My Lufthansa First Class flight from Munich to Los Angeles provided the ultimate gift: uninterrupted rest.
I’ve reviewed Lufthansa First Class three times during the last year in the eastbound direction, but this will be my first westbound review in a couple years.
I wrote about my first impressions of the flight here and will expand on that below. Put simply, I flew this flight on my schedule. That makes this report unique from my other Lufthansa trip reports.
After landing in Munich from Nice I was picked up by a Mercedes van and transported to the first class lounge. I’ve reviewed the lounge before and won’t do so again here, but I appreciated how nicely the lounge was decorated for Oktoberfest. I also appreciated the Oktoberfest-themed rubber ducks, which are smaller in Munich than in Frankfurt.
> Review: Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich (MUC)
Wanting to sleep right after takeoff, I enjoyed a filet mignon in the lounge with fresh orange juice and cappuccino. This is my go-to meal at in a Lufthansa First Class lounge no matter the time of day.
> Read More: Dinner for Breakfast in Lufthansa First Class Terminal
Since we were not departing from a remote gate, there was no chauffeur service to the plane. But it was a short walk and I was not hassled by extra security checks. Munich makes transit so easy. I ended up being one of the last onboard.
Lufthansa 452
Munich (MUC) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Friday, October 05
Depart: 12:00PM
Arrive: 03:05PM
Duration: 12hr,05min
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Seat: 2K (First Class)
First class was booked only 5/8 today. The A380-800 is always such a spectacular aircraft to fly and I made myself comfortable in seat 2K. I began the flight with a bowl of macadamia nuts and a glass of Champagne.
For more details on the seat, read this report.
Pajamas, slippers, and a special-edition Oktoberfest amenity kit were also distributed. Lufthansa has updated the pajamas and slippers since I last flew in first class…the slippers are quite plush and the I like the new blue/white pajama tops, still from van Laack.
We pushed back on time and were soon in the air. Not much commentary from the captain today. Immediately after takeoff I changed into my pajamas while the FA prepared my bed for rest. I love the rose and real towels in the lavatory.
Today’s plan would be simple: sleep for 8-9 hours then enjoy a meal before landing. I had stayed up the entire night before, partially by choice (I could have taken a nap), but mostly because work kept me busy. At noon CET it was 3:00 A.M. on the West Coast. Sleeping, or even a long nap, would position me nicely to avoid jet lag after landing in Los Angeles.
The cabin temperature was ice-cold. Traditionally, Lufthansa has been known to keep its cabins warm, but this flight was quite the opposite. In fact, I usually stick my bare feet outside the blanket, but the cabin was so cold I curled up in a fetal position to sleep. And let me add, I slept very well. What a blessing it was to sleep after being up for more than 24 hours.
The Feast
I woke up with about two hours of flight time left and immediately hit the FA call button to order a cappuccino. I just feel funny–guilty really–ever pushing a FA call button on a U.S. airline (especially with sentiment like this). But not on Lufthansa. A FA cheerfully appeared and was happy to prepare a cappuccino for me and also bring more macadamia nuts.
In first class on Lufthansa, you can eat when you want, what you want. On westbound flights, the menu contains an elaborate lunch/dinner menu as well as many a la carte items geared toward snacking or the pre-arrival meal service. Here’s the menu and wine list:
The Feast
As my tray table was set for lunch, I let the FA know what I wanted, though I had already ordered my main course earlier. I appreciate that before I went to sleep the FA asked if I would like her to hold any entree for when I woke up. Lufthansa loads enough first class meals for everyone to have their choice, but crew eat the remaining meals, typically in the middle of the flight. Had I not “reserved” a meal I may have ended up with my second or third choice.
I began with caviar, which is always appreciated when I fly on Lufthansa. During lunch I enjoyed watching Ocean’s 8.
Next I enjoyed a very delicious potato cream soup with shrimp and dill oil. Very tasty.
That was followed by a simple green salad with herb dressing.
Before my main course, I requested a peach sorbet palate cleanser, but it arrived so frozen that I just skipped it (well, I eventually enjoyed it after my main course).
For my main, I ordered saddle of veal, served in cream sauce with cabbage and Spätzle. Very German and very tasty.
I should have skipped it, but I opted to sample the cheeses, which were excellent.
Finally, I finished off my meal with another cappuccino as well as warm plum strudel with ice cream.
This was an exceptional meal. Well done Lufthansa, and I don’t mean how the veal was cooked!
One complaint about the flight. The internet did not work, at least before I went to bed and after I woke up. First class passengers receive free wi-fi vouchers, but they were pointless on this flight.
By the time I finished my strudel and coffee, there was only 30 minutes prior to landing. I changed out of my pajamas and took my seat, enjoying the view of Los Angeles as we approached LAX.
CONCLUSION
The Lufthansa first class experience was once again lovely, although this time for a different reason. Try to sleep in business class for eight hours then ask for the full meal service that had been served hours earlier to everyone else. It’s not going to happen. I appreciated the chance to customize this flight to ensure that I encountered no jet lag after arriving home. It worked like a charm.
@ Matthew — Love LH and LX F….
How was your LX F flight?
It was lovely. I am looking forward to the return in a few days! The LX 777-300 F is so nicely done. Love the seat, IFE, food, service, and the La Prairie facial lotion that the Queen can magically produce from three $1 boxes of chocolate. Maybe one day I can look as young as HRH. 🙂
What a shame that you feel bad pushing the call button on United or other US carriers. You’re a prime advocate for change, so that actually really, really surprised, and disappointed, me. I can assure you, if I need something, I won’t hesitate to hit it, even if its “rude” “unappreciated” or “not an emergency.” The only way we will change that culture is if we continue to practice it.
I do feel bad. I just cannot get over the looks I get when I use it. So I don’t bother.
That might explain why I don’t care, because being blind means that I don’t see those looks 🙂
I am interested to know, with so many airlines, and US carriers in particular (United partnered with LH etc) moving away from first to a business-class only, how do you think the EU carriers will move forward? Follow suit? Or stay the course with coach, premium economy, business and first? It appears first class on LH is quite luxurious in service (even if the seats aren’t the most lux or private) and that is how they differentiate it from business class. Is this enough to carry it forward? Thank you!
Lara, a great question. At this point, it is too early to tell but I predict Lufthansa and eventually British Airways will eliminate first class. Lufthansa’s new 777X business class is very spacious and those aircraft will have no first class. Lufthansa already ripped first class out of its A330s, some A340s, and all 747-400s. The A350s have no first class either. I think Lufthansa will be the first to go, followed by BA, and maybe one day even Air France.
By Lufthansa eliminating First Class are you including Swiss?
What about the Middle Eastern and APAC carriers? Do you think any others will drop First?
I don’t think SWISS will eliminate first class. They guard it closely and it seems to sell better than LH F.
BA won’t remove first class for a long time. They need it whilst club world is industry lagging – and it isn’t in the managements pysche for the club world replacement to be anything other than about average for a business class seat these days which won’t be good enough to become a “first-like” product. And Premium revenue to/from London will sustain it.
Do you think there’s some differentiation to using the call button depending on what class you’re in? I can see how U.S. flight attendants can give off a snarky air if an economy class passenger uses the call button, but in business class? Surely, it’s expected in the higher class of service?
I do think it is easier to use the call light in business/first than in economy class. But on AA/UA, I am very hesitant to use it.
On JetBlue, totally different story.
Hi Matthew,
I noticed in the first meal picture, the salt & pepper shakers DO NOT have the LUFTHANSA name facing you, but in subsequent pictures they are rotated and ARE facing toward you (the proper way).
Did you turn them, or did the FA notice her mistake and correct it?
Just curious about this completely trivial observation. 😉
What an astute observation! I should have mentioned that in my review. You might recall that in a previous trip report I criticized the FAs for being sloppy and not rotating the S&P shakers to face me:
https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2018/07/05/lufthansa-a380-first-class-review-2018/
Here, the FA noticed that they were not perfectly placed and adjusted them herself! I really appreciated that.
Of course I recalled that trip report! The precision of my dining tray setup always makes me smile when done correctly and carefully by any flight attendant. In my thinking it really is a telling nonverbal sign of their attention to detail and their care for their passengers. I had noticed the forward-facing S&P’s myself after flying
First in LH. So when YOU mentioned it, I was gratified to know someone else shared my detail orientated obsession.
Glad to hear shakers were proactively corrected here. I kinda figured that was the case, since you were glowing in all other aspects of the service. 🙂
Hey there,
Whatever happened with your dispute with Swiss and Aeroplan?
Did they end up reimbursing you for the out of pock expenses?
Thanks
I think LH has one of the biggest gaps between biz and first. I’d rather fly united j than Lufthansa j (although not in the 2-4-2). I wonder if they’ll wait to get the new business class seats in before completely eliminating first. Anyone who regularly travels for work in LH first will not go down to biz. I’d much rather fly Austrian, American or Swiss over the Atlantic. I’d even take BA biz upstairs over LH.
Btw I almost feel ashamed looking at revenue passengers who paid $10k for their flight that I “bought” for $1250 using lifemiles