WHAT A BUSINESS

The business class cabin on the new Lufthansa A321 Ashgabat-Baku-Frankfurt flight is more reflective of a domestic service on an economy airline but with international pricing.

The streamed in-flight entertainment system [using personal tablets] has been poorly thought out – it serves a minority of passengers, leaving the rest to twiddle their thumbs for five hours.

As a business traveller, I want to relax, not juggle my low-quality meal and my IFE device in an already cramped space, nor do I want to spend more time boarding while passengers fumble around for their iPad.

I won’t be travelling on this flight again and, despite the better landing time, will revert to Turkish Airlines, BA or Azerbaijan Airlines.

LUFTHANSA REPLIES:

We are sorry to learn of Mr Davidson’s disappointment with our accommodation and in-flight service.

Owing to the size of the network, we decided to change the equipment on the Baku and Ashgabat routes – being shorthaul – to an A321 at the start of the summer schedule.

For environmental and economic reasons, we decided not to install in-seat video units on our short-haul aircraft. However, we are aware that this is an important element for some of our passengers, particularly on longer flights, and for this reason have introduced the Lufthansa Entertainment app on selected routes to allow customers access to films in up to eight languages, [plus] 100 CDs, radio programmes and a range of daily papers and magazines in electronic format.

Many travellers already have mobile devices that they use on board, and the feedback has been positive. However, we have noted Mr Davidson’s comments regarding this facility and the practicalities of use on board, and have relayed these to our management team.

We would like to thank Mr Davidson for his feedback and hope that he will allow us to welcome him on board again in the near future.