Intro

Routing via Munich to reach Toulouse from Paris is a geography teacher’s nightmare.

Paris to Toulouse direct takes around an hour; via MUC, it takes most of a day.

I was heading to the Airline Catering Association conference, and spending the extra hours exploring Lufthansa business class on short hops across Europe felt like a great day out.

Paris to Munich

The first sector offered a cold plate: Parmesan mousse with arugula pesto and tomato granola.

A tray of airline food with a bread roll, butter, dessert, serviette, and a main dish of sliced meat, cheese cubes, and garnish, set on an aeroplane tray table.

Not the usual chicken and veg. The mousse was light but substantial, and the tomato granola added crunch where you’d expect none.

A considered combination for a short flight.

Dessert was Baumkuchen coffee slice with cherry compote and vanilla cream.

A plated dessert in business class on a short hop beats the usual pre-packaged ice cream or shrink-wrapped cookie every time.

Both meals came with a printed menu card, and there was real metal cutlery.

The bar list includes Bombay Sapphire, Grey Goose, and Johnnie Walker Black Label. For a short flight, that’s a nice selection.

An airline meal menu displayed on a tray table, printed in German and English, listing options for cold meal, dessert, and drinks.

What I loved most about the tray was that it felt so put together, plates you would use at home, rather than typical airline meal style square plates.

The cabin crew offered the bread from a lined tray with seeded rolls and pretzel buns passed through the cabin.

A tray with cheese-topped bread rolls and small pretzel rolls is being served on an aeroplane, with serviettes under the bread.

The butter is hand-wrapped by a sheltered workshop in Wiefelstede, Germany, it says so on the packaging, a lovely detail most passengers will miss entirely.

An opened butter packet with some butter remaining sits next to a bread roll on a tray, with part of a plate of food and cutlery visible.

If you find yourself in economy on these routes, Lufthansa offers buy-on-board, so you won’t go hungry, but you’ll pay for the privilege.

A Lufthansa onboard food and beverage menu featuring a person holding a salad, placed on an aeroplane tray table.
Airline menu displaying photos and prices of snacks, including a pretzel, cinnamon roll, muesli, biscuits, granola bars, Twix, and Haribo Goldbears.
An airline menu open on a tray table, showing images and descriptions of salads, a sandwich box, a bread roll, and a glass of water.
An open in-flight menu on an aeroplane tray table shows photos and descriptions of sandwiches, wraps, and salads offered for purchase.

The Senator Lounge

At MUC, the Senator Lounge the spread was decent: Staub cast-iron pots of hot soup with vegan options, a buffet with sausages and potato wedges, a salad bar with a lots of items, and glass jars of berry cheesecake with fresh mint.

A buffet counter with metal pots containing various hot foods, including sausages, scrambled egg, and other cooked dishes.
A buffet counter with two rows of individual dessert pots, one with yellow mousse and the other with layered pudding topped with mint; a pot of spoons and condiments in the background.
A self-service drinks station with dispensers, bottled drinks, glasses, and condiments on a counter in a modern lounge area; people are seated in the background.
A salad bar with bowls of fresh vegetables, toppings, and dressings arranged on a counter, with serving utensils in each bowl.
Several glass jars filled with assorted snacks and sweets are arranged on a wooden tiered display, with empty bowls, plates, and spoons placed on a tray in front.

A full bar.

Jars of snacks lined the wall for grazing.

That said, I barely touched the lounge spread, saving myself for the meal onboard.

The lounge looks a little tired in the seating areas; the brown leather chairs and dated carpet feel a generation behind the food offering.

But it’s comfortable, well-stocked, and infinitely better than a seat at a boarding gate.

A waiting area with brown leather chairs, a blue carpet, and a wooden partition, features a central television and a side table with magazines.
A modern office area with wooden desks, chairs on castors, partition screens, high counter seating with stools, and a photocopier in the corner.

Munich to Toulouse

The second sector delivered: roast beef which was pink, tender, generously sliced, with broccolini and two quenelles of horseradish cream.

A Lufthansa Business Class meal on a tray table featuring roast beef slices with broccoli and sauce, a bread roll with butter, a dessert, and a serviette with menu.

On a 75-minute flight. No meal choice, which is fine. You’re not sitting for eight hours.

A bottle of Aqua d'Or still water and a yellow refreshing towel packet on an aeroplane tray table.
A small, gold-wrapped nougat chocolate labelled "Nougat Nuss" sits on a white aeroplane tray table.
A Lufthansa refreshing towel packet is placed on a tray table next to a fork, knife, and spoon, with part of a meal visible in the upper left corner.

Conclusion

Lufthansa’s business class on short-haul Europe is consistent and considered.

The food over-delivers for the flight length; the small touches, bottled water, chocolates, and refreshing towels add up, and the printed menu and bread service feel intentional rather than obligatory.

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