Boarding began promptly at 3:15pm with the gate being a hodge podge of people trying to get on the aircraft. It’s always tough navigating to the front of the crowd or to the proper line because you are never sure who is flying business class and who isn’t. I always find that economy passengers often stand in the wrong line or frequently give you the look as you navigate your way to the appropriate line and position.
Introduction: Incredible India
Focal Point: Incredible India in 8 Pictures
AMEX Centurion Lounge – DFW
Lufthansa Business Class Lounge DFW
Lufthansa A330 Business DFW-Frankfurt
Lufthansa Business Lounge Gate B21
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Frankfurt
Lufthansa A380 Business Frankfurt – Delhi
Holiday Inn – New Delhi Int’l Airport
Air India Economy Delhi – Udaipur
Taj Lake Palace – Udaipur
Focal Point: Lake Pichola
Hyatt Regency New Delhi
Air India Business Class Lounge – Intl Departures T3
Plaza Premium Lounge – Intl Departures T3
Air India 777 Business Class Delhi – Hyderabad
Westin Mindspace – Hyderabad
Focal Point: Golconda Fort
Focal Point: Raitu Bazaar
Plaza Premium Lounge – Hyderabad Intl Airport
British Airways Club World Hyderabad-London
No. 1 Lounge London-Heathrow T3
BA Galleries Lounge Heathrow – Terminal 3
AA 777W Business Class London – DFW
Somehow we were able to make it onboard without upsetting too many people and took our seats in Row 11. And of course we were offered our choice between orange juice and champagne upon getting seated (I politely declined).
Business Class wasn’t full when we boarded, but the cabin ended up going out 100% full. I’m assuming a few LH elites got a little lucky and were upgraded to Business Class.
Lufthansa has finally rolled out lie flat seats across its fleet, but the update doesn’t include direct aisle access from every seat, which is becoming the standard on U.S carriers. What makes the seat worse than say British Airways Club World is the limited amount of space in the cubby where the feet go. Lastly, privacy is pretty much nonexistent and the middle two seats are complete undesirable because of the very thin divide between your feet and your neighbor. Luckily, we were able to get seats by the window for this flight.
Amenity kits by Jilsander Navy were handed out as soon as boarding was under way and a bottle of water was already at the seat when I arrived. I don’t have the picture of the contents, but it was nothing special. I do like how Lufthansa offers Bose headphones in Business Class nowadays. You should be aware though that they don’t really seem to sanitize it or proactively offer covers for them.
We began our pushback at exactly 4:15 pm, at which point the safety video began playing. Plane watching has become way more interesting lately at DFW because of the increasing number of carriers serving the airport. It never gets old watching this Qantas A380. Hopefully at some point I’ll get a chance to fly this airline (premium cabin availability is tough to come by).
Menus were handed out just before we finished our push back and looked like this:
There was a vegetarian option on the menu under each course, which can’t be said for every airline out there (eg. Singapore Airlines). I wasn’t able to order an Asian Vegetarian meal before we boarded because I was rescheduled to be on this flight just a few hours before departure (supposed to originally be on the Denver- Frankfurt flight). I’ll let you guys take a look at the drink selection because I’m not that well versed in that department.
We were airborne approximately 20 minutes after leaving the gate and about an hour after departure, the dinner service began with a drink of choice and a mix of nuts. I wouldn’t call service on this flight to be out of this world, but the crew were certainly very friendly and efficient. I find this to be more important on transatlantic flights where passengers want to sleep rather than go through motions of constantly interacting with the flight crew.
I chose the Quinoa Salad with toasted Pistachios for the appetizer and Black Pepper Fettucini for the main course. Both were really good for an airline meal, though I would say they should get rid of the cannellini beans on the pasta because it made things extra bland.
Meal service took, all in, about an hour and I got a Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce to top things off. Overall, it was a very good experience when compared to what’s served on other airlines. The only thing I like better on U.S carriers are the sundaes, which United seems to have gotten rid of lately.
I enjoyed watching “Kubo and The Two Strings” for a good part of the meal service:
Lufthansa really doesn’t have a very good entertainment selection and the screen itself is a bit dated when compared to what’s offered on other major carriers. Lucky for me a busy school semester meant that I hadn’t seen any new movies.
I slept for the entirety of the time left on the flight and woke up just as the sun was rising over the Netherlands(about 40 minutes outside Frankfurt). 
I partake in the breakfast service because I would have a decent amount of time in the lounge before my flight to Delhi. So I just enjoyed the views on descent into Frankfurt.
We landed in Frankfurt about 30 minutes early and quickly made our way to a remote stand. While this is ideal if I were flying First Class (you get a chauffeur service to the First Class Terminal), it’s an absolute pain in other class of services. Usually everyone (outside First Class) gets crammed into a bus, but this time someone at Lufthansa thought it was sensible for business class to get its own bus.
That pretty much wraps up our uneventful flight to Frankfurt. Stay tuned for more lounges.
Bottom Line
Lufthansa Business Class doesn’t have the nicest seat, best entertainment, nor the greatest food. Service is good, but not comparable to what you find on Singapore or Cathay Pacific. Despite my saying all this, Lufthansa offers what I call a very solid product. Award availability is outstanding compared to its competitors and there are ways to avoid the fuel surcharges (booking using United miles) unlike British Airways. On time performance on Lufthansa has always been surprisingly good and Lufthansa lounges (as you’ll see) are a step above those of competitor British Airways’s.
So all I can say in the end is I have mixed feelings, they are good in most departments, but nothing to write home about. If Lufthansa had a reverse herringbone seat, I would gladly fly them more frequently. Until then I very much prefer American, United, or even British Airways (in that order), when given a choice.
