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Lufthansa Business Class
FRA-DEN
747-400 (Old Business Class)
Unfortunately, due to a four delay in the arrival of our United flight from Newark, we learned that we would not make our connection from Washington D.C to Denver. This required a complete rerouting. Unfortunately, the most convenient option involved flying through Frankfurt and Denver on Lufthansa’s old business class.
With a short connection time and two flights arriving and departing from completely different terminals, we had quite a haul to get to our flight to Denver. This resulted in absolutely no time to visit the lounge. Booking this flight last minute also resulted in incredibly inconvenient seating. I was sitting in the middle seat of the last row of business class in the forward cabin.
As soon as I stepped aboard, I realized why so many people avoid flying this plane. The configuration is truly cringeworthy in comparison to Lufthansa’s 747-8I as well as the other Lufthansa Group airlines. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a HUGE step up from economy and I am thankful to be able to here, though if you are going to spend the money I think there are much better cabins to spend it on.
I found my seat, where there was a new Lufthansa amenity kit, which we did not have on the outbound flight. I personally found the seats incredibly uncomfortable just for sitting in.
Boarding was completed quickly, at which point the door was closed, we pushed back and the safety video was shown. Our taxi was quick and we were airborne very soon.
It took about thirty minutes for the beverage service to start, at which point the cabin crew came around with a drink cart. This was soon followed by taking lunch orders and then distributing them. The flight attendants were incredibly efficient while still being friendly.
I was not able to eat the main course, so instead had a salad. The salad was among the worst I have ever had on a plane, slightly below the quality of United’s. If flying Lufthansa in business class, I definitely recommend bringing your food, as I guarantee it will be better.
After the meal service, I took a walk around the plane. While there is a single business class seat in the nose, it is in the middle and is basically sitting by itself in the middle of the cabin, so I do not necessarily recommend that seat.
This was one of Lufthansa’s oldest 747, so both did not feature the new first class nor did it have the current economy seats. Instead, it had incredibly old economy seats that obviously had a space cut out for the tv. Due to that modification, the economy cabin actually had both nicer cvs but also larger ones than the business class cabin.
Once I was back at my seat, I reclined it fully. This was my first time in an angled seat, ad I found very hard to relax in. I would personally have a very hard time sleeping in it. I made the mistake of turning the massage function on, which was basically a disguised name for a scoliosis-inducing bubble.
I also highly recommend bringing your own entertainment, as the Lufthansa selection is not good.
The rest of the flight was very typical, with the flight attendants coming through with a drink service every hour or so. However, the flight attendants did not come through the cabin besides that.
Before landing in Denver, the flight attendants came through the cabin with the pre-arrival snack. I did not partake in it, but my family said that it was not very special.
Within about 30 minutes after that, we commenced our descent into Denver. The consisted of the flight attendants collecting all glasses and trays, before coming through again with a trash bag.
The captain then asked the flight attendants to take their seats, and we touched down on time into a snowy Denver airport.
The crew made a welcome announcement before pulling into a gate.
Advice: Sit next to the door if you are flying into Denver, The Lufthansa and British Airways flight arrive at the exact same time, which are both 747s, this causes complete chaos and two hour waits at Customs and Immigration.
Conclusion:
Lufthansa business class in the old configuration is a perfectly fine way to get between the US and Europe, though you will have a uncomfortable seat and bad food for a price you could pay for a much better experience on a different airline. However, I personally thought the flight attendants on both flights were incredibly nice and genuinely cared.
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