Intra-Europe flying isn’t that exciting, it honestly is very similar to domestic flights in the USA, therefore if you can go straight to your destination, it is often times worth it instead of hopping around Europe on regional carriers or small jets. Despite this, there is one thing that is very different about flying Business class in Europe vs. the USA: even on short flights, they feed you!
Last week I flew from Geneva to Frankfurt (after a canceled flight), a mere 285 miles. The short flight was on a Lufthansa’s 737-500 with 30 reserveable seats in business class offering a 34” pitch (only 2” more than economy) and a width of 18”. In Europe, business class does not entail large plushy seats, but instead planes are outfitted with a single class cabin. The middle seats in business class are not ticketed, leaving additional space between the two passengers. Some airlines place a tray table in this space, however, on the plane I was flying, there was nothing but an open seat between myself and the other passenger.
After a short visit to the lounge, I was off to attempt to board my flight to Frankfurt for the second time. This time boarding was completed in the standard order: Business Class, Star Gold, Elite passengers, and then economy. While boarding the plane, there was a cart at the door with newspapers in several languages free for any passenger. I found my seat, bulkhead row – YUCK, decreased legroom/cannot stretch my legs under the seat in front of me, but oh well, it was only a 45-minute flight—and stored my laptop bag in the overhead bin. Minutes later the plane was finished boarding and we were heading towards Frankfurt. The only odd thing was that the women in the window seat next to me stored one bag on the seat between us and another at her feet! Never before have I ever seen anyone able to keep their personal items at their feet in the bulkhead row….interesting!
Once we got to our cruising altitude, the flight attendants quickly jumped up and started to serve the first class cabin. They came through with cold lunch plates that included an Asian influenced noodle dish with shrimp, extremely salty cured meat served with mango, a chocolate mousse and two little soccer ball shaped truffles. Drinks were also provided. The same two FAs also serviced the rear cabin and then made their way back through the business class cabin collecting trays and refilling drinks.
Overall, this short hop was a very pleasant 45 minutes and I was shocked to be served a meal! No US airliner would ever dream of serving a meal in that short of time! Heck, Delta cannot even serve drinks to the economy class cabin on a crj-900 on a Las Vegas-Los Angeles flight, so I am shocked that Lufthansa’s flight attendants are as efficient as they are on a route of similar distance! Honestly, I’m impressed!
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