It's summer again, time to go to Europe: Lufthansa Economy Class

When: summer 2015
Kids: Big Sister 11y3m, twins 8y8m
Flights: Hong Kong - Frankfurt - Brussels - Frankfurt - Hong Kong
Booked through: online, paid HK$35k for 5 (2 adults and 3 children), departure in July, return in August (total stay 1 month), great deal!

There we go ... back to Hong Kong (at Frankfurt airport)

After having decided that a long and short-medium (3-4 hours) haul or two medium haul flights are not ideal, this year I opted for the long haul and a super short haul, meaning we'd have to transfer in Europe. Most obvious options were BA, Lufthansa, Air France or Swiss. Going to the UK and "back" to Belgium seems silly, and after some searching ... Lufthansa came out as the cheapest by far (after Jet Airways and the cheapest, Aeroflot). Unfortunately we had to transfer in Frankfurt and not Munich which was way more expensive. However, Frankfurt airport was easy peasy. Don't be discouraged, it's fine, really! A little more complicated arriving in Europe (security and immigration and a fairly long walk) but incredibly simple changing from an EU-flight to the long-haul (from A to Z pier which are basically on top of each other). No security check at Frankfurt when departing from Brussels so apart from the bus transfer, we were literally having dinner at Deutsch German restaurant 20 minutes after landing. Highly recommend the restaurant and with a great view ... AND ... kid friendly.

Back to the flight. We booked the cheapest fare so we could not book seats unless we paid extra. Therefore I had my husband (he had a separate booking with a different return date) call Lufthansa explaining that the bookings had to be linked, that I was travelling with 3 kids by myself on the way back ... and that he was Star Alliance Gold (minor important detail, should help). So as soon as online check-in was available 24 hour in advance, I was ready, more than ready, hoping I wouldn't get the non-reclining seats in the back of the plane on row 70 or so. But no, Lufthansa had actually put us all together, in the front of the economy class in a row of 3 and 2 in another row of 3 ... just what I would have booked if I would have had the chance. Perfect!

The sun is setting in Frankfurt, almost time to go ...

Traveled to the airport with the Airport Express (bye suitcase), family priority boarding, brand-new Boeing 747-800 with a new business class (for those interested, they're still re-fitting as I type, but this route is apparently completed which makes sense given the competition in Asia). Crew was friendly, not warm but very organised, plenty of drinks during the flight, even at night. Seats are OK, it's economy, you know what it's going to be like for 12 hours. Seats recline and slide at the same time. Inflight entertainment is sufficient, not fantastic like the Asians or Middle Eastern carriers but more than sufficient and easy to navigate with touch screens. Catering ex-Hong Kong not great (ex-Frankfurt was way better). On time arrival in Frankfurt, smooth transfer to another on-time 50 minute flight to Brussels, luggage came quickly as flight was far from full and priority labels. Staff on the Frankfurt - Brussels flight was fantastic, lots of presents for the kids!

Our return flight, me and 3 kids, I was well prepared again, ready to go 24 hours before departure behind the laptop for online check-in. And again, Lufthansa had already allocated 4 seats together, bulk head, just behind the business class ... Plenty leg room, smaller part of the cabin, less traffic, everybody happy. Food was way better (skipped the dinner as we left 10.00 pm from Frankfurt and we had eaten already at the airport). Pre-boarding for families at Frankfurt, unlike Brussels where it was a first come first serve chaos, not even priority boarding for frequent flyers and/or those travelling in business class. Crew on both return flights, friendly, organised, honestly what you would expect from Lufthansa. Flights were uneventful, on time and smooth. 

German dinner at Deutsch (Z-pier) in Frankfurt before our long haul flight back to Hong Kong

It's still economy, it's still a fairly long flight, but with a new plane, a nice crew, on-time departure and arrivals, relatively good seats, and a very good fare, you cannot really complain. Overall travel time given the necessary transfer (no direct flights to Brussels from Hong Kong) was much better than last year (Malaysian via KL) or the year before (Emirates via Dubai, both flights from Amsterdam). I'd do it again.