FRA-IAH Lufthansa
My flight to Houston started at the terminal 1 Lufthansa lounge at Frankfurt Main international airport. The lounge was large, with an amazing selection of food, including fresh fruit, cereals, pastries, and a selection of bread. There was also a self-serve bar, with a soft drink dispenser and a selection of beer, wine, and spirits. There were some leather sofas which were very comfortable, along with some "bar stool" type seats with tables overlooking the apron. The toilets were immaculate and were very modern.
My gate was Z58 and that was where I saw my ride over to Houston today, a 24-year-old 747-400 aircraft with a registration of D-ABVZ. Once on board we were welcomed by 2 extremely friendly flight attendants.
Once we sat down, in our seats 86 H and K, the flight attendants handed out a selection of drinks, which included water, mango juice, spritzer (a German alcoholic beverage) and champagne. I opted in for the mango juice, which was brilliant, very sweet with a slight sourness. My seat was very comfortable despite the cushion firmness adjuster not working so I had quite a hard seat. Looking Infront of me to the small cabinet, I found the amenity kit, along with a bottle of water. The amenity kit was a bag to my surprise, and it came with all standard amenity kit items, an eye mask, mouthwash, toothbrush and paste, and a mint. We pushed back around 30 minutes late and took off.
Shortly after take-off, the flight attendants passed out hot towels, which were… very hot! About 30 minutes later, the attendants came around again, beginning the meal service. Options for starters included, Vitello tomato with capers, avocado cream and pickled onions, there was also shrimp confit on pineapple jelly and citrus fruit. However, I opted for the burrata with tomato, arugula pesto and balsamic vinegar. All the options came with a salad and your choice of German bread. The burrata dish was very nice, however I think the pesto may not be everyone's "cup of tea" I enjoyed it though. Soon, the main meal began to come around. On the menu, there was: Sous vide cooked short ribs with fried asparagus, roasted hazelnut and potato parsnip puree- which I chose- also there was a choice of fried halibut and prawn accompanied with shellfish sauce, potato and celery gratin. Or you could choose vegetarian ragout Zurich style with fried mushroom and potato roti. The ribs were amazing, tender, juicy, and delicious. The dessert, however, wasn't as promising, the options included a cheese board with Lenggenwill, Cambozola, Rottal, and sheep's cheese. There was also a vanilla mousse tartlet with raspberry and orange ragout (just slices of orange...) I chose the vanilla mousse, which was ok, but nothing special.
Being situated on the upper deck, the bathroom was right up at the front, behind the flight deck, unfortunately, there was only one upstairs, and it was, well… tiny! However, it was kept clean by the amazing cabin crew throughout the 10-hour flight.
About an hour and a half before landing, the crew handed out another main course, to suit Houston's lunch time. This time you could order the red Thai chicken curry served with pea pods and basmati Venus rice- Or you could have the yellow beetroot with fennel salad and quince. I chose the Thai red curry, the chicken was very tender and flavourful, and the rice was fluffy and fresh.
Now, my flight had almost ended, the crew made my time on board very special, and even led me into the flight deck for a quick chat with the captain after we had pulled into the gate.
Overall, I would rate the Lufthansa business class on their 747-400 a 9.5/10, the only problems being a slightly late departure, and the seats were not exactly very modern, but what can you expect for an early 2000s aircraft! If you get the chance to do what I did, I recommend it! Let me know how it goes, I would love to know!
Thanks for choosing to read this flight review, as always, safe travels!
Joseph Mace
@tatlanticplanes