To wrap up our trip to Europe this summer, we flew Lufthansa First Class from Frankfurt (FRA) to Washington Dulles (IAD). This was my first time flying Lufthansa in First Class and it did not disappoint.

How I Booked

Scoring an award seat on Lufthansa can be fairly easy if you are willing to wait until the last minute which might not work for most people. Luckily, we already had a flight home booked on Singapore Airlines from Frankfurt to JFK with miles, so I was able to cancel that flight when this one showed up.

Lufthansa pretty constantly releases business class award seats to partner airlines at most 15 days in advance. For first class, that window drops to 3 days. While they have an incredible new business class which just launched last month, it is only available on two routes as of this writing. The rest of their fleet offers an uncompetitive business class in a 2-2-2 layout. Meaning, if you’re in the window seat, you’ll have to climb over your seatmate to get out. If you get the middle seats and are flying with someone you know, it isn’t terrible. I’ve flown their business class a few times and its perfectly fine for a daytime flight home.

Right on queue 2 first class seats became available 3 days before when we wanted to fly home. Since Lufthansa is a partner with Air Canada, I could use Air Canada’s Aeroplan to book these seats for 100,000 points per person plus around $229 in taxes and fees. That’s a steal considering the cash price for this flight would have been almost $10,000!

Better yet, Chase has a 20% bonus on points transferred to Air Canada Aeroplan, meaning I only needed 83,333 points each. Since my wife and I were traveling with my 1 year old daughter as a lap infant we also needed to add her to the reservation. Most airlines charge 10% of the adult cash fare for a lap infant which would have cost ~$1,000, which is quite ridiculous. Domestic trips are much easier as airlines don’t charge anything for a lap infant. However, one of the (many) benefits to using Aeroplan is they only charge 2,500 points for a lap infant. Considering Chase’s transfer bonus, I value those points around $35.

In total, I transferred 169,000 Chase points to Aeroplan. Normally, they transfer over instantly but as my luck would have it, it took about 36 hours. Once the 202,800 points finally showed up in my Aeroplan account, the seats I wanted were gone. Fortunately for us, there was another option which turned out to be just as good and would allow me to check out both the First Class Lounge in Munich as well as the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt.

Lufthansa First Class Check In

We had driven to Munich the day before and stayed overnight at the Hilton Munich Airport hotel which is conveniently located right between Terminal 1 and 2 so it was a short 5 minute walk to check in. The entire process was fairly quick and they checked three of our bags all the way to Washington, printed our boarding passes and pointed us in the direction of the dedicated security line for First Class passengers.

Security was quick with only around 10 people in front of us. Then we headed to the Lufthansa First Class Lounge next to Gate G21 which was only a 5 minute or so walk through all the duty free shops. We only spent about 30 minutes in here before our next flight.

Lufthansa Business Class MUC-FRA

To catch our long haul First Class flight from Frankfurt, we first had to take a quick hop from Munich to Frankfurt. This flight was part of the same award, so regardless that we started in Munich, the cost was the same. Now intra-European business class isn’t anything fancy as all the seats are your standard economy seats. When you fly business class within Europe they block off the middle seat and add a curtain behind the “business class” cabin. While the seats certainly aren’t comparable to domestic first class in the US, the service is most definitely better. Even on this short 1 hour flight, we were offered a small meal with drink service in actual glass. For example, on American Airlines, they only serve you a full meal on flights over 900 miles. Our flight clocked in at a short 186 miles. So there’s definitely trade offs between business class flights in Europe and domestic first class flights in the US.

Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt

One of the big reasons I didn’t mind the transfer from Chase to Air Canada taking longer than normal and losing out on my original nonstop flight in First Class from Munich to Washington was that I was able to get a different First Class flight from Frankfurt which meant we’d be able to use the First Class Terminal there.

This first class lounge is also its own dedicated terminal. While its really intended for passengers originating in Frankfurt, in reality, any first class passenger can use it. If you are originating in Frankfurt, just ask to be dropped off at the First Class Terminal. After we landed, it was a short walk out past baggage claim where we turned left and walked about 500 yards to where we saw what would be our home for the next three hours. When you venture out of the main terminal, you’ll see some taxis parked but just keep walking and you’ll get to the First Class Terminal. You really can’t miss it.

Once we walked inside, we took the elevator up to the second floor where we were met by the lovely Lufthansa employee that would be taking care of us during our stay. After checking our boarding passes and taking our passports (more on that later), she escorted us to the private security area. Normally, I dread going through security in another country, especially Germany, but this was a breeze and we were through in no time at all.

While there is another wonderful First Class lounge in the main terminal, this First Class Terminal is a sort of right of passage in the points and miles community and I knew we had to check it out, and I’m glad we did.

One of the most exciting things about this terminal is that you are guaranteed to be driven to your plane regardless of if you have an actual gate to depart from or if you’re at a remote stand. It turns out we would be leaving from a remote stand and would have been driven either way, I’m really glad we got to check this out. I’ll have a separate post just about this place as it deserves its own post.

One of the best perks of this lounge/terminal is that Lufthansa takes care of everything for you. Normally when I’m in a lounge before a flight, I’m constantly checking my phone to see what time it is so that I don’t miss my flight. Not here! As I mentioned before, your passport is collected when you arrive and they let you know they’ll come get you when it’s time to head to the plane. Sure enough, around 12:30 they came to tell us it was time to go and escorted us to the elevator to take us downstairs where we went through passport control before loading up into our awaiting ride to the plane. Since the customs officer already had our passports, it felt like more of a formality and we were through in a matter of seconds.

Lufthansa Car Transfer

One of the coolest aspects of the First Class Terminal is that you’ll always be driven to your plane. Lufthansa has a fleet of Porsches just for that reason. However, there’s no guarantee you’ll get one. We were unlucky and got one of their vans.

I believe it had a lot to do with the fact that we were traveling with our daughter which was perfectly fine. I was more than expecting for us to just hold her in our lap as we were driven across the airport but of course, Lufthansa has everything choreographed to perfection and had a car seat already installed and waiting for us. We had quite a long drive to what was probably the furthest remote stand at the airport, but I didn’t mind one bit as I was soaking up the last of the impressive ground experience with Lufthansa and staring out the window looking at all the planes.

Once we arrived at our remote stand, our driver even helped us with our bags which was most appreciated. Carrying all of our stuff up the stairs with a one year old would have been quite challenging.

We boarded a little before 1pm and were greeted by the cabin crew and directed left through the business class cabin and up to where we would be spending the next 9.5 hours.

All three of the cabin crew that would be taking care of us came by to introduce themselves and let us know that if we needed anything throughout the flight to not hesitate to ask.

Susanne, Daniela, and John were absolutely incredible. They all found the perfect balance of being professional while being friendly and personable. Their attention to detail with every aspect of the service was second to none. What really stood out to both me and my wife was how well they treated and interacted with our daughter. I truly can’t say enough good things about all three of them. They deserve a raise!

Waiting at our seat was a plush blanket and small pillow for lounging along with the amenity kit, a pair of slippers, pajamas, as well as Lufthansa’s signature first class rose. John came by to make sure the pajamas were the right size and since him and I were both about the same size, he knew to bring me a different pair that would fit me a bit better.

In one of the two small compartments was a set of Bose noise cancelling headphones. While I bring my own, these were high quality and the same pair that I used to have before upgrading a few years ago.

Further back was a cupholder with a bottle of still water. In the upright position it was a little hidden but once you recliend a bit it was easily accessible.

The controls for the seat were under a flap in the armrest on the right side of my seat. I really appreciate that cover as to many times your elbow will hit a button by mistake and move your seat. The wired remote for the inflight entertainment was to the left, also under a cover and in front of the two small storage compartments.

The footrest doubled as an ottoman which a travel companion could use a seat if they wanted to hang out or dine with you. Inside there was much more additional storage for larger items like a backpack or a purse and which was where I kept my shoes and some other items. The nice thing about the ottoman was that it could be moved forward or backward with the seat controls to make it easier to prop your feet up during the flight.

Inside the amenity kit was a pair of socks, a shoehorn, a foldable comb, a toothbrush, earplugs, a mint, and two sample size bottles of Augustinus Bader lotion. While not the most over the top, everything was high quality and useful.

I went to the lavatory just in front of me to change into the provided pajamas. It was perfectly adequate, and had some more full size amenities as well as shaving kits to use during the flight. It’s hard to compete with the likes of Emirates and their First Class showers on the A380.

We were flying on a 16 year old Airbus A340. Of the three aircraft Lufthansa has, I would choose the 747 and the A380 over this, but beggars can’t be choosers, and I wasn’t complaining. There are only eight seats spread out in a 1-2-1 configuration over two rows in the first class cabin. All seats were occupied. After the flight, I chatted a bit with the guy seated behind me and learned he had also booked with miles! If you’re reading this, hi!

What is unique about Lufthansa’s First Class cabin is they don’t have overhead bins as you can see in one of the pictures above. While there are bins above the window seats, there are none in the middle of the cabin which helps make it feel more spacious. There are additional lockers at the front of the cabin to store your luggage that doesn’t fit, or I suppose if you just don’t want to put it up there. John, helped show me where we could store one of our rollaboards, but not before serving us a ramekin of mixed nuts as well as a glass of 2007 Grande Cuvée Rosé Alexandra Champagne from Laurent-Perrier which is going for around $435 per bottle. This vintage isn’t even available in the United States anymore so it was definitely a treat.

We were also brought a warm towel and an amuse bouche consisting of pickled pike perch with carrot, sea buckthorn and chive oil which was delicious. I may have had another glass of rosé as well.

We were airborne by a little after 2pm and as I normally do, turned on the inflight map to watch our progress. Lufthansa’s tech isn’t the most cutting edge as the screen isn’t the most high definition and the touchscreen didn’t always work well to make selections on the screen. The attached controller in the armrest was a little better but the cursor was fairly difficult to use. It almost felt like an old AppleTV remote who’s batteries were about to die.

I didn’t have much time to browse the selection of TV shows and movies as my wife and I took turns playing with our daughter in our respective seats between meals. We generally don’t like to give her much if any screen time but did put on an episode of Tom and Jerry for her to watch in the middle of the flight when she got tired of looking out the windows or playing with her toys.

Lufthansa First Class Meal Service

Around 15 minutes after takeoff, our meal service began with setting the tray table (which is huge and comes out of the armrest) with linens and bringing around the bread basket. After having my fair share of pretzels in Germany I decided on the garlic bread which was perfect. Next, I asked for a glass of the 2016 Château Cantenac Brown, Margaux Grand Cru Classé, Bordeaux before the appetizers consisting of the following were brought out.

• Lobster Confit and King Crab with French Cocktail Sauce, Cauliflower Floret and Peas with Olive Oil Pearls

• Pink roasted Saddle of Veal with green Asparagus, Yuzu Mayonnaise and pickled Cucumber on Asparagus Mousse

• Italian Cream Cheese Burrata with Tomato, Balsamic Vinegar and Beluga Lentil

• Wild Herb Salad with Endive, Pine Nuts, Sultanas and Feta Cheese, presented with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil or Dijon Mustard Dressing

And saving best for last was the caviar service with traditional accompaniments. While this is minor, and certainly a first world problem, I prefer bellinis to the toast they provided. Either way, having caviar on a plane is pretty incredible so I can’t complain.

Lufthansa publishes their full menu online so you can put in Flight 418 on 7/2 to see everything on offer.

Outside of the quality of the food, which was like that of a top restaurant, the attention to detail provided by the crew was incredible. The picture above is exactly how they set everything out. When I had finished, they promptly came and cleared it all away. There was no need to ask as they proactively did it. While there were three flight attendants taking care of the eight passengers in first class, this is one of the things that really made them shine. Not once did I every have to ask for anything, it was always proactively offered.

I’m not sure why, but I also asked for the Pea Cream Soup with Apple and Parsnip Chips. I don’t like peas so I don’t know why I thought I would enjoy it. While beautifully plated (bowled?) I took one bite and was done. John immediately noticed that I didn’t care for it and came by and apologized and asked if I wanted something instead. He agreed with me that it wasn’t his favorite either. His professionalism of seeing that I didn’t enjoy it coupled with the friendly relatability was just another instance of how great this crew was.

Up next I had ordered the Monkfish with Citrus Beurre Blanc, Fennel, Endive, Orange Filet and Venus Rice. Normally I steer clear of fish on planes, but I had just had a steak in the lounge before the flight and I absolutely love monkfish and don’t see it too often on menus. It was perfectly cooked and the beurre blanc was extremely flavorful and paired perfectly with the fish.

For desert I ordered the Tartlet with Chocolate Cream and Kaffir Lime, fresh Strawberry, Basil Mousse, Saffron Puffed Rice and Crispy Balls. To be honest I was quite full at this point so only had the tartlet. Nonetheless, it was delicious.

From start to finish the meal service lasted a little less than an hour and a half. At no point did I feel rushed or that anything took too long. The crew would come by to clear dishes, refresh my drinks and bring out the next course without even asking. I’ll say it again, this crew was amazing.

While I was having my meal, they brought over some pasta with meatballs for my daughter who was hanging out with my wife in the seat across from me. She seemed to really enjoy it!

Lufthansa First Class Seat

While my daughter was finishing up her pasta, I asked the crew to make my bed so that we could try to get some sleep once she finished playing. While you’ll find many first class seats are fully enclosed with doors now, Lufthansa does not (yet). In reality, that actually may have worked out well for us traveling with our daughter as it made it easier to pass her back and forth when we were each eating or she just wanted to hang out with the other parent!

When you first board, you’ll notice the seats look pretty exposed but there is a sort of wraparound shell that can be raised and lowered by a button next to the seat controls after takeoff for more privacy. This was super helpful for us as it was about eye level for our daughter which meant she couldn’t escape.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve talked about how great this crew was but this (grainy) picture shows how sweet they were interacting with our daughter.

Over in my seat we played with some toys and looked at the clouds from all four of our windows. Yes, these seats are so long that you get four windows all to yourself! Raising and lowering the blinds also kept her entertained for far longer than you may think.

Thankfully we both fell asleep, I for about an hour before waking up and carefully sat up without disturbing her. She slept for another 2 hours or so which was much needed.

Each First Class passenger gets a card with a free wifi code on it for the entire flight. While certainly appreciated, the speed left much to be desired. In fact, the wifi didn’t work for the first hour or so of the flight. Not that I had the time or the free hands to use it much outside of the 2 hours I was sitting at the base of the bed while my daughter slept. If I had been trying to work during this daytime flight, I probably would have been disappointed. At the end of the day, being able to connect to the internet at 34,000 feet above an ocean while flying 600 mph is still kind of mind boggling.

The bedding was excellent with a mattress pad, one smaller pillow, one larger pillow, a fluffy blanket as well as a duvet. One thing I don’t like about most international airlines is they don’t have individual air nozzles at each seat so it did get a little warm so all the blankets certainly weren’t necessary. The duvet did make a good additional mattress pad to make the bed even more comfortable.

Each first class seat turns into a fully flat bed a little over 6.5 feet long. One of the key differentiators between first class and business class is that with first class is that seats aren’t angled such that your footwell is essentially underneath the side console of the seat in front of you. In true first class seats you typically have unlimited vertical space above your feet to stretch out which can make all the difference for sleeping. My 2.5 foot tall daughter certainly had no problem!

When she woke up, we were offered a light meal before landing, however I was still completely stuffed from all that I had eaten already that day so I passed. In hindsight, I should have ordered something just so I could have tried it and got a good picture, but oh well. Here were the options:

Shortly thereafter we began our initial descent into Washington and the crew prepared the cabin for landing by removing all the bedding and taking away any remaining service items.

I suppose it was due to how old the Inflight Entertainment system was and something only a handful of people would ever notice, but the plane on the moving map would occasionally switch between our Airbus A340 and this Boeing 747-400. I wish our flight had a second deck!

We touched down around 4:30pm and had a fairly quick taxi to our gate where we passed the same Air France 777 we had taken to Paris a little over a week before.

I chatted with Susanne, Daniela, and John before we left and profusely thanked them for how wonderful they were. They were so delighted that we had such a great time. We also discussed Lufthansa’s new Allegris Business Class cabin which just launched last month on two routes to North America and how excited we all are to fly on it soon. The new Allegris First Class should be entering into service in 2025 so hopefully I’ll be able to snag a seat on one of those flights and get to fly again with these three great people.

I asked if I could share my feedback with Lufthansa which they happily obliged and gave me their full names and employee numbers which I included in my outreach to Lufthansa. Hopefully their leadership sees and passes it along to them. If any of you are reading this, thanks again! This was a flight we will be talking about for years to come.

After bidding farewell to our amazing crew, we made our way onto one of Washington Dulles’ dumb people movers to get to the main terminal so we could clear customs.

Thanks to Global Entry we were through customs in about 2 minutes. I can’t imagine how long it took for those without it. The non Global Entry line was huge. I would have taken a picture of it but photos are frowned upon at security and customs. It was so fast that we beat our bags to baggage claim.

Wrapping Up

We had a simply incredible flight on Lufthansa’s A340 in First Class, thanks in no small part to our incredible crew. From a service perspective, I could not ask for anything better. If you ever have any of them on one of your flights, be sure to tell them hello for me. The food was fabulous (with the exception of the pea soup) and you can’t go wrong with caviar service and an incredible wine list. Really, my only complaints are the ancient inflight entertainment, lack of individual air nozzles, and maybe the lack of a door. All in all, Lufthansa First Class is one of the best ways to fly across the Atlantic and I cannot wait to do it again.

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