Flight Review: Lufthansa First Class Newark to Frankfurt + Frankfurt First Class Lounges and Terminal

Not too long ago, I booked a Lufthansa first class flight on a whim for 62,500 Aeroplan miles before the minor devaluation. I’ve always heard such wonderful things about Lufthansa first class and the first class terminal and lounges in Frankfurt, and it was always a “bucket list” flight for me. When I saw availability pop up out of Newark days before, I did not hesitate to snag my seat.

Check In / Pre departure Experience

As a first class passenger, when I arrived in Newark before my flight, I was given the option to have a Lufthansa agent escort me to the lounge. This perk is great because you literally zip through security and can essentially cut any lines with your escort. Once I cleared security, I was taken to the Senator’s Lounge, where I could relax a bit before my flight.

The lounge wasn’t anything special in my opinion, but they did offer finger foods, alcohol, wifi, and a quiet closed-off corner specifically for first class passengers. I didn’t eat much at the lounge because I wanted to save my appetite for the in-flight dining. A few minutes before general boarding began, a Lufthansa lounge escort picked myself and some other first class passengers up from the lounge and brought us to the gate for pre-boarding.The Seat / In Flight Amenities

The cool thing about the first class cabin on the Lufthansa’s 748i is you’re essentially all the way up front, way at the tip of the nose of the aircraft. I had seat 1A, which is in the front left corner of the cabin. The seat itself is extremely spacious (as someone who is 5’2″ on a yoga day, anything is spacious), comfortable, and provided enough provided enough privacy. It’s also worth mentioning that you can purchase high speed wifi for the entire length of the flight for a very reasonable price (I think I paid ~$15), perfect for live tweets and Instagram.

A few minutes before takeoff, amenity kits, pajamas, and menus were distributed. The pajamas are Van Laack (the top was great, but the bottoms felt like cheap hospital scrubs), and the amenity kits were hard-shell Rimowa (yay!). Men were given dark blue amenity kits and women were given a golden tan color. I may or may not have snagged a dark blue one that was left behind when I arrived in Frankfurt.

The Menu / Food

On the Newark to Frankfurt route, both dinner and breakfast service is offered. There’s also an extensive menu of top-shelf liquor, champagne, wines, and a variety of other speciality beverages. I stuck to champagne and white wine. I am going to assume it was “high-end”, “fancy”, or “expensive”, but I really have no idea. All I can say is that they tasted good and did the job of making it relaxing evening flight.

Prior to placing my dinner order, each passenger was given a chilled appetizer. For my main course, I chose the caviar, the salad, and New Jersey (represent!) Osso Buco.

It’s not very often that I eat caviar (in fact, I’ve only had it at 35K above), so I appreciated that course. To further prove my ignorance when it comes to #fancypants foods, I thought it was funny when the flight attendant came over and said, “Ms. Aucello, how do you take your caviar?” I honestly had no idea how to respond to that on the spot, but later on I figured “in large quantities” sounded like an appropriate response. If only I were as sharp as my pre-“mommy brain” days. Anyway, the salad was good and the Osso Buco was ok.

I passed on dessert and opted to skip breakfast before landing in exchange for a shot at some sleep. Speaking of, the seat cleans up well into a pretty awesome bed:

Of course, no flight review is complete without the obligatory bathroom selfie:

First Class Terminal / Lufthansa First Class Lounges at Frankfurt

It’s safe to say that I purposely booked myself a 12-hour layover in Frankfurt before heading over to Berlin just to spend an immense amount of time enjoying the Lufthansa lounges and first class terminal. I’ve always heard incredible things about the ground experience at FRA, and now I finally understand the hype. I’m officially spoiled.

There are two first class lounges and one first class terminal at FRA. Upon arrival, the closest FCL was near gate A13. I visited there first to grab a bite to eat, freshen up (bubble bath!), and to take a nap in a private room.

After spending a few hours at the first lounge, I spent 10 minutes and enrolled in EasyPASS-RTP/ABG Plus (which is like the German version of Global Entry) before making my way down to the FCL near gate B22.

The FCL near the B gates is similar to the lounge near the A gates. Both have buffet options with a full-service restaurant for al a carte options. If given a choice, I’d say I liked the A lounge a teeny bit better.

Once I finished in indulging in all that the two lounges had to offer, I saved the best experience for last: the legendary Lufthansa first class terminal! Wow! I was legitimately impressed. I’ve visited my fair share of lounges around the world, and the Lufthansa first class terminal sure is high up there on the list.

I arrived at the terminal about 2 hours before my connecting flight to Berlin, leaving me enough time to clear security (which is done right as you enter), have dinner, and take it all in before I was picked up by a car to take me from the terminal straight to the plane (such an awesome perk).

Overall, my entire Lufthansa first class experience was incredible to say the least. I’m curious to experience how the A380 compares. I don’t need much convincing to give Lufthansa first class another go.

Have you flown LHF recently? If so, please feel free to share your experiences too!