San Diego to Munich in Lufthansa A350-900 premium economy
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- čas přidán 5. 05. 2023
- Read the full review (which contains gobs more info):
www.sanspotter.com/lufthansa-...
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I know I know I know. As a San Diego based airline reviewer, making a video about Lufthansa's A350-900 service from SAN to MUC should've happened a long time ago. I sincerely apologize for the delay.
So yeah - this is a full review of Lufthansa flight number 467 (in premium economy). In general, the seat was ok and the food decent. It wasn't the best long haul premium economy experience I've ever had, but it's hard not to be picky when flying nonstop to Europe from San Diego.
I had seat number 15D, the aircraft registration was D-AIXH, and the total flying time was 10 hours and 31 minutes.
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I am glad somebody on CZcams is actually reviewing premium economy/ economy ….I am so tired of these influencers all flying first …I mean us pheasants can’t afford 12k for a seat
Great to see you back doing a long haul review. I was looking at LHR to SAN with BA a few weeks back, Damn it shocked me!!!!
Thanks Peter! Yeah, having the ability to fly nonstop from San Diego is nice, but it’s often far cheaper to make a connection somewhere. It’s not fair! 😆
Love how you refer as German transport as being punctual when the trains in Germany are late all the time 😂
Plus riding german trains is becoming pretty dangerous these days….. 😳
@@doktor_kumpel958 how are they becoming dangerous.
Which is something I found out while sightseeing around Munich the next day. 😄
@@badgerattoadhall Lot‘s of crazy people out there… that‘s why…
Late german train would be considered on time in my country though, considering they have only one third of the speed
Great to see Lufthansa back at San Diego!🙌 brilliant review as always
Thanks Matthew!
I love their premium economy seating. Yeah I wish I could do business class, but the premium economy is good. Flew to Munich last year and had no issues with the space or service. The only pain was they were still requiring mask for the whole trip so that kind of sucked. I will be traveling back to Germany next year and I'm already on the lookout for a good deal, fingers crossed.
As a fellow San Diegan with German origins I enjoyed your review. I used to be a loyal LH customer, but unfortunately they really got worse over the last few years, I'll be using up my last LH miles later this year for this route in their outdated C product, then I have two trips on BA to LHR in their Premium Economy coming up, let's see how they compare to LH. Not a big fan of BA either, but at least we have these two nonstop routes to Europe... I agree, business tickets are outrageously expensive right now, looks like these days Premium Economy tickets cost as much as I sometimes paid for Business before the pandemic.
PE was the best you could do but still a really needed review!
Yeah, I’m surprised there hasn’t been much coverage of this route. Seems popular based on the load factors I’m seeing!
I have flown Polaris a number of times and recently tried Premium Plus for the first time. It was just like a domestic first experience and was really great. I was also able to sleep and had ample legroom. Will definitely do it again.
Absolutely fantastic video Scott!😸
Thanks Ryan!
I recently flew round trip Denver to Frankfurt on a Lufthansa 787-9, in Premium Economy. It is very similar to what you are showing here, same seat, food, tv screen, legroom, etc. One thing I liked is we could use the restroom just in front of the Premium economy, there is one on either side next to the galley, so I hardly had to go far to use the facilities. I had a bulkhead window seat in both directions, and the legroom was amazing, didn't have to ask my seat mate to move to get up or return to the seat. Also the entry, exit door is right there at the adjacent galley, so getting on and off is quick and easy. Flight time from Denver was about 9.5 hours each way. I agree that Prem Econ is prob a better choice for most people, it's not sky high expensive as business class is and makes a trans atlantic flight a lot more comfortable. I got my seat for about an extra $400 each way via their "bid for an upgrade" feature. I could have done better, my return seat mate said he put in a $200 low ball bid and got it for Frankfurt to Denver, but you never know, so I bid a bit more. I also thought the Lufthansa crews were very efficient, friendly and did a great job on the service. Thanks for the great video!
I love this, you rarely see Premium economy reviews
Scott, I absolutely love your reviews. I sense a wee bit of passive aggressiveness in them at times...LOL! If it were me doing a SAN to Europe flight, I would travel to the east coast the day before and catch an airport hotel, then continue to Europe the next day. I hear a lot of not so good things about Lufthansa lately and you certainly made your share of digs at them in this review, but in a fair way.
Thanks David! A lot of people take my sarcasm as complaining (which it isn’t) so I have to really think twice about how I describe things sometimes. 😬😅 And I agree with you about doing a stopover on the east coast - that definitely makes things more tolerable.
Thank you very much for this video and review. I'm planning a trip to Europe next summer and this was the exact airline and seat class I was considering. Glad to hear that it seems worth the extra money than economy!
Thank you for highlighting the issues I’ve been noticing with premium economy across all airlines. In alot of ways your paying more for basically standard economy.
Some airlines still do it a lot better than others though. I was expecting more from Lufthansa for sure.
Agreed. We need more nonstop SAN to Europe flights. These BA prices are ridiculous…
I think KLM / Air France could do very well in San Diego. Just sayin. 🤞🏻
Nice Video Mate,
Thanks
Awesome content as always.
Thanks Meeran! 👊🏻
@@sanspotter You're welcome.
So stoked the flight was full
Yeah, that was definitely nice to see. 👍🏻
I fly to Europe frequently from SAN. I wanted to fly this flight, but it was way more expensive than LAX-MUC, even considering the extra cost of ground transportation to LAX. Last year, I flew SAN-LHR on British, but I swore never to do it again. I had 3.5 hours for transfer at LHR, but I still missed it. My SAN-LHR flight was delayed by 1 hour, then after landing we sat on the tarmac for another hour waiting for a gate space before deciding to call for buses. By the time I got to the transfer security check, I was denied entrance because I arrived 59 minutes before departure instead of the minimum 60. I arrived at my final destination 7 hours later. That was 2 of 2 times I was delayed and bused to the gate by bus by BA at LHR. BA's LHR operations are absolutely shameful.
Boarding Group 2 is for Star Alliance Gold Members, too. Thats why you could go in second group.
lovely flight greetings from the netherlands
Brilliant thumbnail as ever.
I didn’t have much to choose from for this one. 😆
Fellow SAN traveler here! I am really shocked you don't have a way to get in to the Aspire lounge... we have joked that they even accept library cards for access since it seems like they belong to every single scheme out there for entry. Keep the videos up, and hope to give you a fist bump somewhere in T2 someday!
I looked into it just now and I see that they are finally a Priority Pass lounge (which is something I am a member of). I had no idea! 😄 Oh well. Definitely say hi if you ever see me!
Also if you have star alliance gold, don’t you get access to the United lounge since your flying a star alliance route?
Enjoyable as always
Just have been on a flight on a 787. On this plane the outside armrest is like the middle ones and you have a phisical (a wall) separation to the rest of the economy class. That feels so much better. The bathroom is a little bit better too.
Breakfast made sense to me flying out of SAN, southwestern cuisine.
Aha! That could very well be the reason. 👍🏻
Thank you, this vid is helpful. I'm taking my cat to the Country of Georgia on this model. The legroom is what's most important as I'm 6'2". The bathrooms don't look nearly as roomy as a 787, but I'd rather fly Lufthansa with only one stop than have to fly Turkish air with two stops with an airline run by a bunch of people who think of themselves as above having to work. I'm happy to pay $2500 for the extra legroom instead of $7,000-$12,000 for a business class ticket.
I Like The Product Premium Economy,I Love The A350.Great Trip Report
punctuality in German transport. Our ICE from FRA to Stuttgart was 2 hours late and maxed at 100KPH. So, the 1 hour trip turned into 4 hours.
Great review brother!
Thanks! 👊🏻
Nice vid flying it soon
Flying Lufthansa A350 Premium Eco next spring, kinda hopeful I get one with the new seats but deffinetly dont expect it. Good to know tho that the seat is much more comfy!
That looked like the most “okay” flight ever 😂… If you had the option, would you give Lufthansa PE another chance? Anyway, great video as always 👍
That would have been a great title for this video actually. 🤔😆 But, yeah, I’d definitely do it again (especially once the new seats are installed). Glad you enjoyed it!
Nice I hope your time at Munich was good
Thanks! Yup, I really enjoyed Munich (it was my first time there).
UA Gold equates to Star Alliance Gold so you would have had all the standard Star Gold benefits on LH (hence the priority boarding). You could have checked in at the First Class counter and accessed the lounge.
Fantastic video again! I decided on Virgin Upper on the A350 instead of premium on the Lufty 748. Right choice?
Hey Scott! I travelled from BOS to MUC last week on an A340-600 in Premium Economy. United Gold Status gets you Lufthansa Lounge access regardless of cabin. In DFW it's contracted out to the new Chase Lounge so maybe there was a non-Lufthansa option? Anyway, I had the same meal going over and different options coming back (from FRA to BOS in an A340-300). Our breakfast was completely different... fruit/cheese/salami and an oat/musili compote thing that was fine. I was expecting "indifferent" cabin crew but both crews were very friendly and attentive, so I'm hoping the recent complaints over the past few years have changed their attitudes. Anyway.... I'm travelling to FRA in November from JFK so my friend can fly the upper deck of a 747-400. I doubt the cabin will be the new business class set-up, but I'm hoping! We're taking premium economy back to BOS after our trip. I find PE is great coming back on a day trip, but I definitely prefer BC going overnight. Safe travels!!!
I loved the report, good work! I only disagree about the German punctuality in Lufthansa: I must say that maybe 70% of the flights I’ve taken with them have been delayed considerably. Frankfurt’s airport operations are a HUGE mess to be added to air traffic restrictions and the night operational curfew. This leads to LH having one of the worse punctuality rates within Europe. Also Deutsche Bahn is world famous for being as unpunctual as it can get. Consider yourself lucky.
Scott the quality looks great compared to American Airlines business class long haul being served wine in plastic cups ! 😮
Plastic cups in long haul business class? That’s wrong on so many levels. 😄
Finally in 2024 and 2025 LH is rolled out with the new cabin! Now the food must get better and service could be increased at one or two occasions.
Btw: Public transportation in Germany is not as punctual as it used to be… so as many other things our country used to represent, are not in existence anymore…
Your gold status from united also is gold status at LH so you are able to board in group two and you should also have lounge access to all star alliance lounges worldwide, alongside with business class checkin and at most of the airports even fast track security check.
Was flying premium economy with Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Bogota. I think it was a 330. The service was good the cabin separated from economy and our own WC.
i had an amazing deal with Lufthansa DUS-SAN with return for under 500$! My best transatlantic deal ever with the most solid airline ever!
Don’t you get access to the United Club lounge above the food court with a Star Alliance ticket and Gold status on a Star Alliance airline?
Based on what a lot of other commenters have said, I guess I did! Wish I would have known that. 😅
I really enjoyed this video. Currently taking LH 456 LAX to FRA and I’m debating on upgrading to buisness on Lufthansa or my return on Air Canada. Currently in PE. Thanks
Love this. Do you not get lounge access for being gold on united? I thought all you need to do is show the gold status only.
Thanks! That’s actually a really good question. I should probably look into it before my next trip… 🤔😂
I also flew SAN to MUC in Lufthansa Premium Economy, but in May 2022. I was in the very front of PE on the left side. Overall, I was very happy with my flight experience.
If you’re flying on a Star Alliance carrier, you can access the United Club with a day pass or United Club Membership. Even if you’re flying in regular Economy.
Great video! What flight app tracker are you using. It shows your returned flight also?
Thanks Melvin! That’s the Flighty app - and yup, it was showing my return segment as well (MUC-CDG and CDG-SFO).
I've found PE on both Virgin & BA quite good. I heard that JAL PE even gets their own lounge.
How unfortunate this flight wasn't the the ex-PAL A350s. I guess it's at least a decent seat. Great to see SAN getting some more European flights. Maybe an LCC like we see at LAX like French Bee or Norse Atlantic will see opportunities there.
I actually think it’s interesting that we don’t have any long haul LCCs here at SAN. Seems like the perfect destination for one of those low cost leisure airlines.
United Gold status is the equivalent to star alliance gold which is always nice to have.
This is my first year with it, so I’m slowly learning the perks. It’s more valuable than I thought. 😄
Wonderful review, frequent traveler to SAN here. Thank you; wait just to make sure I heard you correctly; did you say that the premium economy seat is mechanical comparable to our domestic FIRST-CLASS seat? By that I mean design, dimensions, pitch, etc? Also Lufthansa says Wi Fi is available on this A359, that was your experience yes? Thank you!
One question that watch you were wearing looks awesome. Was that an Apple Watch ? What model . Nice flight ✈️
Yes it was! Series 8.
I'm a San Diegan as well and I took this flight a couple of times, last time on June 2022. Your review is quite accurate, based on my experience however, these are my comments:
1) Lufthansa punctuality? Since when? I always lost my connections when flying with Lufthansa and it never happened with other airlines.
2) I'm a United frequent flyer and adding Lufthansa miles to my United account has been always a pain in the butt! 😞
3) Last year I got an upgrade deal to business for only $ 700 more; they offered it to me during the check-in, 24 hrs prior my flight... but to be honest, Lufthansa business seats are not so great... certainly far away from the Polaris class quality!
4) At the end of the day, I would still try to book a premium economy seat when traveling to Frankfurt... but I do not agree with you when you compare these seats to the domestic first class seats... they are much less comfortable. 😞🙂
Having said that, I agree with you that we need more direct flights from San Diego to Europe. 🙂
Swiss has that mentioned new premium eco seat already installed on all of their 777s. My sister flew both, the new seat and the old one. she preferred the old one due to the way they recline.
Dang it, that’s not what I wanted to hear! 😄 I’m still looking forward to trying it out (eventually) though…
@@sanspotter Either way, the value proposition is there for both seat types compared to LH business class which I've been able to fly a couple of times. That one is just bad. Especially if you've flown Qatar, ANA or even BA. Not convinced about the announced new premium cabins apart from first class perhaps. Worth looking at is also Condor's new business class in their A330 NEO operating from SFO.
You could have used the United Club as a UA Star Gold on an international itinerary.
Having flown BA Y+ out of PHX the meal was better than what you got but the seats were the same but not the leg room you had more.
You have United gold status (Star Alliance gold), flying on an international itinerary and could not access the lounge?
This is my first year ever of having gold status, so I guess I wasn’t fully aware of what I do and do not have access to. Based on what others have said here in the comment section so far, I probably did have access to the UA club.
im SD to Munich in a few days :)
i have flown delta's premium economy several times, before and after the pandemic. pre covid it was beyond great, it was like domestic first class....with an upgraded seat.
after covid it is like premium select, with a better seat; but not worth they price increase over first class.
That’s a bummer to hear actually. I also flew Delta long haul premium economy before the pandemic, and was really impressed. Maybe it depends on the route? Not sure…
thanks. Not bad service at all. You should have tried the German " sekt" sparkling wine free of charge.
I just read that Air France is coming back to San Diego. So it can only get better.
Yeah fares are very high on those "only one carrier" routes just like St.Louis to Frankfurt on Lufthansa. In bizclass you have to pay so much more than on JFK-FRA.
Justin and me out of SAN we always try to make a deal with British Airways via LHR to FRA.
You’re very welcome Claus! I figured you’d get a kick out of this video (and I wondered if you usually use BA or LH out of SAN to Europe). Interesting that you choose BA! Anyway, yes, AF is operating a few flights to and from San Diego later this year in conjunction with a conference (they did it once before Covid). That might be a neat one to try…
I love Airbus but I'm excited about the Lufthansa U.S. ---> Europe routes with the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Airbus premium economy these days is sort of old news..
Middle Eastern Airlines has best premium economy
Flew to London on this route with BA in Premium and it was amazing. But that airport lounge is the worst I have ever been to, I walked out.
Yeah, I can vouch for that lounge not being all that great. We need a proper Oneworld lounge at SAN!
I think those gates at the far end of T2 are where all the international flights arrive and depart out of. And yeah, it’s a ghost town there.
Yup, that’s basically the international terminal.
are U mate flying first time? if this is true that U hold Star gold card, U get C check in and lounge. Though lounges in US are crap, but at least U can wind down with some booz before the flight.
Remember when Lufthansa won the award of 5 star Airline? Their current state will tell you otherwise.
I've flown A350-900 on Singapore Airlines from LAX to SIN yesterday. So, is this the only aircraft type to fly A350 to San Diego?!
LH SAN-MUC was canceled LH can simply reroute you to EWR via Star Alliance Partner UA SAN-EWR where you then rejoin the LH A350-900 this time from EWR as LH413 EWR-MUC. One of the LH A359s D-AIVB Hamburg used to be part of the PR A359 fleet which is RP-C3504 or RP-C3507 which usually flies to LAX and SFO from MNL with B777-3F6/ER. Loses out to competitors B777-312/ER SQ B777-367/ER CX B777-381/ER NH B777-346/ER JL B777-35E/ER BR and lastly B777-3B5/ER KE. In 2027 if UA gets their A359s you should do SAN-EWR UA domestic and then EWR-MUC UA A359 if in service return MUC-EWR LH412 and UA domestic EWR-SAN.
I was about to comment on punctuality, for that you'll find it in Switzerland or the Netherlands.
Often missing in those reviews: How much did you pay?
While I am quite satisfied with the LH business class of this generation (no need to sit in a compacted layout in a cubicle) , the PE seems a bit outdated. I enjoyed already the new Swiss PE, which is similar to the upcoming LH Allegris seats.
Regarding amenity kits and headsets: If you travel frequently you better bring your own stuff. Especially single use items should be phased out as much as possible.
Does UA Gold + International flight not grant you lounge access in the United Club? Not sure if you need a higher tier, but i thought it was gold! Perhaps not.
Someone else mentioned that as well - so I definitely need to look into it! 👍🏻
If you have UA gold and your flying any other Star alliance airline (then UA) you get lounge access to the UA club.
I flew Lufthansa Eco Premium on an A380 LAX-FRA and it was great!!, Pricey but Great. I hope the A350s are as comfy as the A380.
I definitely need to try the LH A380 - especially once they are configured with the new interiors.
@@sanspotter but Scott they wont get the new ALLEGRIS FIRST CLASS!!!!!!!!
@@sanspotter A380s was my choice to fly to Europe every time!
Please Try Edelweiss Air from Switzerland.Have direkt flight to Sandiego to Zürich
What do you do in the countries you arrive at? 🤔
Do you like sleep there then continue to another country or?
Yeah, I usually try to do a little sightseeing (especially if it’s a place I’ve never been to before). I had a full day in Munich to look around before flying back to the US. It’s a really nice city!
Do you want them to just teleport the food to the middle seat?
I now pretty much only fly Premium Economy products on long-haul. I can't afford business cash tickets and can't take economy anymore, so a good middle ground. Took some Japan Airlines PE flights recently and for me these are #1 premium economy products (both hard and soft product, i.e. service, are amazing). Flying back Japan Arline's LHR-HND soon, can't wait.
JAL PE product gives you proper lounge access (I am not aware of any other Arline's PE product that gives proper lounge access). And the design of JAL PE seats is such that they slide when reclining, hence not reducing the space of person behind (Why no other PE product does it this way?)
John! You’re still alive! 😄 It’s been a long time since you’ve commented on one of my videos so it’s nice to know you’re not dead. 🤣 But seriously, that’s good to hear about the Japanese airlines. I am very likely going to be flying ANA premium economy soon (if it’s not too expensive), and it’s something that I’ve been looking forward to for a very long time. Nice to see you still active on CZcams!
@@sanspotter I always watch, though not always comment 😅
Scott, your video amply showed the issues many find with PE, an overpriced product. I think airlines should properly invest in PE like JAL/ Emirates or just not bother at all and make those seats just economy with extra leg room. Anyway great Vlog as always Scott!
when was the date ? and also if you are flying with an airline that has good products on business class such as Singapore or Qatar in that case its worth flying business but if you are flying LH outdated business class no its not worth it
Did they weigh your carry-on?
I’m surprised it’s actually a Lufthansa flight and not a United flight.
Swiss has already the new prenium eco 😊
Hey Scott great video! Not sure if you’ve heard but Air France is coming to SD for a day or two in December, it would be pretty sick if you could do a review of that special flight!
Thanks Asim! Yeah, it would be fun to try that flight. I remember how crazy expensive it was last time they came here though, so we’ll see…
Hoping for Swiss Air to join the c SAN family ❤
Those portion sizes 🙃
Hi Scott! I am a huge fan of premium economy when it is not possible to fly business or too expensive, for that fact. That Lufthansa premium economy looked very doable. What happened to your patrons? No mention of them at the end of the video. Did you do away with them?❤✈️
Hi Diane! Yeah, it was pretty good overall (much better than regular economy), but not as good as long haul premium economy on other airlines. Fingers crossed that things improve with the new cabins later this year! Anyway, yes, I closed my Patreon account a few months ago because I felt like I wasn’t providing enough value to my patrons. 😕 I may start it up again at a later date though…we’ll see!
@@sanspotter Perhaps you might consider opening a CZcams Membership program
Air france is doing a couple of trial flights out of San Diego in December!
without la premiere
Yeah, looking forward to that! I remember how ridiculously expensive it was last time though, so I can’t guarantee that I’m going to try it…
@@sanspotter SCOTT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO WHAT WE YOUR TRUE FOLLOWERS ARE EXPECTING YOU TO DO...C`mon. I KNOW THAT THIS IS YOUR BUSINESS.... BUT LETS CELEBRATE SUMMER OR THAT WHAT JUSTIN MY GUY SAID THESE DAYS TO ME HEY HANDSOME LETS GO DOWN ON THE BEACH......or the Gaslamp Quarter...anything will work out fine
It’s not trial, it’s because of an event during the winter
Honestly, I still like the previous Lufthansa livery
Now you're gonna have to try the new Air France flight to CDG in the winter
Fingers crossed it’s not crazy expensive! 🤞🏻
Wait so it’s like starting service to San diego
It’s two flights in the winter because of an event, no year round or even seasonal
why is there first class check in if no first on Lufthansa a350
I wondered about that as well! 😂
Surprised the wide bodies can take off from SD
I think Cathay Pacific premium economy gets their own bathroom on the 777!
I'm thinking maybe virgin atlantic comes to SAN to compete with BA since they are now part of skyteam
Yes! I could totally get onboard with that.
@@sanspotter imagine the new a330 neo pulling up to SAN
Good review but I wouldn't pay more than about 150 USD premium for that cabin.
Thanks! I agree that it would be foolish to overpay for it…but its totally worth it if a good deal can be found.
3:18 "punctual" is not exactly the word I'd use to describe our public transport these days... international connections may be punctual, but with anything longer distance that's bound to road or rail you'll be lucky to arrive within an hour or two of the intended schedule...
I’ve always heard that things ran “to the minute” in Germany - I’ll admit that isn’t something I’ve heard recently, but I assumed it was still that way.
@@sanspotter oh it certainly used to be much closer to the truth in the past, but for at least 20 years, it's been more of a myth than anything else, public transport has _really_ gone downhill in that regard, unfortunately
8:00 If I’m on a daytime flight then premium economy is perfectly fine for me
Having flown Lufthansa in April, I thought the flights were great except for the extremely outdated IFE and bad business-class seats, and the FA's on our flights were great.
Yeah the IFE surprised me. And I also didn’t think that the business class seats looked all that great. There was no privacy at all. 😬
SANspotter was nearly KO’d with a WWE-esque move, a tray to the head
😵😂
Is it me or are you uploading more regularly since you started refusing our Patreon cash? :D.
😬😬😬 it’s the same schedule as before - nothing has changed I promise! 😁
11:08 Apparently you say 'It's scary' exactly like I say 'hey siri'.
I blame it on all that high fidelity audio equipment you’ve got lying around - Siri completely ignores it when played on my cheap computer speakers. 😄
7:30...Correct me if I am wrong, but your meal looks like pounded yam and beef stew with carrot and greens, which is nice west african meal. But why serve it on Lufthansa airlines? Strange, very strange indeed 🤔.
If you have United gold you could of used the United club in SAN.
I wish I would’ve known that! 😂 A few other commenters have mentioned it as well, so I guess I totally screwed that up.