My Lufthansa Premium Economy Review for 2025. Is It Worth It?

If you’ve flown with Lufthansa before, you know that they try to have “alles in Ordnung”, which I really like. Heck, before I started using Air France more, Lufthansa used to be my go-to airline. I find Lufthansa’s economy class one of the best in the world—the planes are a bit worn out, but their service is always outstanding, and the staff and crew always go the extra mile.

But is Lufthansa’s Premium Economy up to par with other airlines? Is it worth the money to pay double the price of Economy? Those were the questions I always had before my recent upgrade. Now I have the answers for you, too, so you can fly in peace.

I always upgrade to premium economy for long haul flights that are longer than 8 hours, since I consider shorter flights bearable even in “cattle class.” Here is my review of Lufthansa’s Premium Economy product in Boeing 747-400 or 747-8i based on my latest 12-hour flight.

 

I traveled to Mexico to explore and relax

 

Side note: I have flown with Lufthansa over 20 times, thanks to the proximity of Frankfurt airport and generally good connections from it to Prague, my hometown. I used their Premium Economy on my last 5 flights, so now it feels like I’m properly equipped with the experience to write a comprehensive review.

My latest trip was in early 2025 to Mexico City. I’ve also taken bits and pieces from my previous flights to be fair to Lufthansa Premium Economy and not base my judgments on a single flight.

 

Catch me if you can: another time I flew to Japan

 

If you’ve read any other of my other reviews, you know that my taste for upscale things is rather refined in a typical “hillbilly got rich” fashion, which means my standards are very high and usually beyond reason.

No stone will be left unturned in my review, and I will have no shame in judgment, ensuring you have all the information you need to decide whether the upgrade from economy class to premium economy is worth it or not.

 

Is Lufthansa Premium Economy worth it?

Comfort upgrade, yes please!

 

Overall, I rate Lufthansa’s Premium Economy class 80%. There are better premium economy products out there (see my personal favorite: Air France Premium Economy review), but you are not always going to have a choice between several airlines at times that suits your travel needs.

The price difference at Lufthansa is usually USD 600–800 for a return ticket or 70–100% markup compared to economy prices. This is comparable to other airlines, though maybe a bit on the pricier side.

Lufthansa’s modern shell seats in Premium Economy are so much better than their economy class seats that that extra USD 800 is worth it just for that extra comfort alone. That’s a good thing, since you don’t really get anything else that’s notable. It all felt slightly better than economy class and much worse than business class.

 

Hunger is not a good travel companion, good and sufficient food is a must-have. Get details on lufthansa.com

 

There’s definitely room for improvement: they’re missing priority check-in, better plating, amenity kits, and better placement of the Premium Economy cabin in the airplane layout.

Pro tip: If you are not very tall or generally a big person, you can opt for economy easily and save that USD 800, as you won’t get the main benefit in the form of extra seat space. I am 6’1” (186 cm), so I appreciate the extra room.

 

My overall rating

 

• Value for money: 7/10
• Compared to economy class: 8/10
• Food: 6/10
• In-flight entertainment: 10/10
• Boarding: 6/10
• Service: 8/10
• Seat: 9/10
• Overall: 80%

 

Where's the best view from the plane?!

 

Value for money

Seats in Premium Economy (lufthansa.com)

 

That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Luckily for us, it’s not literally a million dollars, but is it good value for money? Yes, I really like the value of money on Lufthansa Premium Economy flights, the upgrades to Premium Economy are worth it. I feel pricewise, they are a bit above their competition, but for the quality it is still a reasonable price.

I do think that Premium Economy is almost always a bargain compared to the hell in economy class. You will get much more space, better recline, better food, more luggage allowance, a better screen, and—wait for it—the same service as in economy! That’s good, right? Right?

If you use my favorite metric, i.e. cost per hour of flight, it will suddenly feel cheap. My flight lasted 12 hours and the price increase was from USD 890 to USD 1700 for both flights. That means 24 hours in total flight time, meaning that 1 hour of extra “feel better than normal people” costs only USD 33 per hour + other advantages. And that is definitely worth it in my handbook of absolutely unnecessary spending!

I recommend buying tickets at least 6 weeks before your departure date because I find all the known hacks to trick the airline pricing system worthless and the only thing that works is to buy you plane tickets upfront. You should be able to plan things 6 weeks ahead anyway, because if not, how did you get the money to fly in Premium Economy anyway?!

The only reason I rate value for money 7/10 is because it's not exactly cheap and there are many small details that they need to work on, like the presentation of food, amenity kits, etc. It's definitely worth it, but not a bargain like with Air France.

 

Pay attention to pricing when making your booking. Sometimes, you’ll pay more than double for Premium Economy. And sometimes, Business Class is somehow much cheaper?!

 

The delights of Frankfurt Airport

Departure time! Pack up, let's go

 

I consider Frankfurt one of the best airports in the world. It is really big—one of the biggest in the world, but their system of connecting flights is so well managed that you are able to do connecting flight within 30 minutes, which is usually not something I like to attempt at larger airports.

Of course, sometimes you can get delayed due to the weather and then you miss the flight, but those are things nobody can control. It never, ever happened to me with Lufthansa. It's so well organized that you almost always catch your connecting flight even if your first leg is delayed by an hour.

Fun fact: Once I had a delay from Prague to Frankfurt of about 1 h 15 min and my flight was departing only in 30 mins which is an impossible feat in an airport as big as this one. But it was no problem for Frankfurt. Thanks to the amazing work of the airport staff, I managed to reach my flight within 15 minutes and then departed for Washington DC in an almost empty 747. For that, Frankfurt and Lufthansa will have a special place in my heart and I will never forget it.

 

It’s a beautiful day at Frankfurt Airport

 

Now from my weird love affair with Frankfurt airport to the actual stuff that you are interested in.

 

Boarding and Lounge – H2

Ready for take-off

 

Check-in for Lufthansa Premium Economy – H3

First thing’s first: Lufthansa Premium Economy doesn’t give you priority check-in treatment. This is a bit worse than its competitors, but then again, it’s not a big deal in my mind since priority check-in isn’t really much of a priority—you have fewer open counters, and as is typical with legacy carriers, check-in is usually very fast anyway since they staff many more counters than low-cost airlines.

The only perk is that you can upgrade while doing check-in, which might come with a discount, but there's no guarantee there will be any premium economy seats to upgrade to.

The big plus is that you can have two 23 kg bags to check in when in Premium Economy.

Pro tip: Thanks to the bigger checked baggage allowance I like to use a neat trick... My girlfriend for some reason does not like to spend money for business or premium economy classes (she is much more compact than me). So, what we do is buy an economy class light tariff for her, which gives her no checked baggage allowance, and I take her suitcase with me as part of my premium class allowance. Genius, right? By doing this, you can subtract the price of a checked bag from your regular economy price and save around USD 100!

 

You don't always have to travel light to save money, check out my travel hacks (this is me in Chile)

 

Lounges – H3

There are plenty of lounges in Frankfurt, but you don’t really have a lounge provided within your Premium Economy boarding pass. You can pay for entry to the business class lounge if there are spots available, which they usually are.

I would consider this option only if your connection is long—lets say 5 hours or more. In this case, you have plenty of time to eat and drink the entrance fee away. (Remember how I mentioned my hillbilly luxury travel style? Yeah, this is proof of that.)

What does the business class lounge get you? For a mere EUR 39 you can dig into the all-you-can-eat buffet, get free wi-fi (which is useless anyway if you are from the EU), and use the shower cubicles if they work. In Lufthansa’s lounge they mostly are fine in my experience, but as a frequent visitor of lounges I also know it's not that rare for showers to be out of order, so if washing the travel off you is high on your priorities list, confirm it’s even possible at the lounge reception desk before paying for entry.

 

Jan versus Lufthansa, who will win?

 

Boarding – H3

In your Premium Economy you have priority boarding which is not that big of a deal as Lufthansa is very efficient and quick in their boardings anyway. So, the only thing you really get is the right to feel special.

Why? Because you will be sitting on the plane 30 minutes longer than you need to by being seated first, which is not a plus in my book as I usually suffer through every minute of my flight basically in survival mode. There’s just no need to spend any more time on the plane, even if that means I get to be there first.

If you are actually into the idea, this is how it goes: You will board right after business class passengers, children, the elderly, and the disabled. You enter through the same door as economy passengers do. Premium Economy is somewhat strangely located in the middle of economy class. Basically, you’re surrounded by not-so-economically-lucky people from both sides of the cabin, to put it in a more politically correct way. This cabin placement doesn’t feel especially luxurious, to be frank.

I rate Lufthansa’s boarding and lounges 6/10—everything is fine, but nothing exceptional.

 

 

Food in Premium Economy

Decent taste, lacks premium touch.

 

I always liked Lufthansa’s catering, even in economy. It is usually healthy and tasty; they are obviously trying to do their best with the money you pay them. But how is the food in Premium Economy?

Right when you get to your seat you have water waiting there for you. That's pretty standard in premium economy so I would give it a minus and not a plus.

Once you are seated, you can get more water or juice into plastic cup, which I consider worse than Premium Economy products competitors provide. You can get sparkling wine in Air France or Austrian Airlines, and it’s not in a plastic cup, either.

After that, you are offered a printed menu with a choice of two meal options, which is standard, so nothing wrong there. The menu is a nice touch though.

Since I was on a daytime flight, I got a full meal about 40-60 minutes after takeoff. As part of the main meal, you will get dessert, a small appetizer, and the main course. I got the chicken which could have been presented better but tasted great. You will get stainless steel cutlery—again a standard nowadays in premium classes.

 

Early dinner/snack with a view of the clouds

The food in Premium Economy is better than in Economy, but the difference isn’t as noticeable as on other airlines I’ve flown with recently.

On our flight to Mexico, we got an early dinner/snack before landing as well, which was fine.

What I find great about Lufthansa is you can actually ask for additional food—a sandwich, nuts, pretzels, as well as drink whenever you want, and the staff is very attentive.

 

For me the food is 6/10—there is some sense of upgrade from economy but not enough to score any higher. Great taste though.

 

Mexico

 

Premium Economy Seats—The Main Selling Point

 

For everyone considering the upgrade to Premium Economy on Lufthansa, this is the main selling point—the seats. Anything else you get is very standard on any airline in a similar cabin class.

Are Lufthansa Premium Economy seats really that much better? The short answer, if you are flying on a plane with the refurbished shell ones, is yes. They are worth every penny, especially if you are tall. On the other hand, if you are on the wider side, these seats may not be the best fit for you, literally.   

 

Which Premium Economy seat should you choose?

Lufthansa’s Premium Economy seats are usually arranged in a 2-4-2 layout, and I always recommend choosing the 2-seat section, especially if you're flying as a couple. With this setup, you can almost create your own little mini-business class.

 

Safe trip, good luck on having a nice co-passenger sitting by your side the entire way

 

I would definitely choose row 18 or 19 (or the middle rows in general if you’re on a different plane) as you will get the full premium experience. Sometimes, the rear seats may have limited recline or be too close to the toilets.

The front seats, which I honestly hate and don’t recommend you to buy ever, force you to watch movies on a screen that pops up from your side. Trust me, your neck will hurt after a 12-hour flight of trying to watch movies on it. This row’s not worth it for the leg room since there is plenty of that in any seat in Premium Economy.

After being seated you will receive a standard amenity kit. For me, the biggest letdown so far. You won't get any special headphones, just those cheap ones, and the blanket and pillow feel ordinary as well. Again, nothing special compared to competitors.

 

Size of the seat and recline

Do you prefer a better view or the aisle seat?

 

The seat itself is really comfy, and it reclines plenty for light sleep (8 inches or about 15 degrees), which is about twice as much as in economy.

 

• Width: 19 inches (48 cm)
• Seat pitch: 39 inches (100 cm)
• Seat recline: 8 inches (20 cm)

 

These numbers are significantly better than in economy seats.

 

My thoughts on seat recline: I found it good for light sleep, and it was far back enough to prevent that uncomfortable head-wobbling. If you are a masochist, you could even sleep on your side (though not extremely comfortably for most of us), how cool is that?

Seat pitch is very good. Unless you are really tall you are going to be able to fully stretch your legs out. As for width, I have my troubles with full armrests as they restrict movement while sleeping. The separate middle armrest is a big plus though, as you will have your own space, avoiding the battle for dominance over the arm rest, which is the usual barbarism in economy.

 

I rate seats 9/10. The seats as the main perk of Premium Economy are definitely worth the upgrade. They are the standard nowadays in all premium products, but there’s not that much more they can do to improve them.

 

Seat ratings done, what's next?
 

In-flight Entertainment

The screen in front of you is a good size, with plenty of adjustment options, whether you’re sitting or reclining. The screen is 11.7 inches (about 30 cm), which is more than sufficient from 30 cm of watching distance.

Lufthansa significantly upgraded their screens to a newer model as there were a lot of problems with “touch” part of the touch screens before. These new ones worked just fine for me.

So, after getting seated, I went through my usual routine of choosing 10 movies and then not watching any of them. Lufthansa has an okay choice of movies—they’re a mix of new and classical movies, hundreds of them. Unless you are artsy bourgeois, you’ll be able to choose easy peasy.

 

I rate in-flight entertainment a 10/10 as I found no problem whatsoever.

 

Jan + in-flight entertainment = Love at first touch!  #InflightGoals

 

Lufthansa Premium Economy—Quality of Service

Alright, this is one of the most important factors when you’re deciding if you should spend your money on this product: Is the service worth it? The answer is yes.

I’ve always found the service on Lufthansa between very good and outstanding, so it was no surprise to me that it is no different in Premium Economy class.

Flight attendants are very attentive and follow processes flawlessly. When I wanted something, they were there for me. The lacking “service” would be the lackluster amenity kits and the plating of the food, though that’s no fault of the cabin crew.

 

From what I saw, everything was on time, everyone was served properly, so I would easily rate the service 8/10. There was absolutely nothing wrong, but there wasn't much extra effort either.

 

My overall review

To wrap up my review, I have to say I am kind of confused—all the parts that really matter were really good like taste of food, the seats, and the flight attendants, but for the extra price there wasn’t really anything outstanding.

Finally, I found the price to value ratio justifiable, and I would buy the product again, but it did not feel as good and as cheap as some of Lufthansa’s competitors.

 

My overall rating is 80%. It is worth the money, but I would not pay much more for it.

 

FAQ 1: Can you sleep comfortably in Lufthansa Premium Economy?

 

The seats are an improvement when compared to economy. Thanks to the improved size you can sleep better than in economy but whether you can sleep well is an entirely different question. Compared with a bed I would rate it 50%. You can sleep, but you will still be tired in the morning. It is not like sleeping in business class which comes to a whopping 90% when compared to the comfort of sleeping in a real bed.

 

As a benchmark, the seat pitch is more than 7 inches (20 cm) bigger compared to economy, which is huge when you’re stretching your legs. The width of the seat is also substantially bigger—about 2 inches (5 cm) and seat recline is also better. 

 

FAQ 2: Can Premium Economy use Lufthansa Lounge?

 

No, you can't use Lufthansa Lounge, it is not included on your Premium Economy boarding pass. You can pay for lounge entrance for an extra EUR 39. I would buy it only during long waiting times for your connecting flights.

 

FAQ 3: How much luggage is allowed in Lufthansa Premium Economy?

 

You get 2 checked bags that can weigh up to 23 kg each (50 pounds each). You are also allowed to bring a standard cabin bag and small backpack.

 

 

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