Lufthansa B747-8i First Class ORD-FRA
The plan was to fly Air France on their new 787 to Europe, but a couple days before departure Lufthansa in First Class on their 747-8i opened up, so why not!
Let’s see, pretty much says our neighbors to the north and immediate south aren’t welcome here.
I arrived at the Polaris lounge dining room at 7:25 and one person was in front of me to be seated. They seated him and a few minutes later returned to inform me that the dining room closes at 7:30 and I could enjoy the buffet in the main lounge. Without elaborating on the specifics of my diatribe, I was seated.
The server was extremely nice, and even apologized for the treatment I received from the host seating guests. The food was great too!
Unquestionably my favorite aircraft entry.
Worthy of a second view.
And then a very close 2nd is the nose of a 747. In this case a beautiful 7474-8i with the gorgeous Lufthansa First Class finishes.
And then there is seat 1A in the nose of a 747. It doesn’t get better than this.
Across the aisle would be my bed that Doris the FA would make up in a couple of hours.
Out of 8 seats in first, only 3 would be occupied this flight. The two in the middle where this gentleman’s wife would join him and myself.
Lufthansa has changed their amenity kit case again. This one small, but reusable for a nice toiletry kit. Contents were basic at best.
I believe 50mb of internet were allowed. I used it up pretty fast.
Airshow, same a last flight a year ago, or was it 2 years ago?
No complaints however on this being the same as anytime ago.
The full beverage menu.
The full late night dinner menu.
An Amuse Bouche was served. My trip notes fail to describe what it was. Pretty much a tell tale sign of how it was.
As bad as this photo is, in reality it is really good.
Pretty soon after take off Doris came by to offer the starters.
Rejected.
Accepted.
She was generous with the serving for sure!
Thomas, Doris’ partner offered a very nice Bordeaux which was enthusiastically accepted.
I opted for a cheese plate at this late hour, basically around midnight my local time.
And the Créme Brûlée tart which was exceedingly small. Think 2 bite brownie.
After a few hours sleep it was time for breakfast. Having my sights set for the First Class lounge, I opted for Museli. There was a day when Lufthansa served a delicious Bircher Museli. Now it’s dried out of box.
This is me, 4 years later (minus 4 days) in the same seat on the same Lufthansa 747-8i, registration number D-ABYT, the Retro Livery.
I made my way to Terminal B and the First Class lounge. The attendant suggested I go to the First Class Terminal and even got the Lounge Manager to escort me there. How’s that for service!
On the lower level you clear security then take the elevator up which opens into the bar area with seating to the left and behind you.
Beyond that is the dining room which has buffet or ala carté from an extensive menu.
There is a nice display of wines in the dining room.
I opted to freshen first. Instead of a bath I chose the rainfall shower.
But didn’t forget to ask for a duck.
The full menu in the First Class Terminal.
To me there is only one thing to have, the Wiener Schnitzel. It’s too bad this is sooo good as there are many things on this menu that deserved to be tasted.
I refrained. Unfortunately.
In no time I was summoned by my Lufthansa hostess to head downstairs for the waiting car. I traveled to my plane with a gentleman from South America so the vehicle was a Porsche SUV.
Hoping to get a shot of the Retro 747 I arrived on, it was behind the 2nd 747 in this photo.
The ride to Paris. Which ended up being delayed almost and hour. Could have been in the lounge!
Frankfurt to Paris is a very short flight. This is what they served. I have to say serving a delicious and generous piece of lemon meringue pie is a brilliant idea!
Redemption
These 7 hours flights to Europe in First Class are expensive (even more so from the East Cost as they are the same price and 90 minutes shorter). United charges 110,000 points but now it’s 113,500 because you can’t book Lufthansa first class before their new late booking penalty. Aeroplan only charges 70,000 points but you have to pay the YQ charge which is huge, over $700. And then there is LifeMiles. They charge only 85,000 points and no surcharges. The problem is they don’t post LH first class availability until a couple days before departure and after other programs have had a crack at someone booking those awards. I was lucky to get this from LifeMiles a couple days before departure.
Carrier: Lufthansa
Date: August, 2019
Route: Chicago - Frankfurt
Flight #: 433
Aircraft: Boeing 747-8i (D-ABYT)
Configuration: F8 / C80 / W32 / Y244
Seat(s): 1A
On Time: Yes
Reward Flying Rating: 6.8 out of 10 ✈
Cabin: ✔︎ As mentioned in the report, this is probably my favorite cabin. Nose of a 747 and I love Lufthansa’s color scheme in first class. The seats are comfortable especially for sitting, sleeping is pretty good with the bedding provided.
Cabin/Seats Rating: 9 out of 10 ✈
Food/Amenities: ✔︎ Highlights are Laurent-Perrier Grant Siècle champagne and a generous portion of caviar. Otherwise the food has not only gone downhill over the last few years, portion size is very small, at least on this late night flight. I could nitpick that the pajamas are not my favorite style but they are quality and comfortable.
IFE/WiFi: ✔︎ Poor marks for the IFE. They can’t fix the airshow? The wifi free 50mb is nice, but gets eaten with a few emails.
Amenity/Food rating: 5 out of 10 ✈
Flight Attendants: ✔︎ Doris was the main flight attendant. At least that is how she introduced herself. I don’t see Doris as a German name. She was very friendly, took my picture, made up a bed in 1K for me. Maybe just a bit of language barrier.
Flight Attendant rating: 8 out of 10 ✈
Aircraft: ✔︎Boeing 747-8. Hope LH flies this aircraft for 30 more years!
Aircraft rating: 9 out of 10 ✈
Lufthansa #433 ranking against other Reward Flying first class flights.
