seamless report. Lufthansa is really believing on this product and it was really nice to read an impartial judgment. Sometimes are the small details that count, I guess that the MUC crew has done the difference. I have personally noticed how different the attitude is between FRA and MUC crews.
Thank you for stopping by! Yes, there is a difference between MUC and FRA crews since Bavarian hospitality generally feels warmer. Based on this and how much easier MUC is for transfers than FRA, I always prefer routings through MUC when possible. The return was through FRA, which will be shared later, and the crew was not as good which when coupled with their old J product makes LH a below average option.