Lufthansa’s current business class hard product is not revolutionary, but it is a decent seat, and the service is usually good. At the end of our family trip, and a quick visit in Dusseldorf, this was a comfortable way to get us back home.
Lufthansa A340, showing the last row of Business plus Premium and regular Economy
Lufthansa Senator Lounge, Dusseldorf
Before our flight, we had a little time, so we went to the Lufthansa Senator Lounge. Most Senator lounges I’ve visited are similar in design.
This lounge was no different although there were a few issues, including lavatories and a baby changing room out of order.
One bonus of the lounge visit was that I did get to taste an Altbier (a local style of beer) in the lounge since I wasn’t really in the mood while touring the city, not to mention it was before 10am…
As our boarding time approached, we left the lounge and cleared passport control where there was no line, and shortly after boarded our flight. The gate agents were again very helpful getting our stroller tagged and allowed us to board first to get things set up with our daughter before the rest of the plane boarded.
Lufthansa Business Class on the A340-300
Our outbound flight was on one of Lufthansa’s newer planes, the 748-i, and our return to the US was one of the fleet’s oldest, the Airbus A340-300. It was my first flight on one of these older 4 engined Airbus birds. I’ve heard the seemingly small engines referred to as hair dryers.
The so-called hairdryers that power A340-300s
The business class seats on the A340 are slightly different from the 748-i. The window side seats are parallel and face the window rather than having pairs of seats angle so the feet are together at each seat pair. Presumably this is due to the narrower cabin cross-section on Airbus vs the 748-i. Maybe this is better if not traveling with a partner, but neither seat type offers much privacy for a single flyer.
Business Class seats 11A and 11B on the Lufthansa A340
Lufthansa Business Class A340 seat IFE and storage
Smartly designed coat hook and eyeglass holder between monitors
Our early afternoon departure meant we would be served lunch. Here is the menu:
After Takeoff
Appetizers
Marinated Beef Strips with Carrots and Almonds
Asparagus Salad with King Prawns
Grilled marinated Vegetables with shaved Parmesan Cheese and Cherry TomatoesSalad
Seasonal Leaf Salad with Thousand Island DressingMain Courses
Fresh Asparagus and Tenderloin of Veal, Sauce Hollandaise and Parsley Potatoes
Linguine Pasta with Pesto, Tomato and Ricotta Cream
Your Choice in May:
Arctic Char with stewed Leek and Pearl Barley RisottoCheese and Dessert
Tête de Moine, Wine Cheese and Country Cheese accompanied by Fig Mustard
Buttermilk Mousse with Rhubarb Vanilla Compote
Fruit SaladBefore Landing
Soup & Salad
Asparagus Stew
Caesar SaladDessert
Cherry Marble Cake with Cream
Let’s eat
The first course was served on a tray after an offer of drinks and packaged nuts. I had the marinated beef strips. This was served with a salad and bread.
cocktail service
Marinated beef strips. Not a ‘light’ appetizer I would usually choose, but it was good.
Nothing outstanding about the salad, but it puts to shame the typical salad provided by United on a similar routing. I appreciate the fresh blend of lettuce.
For my main course, I opted for the salmon, and my wife went with pasta. She was a good sport, and took a photo. She likely rolled her eyes at me for asking her to do this, but I’ve learned to pretend I didn’t notice.
I enjoyed my salmon even though the plating looked kind of messy. I also tasted the pasta, which worked well, with enough savory flavors (and probably a ton of salt) to still taste decent at altitude.
Next was dessert and cheese. My wife and I teamed up on this course, her taking the cheese, and me going for the sweets. Typical for us. 
This was a very good business class meal. I’ve become accustomed to the rather tired meal choices on United, and the possibly slightly better options on American on flights like this, but Lufthansa is markedly better.
In flight
After the meal, we settled in, and took turns entertaining our daughter. She had been doing very well, and even took a nap towards the end of the meal service, so thanks to her bassinet, we were able to finish eating without too many distractions.
Are we there yet?
While the Lufthansa in flight entertainment system has improved with the new generation of seats, there weren’t a lot of shows that I was interested in. I did enjoy some live Premier League soccer for part of the flight.
The IFE controller was intuitive to use, but touchscreen is an option as well. As we were getting close to Chicago, our daughter’s mood changed…like all of us, she wanted to be home. The time change was pretty smooth on the way over, but it was starting to get late for her, and she started got fussy. This likely is why I didn’t document the pre-arrival meal. I don’t even remember eating it…oh well.
We made it back to Chicago, collected our bags, and drove home. It was a fun trip. Traveling with a baby is Carly’s area of expertise, and we aren’t the pros that the Sherpa family is, but overall it was a good experience, and we hope to do it again, especially in the next year while our daughter can still travel for free.
Thanks for following along on our family trip to Europe!
Fun trip, but I’m glad to be home!
