As I run across Munich’s Terminal 2 to catch my flight to Lisbon, I wondered whether it was worth having paid for that business class upgrade.
Knowing that it wasn’t my first time flying on a Lufthansa A320 business class seat, I was having second thoughts about my $160 spend.
I was not impressed by my Amman to Frankfurt flight in February 2022. Staff was oblivious to the full business class cabin. An ungodly 4 am departure time and a long and wet 6 am bus ride to the FRA terminal made the trip gloomier.
But having paid a super low rate on this trip from Montreal to Lisbon, I did have good reasons for my upgrade which I will share later.
Check-in
I was able to go through the boarding process entirely on my phone in Montreal.
By retrieving my booking code on the Lufthansa app I loaded my COVID-19 information: vaxx dates, names and QR code.
Also I needed to submit the Portugal Passenger Locator Form (PLF) QR code. It’s mandatory and without it check-in wouldn’t be possible.
The 2 boarding passes were generated and I saved them on my Apple Wallet. The second boarding pass for the Munich to Lisbon is the business class one.

Senator Lounge Schengen side
The lounge is located near gate K9 next to the Lufthansa boutique which I did not have time to check out.

As I entered the spacious lounge, I wasn’t surprised how busy it was. It was full with elite German business men frequent flyers.



Boarding

Boarding was efficient as usual with Lufthansa. Priority boarding groups 1 & 2 were first. As a business class passenger I was tagged in group 2.
I scanned my digital boarding pass and walked to the aircraft. My seat was 3A and the business cabin filled-up gradually to full capacity.
Inflight experience
I settled in seat 3A on an A321Neo. Flight LH1778 is also marketed as AC9142, OS7487, TP6720 and UA8938.


Seat pitch was spacious and the cabin was very clean. However, the Neo effect was lost as there were no in-seat power charging devices. No wifi option was available either. I’m starting to think this is a low-cost airline.




We departed with a 20 minutes delay. Transfers in Munich (MUC) are very tight: on average 1 hour. We pushed back and engine start was interrupted! The captain explained that 2 passengers were omitted at the gate. Their luggage was already loaded into the aircraft. Again a frustrating situation due to Lufthansa’s tight MUC transfers. It was first one for me and many in the plane including the captain. He insisted that the delay was not caused by the connecting passengers and asked for some grace from the cabin.
But all was well, we picked-up the missing passengers and pushed back.

The captain had to make-up for lost time. Once we took off, he climbed to the cruising altitude real fast.
Within the hour lunch seevice started with drinks and cashew. I sticked to water. Lunch was served: the entrée consisted of smoked salmon with a mousse of beats, the main course was veal with asparagus and potatoes accompanied by a Holland sauce.


Desert consisted of an overly sweetened lemon mousse which I barely tasted.
A good meal all in all. The business cabin lunch service kept all 3 crew members busy as more drinks were ordered followed by coffee and tea.

They were pleasant and they had a smile in their eyes ( remember COVID masks). Except for one who seemed to either had a so so day or is by default a grumpy one.


Verdict
All in all it was pretty standard intra-Euro Business class trip. It resembles my British Airways Club Europe experience. This time I was able to do 2 things: get a short coffee break at the lounge and have a nice lunch onboard.
It’s a more spacious experience as an empty seat is always guaranteed on single A319-A320 family of aircraft.