Which Routes Feature Lufthansa First Class?

Lufthansa offers one of the few widely available first class products across the Atlantic, and for that matter, it’s one of the best first class products between the United States and Europe that’s bookable with miles.

With the summer 2025 IATA schedule having just kicked off as of the end of March, I want to recap which Lufthansa planes feature first class, which routes they fly, what to expect from the experience, and how to redeem miles for the product. There are a lot of seasonal changes coming to the aircraft and routes featuring first class, including the introduction of A350s with first class, so let’s go over all those details.

Lufthansa planes with a first class cabin

For the summer 2025 season, you can expect first class to be available on four aircraft — the Boeing 747-8, Airbus A340-600, Airbus A380, and Airbus A350-900. Specifically:

• Lufthansa has 19 Boeing 747-8s, which fly from Frankfurt to key, high yield, and high capacity markets; these will stay in Lufthansa’s fleet for years to come, and they’ll even be reconfigured with new cabins
• Lufthansa has brought back eight Airbus A340-600s, which fly from Frankfurt to key destinations where there’s demand for first class; expect these planes to only remain in Lufthansa’s fleet temporarily, and a couple have already been retired
• Lufthansa has brought back eight Airbus A380s, which fly from Munich to key destinations where there’s significant premium cabin demand; these planes have been brought back long term, and will even be reconfigured with new cabins
• Lufthansa has started installing its new Allegris first class on select Airbus A350-900s, and that fleet is growing at a fast pace; these planes are flying from Munich to destinations with premium demand

Lufthansa routes operated by Boeing 747-8s

For the summer 2025 season, Lufthansa will operate Boeing 747-8s with first class exclusively out of Frankfurt. You can expect these planes to operate from Frankfurt to the following destinations:

• Buenos Aires (EZE)
• Chicago (ORD)
• Houston (IAH)
• Johannesburg (JNB)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Mexico City (MEX)
• Miami (MIA)
• Newark (EWR)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Sao Paulo (GRU)
• Tokyo (HND)
• Washington (IAD) — as of May 1, 2025

Lufthansa routes operated by Airbus A340-600s

For the summer 2025 season, Lufthansa will operate Airbus A340-600s with first class out of Frankfurt. You can expect these planes to operate from Frankfurt to the following destinations:

• Boston (BOS) — as of July 1, 2025
• Delhi (DEL) — through June 30, 2025
• Denver (DEN) — through April 30, 2025
• Hong Kong (HKG)
• Riyadh (RUH) and Dammam (DMM)
• Shanghai (PVG)

Lufthansa routes operated by Airbus A380

For the summer 2025 season, Lufthansa will operate Airbus A380s with first class out of Munich. You can expect these planes to operate from Munich to the following destinations:

• Bangkok (BKK) — until April 27, 2025
• Boston (BOS)
• Delhi (DEL)
• Denver (DEN) — as of April 30, 2025
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• New York (JFK) — as of April 28, 2025
• Washington (IAD)

Lufthansa routes operated by Airbus A350-900

Lufthansa is in the process of (slowly) rolling out its new Allegris passenger experience, which is the carrier’s next product generation, including a fresh first and business class. The new Allegris first class is going to be available on an increasing number of Airbus A350-900s. This is happening as Lufthansa is taking delivery of these planes at a pretty fast pace.

For the summer 2025 season, Lufthansa will operate Airbus A350-900s with first class out of Munich. You can expect these planes to operate from Munich to the following destinations:

• Bangalore (BLR) — until June 30, 2025
• Chicago (ORD)
• San Diego (SAN)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Shanghai (PVG)

What to expect from Lufthansa first class

Lufthansa offers a solid first class experience on its Boeing 747-8. When departing Frankfurt, the awesome experience starts on the ground, as you can use Lufthansa’s incredible First Class Terminal.

While there, don’t forget to pick up your duck, since that’s always a fun feature of Lufthansa first class.

From there you’ll be driven across the apron to your plane, which sure is a treat.

Lufthansa’s 747-8 first class cabin features a total of eight seats, spread across three rows. There are three rows of single seats on each side, and then in the third row there’s a pair of seats in the middle. With so many airlines retiring the 747, it’s such a treat to be able to sit in the nose of the queen of the skies!

Lufthansa’s inflight catering in first class is generally good as well, with a caviar service to start, along with a variety of appetizers, main courses, and desserts.

While Lufthansa’s inflight entertainment selection is just okay, the airline does have inflight Wi-Fi, and first class passengers receive a voucher for complimentary access.

I’ve found service in Lufthansa first class to be pretty consistently excellent, and to strike the right balance between being professional and personable.

Lufthansa’s A340-600 first class and Airbus A380 first class also consists of eight seats, but the seats are instead spread across two rows in a 1-2-1 configuration. The Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich is also pretty awesome, and in many ways I prefer it to the Frankfurt lounge.

Then there’s the new Allegris first class cabin on the A350, which consists of just three seats. As of now this is only available on a very limited number of planes, so not many people will get this experience for the time being.

How to redeem miles for Lufthansa first class

You can redeem miles from all kinds of Star Alliance airlines for travel in Lufthansa first class. Generally Lufthansa makes first class award seats available to members of partner airline frequent flyer programs at most a few days before departure. Note that it’s not possible to redeem miles for the new Allegris first class, so you’ll have to fly the 747, A340, or A380.

Historically, Lufthansa has pretty reliably opened up first class award seats as the departure date approaches, assuming there are empty seats. Unfortunately in recent times, the airline has definitely become stingier with making these seats available.

So, what are the best programs for booking Lufthansa first class? Here are some popular options that partner with transferable points currencies, with pricing listed for one-way travel between the United States and Europe:

• The Air Canada Aeroplan program charges 100,000 points (for up to 6,000 miles of travel)
• The avianca lifemiles program charges 130,000 miles
• The United MileagePlus program charges at least 140,000 miles

None of those programs have carrier imposed surcharges on these awards, which is why I’m highlighting them.

Bottom line

Lufthansa offers a solid first class product on a subset of its long haul fleet. For the summer 2025 schedule, you can expect to find first class on Boeing 747-8s and Airbus A340-600s based in Frankfurt, and on Airbus A380s and select Airbus A350-900s based in Munich.

The first class product across aircraft is pretty similar, with the exception of the A350-900s, which have the new Allegris first class seats. Unfortunately there’s no way to redeem miles for the new product, though.

Hopefully the above is a useful summary of which routes you’ll find these planes on, what to expect, and how to redeem miles for the experience.

Any other questions about Lufthansa first class that I missed?