Germany, There and Back Again: LH451 LAX-FRA [D-ABYA] Lufthansa Premium Economy

For other parts of this journey click below!
Part 1 - Introduction
Part 2 - LAX to FRA
Part 3 - FRA to MUC
Part 4 - BMW Welt and Delivery
Part 5 - First drive and Linderhof Palace
Part 6 - Füssen, Ulm, and Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Part 7 - Speyer Museum and Heidelberg
Part 8 - FRA and the Flight Home

Part 2

"Why would you fly LAX-FRA-MUC when you have a direct flight to Munich??"

B and I are plane nuts. Notice that sentence can be interpreted two different ways. I had previously flown on a Lufthansa 747-8i before. I really enjoyed the aircraft and I wanted to experience it again with B. 

D-ABYA "Brandenburg"

Some fun facts on the airplane. This is the first passenger 747-8 to enter service in the world. One of its first routes was FRA-LAX which I actually witnessed while eating a hamburger.

We checked in and went to hang out a bit in the Star Alliance lounge until it was boarding time at Gate 148.

Adhere to my mighty intercom power

We were seated in premium economy this time. It is a fairly new product for Lufthansa so it was nice to be able to try it out. The sad part is that it is basically what you would get in economy class from maybe 20 to 30 years ago. I found the seat to be really spacious and comfortable. I think the the greatest thing about the seat though is that you do not have to fight for armrest space. 

We got pre-departure juice beverage, a basic amenity kit, and bottled water at each seat. The amenity kit consists of socks, toothbrush, wet nap, and an eye mask.

Lufthansa Premium Economy Seat

Amenity Kit

Originally B and I were sitting in two separate rows. The gentleman next to me was very kind and offered to switch seats with Brandon so that we could sit together. He asked just as the safety video was playing. Not wanting to get him in trouble I told him that we could switch after takeoff and the seatbelt sign was off.

View of the wing

The takeoff roll was smooth and confident off of 24L. After we turned east to go towards Frankfurt I noticed that we stayed relatively low for a while over the LA Basin. This was probably due to some thunderstorms in the area.

Once the seatbelt signs were off B ended up sitting next to me and service started. It began with a pack of crackers and a drink. We were also given menus of the food although it didn't have much in the way of choices. You are still in economy after all. 

Then the first meal service began. In premium economy on ANA, you are served first in economy class. Interestingly, this is not the case on Lufthansa. I think this has to do with the fact that there is a mini-cabin of normal economy seats before you get to the premium economy (PY) section. There is also a rather awkward partition that only reaches down to shoulder level to delineate the end of PY. Contrary to ANA where PY is a separate section on the plane, LH's is smack in the middle. Since everyone in economy can see how much more room and amenities you are getting, I would half expect a riot if people saw you getting food first too. 

I wasn't feeling particularly meaty and so I ordered the vegetarian pasta dish. B ordered the chicken dinner.

Pasta dinner

It was adequate and not terrible. I did enjoy the cheese with bread but I wished the bread could have been softer or warmer. It was also pretty tasteless. I also introduced B to the idea of cheese and bread which he ended up really liking and continuing to do for the rest of the trip. I did like the fact that our plates were on actual china instead of plastic boxes. This is true for all of economy class. The tiramisu dessert wasn't bad either.

Grilled chicken dinner

After meal service I watched some movies and promptly fell asleep for a few hours since it was late in Los Angeles time. Flying on the 747-8 is a very smooth experience and surprisingly quiet. I was woken up more times by people slamming the lavatory door than airplane turbulence. This brings me to another point that I do not like about Lufthansa's premium economy cabin. There's a lavatory right in front of it and everyone goes to it since it is the double lavatory unit. There isn't this problem on ANA because the restroom is behind you and in front of you is the business class curtain which serves as a great barrier from any noise in front. 

Throughout the flight, people would come around offering water or something to drink if you were awake or dehydrated. 

Flight show. Notice the good sized screen.

In any case, as we approached Europe the sky started to brighten up. The lights were turned back on and the second meal service began. This time we both ordered the omelette. 

Pre-arrival meal

I liked this meal, especially because it had fruits and the bread didn't feel hard and tasteless. Or maybe it was the butter and jam that helped...

Final approach in to FRA

After the meal we had some more sleep and then the captain came on the PA to tell us that we were landing soon. The flight attendants hurriedly prepared the cabin. Literally on final approach a lady decided she HAD to go to the restroom. One of the more junior flight attendants panicked and kept knocking on the door. The lady got out and looked like nothing was amiss. Gee, must be nice to be oblivious.

After what seemed like a hard landing....

One of many Lufthansa line ups at FRA

We were in Germany!!

Thanks Brandenburg! 

Overall I have to say that this premium economy is worth it just based on the increased amount of space you get. Not having to fight over armrest space with a stranger is a total luxury. The service may or may not be what you would expect though I may be biased because of my experiences on ANA and I converse with them in Japanese. I am sure that if I spoke German I would have more awesome service. It's just easier to do your customer service job in your native tongue after all. The food leaves a little to be desired but it is decent. 

The location of the PY cabin leaves a little to be desired. However I can understand the business decision behind it. The section it is in will allow more rows of PY without having to move a lavatory which would be a very costly retrofit if it is even possible. 

If you have some extra cash, choose PY to give yourself more room. Economy on Lufthansa these days looks really scary small.