Hello from Frankfurt! I’m on my short trip to Germany and flew from Detroit to Frankfurt in Lufthansa’s Boeing 787-9 Business Class. Lufthansa recently added Boeing 787s to its fleet, and these are among the first Lufthansa aircraft to have direct aisle access from every business class seat (Lufthansa also acquired a number of second A350s with direct aisle access in business class ).
It is important to remember that this is only a preliminary business class product. From the end of 2023, Lufthansa will introduce its new business class “Allegris”, but in the meantime the airline will take delivery of five Boeing 787s with an intermediate. That’s because Lufthansa got a deal for these planes as they were supposed to go to Hainan Airlines, but the airline could no longer afford to finance them.
Although I will have a full trip report soon, in this post I wanted to share my first thoughts on the experience.
Lufthansa’s new 787 business class seats are solid
In all fairness, it was absolutely no secret what Lufthansa’s new Boeing 787 Business Class would look like. The airline has Collins Aerospace Super Diamond reverse herringbone seats which are probably the most popular business class seats in the sky these days as they can be found on dozens of airlines.
From the front the cabin had fairly heavy Lufthansa branding between the crane logo on the rear bulkhead and the livery.
Meanwhile, from the back, the cabin looked literally identical to Hainan’s 787 cabins, as nothing had been done in that direction to add a Lufthansa touch.
This is a solid product in terms of direct aisle access, personal area, seat features, etc. The plane also had WiFi and it worked just as well as on other Lufthansa flights (Lufthansa does a great job with WiFi in general). fi).
Lufthansa is the foreign airline I fly with more than any other, and I have to say that flying the 787 felt kind of surreal. I’ve become so used to Lufthansa’s legacy business class product that it almost felt like an out-of-body experience to fly Lufthansa business class without playing foot with my seat opponent.
Now I have to admit that some people love Lufthansa’s old business class, especially if they frequently travel with companions. It’s nice to be able to sit next to someone (if you want to) and it’s also nice not having to squeeze your feet into a footwell.
Still, I personally see this new seat as a significant improvement over the old one.
Lufthansa’s soft product is very durable
I find Lufthansa’s Business Class soft product to be one of the most consistent in the sky. The service is fairly consistently friendly (not flattering or over the top) while the food is pretty decent but not on par with Austria, ITA, Qatar, Turkish etc.
Dinner started with cashews and drinks.
The appetizer consisted of a side salad and an ahi tuna appetizer with pasta salad.
Then for the main course I chose the crab cakes with cappellini noodles and bok choy (an interesting combination)
Then there was a cheese board (the boxed Kellogg crackers aren’t particularly fancy).
And finally there was a dessert consisting of Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
A continental breakfast was served before landing.
The crew on this flight were friendly, but other than that, Lufthansa’s soft product is so right on target in every way, from the food to the bedding to the amenity kits (which in this case came in a Porsche Design… sunglass case?). It’s almost as if Lufthansa management is sitting down and strategizing how to create a product that neither delights nor disappoints.
I saw the Northern Lights for the first time in my life!
One thing made this flight very special. In all my years of traveling I have never seen the Northern Lights (always wanted to plan a trip around it but it just didn’t happen).
Before takeoff, the flight attendant mentioned that the Northern Lights were particularly strong at the moment and that we might see them. I asked them to wake me up if they were visible and indeed I was woken up about an hour after dinner was over.
How magical! Unfortunately pictures don’t really do it justice as it was almost impossible to capture, especially when the person opposite and behind me had their TV on. The lights weren’t that strong, but it was still mesmerizing. I am even more excited to plan a trip to see the Northern Lights!
bottom line
Lufthansa’s new Boeing 787 Business Class hard product represents a huge improvement for the airline as Lufthansa finally has an aircraft with Business Class seats with direct aisle access. This is just an intermediate so don’t expect to find this on more than five 787s. In addition, the flight had friendly service and a perfectly decent soft product.
As someone who reviews airlines, not knowing what to expect is a real thrill for me and I really appreciate a surprise. In this respect, Lufthansa is disappointing. For those who don’t review trips (basically everyone else) it’s good to know exactly what to expect and that’s an area where Lufthansa delivers. You almost always know exactly what you’re going to get, for better or for worse.
When Lufthansa rolls out their new business class seats later this year, I’m hoping we’ll see a refreshed soft product as well, as I really think there’s some room for advancement.
What do you think of Lufthansa’s Boeing 787 Business Class?
