Lufthansa
- IATA/ICAO Code
- LH/DLH
- Airline Type
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s)
- Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport
- Year Founded
- 1953
- Alliance
- Star Alliance
- Airline Group
- Lufthansa Group
- CEO
- Carsten Spohr
- Country
- Germany
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I was originally booked to fly the Lufthansa A350 from San Francisco to Munich in business class, with a late-night departure. Luckily I received an email from Lufthansa that my flight had changed and I was rebooked on a routing via Frankfurt, leaving almost eight hours earlier! A pleasant surprise.
Lufthansa Business Class Review - Check-in experience at San Francisco Airport
I scrambled and made last-minute changes so I could be at the airport much earlier that day. The Lufthansa check-in was manned by a large number of agents. Sadly my reservation had changed, but the ticket was never re-issued. I was sent to a stern agent that was helping to fix reservations.
There were a number of other passengers (seemingly with high anxiety already) waiting to be helped, and the overly rigorous agent did not help the matter much. She wasn't rude but certainly, a few nice words would have made the situation so much easier for everyone.
After a 30-minute wait, it was my turn and the agent responded she could not do much but 'had to phone it in' and I should leave my passport and go away. Fair enough. I returned another 30 minutes later (no lounge access without boarding pass in SFO) and it was all done and my boarding passes were ready.
Lufthansa Business Class Review - United Polaris Lounge at San Francisco Airport
Great news - the United Polaris Lounge has re-opened after two years of closure at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) just a few days before my flight. The lounge was massive when it opened and seems simply oversized now. There must have been less than two dozen passengers (and about as many staff). I feel the interior architect that was hired for the lounge was a great choice, and it looks stunning - complete with sleeping rooms, showers, and a full restaurant as well a bar and buffet. Everything was open as far as I could see.
The sad secret of this lounge is the extremely low quality of catering even in the restaurant - often worse than United Airlines' business class catering (which itself is measly). I took a few pictures but wasted no time and headed to Priority Pass restaurants - there are now three (!) excellent restaurants in the connected parts of International Terminal and Terminal 3.
Lufthansa Business Class Review - Boarding experience
Boarding revealed less than 50 passengers on the flight for this huge airplane! My name was called soon after boarding started, and I was told my seats were now occupied. I was ready to be moved to First Class - but no such luck.
Alas, a new business class seat had opened up on the upper deck - yes I was OK with that change!
Lufthansa Business Class Review - the crew
This was only my second time on the upper deck of the 747i - a much-revered space for decades.
I knew Lufthansa only has one business class seat model (which is nobody's favorite) and the same awaited me upstairs.
What also was waiting for me were two stern flight attendants who seemed more akin to prison guards than flight attendants. They immediately told me to not take pictures.
They heckled all passengers for failure to use a mask correctly and punished wrong-speak (using the wrong language or word) or using their phones for the entirety of the flight.
Yes, they dropped food and drinks, but it came with so much attitude I was shocked. I never had such overt hostility from the flight attendants to all passengers in international business class.
Lufthansa Business Class Review - the seat
The Business Class seats are arranged in a 2-2 configuration upstairs. Passengers were nicely spread out, and I had no immediate seat neighbor. That makes flying Lufthansa business class a quite enjoyable experience as there is no direct aisle access for the passengers at the window otherwise. When the seats are reclined it is incredibly hard to get out of your seat if your seat neighbor has a fully reclined seat as well.
The business class cabin features no privacy at all.
The seats are quite decent for lounging and eating and come with a lot of different configurations. However, they do not go fully lie-flat and leave an uneven 'bed surface' which often makes sleeping hard.
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We pushed back in time from the gate and taxed to the 28L runway. Our takeoff was fast and furious into a layer of thick fog over San Francisco. Once out of the fog the Golden Gate and some parts of San Francisco would show nicely on the right side.
Lufthansa Business Class Review - Catering
Lunch and dinner service are often incredibly slow with Lufthansa. I felt it was faster this time (it was less than 50% full also).
The food looked excellent and tasted pretty good (although not as good as looked).
I also tried the breakfast which wasn't great - it was presented well, but the Muesli simply tasted off. I did not dare ask for espresso to not arouse more anger from my 'prison guards'.
Lufthansa Business Class Review - Sleep experience
Despite the lack of lie-flat comfort I never had trouble falling asleep on the Lufthansa business class seats. So it was this time, after lunch I was able to fall asleep right away for a few hours, and after a TV show fell asleep again as we crossed the latter sections of the Atlantic. I was quite surprised - I got almost 9 hours of sleep - despite this being a daytime flight. Maybe something was added to my food by the flight attendants?
I felt quite refreshed when I woke up just 45 minutes before landing.
Landing into Frankfurt was easy on this calm winter morning.
Lufthansa Business Class Review - Conclusion
Lufthansa features an outdated business class 'hard product' but usually excels at its soft product, with decent catering, competent staff and punctual flights.
I was shocked by the attitude and open hostility presented by the flight attendants towards ALL passengers. I felt like an abuse victim after I finally left the plane in Frankfurt.
I was also shocked by how much I slept during the 'daytime' flight. This way I had no need to interact further with the horrible staff.
See how you can fly Business Class and stay at 5 Star hotels for very little. Get the best airfares and hotel rates (including mistake fares and mistake hotel rates) in real-time with Mighty Travels Premium.
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