While I've flown Lufthansa's 747-8 several times before, this was my first time flying it in anything but first class, so I was curious to see how it compared. It was also my first time in Lufthansa's new business class -- the last time I flew Lufthansa longhaul business class was from Seattle to Frankfurt…
Continue reading: Review: Lufthansa Business Class 747-8 Frankfurt to Washington
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
The number of FAs you had upstairs was three times as many as I had in First Class (with 7 people) for meal service IAD-FRA. If not for the meal and FCT, I would have preferred United.
@ Kris -- In first class there's one aisle flight attendant and one galley flight attendant setting everything up, so that's the norm.
I know you're all going to think I'm nuts, but I think I prefer upstairs on Delta's 747s. Only 14 seats. No knees touching anyone else. And nothing served from a cart.
Those hours from JFK-NRT were lovely. And private. And quiet.
Odd, because even on my three other LH F flights that trip, with between 2 and 4 passengers, two flight attendants were roaming the cabin throughout my time awake. I'm not joking when I say the service was worse than domestic F, I had to ask 3+ times just to get a refill multiple times.
@ Neil S. -- Not nuts at all, I would as well. It's no doubt an awesome product.
@ Kris -- Service sounds horrible, sorry. For what it's worth, reason two were roaming aisles on other flight is probably because there wasn't as much galley prep to be done.
Standard in Lufthansa first class is two flight attendants, and sometimes the purser helps (or at least socializes) a bit.
I flew the other direction last summer. The a/c still had that "new plane smell". But my seat was broken. Luckily upstairs was only about half full so I just used the seat next to mine. It was actually even emptier until they invited people from downstairs to relocate. I wasn't especially impressed, but having a pair of seats to yourself is certainly a lot of room. The side storage lockers are nice though. I wouldn't want to share a pair with a stranger though.
That sauce on your prawns may be Marie Rose
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Rose_sauce
Nice review. Good to see Lufthansa has VASTLY improved their business product. How do you think it compared to your recent airberlin experience?
@ Stephen -- That's a toughie. Crew on both flights were good, entertainment on both flights mediocre. I'd say food was mildly better on this flight. Probably prefer airberlin if I can get a "true" window seat, and Lufthansa otherwise/if I'm traveling with someone.
You should know that when Lufthansa designed the new business class, they did not make ONE kind of seat, but THREE slightly different business class seats used on different aircraft. For example, on the A330, the "shared" armrest between the seats are not wider than the "aisle/window armrest". The foot cubby on A330 is MUCH smaller than the foot cubby on 747.
The 2 middle seats in each row in first floor on the 747-800 have a even wider foot cubby and arm rest than the product you sat in, but again the armrest is slightly shorther (in length).
The newest LH business class seats' foot cubicles are so narrow that I find the seat overall to be way less comfortable for sleeping than even some "lie-flat" angled seats. On my last three LH 747-8 redeye flights in the new business class, I've slept poorly because of the foot cubby being so narrow that I sort of get restricted to sleeping on one side and unable to easily turn to another sign without my sleep being disturbed because of the foot restriction being so obvious.
I've been noticing that about Global Entry as well...in the past year or so, almost all of the time savings seems to come from being able to cut the customs queue. CBP seems to be managing the passport inspection queues much better, with significantly shorter waits (at least for US citizens/residents - the new kiosks that are being rolled out help as well), but it just means that the waiting has shifted to the final customs check at the the baggage hall exit. I've seen quite long customs queues multiple times now at EWR, JFK, BOS, and LAX.
Finally a review on a product I have flown!! Fun to read. Unfortunately when I flew IAD-FRA in March they did not have Bose headsets.
I thought the seat was great (was in 83A/C). Our crew was also fantastic, but easier with a night flight as most everyone else slept after dinner while I boozed and walked around. Pilots let us on the flight deck in FRA and that was pretty cool.
@Lucky, any updates on LH's roll out schedule for the new J cabins? My first LH flight ever, my first trip to Germany ever, is coming up this December. Route is DEN-FRA and it's in "old" J, which I've read enough about to kinda dread.......especially since I had to redeem about a zillion UA miles for 2 RT tickets!
Wow. That was certainly one of the more graphic descriptions of one's feelings about super jumbo jets that I've seen. It's that kind of first-hand analysis that we've come to appreciate!
What ?!?!?!? Not a single comment on the "blanket on your lap" comment ?!?!?!?
Wow! This is a tough crowd...
😛
Hey Lucky!!! I was wondering if you could include in your blog some sort of ranking on the best first, business and coach (I know you don't fly coach) per destination meaning geography. For example, if I am planing to fly from the US to Europe, what are the best award redemptions available by carrier as well as a ranking on the best product to fly. Let's say I want to go to Europe from the US with or without connection (it doesn't matter the departure airport) but I could see if I should fly BA, AA, Delta, etc... based on award redemption and quality of the product. In my case I used to fly a lot from the US to Asia in paid business class. After trying Delta (best route) and Cathay Pacific it was worth for me to spend more time and maybe adding one connection to fly on CX rather than DL. I guess that it will all vary from where people is flying from and to but it would be very helpful in case you need to connect somewhere. It may make sense to connect in a totally different airport from what people had in mind just to have a better flight experience.
I flew this route over a year ago, overall wasn't impressed by the cabin configuration but enjoyed the service. the food was just alright--appears they are serving the same overly salty meat before landing as they were 16 months ago! The plane overall is a beauty and I'm glad that LH and KE both ordered a few of these to keep the beautiful 747s around a bit longer. This was my first flight on LH, and overall I wasn't as impressed as many people are by them. I think a lot of the Asian Carriers do a better job, and to be frank I think even AirBerlin offers a better in flight experience. My review of the 747-8i on this same route can be read on my blog.
@Lucky - On LH's 747-8s, when the FAs need to open the cockpit door, does it restrict access to the forward lavs? That's one of the downsides to the 744 UD on US-based carriers that have lavs (only) there. I've seen the lavs blocked for upwards of a half hour at a time while the crews rotate through.
I recently flew the 748 ORD-FRA and had similar likes and dislikes. My biggest complaint was the screen glare. I was in 86A and had no problem stepping over my seatmate to get to the lav when he was in the recline seat position after dinner. I didn't think the lack of aisle access was too big of a deal. I also slept like a baby in that seat. I had no issues with footsie or knees hitting, but I'm a little over 6 feet tall and my seatmate was probably a similar height.
We flew over this summer on VS A340 upper class - I can get 4 hours sleep on the LAX-LHR flight, and back on the LH 747-800 in seats 85AC (!). I agree it is a very nice business class - I wasn't looking to sleep at all and between 3 movies and wifi for 4 hours it was very comfortable and worth the 52,500 lifemiles per person!
Excellent review.....
Lucky, do you happen to know if the Bose are also used on flights with the old hard product business class (angled-lie flats)?
Great Post. Really thorough!
I've been on the 747-8 several times and I snagged 82K all the time except once. I like the upper deck but the lower one feels more spacious. I prefer to squeeze in and stay calm to be in a big crowd.
All my flights with LH were pretty great. You can expect good/better service but not really bad/worse.
I love to hear some Biz Class news and reviews from you. Thanks again.
@ Pietro -- Sorry, don't have any experience with that, hopefully someone can chime in.
@ wxguy -- Nope, there's a separate curtain in front of the cockpit, so doesn't restrict lavatory access.
This was a slightly amusing/disturbing phrase in your post.
"Taxiing past the Z Concourse is more than I can handle without a blanket over my pants, given the gorgeous line up of Lufthansa 747-400s, 747-8s and A380s."
I guess Plucky really does have a lust for Lufthansa.
I flew this product just recently from FRA to LAX, had a very high expectation and excitement and ultimately disappointed. As I look back, I think it's more of the fact that I've thoroughly enjoyed LH's F product so much that even their newest business offering now feels underwhelming. I had 82K and I must say that the seat felt absolutely cramped, and absolutely exposed and uncomfortable for single travelers. Wifi was also not available and combine this with LH's abysmal inflight entertainment result to a product I wouldn't go out of my way for. The food was also uninspired and overall, I had a better experience with UA on my outbound with several course offerings on their 764. Overall for me, LH's new business class is simply nothing to write home about other than the fact they it's now flat.
It's really nice to see you review this one. This is a product which I have always wanted to try, not only because it's very stylish and a giant leap from the old product, but also it's on my favorite airplane in the world. Was booked earlier this year on FRA-PEK but switched to OS due to equipment swap (748i-744).
Best quote of the day hands-down: "taxiing past the Z Concourse is more than I can handle without a blanket over my pants". 🙂
Something about the personal video monitors for the window seats in the new LH business class seats on these planes also seems somewhat off in angularity for direct viewing. The angle seems to be somewhat off compared to what I prefer no matter how I position the screen.
Lucky, your seat didn't seem that wide. Did you measure? Seat Guru lists the width as between 19.7"-26.4". Man, if I got one of those 19" I would not be happy!!
M
@ Mark -- Hmmm, didn't seem especially narrow to me. I'd say it felt about average for business class.
Lucky - how would you compare the Lufthansa 747-8 business class experience versus the 747-4...I'm taking the EWR flight to FRA in November and was curious. Thank you
@ Faraz -- The 747-400 features the old business class product, so it's a big difference. I'd definitely go out of your way to fly the new business class if possible.
Thank you for this wonderful review. My 74 year old father is taking his "last trip" to Europe and is flying LH. The itinerary said "No Meal". Your review is one of the best I've seen. Thanks again!
Can one take those bose things home? How about pillows, menus, blankets, etc? I understand you can take the amenity kits home...
I collect economy earphones 😛 I love AC shorthaul first earphones, but nothing compared to a headset.
Unless its a plasticy thing like united first.
@ dlh535 -- You can take the amenity kit home, but not the headphones, blanket, pillow, etc.
As an aviation enthusiast hardly unlike you (Lucky) I would promote the Lufthansa A380 NEW business class as your feet are separated from your seatmates', the entertainment screen pivots in different ways giving you a nice angle to watch a movie, play games, etc. and it offers 5 settings of seat firmness, which inflates the seat and deflates it to your desire. I really love your reviews and reading them is a great way to pass the boredom time of being stuck at home. Im really glad you have similar views as I do, but if you ever manage to review either Etihad's First apartment on the A380 or Etihad's business studio (787/A380) that would be really nice, as you go into depth that nobody else goes into with your reviews! Keep reviewing!
Hey Lucky
I'm flying to Frankfurt sometime next month and have the option of flying Jet Airways A330 business class via Amsterdam or fly directly to Frankfurt from Mumbai on Lufthansa's 747-8 business class.
Since you've flown both products, which one would you recommend? Considering both, the hard and soft product. Privacy is probably the most important to me as far as the hard product is concerned.
Cheers.