Lufthansa Has OFFICIALLY Lost It (business class fiasco)

[Music] oh boy where do i start this flight was memorable to say the least and memorable doesn't necessarily mean good unfortunately lufthansa is europe's only five-star airline but we all know that the rating company that provides these ratings skytrax sells expensive consulting jobs in exchange for high ratings in fact rather than being five star i'd argue that lufthansa has become one of europe's worst major airlines today i'm reviewing the upper deck of lufthansa's 747 400 a flight i was honestly excited for i flew the queen back in november from new york to frankfurt in row one which is a special experience although i wasn't really impressed by the flight as such i figured it can only get better on the upper deck right i'm non-stop dan a half sweden half american who's been obsessed with airplanes for as long as i can remember over the past seven years i've flown 150 different airlines virtually all self-funded non-stop dan is all about trying to get as much value as possible with my miles or when those are running low my money and then spreading the word so you guys get optimal value and can enjoy your travels to the max and hopefully enjoy my geeky videos along the way let me start by saying i hate making these videos where i'm so critical especially about service we're all human and we all have bad days i realize my privilege and being able to fly business class at all but i mean business class has to have a certain standard sadly bad days can't be too bad as crew otherwise who would pay the crazy premium for this hopefully this video helps and entertains you in some way i'm almost sorry to share it because i don't want the crew to get in trouble but my goodness someone at lufthansa needs to wake up welcome to frankfurt where you could have found me a little while ago preparing to board this boeing 747 400 queen of the skies lufthansa has now brought back eight of these beauties flying all over the world from seoul to rio to new york to my destination dubai i haven't actually left the airport in dubai for years but i really wanted to go for expo 2020 and time was running out so i checked flight options and saw award seats on swiss and their a330 or this lufthansa 747. i was torn but i decided to go with the 747 since the a330 will be flying for much longer i used one of the ultimate award sweet spots to book this flight paying just 29 000 miles plus about 300 per person one way from sweden to dubai in business class which i redeemed for singapore airlines those miles can of course be earned exceptionally easily in the us with a 60 000 point sign up bonus on the american express gold card one of the most rewarding cards that's super easy for us citizens to get approved for those points transfer direct to singapore airlines so the next time you're in europe why not add a trip to the middle east but perhaps choose a different airline because lufthansa has gotten bad as you're about to see the lufthansa queen of the skies comes in an interesting configuration with no first class in a way i'm surprised they don't offer first class to dubai of all places last time i flew the 747 400 i was in 1a which is fun but there are so many other unique seats there's this middle seat 4d which i personally don't mind of traveling alone there's also this rear lower deck cabin with a middle seat yeah um no thanks you can see what that looks like shortly then we have the upper deck where i chose the last row on the left side of the cabin seat 85a and 85c for oscar and myself what awesome high seat numbers with that it's time to hop on board let's go to dubai at the door i was greeted by a flight attendant who pointed me to the stairs so fun on the way there i walked through the rear business class section with its 232 layout and couldn't help but feel bad for anyone sitting there thankfully this configuration is only on the lufthansa 747 400 because despite having the same cabin width this m478 has only two seats in the middle let's go upstairs and see what that's like ah well this is nicer it honestly feels like a completely different plane from downstairs it's private and intimate and oscar's first words about the cabin was that he thought it looked super retro which is absolutely true just check out these awesome overhead bins they fit roughly one jansport backpack and then they're full there's also these overhead panels wow as an app geek it's really fun and charming to me and there's more than enough space up here anyway there are no individual air vents though but heat wouldn't be a problem because the crew on today's flight was cold lufthansa has the same seat on all their aircraft so you're either in the window or in the aisle never both this is sort of fine when traveling with someone else since you can communicate easily but the seat is noticeably tighter than virtually all other business class seats out there normally these seats suffer from a lack of decent storage space which is remedied on the upper deck because you have these storage bins on the side that's probably my favorite thing about sitting up here i also got the sense that there's slightly more foot space at least by the window seats as you can see the seat goes flat but it's by no means the most spacious business class bed besides that we have the normal seat features like a storage bin below the screen with a bottle of water and the amenity kit and the seat controls on the center armrest where you can also find the tray table and the remote speaking of the remote here is where things get a little bad lufthansa's entertainment system where do i start they're the type of airline that loves to put one random episode of various shows usually from the middle of like the third season so no one has any idea what's going on if they're feeling generous they might provide five or six episodes of literally the worst shows imaginable their movie selection is more decent with almost 250 choices far better than sas who offers a few dozen on a good day let me think what else does lufthansa do well these headphones i love on-ear headphones as opposed to over-ear headphones since my ears get so hot i could probably charge my phone with the thermal energy they am in the crew eventually came around with pre-departure beverages on a tray and i like seemingly everyone else in the cabin went for the orange juice to say it tasted like minute maid would be a compliment tropicana with pulp where you at if you're curious about the menu here we have it now can we just who comes up with lufthansa's menus i can't be the only one who thinks these descriptions make every choice sound as unappealing as they possibly could they could have written blue cheese fish mousse on a bed of distressed lettuce and that wouldn't even have seemed out of place i seriously wonder which intern got a kick out of writing enhanced by creamed spinach or stewed leek the drink selection is in one word trash no i meant to say limited at least the friendly service can save us spoiler alert it was non-existent but more on that after takeoff [Music] i did my best to separate airline from airplanes so i could just enjoy being on this majestic beast as we powered out of frankfurt what a pleasure and privilege to be able to fly the queen the 747 400 in 2022 [Music] what positive thing can i say what positive thing can i say oh that i really appreciate you guys so i'm giving away three 50 airline gift cards to these three subscribers my subscribers can win airline gift cards upgrades or even a business class flight so if you haven't already why not smash that subscribe button now back to this tragic review let's talk about the service shall we no one expects business class to be especially personalized on western airlines but one thing is common crews speak english with english-speaking customers for some reason this crew refused to speak english with us and continuously asked us questions in german this isn't exactly uncommon on lufthansa in my experience but what is up with that honestly that wasn't even a problem with the male flight attendant who was one of two upstairs because he literally did not say a word to us after takeoff i was standing in the aisle getting something in my bag and instead of saying excuse me or gesturing he nudged me to the side when the meal service eventually began i was keen to have some tropical juice which i tried on my previous lufthansa business life from new york i'd like some tropical juice please his response giving out a demeaning laugh and saying don't have it maybe the crew would have responded better to me if i had just spoken to them in german i could easily learn a few phrases in no time with today's video sponsor babble what if i just said bitter english with me actually screw that i'm learning french i learned french in high school but i'm trying to brush up on it and maintain what i know with babel before oscar and i go to west africa later this year what's great about babel is the lessons only take 10 minutes so it's not a huge time commitment they teach me real life conversational phrases that tie into the culture and the history of the language rather than just random vocabulary and the best part is that there are multiple ways to learn including lessons games podcasts and even live classes with teachers it's incredibly rewarding learning a new language and for me brushing up on a language like french is also incredibly rewarding because all that time i spent learning it won't go to waste start speaking a new language in just three weeks with 65 off by clicking the special link at the top of my description and with babel's 20-day money-back guarantee you can start learning now with no commitments two more observations about the service for some context global practice in business class is for the flight attendant to open the tray table and lay the table cloth on it as the meal was going to be served here the female flight attendant walked up to us held off the tablecloth and just said here then they came around with trays of food and again held them out waiting for us to take them rather than placing them on the table this time without a word no enjoy no can i get you anything else could the food at least save this experience this is our lunch it didn't taste bad to be honest but the presentation sure is something the main course was an indian inspired curry with a side of pickled beetroot and whatever this is and a coconut cream dessert with sweetened cherries i had some green tea and bitter lemon to drink with that the male flight attendant didn't seem happy when i ordered two drinks since he scoffed when i asked for it after finishing the meal the crew handed out kit kats and immigration fast cards for dubai which was really appreciated the sun was already starting to set and i knew drowsiness would soon kick in so i decided to get some work done lufthansa's in-flight wi-fi which is on the expensive side but not too bad for unlimited data i decided against buying it and worked on a review instead while reflecting on the fact that my first ever trip to dubai was in fact on lufthansa while working i remembered the beverages are a thing and our bodies need hydration especially on older planes where the air is even drier so i pressed the crew cowbell to order another drink five minutes later no one had showed up so i went to the galley to order where the crew was sitting and chatting i said could i have a green tea please to which the male flight attendant simply turned around without saying a word no acknowledgement no apology for the weight i got my tea at least anyhow of course there's also an amenity kit on board a super luxurious reusable bag like the ones you can buy for one dollar at your local supermarket it's a collectible which is fun and i appreciate that it's at least useful although there's nothing premium about it a fabric tote bag on the other hand would be awesome especially with these designs the contents of the kit are also limited due to quote-unquote sustainability it might honestly be smartest if they just eliminate amenity kits completely and make everything on demand like singapore airlines did for a long time i tried to get some more work done but was honestly so upset about the service tragically i was becoming shane in my favorite new show white lotus and i needed to talk to the manager or in this case the purser when i told her my experience she was extremely apologetic and open to hear my feedback but at that point it was too late to save the flight we were landing in an hour [Music] as i came back upstairs the crew were serving the pre-landing snack sandwiches for everyone these delicious sandwiches tasted like someone had taken the moldiest bread put the most rotten vegetables inside stepped on it with their sweaty feet and then left it outside in humid sunshine for a week and then loaded it on board for us to eat shortly after that we began our approach into dubai and i felt really bad both because of the unpleasant service and also because i might have gotten food poisoning from one bite of that sandwich listen how can anyone with an ounce of self-respect call this a five-star business class experience my goodness how i don't think i need to say much more you're better off flying the lufthansa 747 400 in economy class if you want to experience it or maybe premium economy for better value and i will certainly be avoiding lufthansa business class at all costs well until they bring back another classic my favorite airplane from the outside the airbus a340 600 this summer why do they keep pulling me back with their awesome retro planes before landing the upstairs female flight attendant came by to apologize which did make things a bit awkward but i really appreciated the gesture even without the bad service lufthansa business class is just plain bad the seat is among the worst in the industry the food is sloppily presented and probably costs two euros maximum to make the amenity kit is cheap the entertainment system is bare bones everything is just an embarrassment to germany and it's really sad to see as a former lufthansa fanboy i mean ask my friends back in 2015-2016 i was obsessed with lufthansa let's hope the airline can turn around and move in a positive direction rather than continuing this depressing downward path until i see you all next time fly safe and for your own happiness sake don't waste your money on this [Music] you

Channel: Nonstop Dan

Views: 2,265,100

Keywords: Lufthansa, nonstop dan, business class, Lufthansa business class, Lufthansa 747

Id: cqK9Ay4Jwos

Length: 15min 28sec (928 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 11 2022