Hello from Frankfurt! I’m just on my quick review trip to Germany, and flew Lufthansa’s Boeing 787-9 business class from Detroit to Frankfurt. Lufthansa recently added Boeing 787s to its fleet, and these are among the first Lufthansa aircraft to feature direct aisle access from every business class seat (Lufthansa also acquired some second A350s with direct aisle access in business class).
It’s important to keep in mind that this is just an interim business class product. Lufthansa will be introducing its new “Allegris” business class as of later in 2023, though in the meantime the airline is taking delivery of five Boeing 787s with an interim product. That’s because Lufthansa got a deal on these planes, as they were supposed to go to Hainan Airlines, but the airline could no longer afford to finance them.
While I’ll have a full trip report soon, in this post I wanted to share my initial thoughts on the experience.
In this post:
Lufthansa’s new 787 business class seats are solid
In fairness, there was absolutely no mystery to what Lufthansa’s new Boeing 787 business class would be like. The airline has Collins Aerospace Super Diamond reverse herringbone seats, which are probably the single most popular business class seats in the skies nowadays, as they can be found on dozens of airlines.
From the front, the cabin had pretty strong Lufthansa branding, between the crane logo on the rear bulkhead, and the color scheme.
Meanwhile from the back, the cabin quite literally looked identical to Hainan’s 787 cabins, since nothing had been done in this direction to add a Lufthansa touch.
This is a solid product, in terms of direct aisle access, personal space, seat functions, etc. The plane also had Wi-Fi, and it worked as well as on other Lufthansa flights (Lufthansa in general does a great job with Wi-Fi).
Lufthansa is the foreign airline I fly more than any other, and I have to say that flying on the 787 felt kind of surreal. I’ve gotten so used to Lufthansa’s old business class product, that it almost felt like an out-of-body experience to be flying Lufthansa business class while not playing footsie with my seat opponent.
Now, I should acknowledge that some people love Lufthansa’s old business class, especially if they frequently travel with companions. It’s nice to be able to sit next to someone (if you’d like to), and it’s also nice not to have to squeeze your feet into a footwell.
Still, personally I view this new seat as being a significant improvement over the old one.
Lufthansa’s soft product is very consistent
I find that Lufthansa’s business class soft product is among the most consistent in the skies. Service is pretty consistently friendly (in a non-fawning or over the top way), while the food is pretty decent, but not to the level of Austrian, ITA, Qatar, Turkish, etc.
Dinner service began with cashews and drinks.
The starter consisted of a side salad and an appetizer of ahi tuna with a noodle salad.
Then for the main course I selected the crab cakes with cappellini pasta and bok choy (an interesting combination)
Then there was a cheese plate (the packaged Kellogg crackers are not an especially classy touch).
And lastly there was a dessert consisting of some Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
A continental breakfast was served before landing.
The crew on this flight was friendly, but Lufthansa’s soft product is otherwise so middle of the pack in every way, from the food, to the bedding, to the amenity kits (which in this case came in a Porsche Design… sunglasses case?). It’s almost as if Lufthansa management sits down and strategizes about how they can develop a product that neither delights nor disappoints.
I saw the Northern Lights for the first time in my life!
There was one thing that made this flight very special. In all my years of travel, I’ve never seen the Northern Lights (I’ve been wanting to plan a trip around this, but it just hasn’t happened).
Before takeoff, the flight attendant mentioned how the Northern Lights were especially strong at the moment, and that we may see them. I asked her to wake me up if they were visible, and sure enough, I was woken up about an hour after the dinner service concluded.
How magical! Unfortunately pictures don’t really do it justice, as it was nearly impossible to capture, especially with the person across from me and behind me having their TVs on. The lights weren’t that strong, but even so, it was mesmerizing. This makes me even more excited to plan a trip to see the Northern Lights!
Bottom line
Lufthansa’s new Boeing 787 business class hard product represents a huge improvement for the airline, as Lufthansa finally has a plane with business class seats that have direct aisle access. This is just an interim product, so don’t expect to find this on more than five 787s. Beyond that, the flight had friendly service, and a perfectly decent soft product.
As someone who reviews airlines, I get a real thrill out of not knowing what to expect, and really enjoy a surprise. In that sense, Lufthansa disappoints. Meanwhile for those not reviewing travel (basically everyone else), there is something nice about knowing exactly what to expect, and that’s an area where Lufthansa delivers. You almost always know exactly what you’re going to get, for better or worse.
When Lufthansa introduces its new business class seats later this year, I hope we also see a refreshed soft product, as I really think there are some opportunities to evolve.
What do you make of Lufthansa’s Boeing 787 business class?
Please START FROM MONTRÉAL TO MUMBAI URGENT START PLEASE
@ Ben ... little error i guess?
Northern Lights was on flight DTW-FRA, CORRECT?
No night-flight from FRA-DTW yet, as you stated under the photo! ;-)
Meh, pass. I'd rather fly by ITA, AF or Swiss
It’s about time.
What is that breakfast entree? Mound of ???
I can't believe people would rather watch their IFE than look out the window at something so spectacular.
If a crew ever announced on one of my flights that the Aurora Borealis would be visible out one side of the plane, I would think more people would want to be woken up and told about it, or that they'd at least pause their reruns of "The Good Place" and witness actual beauty.
I was on a daytime ewr-hkg once, flying past the North Pole with a breathtakingly clear spectacular view. Other pax were casting glances because I had my window open.
"but not to the level of Austrian, ITA, Qatar, Turkish, etc."
Who is the "etc"? It could be a couple of airlines, it could be a dozen...
Good to see that the side salad has returned to the first meal.
SIA, Emirates, Oman, Cathay, JAL, ANA, even Ethiopian serves much better quality food.
I agree with all of that, I just thought the "etc" was silly. Hell you could also probably add British Airways, Air France, and possibly Thai as well.
He could have just said the food was average.
I always wonder why so many people rag on Lufthansa's business class being horrible, yet somehow KLM uses a similar product on their A330s and 777s and yet somehow the conclusion is "it's fine."
I just took two 14+ hours flights down under, United and Air New Zealand. I'd like to know the width of seats and the length of the seats for Lufthansa? I paid some mega bucks to sit up front and was truly disappointed with their seats.
Duplicate comment detected; it looks as though you’ve already said that!
I just took two 14+ hours flights down under, United and Air New Zealand. I'd like to know the width of seats and the length of the seats for Lufthansa? I paid some mega bucks to sit up front and was truly disappointed with their seats.
I once saw the northern lights on a JFK-LHR, they were roaring and full on.
I check for them all the time in the winter when we head out over Hudson Bay. There's going to be plenty of opportunity to see them in the coming weeks, as the sun is blasting out a lot of M and especially X-flares almost daily now.
Was all the good served on a food tray, or just some?
It looks like there a some photos with a food tray snd others without, with the foot sitting directly on the tablecloth.
I'm not a fan of LH at all and generally think they're very mediocre and overrated, but I do think their food is very well presented in business and better than a lot of airlines.
If you think this is well presented, then you should fly more.
Besides what's the point in presenting when the quality is subpar? Seriously, some of you need to visit Asia to taste what "good food" tastes like.
I can't taste Ben's food through a screen so go figure. And yes it is relatively well presented especially for a European airline and the menu sounds like something I would enjoy. Obviously it is not the standard of of the most premium carriers but Ben caveated that in his article already.
That food doesn't look that impressive and i'm a LH loyal... of sorts....
AURORA BOREALIS?
At this time of year?
At this time of day?
In that part of the sky?
Localized entirely on your Lufthansa flight?
Can I see it?
Excellent
Yes.
May I see it?
... No.
"It’s almost as if Lufthansa management sits down and strategizes about how they can develop a product that neither delights nor disappoints."
and
"It’s almost as if German leadership sits down and strategizes about how they can support Ukraine in a way that neither delights nor disappoints."
There is always that certain type of person who has to bring politics of some sort into this...
I think the first-ever aircraft in LH‘s fleet to feature direct aisle access from every Business Class seat are the 4 ex-PAL a359 which joined the fleet earlier than the 789s and which have Vantage XL seats.
@ Alex -- Whoops good catch, thanks! Updated post to reflect that.
If you want to see the Northern Lights Ben, I'd recommend going to Tromsø in Norway rather than the usual Iceland. Less touristy and greater chance of seeing it - that's what I plan to do if I go sometime.
Normally wouldn’t consider recommending this to you Ben, but you’ve researching/talking about cruises lately. There are a few great cruises that do the Norwegian Fjords and head up to Tromso for the northern lights! Feel like that is one of those rare trips where going by ship makes more sense than flying and staying multiple spots with less than desirable lodging
Agree 100%, or venture 1 degree further north to Hammerfest. Smaller and less touristy even again.
Awesome! Seeing the lights from 35,000 feet is definitely on my aviation bucket list.
(i guess the cabin looked nice too lol)
It is kind of weird, but honestly a glasses case shape is a great idea for an amenity kit ... something that would be particularly easy for people to reuse well, thus maybe saving a little bit of the waste normally associated with amenity kits.
One day when the industry standard is a floor-to-ceiling business class cabin with staggered bunk-bed style seating to provide first-class level shoulder space, Lufthansa may consider adding a door to this seat.
As soon as the announce it they’ll be a 30-star Skytrax airline.
I've never seen floor to ceiling. What airlines have that??
@Gregg: Emirates' new 77W First Class product has floor-to-ceiling doors. Technically AF La Premiere has it as well (do curtains count?) No airline has floor-to-ceiling in J just yet though.
Nice upgrade of the aircraft. Shame the lounge in Detroit has deteriorated. Not the service: it’s still cheery. I’m talking about the food and drinks. Priority Pass (acceptance thereof) must be the culprit.
When the lounge admitted only Star Alliance passengers it had brand name liquors and respectable hot food on the buffet.
YinDao, gurl! What happened?!?! The sassy old YinDao used to respond to EVERY single post (whether she knew about the topic or not)......you lost your mojo, honey.
Lick my balls, John.
Another disappointment. For those that want to be right by the window these angled seats are such a bummer.