Lufthansa Economy Class Airbus A321 LH1276 - review #2

Route

LH1276,  Frankfurt to Malta Luqa, 10 October 2012. This is the second review of this route, you can view the previous review here

Duration

2 hours 25 min.

On time departure and arrival

Departed on time.
Arrived on time.

Ground crew and check-in

We checked in online 23 hours before the flight, as part of a connecting flight from Johannesburg.
Our bags were booked through to Malta, so there were no need to collect luggage. For our connecting flight we had to go through security again.
Our printed online boarding passes served as boarding tickets.
The counters were handled by Lufthansa staff.
Ground staff was friendly.

Boarding procedure

Priority boarding for business class passengers, families with small children and assisted passengers.
This flight was fully booked and the crew asked passengers to board by row number, but most passengers ignored it.
The electronic boarding gates were not use, and the ground staff scanned our tickets.
We boarded via a mobile bridge.

Luggage allowance

Hand luggage - One carry on bag 8kg max
Checked luggage - 23kg

Seating

Number of seats - 200 in total, economy has limited recline seats. Lufthansa refitted most of their regional aircraft with new seats. These new seats are very comfortable and allow for generous leg room.
The seating configuration depends on how many business class seats are allocated.
Emergency exit row seats cannot be book online, they are allocated when checking in at the counters.

We sat in row 25 B and C, a two-seater row. These seats are nice if you are travelling as a couple, but they cannot recline and they seem to be a tad narrower than the other seats, although I am not 100% sure.
There were limited locker space available in row 25 B and C because of a storage box. See the attached pictures.
View more information at  Lufthansa A321 seatmap or Seatguru A321 Economy seat information

Amenities

None.

Entertainment

Newspapers were available at the boarding gate waiting area. In-flight magazine available in seat pocket.

In-flight communication

None

Meals and refreshments

Breakfast
We were served yoghurt and fruit.
Any special meals must be pre-ordered when you make your reservation.
Coffee, tea, beer, wine and other beverages were served after our meal.

Toilets

The toilets were kept clean, economy class can only use the toilets at the back of the aircraft. I feel that there are not enough toilets on this plane/flight.
Basin to wash hands and brush teeth.

In-flight shopping

Available.

Travelling with Children

Milk and baby food can be warmed up by the cabin crew.
Read more on Lufthansa - Travelling with children.

Crew

I found the crew competent and friendly. Instructions were given in German and English.

Disembarking

Business class disembarked first. We took a short bus ride to the terminal building.

Overall opinion

What I liked
The new seats are very comfortable and the breakfast tasty and healthy.
The plane was quiet with not too many rattles and noise.

Not so good
There are only toilets at the back of the plane, this can be a problem when food is being served or in flight shopping trolleys are blocking the aisle. Watch out for limited recline and overhead locker space on the two-seater rows.

Limited space in overhead locker - Row 25 B,C



Row 25 D and E




Breakfast