Today I had a chance to travel on one of the new Airbus 340’s for the flight from San Francisco to Munich. Technically they cant be called new, because they are operational for over an year now, but for me this was the first time in one such plane. Entering the flight I was surprised by the “pleasant” interior that the flight had. Though the seating in the economy class was a bit cramped for my liking, I should say the interiors were nice.
I read somewhere, that the Lufthansa flights were going to be equipped with personal TVs from November 2007, however this one didn’t have personal TVs. The seats just had the slots for the TVs however the TVs were still overhead. Reading lights were changed to White lights as against the Bright Yellow lamps. Moreover the cabin lights were also white giving the cabin a nice “daylight” ambience.
The best change was the location of lavatories. Lavatories were located on the lower deck and thus making them a little bigger and better accessible. Though it caused some crowding on the stairs, but i think in a way having lavatories on the lower deck helps both for the passengers and the crew members. Passengers seating in the rows close to the Galley thus will not have to bear the people waiting for lavatories to get free. Thus making those seats a bit quieter and better.
I however didn’t like the size of the seat in the economy cabin. It was too cramped. For a tall person like me, it was really difficult as my knees were continuously hitting the seat infront of me. The food trays were also small and had very less space to keep food tray and a drink. The seat recline was not also sufficient for me to get a better position for having sleep. By the end of the flight I had mixed emotions about this flight. On one side, I really liked the ambience, facilities on this new flight but on the other side I was cursing the seats as my back was hurting.
