Our 2016 summer trip started from Luxembourg to Sao Paulo via Frankfurt, in Lufthansa Business Class Boeing 747-8.
We flew on a CRJ 900 Nextgen from Luxembourg to Frankfurt. The plane is small but great and very silent, especially in the Business Class as you sit in front so far away from the engines. The flight is only 30 minutes, but we had time to enjoy a glass of Champagne together with a light tasty snack.
Connecting in Frankfurt can be tricky as the airport is huge, but we know it quite well by now so we feel at ease. We had to go to a service desk to get our boarding passes for the flight to Sao Paulo, then take the skytrain to change terminal.
The flight from Frankfurt to Sao Paulo was operated by a Boeing 747-8, first time for us in that plane. It’s really good looking but we found it more noisy than the Airbus 380. If the 747 is the Queen of the skies, than the Airbus 380 is definitely the King.
Lufthansa Business Class Boeing 747-8 – Configuration
The 747 is divided into two decks. The lower deck contains the Economy Class, part of the Business Class and the First Class. The upper deck is a cosy exclusive Business Class cabin with rows of two seats on each side. We were lucky to sit on the upper deck and had one row for the four of us.
Welcome by the cabin crew was good and the public adress by the captain very professional. As usual, we were offered a drink upon boarding. Then, once airborne, the second round of Champagne and almonds.
Lufthansa Business Class Boeing 747-8 – Food and Drinks
The menu is fair. You have a choice of three starters, three main courses and three desserts. As one would expect, on top of the Champagne, two kinds of white and red wine are available to match your dinner. And to go with the chocolate mousse, a nice Porto. Needless to say, we had a nice dinner in the sky.
For certain things, the service was very good, like calling the kids by their names. But other points were below the expected standard for business class, like serving the wine without presenting the bottle or having to wait ages to get the empty plates removed. To make it short, Lufthansa has a good potential, but it’s not exploited as it could. Good service in general, but far from being outstanding.
Lufthansa Business Class Boeing 747-8 – The Seat
The seats are comfortable and can be put into a flat bed, nevertheless they are very narrow and you better be skinny to feel at ease. Another negative point is that the seats are slightly turned towards each other, which is fine if you are traveling with a good friend or a family member, but annoying if you don’t know your neighbour. With the current Lufthansa seat configuration privacy is non existent.
Lufthansa Business Class Boeing 747-8 – Inflight Entertainment
Finally a few words about the entertainment system. Although the screen is large in size, the flight info software is in low resolution and the image quality is poor. Nevertheless, the choice of movies and music is really good. For sure children will find something that makes them happy.
To conclude, Lufthansa is a good airline to travel with, they are reliable and have a very good safety record. You will have a great time on board enjoying a nice meal and wines. Nevertheless the Business Class layout and service is still improvable to reach the level of the Middle East carriers.