Review: Lufthansa A380 First Class Munich To Los Angeles

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.