Lufthansa

Boeing 747-8i HKG-FRA-HKG in Premium Economy of LH and its a great products. Seats are comfortable and offer the right amount of space. Also compared to other Premium Economy airlines (CX, TK, BA etc.) LH plays in the top league. Legroom is good compared to other carriers, seat-pitch is good, IFE is great, and the service / food offered is all a good value for money. The only weird point on the Lufthansa Premium Economy is that its locked between two Economy class cabin areas and the passengers were quite confused - seeing some of the nice Premium Economy seats are empty and they can't sit there (as Cabin crew explained them only against paying a charge etc.) A better location or clear partition would be nicer.

I've just had the worst flight experience over the last 20 years. GRU-MUN flight of June 5 on Lufthansa's A340-600 was ok. My friend and I managed to get joint seats on one side of the plane. Legroom was fine though the seats were kind of narrow and thinly padded. Our flight back on a Boeing 747-8, however, was a nightmare all thanks to the seats being even narrower, the legroom non-existent, no to mention these metal boxes attached to the floor right under the seat in front of you, which reduced your legroom even more. Initially I got bulkhead seat (18F) in the 4-seat row. If you think the regular seats are narrow, wait until you see the bulkhead ones. Because the armrests are fixed your legs are literally squeezed. I looked behind me and there was a vacant middle seat to which I moved right before take off. But that didn't do it either. I called the staff to ask for an upgrade to the Premium Class but it cost 399 euros. So my colleague, who had an aisle seat on the same row, was nice enough to trade places with me so I could have a little more room. But sleeping is out of question on such seats. I practically got no sleep at all, just like some passengers who'd rather stand up during the whole flight than being squeezed on a seat. Food was nice and so was the crew, but I vow never to flight coach on Lufhansa again.

Shanghai to Frankfurt. The Lufthansa A380 Economy Class is pretty good. The legroom is good and the seat width is the same as in any other A380 on the world. IFE Selection is very good and you can get easily out of your seat.

Munich to LAX - 40c. A very large passenger in the seat ahead of me kept her seat in full recline throughout the flight making it near impossible for me to eat or exit the seat. Also because of the fixed aisle armrest I literally needed to climb into my seat in order to step out into the aisle. This also put the monitor so close to my face that eye strain kept me from using the entertainment system to get a break from the torture. I will never again fly nonstop from Europe to the west coast of the US. The crew was friendly.

Seat 14C enough for 1.90m person even to stretch legs. Pleasantly surprised.

The seats look fancy but don't offer any comfort and especially no lumbar support at all. Plus the distance between the seat rows is very narrow especially if one is just little bit taller. It's a pain getting into the seat if your seat is not an aisle seat. This definitely got worse over the last 7 years. Plus the space to stow some small items like a case for glasses or a small bottle of water basically disappeared over the years.

I was fortunate enough to get a bulkhead seat and therefore extra legroom on the first flight. In this row the armrests are immovable which is probably the only thing that kept the gentleman beside me from lying completely on me. The seats are narrow thinly padded and uncomfortable. On the return flight I was alone in one of the two seat rows and still had difficulty getting in and out of the row without disturbing the row in front of me. Thankful it was only a 6 hour flight. That was miserable enough.

The Recaro seat is a slim seat but in my point of view it's not too slim so that you are not able to feel what the person behind you is doing. It get's the full seat rating because for a 1h to 3h flight it's perfect.

Route: CDG-FRA-GRU - I used to fly Lufthansa's 747-400 on coach class and it always was ok by the money you put in the ticket. But this time I was excited to try the brand new 747-8 thinking it would be more spacious and comfortable than the old 400s. My mistake. The truth is they shrank the space in the coach class and created a more spacious Business and First Class. More than half of the 747's main deck is dedicated to First and Business while 262 coach passengers are squeezed on the rear. I am 1.80m tall and it was very difficult to me to find a nice position to rest and relax. Absolutely no sleeping during the 11 hours flight! To make it even worse the flight was completely full. The good things? The staff was nice and friendly the food was good and there was plenty of drinks you don't use to find in someone's else coach class. On the first flight's leg (CDG-FRA) I travelled on a LH A321 which was much more comfortable and spacious than the long haul 747. This is happening not only on Lufthansa but in several other airlines I have flown lately like United Airlines TAM Airlines Delta etc. Lufthansa again? Only if I get a business or first class ticket.

IAD-FRA. There is a metal IFE box under each seat E making the leg room for the passengers in these seats virtually non-existent (especially when neighbouring seats are full). The plane was not entirely full and everyone was avoiding Es like a plague. In the end I managed to snatch an aisle seat (smaller IFE box but more leg room in the walkway). The FA refused to acknowledge that there is an IFE box in the legroom (was not complaining just informing her why I would like to change seats). If plane is close to capacity it is horrendous. Leg room is ridiculous. Seats tough and no padding. Personal space is zilch. On the plus side food was good and alcohol was freely available - but given the atrocity of seats take all the wine you can get.