Bali and Berchtesgaden: Lufthansa 747-8 First Class Frankfurt to Washington Dulles

Sorry to say, but again, the most boring food choices. Yawn.

Great report, thanks Lucky.

My wife and I will be flying the 748 in December IAD-FRA as part of a larger United award trip to Thailand. Currently in economy, though, and hoping to maybe see some premium cabin space open up closer to departure.

If it doesn't, did you get to check out the economy cabin and/or have any idea where to be "least miserable" back there?

Airplane in the picture belongs to Oman Air. Yet another ambitious Middle East Carrier

Does LH use different amenity kits on this plane vs the old 747? I flew FRA-BOS the same day as you but had different pajamas and amenity kit. We were in the old style seats 747.

@ Zach -- Sadly I didn't because I feel a bit guilty going to coach in pajamas. Hope some premium cabin space opens up for you!

@ Ryan -- That's it, thanks!

@ Heels05 -- Yes, I believe they do for the old product vs. new product.

Tomato Salad 2012? Seriously, who names this stuff?

It seems like as usual, the food can be the weak point on Lufthansa's FC product, very hit or miss, based on yours and other reports.

It's funny how their FAs get very snippy about how the airline is a German one, the FAs should primarily be German, etc...but yet the food sometimes has nothing to do with Germany at all. I think, if I ever fly FC out of Frankfurt, I'll load up food in the lounge, just in case.

Great report. I flew the exact same seat on that plane FRA-IAD last week and enjoyed it immensely. And I am a fan of LH's food service. That said, prior to my FRA-IAD FC flight on the 748, I flew LH HKG-FRA on the 744 with the 'New FC' seat/bed combo upstairs. The seat is very similar to the 748's but does not have as many mechanisms so it is IMO much more comfortable. The flat permanent bed next to the seat is the best sleeping arrangement in the sky IMO. It's a full mattress and a real bed so it's hard to beat. On the same trip I flew CX FC from JFK to HKG and of the three flights, liked the hard product on the LH 744 the best and the food service on CX the best (but only by a tick).

@ ZACH - www.seatguru.com

This aircraft is already included. Oddly enough, the economy seat is wider than the business seat! Of course pitch is another matter...

@Ben I know LH has become increasingly stingy with F space until 14 days out, what about J though?

@ HoKo -- I've actually noticed an increase in business class award space on the 747-8 thanks to how big the business cabin is, so that's the good news.

@AUSTEX - Definitely familiar with seat guru. Also familiar with the fact that seatguru's information isn't always accurate, hence the question here. Thanks though!

I agree. I love LH First Class, but hate the food. Like you, I find it too complicated. I don't eat caviar so unlike others I can't gorge on it 🙂

Lucky, one thing I forgot to ask...is it possible for a companion to join you when dining? It's hard to tell if the ottoman looks comfortable from the pics...

I personally love IAD. The "mobile lounges" aren't exactly luxurious (on most domestic flights you take trains to/from the gates), but they are unique and strange...so I enjoy them. The airport itself is very attractive, and beats the heck out of other common points of entry (like JFK, EWR, ORD, etc.).

I can't imagine you'd be too pleased if folks from J or Y came up to you F cabin and started walking around and snapping picture. Not sure why you feel it's no biggie to do the same to them?

Other the that, nice report. Good pics of F cabin, and no creepy letters from FA's. Haha.

Great report! Food looks great - I like complex if it adds to the flavor profile.

Very inferior wine list. What I would expect from AA. Not even close to BA, let alone CX or SQ.

@ Ake -- To clarify, you have a problem with me snapping two pictures of the business class cabin?

And to answer your question, that's the generally accepted protocol on international carriers. You can walk to lower cabins but not higher cabins. There are at most eight first class passengers, while there are 300+ coach passengers. I'll let you guess which would cause more of a disturbance.

Tomato SALAD 2012! Sounds like SPRING BREAK 2012.

Let me know if your travel companion ever can't join. I'm so good at letting people take photos of my food before I eat it.

I agree that the menu is overly complex and "trendy" although I would like to have seen Rudolph's Saddle (probably a little leathery and tough).

@ JetAway -- ROFL!

I do love Lufthansa's business class, but the food has indeed been fairly atrocious on the flights I've done the past year and a half. "Too complicated" is indeed a great way to describe it. Also, their food tends to be extremely salty - which sucks when you are already dried out from being in flight!!

But yes, their hot towels are simply the best.

Love the tijuana comment. My home airport is IAD and arrival especially from int'l F into the moon buggy sucks.

Washington, Delhi, and Bangalore?

Washington I can see, but why would you send your fancy new plane to Bangalore? It's not like there's a lot of competition on FRA-BLR. Surely PVG or HKG would be more fitting!

@ Arcanum -- I assume it's more for capacity than prestige. Keep in mind that Lufthansa serves PVG and HKG out of both FRA and MUC.

Sure, but the 748's capacity isn't much different from the 744 running out of Frankfurt (and can be less depending on the config). Plus, 92 J seats is a lot to fill.

@ Arcanum -- True, though I suspect there's a good bit of paid premium traffic to India as well. Keep in mind that Lufthansa wanted to make India one of their first A380 destinations, though it was blocked by the Indian government for competitive reasons. So this is their way to "stick it" to the Indian government.

Thanks for posting the booze list 🙂

I had the good fortune to fly this same route in F about a week and a half after you on August 16. I can safely say the experience in 1K is equally awesome. Menu was identical.

As someone who doesn't currently have Global Entry, let me just say that the arrival experience into Dulles was absolutely horrible. Far and away the worst I've ever had at any U.S. airport. It took me an hour and 45 minutes from the time we arrived at the gate until I was through the security re-check, and I was obviously one of the first off. People were missing connections right and left. And from conversations I had with UA staff I gather this wasn't an isolated incident but par for the course there. It was even worse for foreign nationals, as their line at immigration was twice as long as the US citizen line.

Mate, I love your stuff but I totally have to disagree about Lufthansa's food. I find it fascinatingly well-crafted, and there's always an option to please people with less-adventurous palates.

I was talking to one of LH's head crewmembers about this a couple of months ago, and she said that they're used to getting the "too complicated" complaint in first class, but that it's mainly Americans saying so. (I guess that's why we can't have nice things.)

I'd love to hear what you think about the all-jelly meal I had in LH euroJ a couple of months ago, mind...

I have yet to fly LH F, but I believe you still haven't flown EK F either, and their scented towels are to die for.

off topic, but I REALLY want to fly Oman Air in Business.... it looks out of this world for that product!!!

Apologies for IAD - international gateway to our nation's capital. It's such a sh*thole. Great trip report, though!

IAD always makes me feel like I'm walking into the adult version of Tomorrowland at Disney World. Futuristic fonts, spacey looking trains, moon buggies, "modern" architecture.

I kinda like it.

Should have tried the reindeer. It was actually quite good. On the other hand, the Ocean Delights meal one of the more dissapinting LH meals.

Perhaps if you intend to lecture the pilot on the name of the aircraft, you ought to identify the "Airbus 380" properly as the Airbus A380.

Thats an Oman Air A330 next to China Eastern

As always, great report. Small correction: what you consistently call Pralines, aren't pralines at all. They are Petit Fours. Pralines are a specific Southern sweet/candy. Petit Fours are a catch-all term for a variety of small chocolate treats that are served after dessert.

@ Marcos -- Yet oddly every airline menu seems to refer to them as pralines as well. I'll try to refer to them correctly in the future, thanks!

Pumpkin with Scallops? I had that once, in Japan twelve years ago, and it was brilliant. Glad to see it's a dish elsewhere as well.

Also, olive ice cream. Though I haven't had it before, sure, why not? Probably beats that Chinese olive juice I've encountered.

American pralines are as described. However, Belgian Pralines (arguably the best in the world) are a chocolate shell with a softer, sometimes liquid filling. This is the variety I have enjoyed onboard LH F.

I have an upcoming flight in F on the 748-i. Both seats in Row 1 are taken. Any thoughts on Row 2 versus 3 window seats for a solo traveler?

The Plane next to That china eastern was Oman Air

What type of connectors were the Bose Headphones? and are you able to keep them like the pj's?

@ JamesC -- I believe they just had a three prong connector, though I could be mistaken. You can't take them with you, though.

Great review Lucky.

I'm on the LAX-FRA flight tomorrow and googled up what to expect.

Looking forward to that duvet and pillow, I need a good night's sleep.

Hey Lucky!

Which do you think is better for couples travelling together: 1A/1K or 2D/2G?

Sean

@ Sean -- I'd say 1A & 1K is the way to go, assuming you don't need to talk the entire flight.

Great report!....I have also reserved 1A FRA-IAD.
It's been a while since I last travelled LH. What's bothering me the most is arriving as a non U.S citizen at IAD. With only a 2 hr connection to SFO (also in F class)...it appears that not even travelling premium class will help me make my flight.

@Marcos – In British-English and in German, we say praline is a small chocolate. In America, 'praline' is more commonly used as you do.

@Lucky – I think it has to do with your German upbringing that you refer to it as a praline, as I do.

@George – I personally agree that Airbus A380 looks (and sounds) better that Airbus 380. It is improper to say Airbus A380, you would say Airbus 380 or, simply, A380. The 'A' only goes in front of 380 if you do not say/write "Airbus."

After all, you wouldn't say Boeing B747.

Just so you know, the 747-800 means 747-8... There's no difference. They also sometimes call it the 748....

@ Unknown -- Right, though the 747-800 isn't a thing. That's not what Boeing refers to it as, and not the name of the plane.

Is the LH food generally this complicated or was this is a one off? For the FRA-USA route would you still choose LH over SQ?

@ Dan -- It is generally quite complicated, but there are typically still some pretty good options. They do still generally try too hard, in my opinion. Ex-Germany I would probably still choose Lufthansa for the improved ground experience.

Not sure if this was answered but I think the mystery airline in the photo with the China Eastern Jet might be Cathay Pacific.

THIS FIRST CLASS SUCKS IT DOES NOT HAVE A BED

Cathay Pacific has a horrible entertainment system! I could only find a few movies that I liked on the plane, on a 9 hr flight, HKG-DXB. (Might be different for other planes, I had the A330)