Lufthansa, short for Deutsche Lufthansa AG, is the largest airline in Europe – moving an average 3.6 million passengers a month! They are also the biggest operator of the Boeing 747-8, which is the plane we took for our business class trip from Newark to Frankfurt. Home of the Lufthansa Aviation Center, their main operations base, Frankfurt Airport is Lufthansa’s main hub – as well as the only airport they fly their 747s in and out of.
Up until this trip, we’d strictly been economy people and our original plan was to continue on as usual. About a month after buying our economy tickets, after some back and forth discussion we decided to upgrade to business class for the first time for a number of reasons:
- We were only spending a short time in Frankfurt, so we were hoping to avoid jetlag on Day 1. We were unsuccessful.
- We knew we’d be getting to the airport super early, thanks to the timing of our Amtrak train. So we wanted to have access to a lounge.
- This trip was over our 8th wedding anniversary and we wanted to do something a little extra special.
Interested in the rest of our trip? Then check out some of my other Germany posts!
Newark Business Class Lounge
The process of getting into the lounge was quick and easy. Just had to scan our boarding passes at the front desk and we were in! It was practically empty when we arrived, the opposite of the packed Delta Sky Club at JFK I stopped in previously on my way to Athens. We must have gotten there in between flights, because within 30 minutes at least 75% of the tables were full. After an hour, it was packed. The lounge had been newly renovated and reopened a few weeks before our trip. The seating was comfortable and everything was very clean/new looking, but besides the bar it was all fairly plain. Not exactly what I’d pictured/expected when I heard about the renovation.
Something that surprised me was not being offered table service for drinks and having to go up to the bar ourselves. That being said we were very happy with the Aperol spritzes we ordered – they had the perfect ratio/color. For round two we diverged – Jasper got a margarita and I went the wine route. I wish I’d followed his lead, because it was possibly the best airport margarita we’ve ever had! Instead I got a middle of the road rosé – lightly fruity but also slightly more acidic than I prefer. To help soak up the alcohol, we grabbed plates from the cold food bar. The hot food selection was tempting, but I wont make that mistake a third time! Honestly everything we ate was pretty lackluster – not really the quality that I expected.
Business Class Flight
After the lounge, the next perk to a business class ticket comes when boarding begins. Business class passengers are part of Priority Boarding Group 2 along with Senators, Star Alliance Gold, and Economy Flex passengers. Now it’s not really the airline’s fault, but the whole boarding process was a little more hectic than necessary. For some reason basically the entire plane (a little over 450 people) decided to line up as soon as they called for first class boarding. It was hard to tell where you needed to be because all the lines pretty much merged. Once inside the plane, it was so weird turning left instead of right to get to our seats!
The Seats
First lets talk layout. On the Boeing 747 at least, the 80 Business Class seats are in a 2x2x2 configuration on the main level and then a smaller 1x2x1 above. The amount of space we had blew my mind! I’m so used to being packed into Economy with 250+ other people. There was enough room I could have laid down on the floor if I wanted to. Each seat came with a blanket, pillow, bottle of water, noise cancelling headphones, and a small amenities kit.
We flew home on an Airbus A350-9 with the new Allegris business class setup, which looked even nicer. The seats looked a little more private than 747 design, great for anyone flying solo. Hopefully we’ll get the chance to try it out in the future to compare.
The only real complaint I had was the screen. I’m someone who loves alternating back and forth between watching movies and reading on long-haul flights. But for this flight I didn’t end up using the screen at all because it was pretty small and so far away. Unfortunately I didn’t sleep very well even with the lay flat seats, but I think that had more to do with the timing of the flight than the seats themselves. Our flight left at 6pm and landed in Frankfurt first thing in the morning. That meant in Philly time it was only about an hour after I normally go to bed! A comfy seat can only do so much when you’re not tired.
Food & Drinks
As if I didn’t feel fancy enough, we were given welcome drinks after getting settled in our seats. I had the signature Avionic aperitif while Jasper went classic with a glass of champagne. We also got a second round of drinks to go along with our meals. Jasper liked my welcome drink so much he ordered himself one, and I switched to a glass of rosé.
Dinner
Dinner service started with a little amuse bouche of cheese, veggies and a breadstick – honestly not all that memorable. For an appetizer I had the beef tataki salad, which considering I had no idea what it was, I was glad it was delicious. Jasper ordered the smoked salmon, which they were somehow out of even though we were only the 2nd row back. But he ended up with something from first class instead (some kind of cheese/prosciutto/asparagus plate) so he really wasn’t complaining. For the main courses we got the beef and potatoes and the shrimp and scallops. My appetizer was much better than the main course, not that I was super surprised because shrimp/scallops are tricky even in a normal situation. I was full so I skipped dessert, but Jasper had an apple bread pudding with a berry confit and pistachios.
Breakfast
I’m not a light sleeper, so I was surprised to wake up to a small box of Lindt chocolates next to me. I like that before everyone went to sleep, they asked whether you wanted to be woken up for breakfast or not. If I’d realized I’d still be full from all the earlier food, I probably would have opted to sleep longer. But since I was already up, I just had a cup of coffee with oat milk. I realized after the fact that I could have ordered espresso! Jasper on the other hand had a coconut chia oatmeal with a mixed berry compote, plus a bowl of meats and cheeses, and an orange juice.
Pre-Flight
I liked that we were able to look up the menu for our flight in advance on the Lufthansa website using our flight information. If you’re departing out of Germany, you apparently can pre-order your main course 24 hours in advance to make sure you get what you want. The same goes for special meals for anyone with dietary restrictions – except this applies to all flights, not just those originating in Germany.
Comparison – Economy vs. Business
On the way home we flew economy like we normally do, but this time out of another Lufthansa hub – Munich. I’m not going to lie, the day before flying home we did contemplate at least upgrading to premium economy, but they were sold out by the time we decided. Bummer. Its safe to say I have never been more miserable, and we may have ruined ourselves for economy going forward. But business class is just so expensive! Our original round-trip flights cost $2,281, while upgrading just the way there to Business Class brought the total to a whopping $4,981. (2024 prices)
One big perk I don’t see talked about much has to do with earning miles and points – the difference is night and day! Flying Business Class to Frankfurt earned us 5,800 miles and 200 points, while Munich to Newark only got us 2,000 miles and 60 points. Something that may be worthwhile to consider for any frequent fliers (or people like me that hope to become frequent fliers).
The most obvious and biggest difference? Legroom. I’m a small person and even I feel a bit cramped in the economy seats! In Business Class my feet couldn’t even reach the foot rests unless the seat was laid flat AND I scooched myself down the seat. Also while there were a lot more food and drink options available in Business, and the plating was much more aesthetically pleasing, the food in Economy still tasted great.
Have you flown Lufthansa Business Class? What airline should I try next time?
Let me know in the comments!
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