Review of Lufthansa flight Frankfurt Chicago in Economy

Airline Lufthansa
Flight LH430
Class Economy
Seat 33K
Aircraft Boeing 747-8I
Flight time 08:45
Take-off 16 May 18, 10:45
Arrival at 16 May 18, 12:30
LH   #62 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 1605 reviews
Jett Tyler
By GOLD 2915
Published on 3rd September 2018
So I am off to Chicago this time, flying a new airline for my flight log- LUFTHANSA.

photo 30

So I started the trip with a short run from LHR to FRA on an Airbus A320-CEO (LH924).



Nothing extraordinary just an average European service,
But unlike some European Flag carriers- a free brioche roll & drink service is handed out!



I got to the Passport Control area and after a bit of a wait for a shuttle bus.

photo 1photo 38photo 39

Then after a good 20 minute wait I finally got through to the gate area hosting the long-haul Airbus A380 & Boeing 747 flights to the North America, Southern Africa and Far East Asia.

photo 40photo 41photo 44

I took some time to get some of the regular traffic at FRA. Never know when you're going to be back or if you'd have time on the next visit…

photo 45photo 46

These two "Classics" really caught my eye!

photo 42photo 43

I boarded the Boeing 747-8i (D-ABYH), my first time flying the Boeing 747-8i. I had selected a window seat behind the wing, but not right at the very back. Seat 33K, facing North on the flight meant I wouldn't be looking into the sun. Having recently tried the BA 747-400 & KLM 747-400, I was interested to see how the B748 & LH would compare to!

photo 2photo 3

The plane, for some reason that I don't recall, was about twenty minutes late pushing back, however we didn't have long a taxi to the runway.

photo 5photo 6

Within no time at all, we were off and out of Germany! America awaits!

photo 10photo 11

The cabin was nice and modern. The seats were proudly displaying Lufthansa logos and they were a nice mix of grey, blue and yellow colouring. I found them comfortable.

photo 7photo 28

The first drink and snack service came around. Lufthansa gave out pretzels and I chose to company this with a drink of Cola. A hot towel would also be distributed.

photo 13

Quick gander at the Boeing 747-8i legroom…..

photo 9


The meal came around and given the two choices available, I went with the vegetarian Pasta dish. A bread roll with spread, a strawberry cake, mini Lufthansa chocolate block and a salad came alongside the main dish. It was pretty good in taste. I can't speak for other travellers, but I feel economy meals on most flights simply look worse for wear than they actually taste.

photo 15photo 20

I made the most of the IFE selection on Lufthansa. Some of the entertainment options I used included: A-Ha live in London 2016 (audio), I watched US crime drama Major Crimes of which they had 3 episodes and I also watched Star Wars VIII The Last Jedi, I also checked out some Lufthansa propaganda videos on the "Retro" 747-8i and "Auntie JU" the Lufthansa JU-52 that operates historical flights around Germany. As well as ideally watching the flight map every now and then.

photo 12photo 14

I also got up for a walk around the cabin to get my legs moving a bit. Also taking some pictures, trying not to disturb or offend any crew or pax.

photo 16photo 17photo 18

In the last hour of the flight- we got given the pre-arrival snack service which consisted of a Ham & Cheese toasted sandwich along with a drink, I decided to have a German Beer alongside it.

photo 22

We began our decent over Canada, and we passed over the water separating the boarder of Canada & USA. The Chicago weather was looking good for that day!

photo 23photo 24photo 25

We didn't have any holding time luckily, and we arrived about 10-15 minutes behind schedule. I wasn't too bothered or fussed. This was the end of the line for me today!

photo 26photo 27

Exiting the massive Boeing 747-8, I asked the crew if I could visit the flight deck- and they obliged! Got my footage which I was grateful for, the B748 has a very similar cockpit style to the retiring B744.

photo 29photo 4

Getting through customs/boarder control was a bit of a drag. But this is to be expected, and I eventually got through within 45 minutes of departing the 747.



Thus my trip to Chicago was ready to go! With my main place to visit being the Museum of Science & Industry….

photo 47
See more

Verdict

Lufthansa

9.4/10
Cabin9.5
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering9.0

Frankfurt - FRA

9.6/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.5
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0

Chicago - ORD

8.4/10
Efficiency7.5
Access9.5
Services6.5
Cleanliness10.0

Conclusion

Lufthansa- Based on my A320 & B748 flight experiences, I can see why & how this airline got a 5* Rating for its Economy services. However let's see if they hold it up on my return trip ;) #comingsoon

Frankfurt- Bit of a wait at passport control, but it is one of the four "megahubs" of Europe and it was a lot more organised than Paris CDG. Very nice building and despite a short wait on the bus to get from the Schengen Terminal to the Passport/Connections area- it was all good! Great viewing opportunities as well!

Chicago- It was good for arrivals. Very modern & clean. The waiting times really can't be helped as such in arrivals- The legal procedures must be taken. Seeing a sniffer dog (beagle) searching for natural food was a bit of a weird one!

Information on the route Frankfurt (FRA) Chicago (ORD)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 8 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Frankfurt (FRA) → Chicago (ORD).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Lufthansa avec 7.3/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 9 heures et 3 minutes.

  More information

2 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !

Login to post a comment.