Review of Lufthansa flight Frankfurt Johannesburg in Business

Airline Lufthansa
Flight LH572
Class Business
Seat 87A
Aircraft Boeing 747-8I
Flight time 10:25
Take-off 17 Jul 17, 22:05
Arrival at 18 Jul 17, 08:30
LH   #63 out of 97 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 1605 reviews
st7515
By 5901
Published on 12th August 2017
Routing :

CDG – MUC / Airbus A320-214 CEO SL D-AIUT Lufthansa LH2239 Economy K / 6 AM Beer City Flug [THERE]
MUC – SOF / Airbus A320-214 CEO SL Lufthansa LH1702 Economy K / Eastern Orient Express [THERE]
SOF – VIE / Airbus A320-200 CEO OE-LBP Austrian OS796 Business C / Vienna coffee [THERE]
VIE – FRA / Airbus A319-100 CEO OE-LDG Austrian OS125 Business C / Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 [THERE]
> FRA – JNB / Boeing 747-8i D-ABYO Lufthansa LH572 Business C Upper Deck / I’m leaving on a jet plane, (I know) when I’ll be back again [YOU ARE HERE]
JNB – SZK / Embraer 135 ZS-SWN South African Airlink SA8865 Economy Q / A different kind of animal [THERE]
SZK – MQP / Cessna Caravan C208-B ZS-MLT South African Airlink SA8930 Economy Y / Dreaming of Cessna [THERE]
MQP – JNB / Embraer 140 ZS-ALR South African Airlink SA8828 Economy Q / Outclassing the road [THERE]
JNB – DUR / Airbus A330-200 ZS-SXV South African Airways SA559 Business C / Comfy old cabin [THERE]
DUR – CPT / Boeing 738WL ZS-ZWU British Airways by Comair BA6310 Business U / On the ‘Business’ again [THERE]
CPT – GRJ / Embraer 135 ZS-SWN South African Airlink SA8631 Economy Q / Lost Garden route flightpath [THERE]
PLZ – JNB / Boeing 737-800 Split Scimitar winglets ZS-ZWH British Airways by Comair BA6242 Economy O / From PE with chill [THERE]



JNB – FRA / Boeing 747-8i D-ABYR Lufthansa LH573 First C Nose / "Luck" [THERE]
FRA – VIE / Airbus A320 CEO OE-LBL Austrian OS128 Business C / Good Morning Austria



VIE – SOF / Airbus A320 CEO OE-LBM Austrian OS795 Business C / Foodstock
SOF – MUC / Embraer 195 D-AEMD Lufthansa LH1705 Cityline Economy K / …6.5 hours later
MUC – CDG / Airbus A319-100 CEO D-AILY Lufthansa LH2238 Economy K / Clap-my-end or "I (don't) love Paris, in the summer…"



———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

So, welcome back to the routing for what starts to be the interesting part ! If I took positioning flights to SOF and booked the error fare from SOF to JNB, it is obviously to enjoy this very flight, the only long haul roundtrip of the year, sadly. And because it is C class, there is a lot to enjoy !

We first went to the LH Business Lounge located gate Z 26.

On our way, we saw that this part of the terminal was completely empty
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This is the lounge entrance
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After checkin-in, you either have a moving belt or stairs
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Up there you have the toilets + showers on your left hand side as well as a desk with multiple agents dealing that day with a flight to PVG apparently cancelled
The toilets look like this :

Very clean and modern looking.
This is the catering area
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You can sit wherever you want
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There was plenty of space on that day

Before eating something, I went for a shower. A cleaning lady was waiting with a register where you had to write flight details, most (if not all) of the passengers taking showers were flying the LH572 to JNB.
She said a shower cabin was available immediately so I quicky returned to my seat and asked my mother if she wanted one, so she went to register with me because she does not speak english, but she had to wait with a small electronic bipper that told her when the shower room was ready.

So I went for mine because I badly needed one after 4 flights. The water pressure was more than enough and the temperature easy to adjust.
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It was warm enough in the cabin, everything was utterly clean
Back to the rest area, the wifi was fast and easy to access
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We had a small view over the apron obstructed by the curtain
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Then I went looking for some food (Frankfurt sausages and sort of gnocchis) to wait and charged my devices on the power outlets located on every furniture in the rest area.
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When the time came to board, hopefully there was a FIDS to check if the boarding gate had changed. It will be Z69 for us, last gate of the pier…
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Here is a bad view of D-ABYO, our beast for the night
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First jetbridge
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Nearly there
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Warm welcome on board from the FAs
Up the stairs and we arrived into this well known 2-2 layout along the nice side stowage compartments
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We took water as PDB because wine makes me sick when flying, so I'm not really an alcohol person
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And the bad point about the seats many FR pointed out immediately came into view
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The ottoman is ridiculous even just for feet. Under it, you can stow your shoes.
The amenity kit and a still water bottle are located under the seatback pocket which is itself located under the IFE.
The seats are nicely indicated though with a kind of metal bar
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The seat controls are fairly simple but a bit used considering the cabin's age
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The menus were then handed by our friendly blonde female FA that introduced herself
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"A warm welcome on board"

Noise cancelling headset : Bose QC15 I think
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The safety video was then displayed on the IFE, which image quality I have to say is mediocre
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We pushed back on schedule and took off a while later

The service started of course with a hot oshibori
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We were around here
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Then came the hot nuts along the wine.
However the vinothek was not up to date
A very sweet white wine from New Zealand was suggested by our FA but it did not appear on the "Vinothek" part of the menu provided, our first choice was not available. most of the wines as you could see on the menu are fairly recent so not very mature enough.
The tray table felt solid and stable.
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The beverages trolley
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The branded polyester napkin was set by the FA
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We took the "Spiced Salmon with Turnip Celery Salad, Frankfurt Style Pesto and Pumpkin Seeds" as a starter. A very bright idea because it tasted excellent
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Metal LH branded cutlery
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Here is a small simple salad
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As for the main course, I opted for the Ravioli with pesto sauce and mediterranean vegetables (zucchini)
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I declined the dessert, this was already way too much for me being the fifth flight in a row.
But took the small chocolate box provided :-)
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After that I went to the toilets to check if everything was clean and if there was some amenity items : answer was "yes"
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Same smoke detectors as in the AA 787 I flew between SCL and DFW last year.
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Refreshing tissue
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A hand cream from Korres
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Shaving cream, paraben free please, along with actual shaving kits
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A pocket comb
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And finally a mouth wash, but I know you can read all of that for once that it is well lighted
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This is what I was seeing with alcohol in my blood^^
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Now it is time to sleep a bit
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After having slept for a good 5 hours, these are the views we were treated to on the outside

Breakfast : I obviously chose the full version

Some branded metal cutlery here as well

Everything on the tray was well prepared and tasty. You really feel ready for your day after this kind of meal.
The sun was by then completely set
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I enjoyed a bit more my seat and charged my devices
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A kind of seatbelt I had never seen before
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With the light you can better see the size of the side stowage compartments
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The amenity kit was provided y "Bree" and contained
- a headset cover
- a mask
- socks,
- earplugs,
- a hand cream and a lip balm,
- a refreshing tissue,
- 2 lens wipe (nice to think to pax with glasses, smartphones or DSLRs)
- a pocket comb,
- toothpaste,
- a toothbrush

We had a gorgeous approach over Johannesburg

As for the landing, it was a smooth one

With a bit of spotting while taxiing

I will probably try Emirates next year to New Zealand in J class as well.

Before leaving, I forgot safety card !
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Center page
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I had asked before descent if I could pay a visit to the flight deck after landing, which was granted in its principle by our friendly FA but she told me she will have the confirmation of this later on. Which she did.

So after everyone had left the Upper Deck, she called me and I went there.

We shook hands both with the Captain and FO and talked a little bit about fuel consumption (100 tons) but the parking checklist had not been done yet and I could feel I was not very welcomed at that moment, although it was nice hearing this "live".

Furthermore, when the captain asked me not to share the pictures I was taking on social networks, I felt he was treating me as a kind of stupid youtuber taking selfie every 5 minutes or so. I did not take the trouble to answer to explain the purpose of the pictures, which is to share them with avgeek like you, readers, but it was not very friendly like I experienced last year flying American Airlines from JFK to EZE when the FO even left his seat and offered to take pictures.

This was nice to be welcomed obviously but if they feel it is an obligation because I was flying Business Class, then it is better not agreeing receiving pax visiting them in the first place. If passengers have an aviation interest, then it is something to share, to discuss, it shouldn't be kind of a burden. So that is why I won't put a 10 for the crew, even if our FA on the Upper Deck were very pleasant people.

So as Flight-Report labelled itself as a social network, I can't directly share the pictures with you. What I can do is uploading them to a Flickr album and give you the link via e-mail for those interested, but I really don't want to break my word by posting them here, sorry for that!

And on that last weird feeling, it is time to end and leave D-ABYO that landed here perfectly on-time.
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And unfortunately we got into the world's second worst airport after Vienna, in my opinion of course : JNB ! Perhaps one of the most confusing airport I've been through.
See more

Verdict

Lufthansa

7.4/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Meal/catering7.0

Lufthansa Business Lounge Z50 - Z

8.8/10
Comfort10.0
Meal/catering8.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Services10.0

Frankfurt - FRA

8.3/10
Efficiency8.0
Access7.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Johannesburg - JNB

5.5/10
Efficiency4.0
Access4.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0

Conclusion

Lufthansa performed well on that flight. The only point I haven't mentionned here is the IFE, except as for the liveshow, the image quality really is not there. I wouldn't like to watch a movie on these horrible screens. But of course, flying Business means sleeping, so this is not a catastrophy.

The Z Business/Senator Lounge in FRA was superb, and I mean it.
FRA itself is a peaceful airport, very large, not too packed on that evening. The only bad point was that at the last gate of the pier, our gate Z69, there is not much room for the queues which generates a mess.

JNB is not practical at all, the border police is slow, does not want to do its job, it is annoying. Bags arrived quickly to be honest, so the priority tags attached at SOF airport served well.
The most annoying thing at JNB is the "Porter luggage scam" where you have bunch of people wearing what seem like official badges and uniforms trying to help you with your luggages, asking for your destination if you are transiting to get money from you when they will have carry your bags.

So... BEWARE ! Do not let anyone take your bags, please use common sense, nothing is done for free ;) Do like me : either go voluntarily into the wrong direction or tell them "wherever I go, I will go alone", thought that one was fun. And they did not insist.

Information on the route Frankfurt (FRA) Johannesburg (JNB)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 5 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Frankfurt (FRA) → Johannesburg (JNB).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est South African avec 7.4/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 10 heures et 31 minutes.

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4 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 408260 by
    marvin150892 42 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this flight experience with us :)
    You took many great photos - now I have a good impression of what I can expect at the LH Business Lounge in FRA ;)
    • Comment 408263 by
      st7515 AUTHOR 217 Comments
      Pleasure Marvin !
      Now that I think of it, kindly note that the desk/toilets/showers are located on the left hand side upon exiting the stairs in the lounge, not the right, this was a typo!

      Thanks for taking the time to read and writing a comment ;)
  • Comment 408299 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6658 Comments
    Very nice report. The overall experience looks nice, especially if you're travelling with someone else. If travelling alone, the LH J seats don't offer much in the way of privacy, but they do look comfortable. The 748i is a beautiful bird. Thanks for sharing!
    • Comment 408315 by
      st7515 AUTHOR 217 Comments
      You're very welcome Kévin!

      You are definitely right, there was the privacy point I forgot to talk about, and indeed, there is absolutely no privacy, either with your immediate neighbour, the front row, or even the back row if you are seated on a upright position. Which can be quite unpleasant for instance to take pictures of the seat and all.

      You have as well the pax letting their water bottle slide along the cabin on the side stowage compartments upon landing, which is disturbing you if you take pictures or a video.

      But to the pax not doing any kind of FR, I guess it is fine^^

      Thanks for reading and taking the take to comment!

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