When you ever just clucked your teeth over a mediocre in-flight meal, squinted at the out-of-date cabin service, or quietly envied the curtain of the business class as you bumped past it to economy. Lufthansa wants a word with you.

Beginning today, the German carrier is implementing what it dubs FOX (Future Onboard Experience) in all four cabin classes aboard all long-haul flights in its fleet. And when airlines talk about overhaul, they are typically referring to new cushion covers and a new dessert. This one's different.

A Hundred Years in the Making

FOX is not merely a case of rebranding or a hasty PR makeover. It is timed specifically to the 100th anniversary of Lufthansa a centenary reset that is specifically meant to signify that the company is taking its place as one of the elite carriers in Europe. This year alone CEO Jens Ritter has invested more than €70 million in the initiative and the scale of what has been resdesigned is truly staggering.

Take this into consideration: the new tableware rollout alone necessitated the replacement of approximately 187 million individual pieces including a total of some 300,000 business class main course plates. Prior to the first fork coming into contact with a tray table, Lufthansa collected over 9,000 guest feedback responses and tested the new service on 110+ flights. The preview of the menu was conducted at 28 various presentations in 57 airports of the world. This is not a small operation.

The program is constructed on three pillars including personalization, comfort, and something that Lufthansa calls as Signature Moments. The latter is a concept that should be unpacked. Signature Moments are not just about making things better, it's about making them specifically Lufthansa experiences that are so specific to the brand that you would recognize them even without the logo on the napkin.

First Class Has already left

To passengers flying in the sharp end of the plane, FOX has been live since late March. There is a tasting menu that is a pairing of two Michelin star chef Christoph Kunz, an upgraded caviar service, complete with blinis and a mother-of-pearl spoon, and a La Grande Dame joining the permanent Champagne list it is a full luxury statement. Lufthansa has always displayed first class as its showpiece and the new dining experience has continued to do so.

Business Class receives all the treatment

Here is where the majority of the points the travelers and the premium passengers will experience the most significant difference here is where the culinary investment will become evident indeed.

Johann Lafer, the renowned chef already in charge of Lufthansa short-haul menus, develops new menus. But the most notable additions are regarding flexibility and time, things that are extremely important when it comes to a red-eye that lasts 10 hours:

• Order breakfast the previous night on a proper menu of smoothies, French toast, omelets, etc. not whatever tray the crew decides to sell you.
• On-demand second meals, Sky Selection, have given you the option of getting a tapas bowl, currywurst, or macarons, instead of waiting to be served at the scheduled time.
• New tableware and BABOR amenity kits complete a refresh of cabins that literally qualifies as comprehensive.

And the Signature Moment in business class? A traditional cake-and-coffee service. Easy, cozy and, should you have flown the old product, conspicuously different. There are times when touches count the most, but they do not always have to be flashy.

At last, Premium Economy Caught up

The concept of premium economy has long been the clumsy middle child of the long-haul travel business, awkwardly placed between economy and business classes: higher priced than economy, yet often offering a watered down version of business class service. Lufthansa is actually trying hard to alter the perception.

The initial service meal is now opened with an appetizer of business class level, three hot main course items and fresh warm bread. This is followed by pastries or cake. Drink service is more frequent, more varied, and now there is a digestif service to put a period on the meal.

The prettiest of all the details: snug slippers. It may not seem like a lot, but it is the type of detail that turns an already nine-hour flight in the practical category into a truly comfortable one. This is something that has never been seen by Premium economy passengers of Lufthansa in the past.

Economy Class: The Largest Surprise of the Group

The upgrades of the economy are hardly featured in the headlines as they are hardly worthy of it. Lufthansa is putting forward the argument that this time around, they do. Economy passengers are finally being provided with a decent amenity kit which includes a sleep mask and earplugs. The new set of tableware, cutlery, and trays is introduced to replace the old one; a printed menu makes the service of the meal have a more deliberate feel. The menu of drinks has also been increased.

But is the most significant change? In flights longer than 10 hours, the number of hot main courses that the economy passengers choose has increased to three, as opposed to two in the previous case. You know just what this means since you have flown long-haul in the back of the plane. It is the fact that you no longer cross your fingers that they have not out of the option you actually wanted set it down on the cart’s bottom, and swarm around there like ants.

What This Means When You are Booking Lufthansa in the near future

Time is of the essence in this case to anyone traveling by points or miles to fly Lufthansa. FOX is applicable to all of their long-haul flights no matter the type of aircraft or the installation of a newer Allegris hard product. No particular plane or route is required to enjoy the benefits the service upgrade is across the fleet.

That makes this a truly great opportunity to redeem Star Alliance miles, Chase transfer partners or any other Lufthansa Miles and More points you might have been sitting on. The hard product issue is this plane equipped with the new Allegris seats? continues to be a business class comfort issue. However, in the restaurant and service front, the game is now at par with the rest.

The Bottom Line

Lufthansa has a history of aggressive rollouts that at times have gone wrong in implementation the Allegris seat rollout has had its share of turbulence, to put it mildly. Whether this amount of service can sustain itself over hundreds of daily long-haul departures six months later is the true test of FOX.

But based on the investment, the research that went into it, and the specificity of the changes, in particular, the upgrades of the economy this would feel like Lufthansa playing a long game. Not merely keeping pace with the competition, but leaving a mark about where the airline would like to be positioned in the premium landscape in its next hundred years.