Premium airline services in Europe are very slowly starting to return to normal. There’s some more great news for Lufthansa’s ground services for first class passengers in Germany.
In this post:
Lufthansa First Class Lounges opening once again
Lufthansa is continuing to open its First Class Lounges in Germany:
- The Lufthansa First Class Lounge Frankfurt reopened as of June 1, 2021; the lounge is in Terminal 1 Concourse A, and is open daily from 6:00AM until 9:30PM
- The Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich is reopening as of July 1, 2021; the lounge is in Terminal 2-Satellite, and will be open daily from 5:00AM until 7:45PM
As Lufthansa describes the reopening of these lounges, this is being done as the desire to travel continues to grow in summer, and as declining infection rates and easing of travel restrictions are increasing the number of passengers.
Lufthansa First Class Lounges can be accessed by Lufthansa and SWISS first class passengers, as well as top-tier Miles & More HON Circle members. On top of that, Lufthansa started selling access to these lounges, though it appears that this has been suspended for now.
Interestingly Lufthansa isn’t actually offering first class out of Munich right now (this will resume in 2022, as Lufthansa is reactivating five A340-600s), but I imagine there are a fair number of HON Circle and connecting first class passengers there.
Lufthansa closed all of its First Class Lounges (including the First Class Terminal Frankfurt) last spring, as demand for international travel plummeted. The airline has progressively been opening some of its other lounges, but it’s only this summer that we’re seeing Lufthansa First Class Lounges reopen.
For now the First Class Terminal Frankfurt and limousine service continue to remain unavailable, but it’s stated that this will be restarted soon. Who knows whether that means a few weeks or a few months, though.
As a point of comparison, in May 2021 Air France reopened its spectacular La Premiere Lounge in Paris.
Lufthansa’s current first class fleet
Currently only a small percentage of Lufthansa’s fleet features first class. Specifically:
- Currently Lufthansa exclusively has first class on Boeing 747-8s, which are all based in Frankfurt
- For the summer of 2022 and 2023, Lufthansa will have first class on A340-600s, which will be based in Munich; this is being done as a temporary measure, until Lufthansa takes delivery of A350-900s with first class.
For the entire winter and spring, Lufthansa hadn’t offered first class on any routes to the United States. Fortunately that’s changing as of this summer:
- Since June 11, 2021, Lufthansa is operating a Boeing 747-8 daily between Frankfurt and Chicago
- As of July 1, 2021, Lufthansa has scheduled a Boeing 747-8 daily between Frankfurt and Los Angeles
- As of July 2, 2021, Lufthansa has scheduled a Boeing 747-8 daily between Frankfurt and Miami
- As of August 1, 2021, Lufthansa has scheduled a Boeing 747-8 daily between Frankfurt and Newark
- As of August 1, 2021, Lufthansa has scheduled a Boeing 747-8 daily between Frankfurt and New York JFK
- As of August 1, 2021, Lufthansa has scheduled a Boeing 747-8 daily between Frankfurt and San Francisco
Bottom line
The Lufthansa First Class Lounge Frankfurt reopened as of June 1, while the Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich is reopening as of July 1. It’s exciting to see things slowly return to normal. We’re finally seeing first class service from Frankfurt to the United States again, with six daily 747-8 flights scheduled by August 1. And even though Lufthansa isn’t offering a first class product out of Munich, the carrier is still opening the First Class Lounge.
Now here’s to hoping that the airline soon reopens the First Class Terminal and resumes its limousine service.
What do you make of Lufthansa’s First Class Lounges reopening?
I hope that the Biden administration will soon lift the travel ban from the EU to the US. Otherwise the First Class offers are of limited use.
I doubt that the First Class Lounge in Munich will be located in the Satellite. It will be the lounge in the main Terminal. So far the Satellite is not operating at all.
Certainly in Frankfurt there is Food & Beverage Service, including table service (I was there last weekend). This could be different in Munich as this is a different German State. We will have to see.
I'm flying F through ZRH on July 7. I suppose by this point I should abandon all hope of any of the SWISS First lounges being open.
Is it worth, in your estimation, to pay for this lounge for a 5+ hour layover in FRA and/or an 8 hour layover in MUC?
Flying ATL-FRA-MUC-TBS Christmas day and have a little over a 5 hour layover in FRA and a 8 hour layover in MUC.
Or is the business class enough?
The last report I saw was even when these lounges are open, local COVID regulations are prohibiting them from serving food and drinks. Sort of defeats much of the purpose, no?
Lucky, do you know if they will be re-opening the lounges or the lounges AND the F&B?
Last time I visited FRA, they served a snack bag and a bottle of water. But others said that the lounges now provide (limited) F&B services.
Does anyone know what the status is of the First Class “Wining & Dining” Facility at JFK?
Ben, you are no longer allowed to purchase first class access. At least I can’t find a date they will sell it to you.