| Lufthansa | Paris (CDG) → Munich (MUC) | A319-100 | Business Class | 22/02/2020 | Current review |
| Lufthansa | Munich (MUC) → Paris (CDG) | A320-200 | Economy Class | 22/02/2020 | Short review - 4.1/5 |
| Lufthansa | Paris (CDG) → Munich (MUC) | A319-100 | Business Class | 22/02/2020 | Current review |
| Lufthansa | Munich (MUC) → Paris (CDG) | A320-200 | Economy Class | 22/02/2020 | Short review - 4.1/5 |
Good morning everyone, I'm meeting you early in the morning - at 5:00 am to be precise - at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport for a new Flight review. This is my last flight under "normal" conditions before the lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic completely disrupt the world air transport.
I am currently at the departure level of terminal 1 of CDG. I didn't know it at the time, but this will be my last time at the well-known "camembert" of Roissy, before it closes on March 2020.
A small overview of the flights scheduled from CDG 1 this morning: only 6 Lufthansa flights and 4 United flights until 11:55. I will take today the very first flight of the day: LH2239 to Munich.
As I don't have any luggage to check in, I go directly to the mythical escalators of terminal 1 and take the long conveyor belt leading me to the satellite dedicated to Lufthansa, the one at gates 60-68.
After a quick passage to the security controls (thanks to “Accès N°1” of CDG because otherwise, the queue was really long), I see my beautiful plane which will take me this morning in Germany. It is D-AIBF, an Airbus A319-112, delivered to Lufthansa in 2011 and wearing the new livery (and the European flag).
Concerning the airport, I've never been a big fan of this 70's terminal, far too obsolete for my taste. It is anything but practical, and very ugly, while the facilities and services offered are outdated or even non-existent. With baggage to check in (or even worse, to claim), this terminal is a real pain!
However, the wait is quite quick, despite the lack of real shops/restaurants/duty-free in the terminal.
It is 5:50 am at boarding time. Business Class passengers board first.
The fuselage shot with the beautiful A319 in its new livery and the main terminal building lit up in the colors of the French flag in the background.
The small yellow welcome sign to the right of the door is characteristic of the new Lufthansa livery, where cabin crew occasionally like to write a small message by hand.
I couldn't take a picture of the cabin because it was already quite full when I boarded. However, it is simply a European Business Class as basic as it gets, with the same seats as in Economy Class but with just the middle seat blocked and improved legroom. A Business Class like this may not be awkward for a one-hour flight like Paris-Munich, but the cabin will be much more awkward on medium-haul flights of 3-4 hours.
A nice little wing view is offered on the CFM 56 from the third row.
After 20 minutes, the boarding is already finished, and we push back with the presentation of the security instructions.
For the connoisseurs, we push back on the A3 taxiway, offering great proximity to the "camembert" and therefore a nice view of the tricolor flag of the terminal.
After a rather quick taxi (for CDG at least, only 7 minutes of taxi!), we aligned on runway 27L and took off.
A little after the take-off which was done facing west, we flew over Roissy. The view offered in the middle of the night like that on the airport with all the lights of the terminals was really fantastic! I tried to transcribe it as well as possible with pictures, despite the low luminosity and the plane's speed.
About fifteen minutes after take-off, breakfast is served. This is perhaps the only real service, in addition to the blocked middle seat, that would really justify paying Business Class rather than Economy for this flight.
The breakfast is 100% cold - we can't really blame them; the plane spent the night in Roissy - but very good! It may seem light and not very copious but for a meal on a flight of this duration and at this time, it is still relatively correct, complemented by the drink of one's choice among a large selection.
We are in the middle of a cruise and pass the German border, with a magnificent sunrise that is always worth a look!
A bit later, the descent begins, and we finally see the magnificent airport of Munich.
After a turn to intercept the ILS for runway 26R, we finally landed in Munich with 1h05 as air time! We quickly vacate the runway and reach the satellite of Terminal 2.
As we pass by, we see several beautiful aircraft with great light, including a Lufthansa A350 wearing the new livery, parked in the main building of Terminal 2.
As soon as I arrived at the gate, I quickly left the plane and went out of the terminal to start a nice day of spotting! It's always a pleasure to pass through an airport like Munich, so clean, modern, beautiful, logical, and very accessible. I'm already looking forward to my return flight (which unfortunately I won't be able to report).
In summary, I had a good experience with Lufthansa on this short flight between Paris and Munich. The flight was on time, and everything was very fast from boarding to disembarking; the food, the services, and the cabin were correct for a flight of this duration. However, I am not sure that this Business Class is really worth it for a one-hour flight; the value for money is much better in Economy Class.
Thanks for reading and see you soon ;)
