Lufthansa flight LH 796 from Frankfurt to Hong Kong on their A340-600 Business Class: a flight that somehow didn’t quite get off the ground – old seat, dry air, slow service – but in the end still Lufthansa. Perhaps just right for couples with a sense of intimacy and retro charm, but more a question of tolerance for solo travellers. Why have I not rated it too badly? Read for yourself.
Review #63
| Departure – planned (actual) | 25.12.2024 – 21:40 (22:06) |
| Arrival – planned (actual) | 26.12.2024 – 15:45 (15:22) |
| Flight time – planned (actual) | 11:50 (12:30) |
| Delay | 26 minutes late at departure 23 minutes early at arrival |
| Airplane type (call sign) | A340 – 600 (D-AIHU) |
| Class | Business |
| Seat | 7 K |
Disclaimer:
Unfortunately, between our stay and this publication, our laptop and external database containing all the images from this flight were stolen. Luckily though, we had already backed up all the videos to another computer.
That’s why we have no choice but to work from screenshots of the videos for this article. We apologise for the quality, which is not up to our standards neither up to our other reviews. However, we didn’t want to deprive you of this review.
Thank you for your understanding & we hope you can anyways enjoy reading and discovering!
Content
Departure Airport
Helmut Schmidt Airport Hamburg is the largest airport in northern Germany, serving the whole of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It mainly serves European destinations, but also few international long distance destinations such as Dubai.
Fun fact: Hamburg was Deutsche Lufthansa’s home airport for many decades. It was founded here and only moved to Frankfurt after the war as it was a perfect location right in the middle of what was then Western Germany.
Quelle: hamburg-airport.de
Getting there
You can of course get to Hamburg Airport by car, and there are plenty of parking facilities at the airport and in the surrounding area. For some time now, however, it has also been very easy to get to the airport from Hamburg city centre by S-Bahn, which runs right down into the basement of the terminal. I travelled this way, and it took me a good 40 minutes to get from Altona on the direct service on the S1.
Check-in
I checked-in using the app the day before I left. That worked really well, went quick and I was already able to enter my passport details. Anyways I did have to show my passport again when checking in at Hamburg airport, but just to check and make sure I had all my travel documents for this international flight and preventing me having problems at passport control in Frankfurt once I got there.
In my case everything was fine. It was my turn straight away and the process only took a few minutes, including checking in my bag.
Security check
Directly opposite the Lufthansa Group’s premium check-in is the Fast Lane, which is available to Business & First Class passengers and members of the airline’s Miles & More programme.
Meaning you basically only have to turn around once after dropping off your baggage and you find yourself right in front of the security checkpoint. At the fully automated gates, your boarding pass is used to check your whether you are eligible to access and then you’re through in a breeze. I was travelling on the 25th of December, so it wasn’t very busy and I was through security and on my way to the lounge in no time.
Lounge Hamburg
Lufthansa offers a Business Lounge and a Senator Lounge for status members and premium passengers at Hamburg Airport. As I treated myself to an American Express Platinum card just for such moments, I was allowed to use the Senator Lounge even though I have no status and a ticket ‘only’ in business class. In fact, both lounges are quite similar – in my opinion, the Senator is even slightly smaller.
Even the food is the same. The big difference, however, is that the Senator Lounge has a large, freely accessible panoramic terrace with the best views of the apron in the entire airport.
During my visit in December it was of course too cold to stay outside for long, but enjoying the view here for a few moments is always really great – even in winter!
Feeder flight
The lounge is located in the central part of the airport, close to the two central gates through which Lufthansa normally boards their flights to Frankfurt and Munich, taking passengers to their transit airports from where most of them board the airline’s long-haul aircraft.
This was also the case here. The flight to Frankfurt was handled at Gate A17, almost directly opposite the duty free exit. Boarding started on time with priority boarding, starting with families with young children and passengers requiring assistance, followed by boarding groups 1 for HON or First Class passengers and 2 for Business Class passengers and Senators. The first two groups are always very busy in Hamburg and it´s not too unusual for at least a third of the aircraft to be full after these two groups have boarded.
Nevertheless, I boarded fairly quickly and, after a quick hello at the door, found myself my seat 3F. After completing the boarding process, we pushed back rather quickly and took off on time. As we reached cruising altitude, all business class passengers were given a piece of cake and a drink of their choice, as the flight was short in the afternoon.
As with all Lufthansa short- and medium-haul flights, the seating configuration on this flight is a 3 – 3 configuration, with only the middle seat in the Business Class rows left empty. As a result, comfort is average, but perfectly acceptable for such a short flight.
Source: aeroLOPA.com
However, it remains very exciting to see how Lufthansa develops the premium travel market in this segment. There has been talk for some time of introducing a First Class on these shorter flights, based on the American model. ITA, recently acquired by Lufthansa, is leading the way and already has a number of aircraft that already have this configuration and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them went to the mother company to perform some try-outs with these better & more comfortable seat configurations.
After this short and positively uneventful flight, we even landed early and after a long taxi arrived at a parking position at the terminal. Disembarking was quick and easy and I was right on my way to the lounge.
Transit & Passport control
Coming from Hamburg we arrived at gate B10 and to get to the Z gates I had to go through the famous tunnel. It’s quite a long way, but it wasn’t a problem for me as I had plenty of time. If you’re in a hurry, though, it can be tricky. Bear this in mind if you are in Frankfurt for transit.
After the tunnel I went to passport control in Terminal 1 area A, which was completely empty at this time and I basically had all 4 gates to myself. If you go up the stairs after the checkpoint, you’ll be right at the Z gates.
Source: map.frankfurt-airport.com
Lounge Frankfurt
As a Business Class traveller, you can of course use several lounges at Frankfurt Airport. The airport offers lounges in all areas. Since we have an American Express Platinum Card for moments like this, we can also use the Senator Lounge with a Business Class ticket.
This is located at the Z gates below the business lounge and is very spacious. There is always plenty of room for all passengers. Have a look at our YouTube review – the spaciousness of this lounge becomes even more apparent there.
As well as an expanded menu, including daily specials, you can even take a shower in the lounge. Simply check in at reception and if your room is not immediately available, you will receive a pager to let you know when it is your turn. This way you can freshen up before your long-haul flight and sleep cozy and comfortable on board after your dinner.
Of course, the lounge also has monitors where you can track departures and check how long it will take you to get to your gate so you don’t arrive late.
Boarding
Today our flight to Hong Kong was departing from Gate Z22 and due to the public holidays and the increased number of travellers, there was an endless waiting list that had to be dealt with in an extremely time-consuming manner. As a result, our boarding started about a quarter of an hour late.
After that, things were much more organised. Firstly, all passengers with a PRE on their boarding pass – those travelling with children under the age of 5 and/or requiring assistance – were able to board. This took some time, of course, but worked really well. After that, all First Class guests and HON members were allowed to board. There were surprisingly few of them for a Lufthansa flight that day. And then it was time for Group 2 to board – all the Business Class passengers, including me.
We actually had to go down a flight of stairs behind the gate and then stood in front of two doors, with the left one reserved for First and Business Class passengers and the right one for Economy and Premium Economy Class passengers.
Welcome
We boarded Business Class through the first door of the aircraft and therefore had to walk through the First Class cabin. This had the advantage that all Economy and Premium Economy passengers did not have to pass through the front of the Business Class cabin to get to their seats. They boarded through the second door between the two Business Class cabins.
We were greeted by the Purser and a Flight Attendant at the front door and were directed to the correct aisle leading to our seats.
As I settled into my seat, a hot refreshing towel and the first round of drinks were served, with a choice of champagne, orange juice, water and the company’s own Avionic drink. I chose champagne and water to celebrate the day, of course, and we were also each served a small bag of nuts.
Start & Routing
Our journey takes us around the world and further and further east. We flew from Frankfurt directly East South East and across Austria, Hungary, Romania and the Black Sea. Over Georgia and Azerbaijan, across the Caspian Sea. Along the northern border of Turkmenistan, through Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and then across the vast expanse of China right into Hong Kong.
Source: flightradar24.com
Cabin & Seat
The cabin of the Lufthansa A340-600 is divided into 4 classes. In addition to the Business Class in which we are travelling today, the aircraft also has a First, a Premium Economy and an Economy Class.
Business Class is divided into two cabins, with five full rows in the front cabin and four and a half in the rear. Whereby only the two middle seats in row 10 are available. All other rows are arranged in a 2 – 2 – 2 configuration, which is still the most common on Lufthansa aircrafts.
Source: AeroLOPA
This will change with the new Allegris seats, but at the moment most of the airline’s aircraft are still equipped with these. If you are interested in these new seats, you can also take a look at our review from Frankfurt to Shanghai in the brand new cabin interior, where you can get a great impression – especially of the single seat in the middle – which Fabi tested for you.
Seat
As you board, a blanket, pillow, amenity kit, slippers and mattress topper are waiting for you at your seat.
The twin seats share a wide central armrest, which also houses the table, control console, charging points and headphones. There is an armrest on each side, which can be lowered for more shoulder room at night. There is a monitor in the back of each of the front seats, which can be pushed to the side and pulled slightly towards you to better face the screen. Between the seats and against the cabin wall are footrests that can be used as a shelf for your feet in bed mode, and under which your shoes can be stored.
There are also combined hooks on the top edge of the front seats for your jackets and glasses, giving you a safe place to store them while you sleep. The wall-mounted seat also has a stowage compartment behind the armrest for your headphones.
Each seat has its own reading light built into the headrest, and there is also a light built into the cabin ceiling that illuminates the entire seat. However, there is no separate ventilation system – I really missed this, especially at night, as the cabin was too warm for me to sleep well.
The table is hidden in the centre armrest. You can unfold it by lifting the cover and sliding out the folded table underneath. Then pull it out the rest of the way and fold it towards you. When you unfold it, you can pull the whole surface away from you or towards you. But what makes it special is that it can also be turned 90 degrees, so you can still get up when it is set.
Bed
Of course, you can also convert your seats into a completely flat bed at the touch of a button. In no time at all, the seat surface is extended and you can create your own bed with a mattress topper, pillow and blanket.
But somehow I just don’t find this seat very comfortable as a bed. Of course – this is a very, very high level of complaint – but I find it to e so fragmented when I lie down on it. Sometimes I end up with my hips or shoulders on the hard shell of the seat, and there is no upholstery at all where the seat meets the backrest.
The mattress topper is no real help in terms of padding, as it is probably more of a hygiene topic and was unfortunately far too short for this seat! Don’t get me wrong, though: I think it’s a great hygienic feature! But it doesn´t offer not any real extra padding.
The seat isn’t very wide either. I’m rather on the slim side and there wasn’t much space left around me. As my seat was against the right-hand wall of the cabin, I couldn’t bend my legs to the right – only to the left.
It was quite bumpy for much of the night, but the fasten seatbelt sign didn’t come on once. That’s not really a problem, and it great for comfort, but just so very unusual. To be honest, I got the impression that the seatbelt signs at the cabin ceiling were simply not working, at least in the entire front section of the Business Class cabin.
The lighting design was also rather strange to be honest. The cabin light was on throughout all the taxi which I remember to be different on other flights. During the service, the light was nicely dimmed, but then went out more or less in a blink of an eye after the service. So no dimming it down over a period of time, but rather – off – good night.
Entertainment
As with most airlines these days, entertainment is concentrated on the monitor. Lufthansa’s is built into the back of the front seat and folds out a little to give you a better view. The programmes range from films and TV programmes to games and, of course, the flight map with various settings.
However, my screen did not respond to touch and could only be controlled with the remote control which made it a little sluggish. Finding the flight plan wasn’t very intuitive either and took a while. The selection is okay, though.
Lufthansa customers have long been able to use the massager free of charge on short-haul flights once they reach cruising altitude. After trying for a while, I gave up trying to connect to Lufthansa FlyNet with my mobile phone. Interestingly, it worked quite well on the computer.
In fact, despite the seat in Business Class, it still costs at least 5 euros for the intire flight if you want to stay connected on long-haul flights, at least via messaging services. Lufthansa has promised to extend the free option to long-haul flights – we’ll see when that happens!
Amenities
The amenity kit is waiting for you in your seat as you board and this is of course the Christmas edition for a flight on December, 25 and consists of a small Christmas bag containing a sleeping mask, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste as well as lip balm, earplugs and hand cream.
There are also slippers waiting at the seat and each guest receives a sleeping top in size S/M or L/XL. The tops are from van Laak and we still like to use them for sleeping at home.
Food, Drinks & Snacks
A few weeks before departure, during the online booking process, I was able to select between regular and also special dish for the dinner main course, which would not be on the menu on board and only available if selected in advance.
Lufthansa’s Christmas classic – goose with dumplings and red cabbage – is always on the in-flight menu around the festive season, but it tends to run out quickly. Luckily, I was able to also choose this dish in advance and secure it for the flight.
Service was slow at first and it took a good hour after take-off for the first drinks and the amuse bouche of olives, cheese and sun-dried tomatoes to arrive.
The flight attendant assigned to my seat then worked the cabin from front to back as usual, asking each passenger what they wanted for their starter and main course when it was their turn. I chose the vegetarian starter and mentioned that I had pre-ordered my main course. She remembered and served the starter immediately. When it came to the main course, she was a little confused and had both the vegetarian and the pre-ordered options. I think she wanted to make sure I wasn’t a vegetarian because of the vegetarian starter. I honestly was really impressed by this as she really thought this through!
For dessert, I thought it was very charming that both options were offered on a tray and we could choose which we liked better.
Breakfast service had started almost two hours before landing. As I ordered dinner in the evening, I had already asked for a crepe with apple compote to be reserved for me in the morning as I didn’t like the second option. This worked really well and my order was on my table in the morning without any further mention. Once again, a great job!
To round things off, there were probably some chocolates in a festive box as a Christmas special.
Washrooms
There are 3 washrooms available for Business Class passengers. All are located around the central galley area between the two cabins. However, with a total of 56 passengers in this class, it can get a little cramped at peak times after dinner and before landing, and there usually are queues.
The toilets are not much different from those in other classes, but L’Occitane cream is available. After dinner service, trays of extra sleep masks, refreshing tissues, mouthwash and earplugs were placed in the toilets.
There is always a changing table in the washrooms, attached to the cabin wall above the toilet, which I always like to use as a place to put my clothes when changing before or after sleeping.
Service
On this flight, service was not particularly smooth at the beginning. Usually with Lufthansa, it works really well right from the start. Here, however, the service was much better and smoother after dinner began. On this flight too, the team were great, relaxed and professional. Just what you would expect from Lufthansa!
Arrival
About half an hour before landing, there was a short briefing from the cockpit about the remaining flight time, the local weather and a small thank you. The cabin was then prepared for landing, and after some really great views of the South China Sea and the breathtaking islands off Hong Kong, we landed.
Arrival Airport
Situated on an artificial island in the South China Sea, Hong Kong Airport was built in record time by international teams of architects. More than 1,100 planes land here every day, while high-speed trains race under the tarmac towards the city centre. Most impressively, the terminal building is so efficient that even at peak times, it takes no more than five minutes to get from one gate to the next.
After landing on runway 07L and a relatively long taxi, we arrived at the main terminal and were able to disembark rather quickly via a passenger boarding bridge. From there it was a short walk to immigration, which at the moment is very easy as no visa is required. Immigration went very quickly as there were plenty of desks manned and the process took no more than ten minutes.
Source: wikipedia.de
Immediately after immigration you are in a huge hall with 15 baggage carousels waiting for you. Despite being through so quickly, it took less than 10 minutes for my luggage to arrive and I was ready to continue my journey.
I’m flying straight to Kuala Lumpur with AirAsia, where I’ll meet Fabi and we’ll fly on to our final destination, Lombok in Indonesia. We have selected hotels in Lombok and Bali for our New Year’s holiday. So stay tuned if you are interested in how The Sira, Hyatt Regency Bali, The Laguna and our return flight with Turkish Airlines from Singapore via Istanbul turned out.
Conclusion
Service on this flight wasn’t where it should have been at first, but after a while it picked up and got better. Considering how late we took off, the dinner service just took too long.
The seat is just not mine – I just can’t sleep well on these air-cushioned seats and the plane is really getting on in years. In addition, the air in the cabin was incredibly dry, the noise level during the flight was rather high and the cabin was really far too warm, especially at night.
All in all, a rather mixed flight. Lufthansa is now finally slowly but steady changing their seats, and the delivery of the new aircraft is simply way behind schedule due to problems on the manufacturers side. Ergo: there’s not much the airline can do about it, but they’ll have to see how they can make the best of it.
Points
I award this flight 8 out of 10 possible points.
The flight itself was solid. And I can’t say exactly why, but this flight just didn’t deliver what I’m used to from Lufthansa on their long-haul business class. So I’m deducting one point for the old aircraft with the old seat and another point for the sluggish service.
Recommendation
I can definitely recommend Lufthansa in this configuration – especially for couples travelling together. It has become a rare commodity in the industry and there are still passengers who love it dearly, which I can understand very well!
Business and single travellers need to be aware that there is almost always a stranger sitting next to them, and families are often spread around the cabin. So if that’s not a problem, I can recommend it.
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