Review of Lufthansa flight Chicago Frankfurt in First

Airline Lufthansa
Flight LH 433
Class First
Seat 1A
Aircraft Boeing 747-8I
Flight time 07:30
Take-off 19 Aug 19, 23:00
Arrival at 20 Aug 19, 13:30
LH   #64 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 1610 reviews
Rewardflying
Published on 13th January 2020

Routing

  • LH 433 First ORD-FRA Boeing 747-8i You are here
  • AF 136 Business CDG-ORD Airbus A330-200 Coming soon

The plan was to fly Air France on their new 787 to Europe, but a couple days before departure Lufthansa in First Class on their 747-8i opened up, so why not!


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Checkin at O'Hare. ORD does not have any special F services other than an LH representative comes to the Polaris lounge in Terminal C to take you back to Terminal B gate B16 or B17 where Lufthansa departs.


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Let’s see, pretty much says our neighbors to the north and immediate south aren’t welcome here.


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I arrived at the Polaris lounge dining room at 7:25 and one person was in front of me to be seated. They seated him and a few minutes later returned to inform me that the dining room closes at 7:30 and I could enjoy the buffet in the main lounge. Without elaborating on the specifics of my diatribe, I was seated.


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The server was extremely nice, and even apologized for the treatment I received from the host seating guests. The food was great too!


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Unquestionably my favorite aircraft entry. 


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Worthy of a second view.


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And then a very close 2nd is the nose of a 747. In this case a beautiful 7474-8i with the gorgeous Lufthansa First Class finishes.


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And then there is seat 1A in the nose of a 747. It doesn’t get better than this.


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Across the aisle would be my bed that Doris the FA would make up in a couple of hours.


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.


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Out of 8 seats in first, only 3 would be occupied this flight. The two in the middle where this gentleman’s wife would join him and myself.


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Lufthansa has changed their amenity kit case again. This one small, but reusable for a nice toiletry kit. Contents were basic at best.


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I believe 50mb of internet was included. I used it up pretty fast.


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Airshow, same a last flight a year ago, or was it 2 years ago?


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No complaints however on this being the same as anytime ago. 


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The full beverage menu.


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.


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.


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The full late night dinner menu. 


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An Amuse Bouche was served. My trip notes fail to describe what it was. Pretty much a tell tale sign of how it was.


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As bad as this photo is, in reality it is really good. 


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Pretty soon after take off Doris came by to offer the starters. 


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Rejected.


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Accepted.


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She was generous with the serving for sure!


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Thomas, Doris’ partner offered a very nice Bordeaux which was enthusiastically accepted.


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I opted for a cheese plate at this late hour, basically around midnight my local time. 


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And the Créme Brûlée tart which was exceedingly small. Think 2 bite brownie.


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After a few hours sleep it was time for breakfast. Having my sights set for the First Class lounge, I opted for Museli. There was a day when Lufthansa served a delicious Bircher Museli. Now it’s dried out of box. 


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I flew this flight 4 years ago (minus 4 days) in the same seat on the same Lufthansa 747-8i, registration number D-ABYT, the Retro Livery.


I made my way to Terminal B and the First Class lounge. The attendant suggested I go to the First Class Terminal and even got the Lounge Manager to escort me there. How’s that for service!


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On the lower level you clear security then take the elevator up which opens into the bar area with seating to the left and behind you. 


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Beyond that is the dining room which has buffet or ala carté from an extensive menu. 


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There is a nice display of wines in the dining room. 


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I opted to freshen first. Instead of a bath I chose the rainfall shower. 


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But didn’t forget to ask for a duck.


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The full menu in the First Class Terminal.


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To me there is only one thing to have, the Wiener Schnitzel. It’s too bad this is sooo good as there are many things on this menu that deserved to be tasted.


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I refrained. Unfortunately.


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In no time I was summoned by my Lufthansa hostess to head downstairs for the waiting car. I traveled to my plane with a gentleman from South America so the vehicle was a Porsche SUV.


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Hoping to get a shot of the Retro 747 I arrived on, it was behind the 2nd 747 in this photo. 


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The ride to Paris. Which ended up being delayed almost and hour. Could have been in the lounge!


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Frankfurt to Paris is a very short flight. Too short for a meal? I have to say serving a delicious and generous piece of lemon meringue pie is a brilliant idea!


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For more detailed reviews visit Reward Flying http://www.rewardflying.com/report-blog/2020/1/9/lufthansa-b747-8i-first-class-ord-fra

See more

Verdict

Lufthansa

6.5/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi4.0
Meal/catering5.0

United Polaris Lounge

8.5/10
Comfort8.5
Meal/catering8.5
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Services8.5

Chicago - ORD

7.0/10
Efficiency6.0
Access6.0
Services8.5
Cleanliness7.5

Frankfurt - FRA

7.1/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.5
Services7.5
Cleanliness6.0

Conclusion

As mentioned in the report, this is probably my favorite first class cabin. Nose of a 747 and I love Lufthansa’s color scheme in first class. The seats are comfortable especially for sitting, sleeping is pretty good with the bedding provided.

Food/Amenities: Highlights are Laurent-Perrier Grant Siècle champagne and a generous portion of caviar. Otherwise the food has not only gone downhill over the last few years, portion size is very small, at least on this late night flight. I could nitpick that the pajamas are not my favorite style but they are quality and comfortable.

IFE/WiFi: Poor marks for the IFE. They can’t fix the airshow? The wifi free 50mb is nice, but gets eaten with a few emails.

Flight Attendants: Doris was the main flight attendant. At least that is how she introduced herself. I don’t see Doris as a German name. She was very friendly, took my picture, made up a bed in 1K for me. Maybe just a bit of language barrier.

For the many flaws intoduced over the last few years, I look forward to my next LH flight in first class!

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

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 9 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Chicago (ORD) → Frankfurt (FRA).


Useful

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

La durée moyenne des vols est de 8 heures et 2 minutes.

  More information

4 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 537138 by
    socalnow 976 Comments
    Hi Mark and thank you for sharing the fantastic LH 747-8i fist class experience.

    ...but a couple days before departure Lufthansa in First Class on their 747-8i opened up, so why not!

    I thought long and hard and couldn't come up with any reason not to.

    The server was extremely nice, and even apologized for the treatment I received from the host seating guests. The food was great too!

    Good service recovery. What is the meat?

    Unquestionably my favorite aircraft entry.

    It really sets the tone that this is special.

    And then there is seat 1A in the nose of a 747. It doesn’t get better than this.

    With 1K as a bed! Lucky boy, you.

    Contents were basic at best.

    I reckon that's about $80.00 of La Prairie products.

    The full beverage menu.

    Nice bubbles.

    I opted for a cheese plate at this late hour, basically around midnight my local time.

    The caviar and the cheese are really the stars of the LH F meal service.

    I flew this flight 4 years ago (minus 4 days) in the same seat on the same Lufthansa 747-8i, registration number D-ABYT, the Retro Livery.

    So jealous, Yankee Tango is the most beautiful machine flying.

    I made my way to Terminal B and the First Class lounge. The attendant suggested I go to the First Class Terminal and even got the Lounge Manager to escort me there. How’s that for service!

    Why do you suppose they didn't want you in the B lounge? ;)

    It’s too bad this is sooo good as there are many things on this menu that deserved to be tasted.

    Look scrumptious.

    Thanks again for sharing Mark. I love how the additional of LH F turns a quick hop across the Atlantic into an event to savor. Cool special duck too.
  • Comment 537140 by
    Rewardflying AUTHOR 493 Comments
    Hey Christian,

    Good service recovery. What is the meat?

    -Salmon

    I reckon that's about $80.00 of La Prairie products.

    -Thanks for the info, never used any of them.

    Why do you suppose they didn't want you in the B lounge? ;)

    -Drive to next aircraft I believe. I've read they drive out of B but didn't get driven on the one flight I had a couple years ago. Or it was I hadn't had a shower yet :)
  • Comment 537458 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    LH First is very consistently "Champagne wishes and Caviar dreams", which I imagine went a long way to securing LH 5* status...F is definitely among the world's best...for everything else, it's questionable.

    Too bad about the IFE. It is nice that thy offer 50mb free, but yeah...that gets eaten up in just a few minutes of normal internet usage...nevertheless a nice gesture.

    Thanks for sharing!
  • Comment 538436 by
    YGeorgeW GOLD 273 Comments
    Hi Rewardflying, thanks for the report.

    Unquestionably my favorite aircraft entry.

    - Couldn't agree more.

    Across the aisle would be my bed that Doris the FA would make up in a couple of hours.

    - Row 1 completely to yourself! It really doesn't get better than that.

    Contents were basic at best.

    - I'll echo Christian and just say that La Prairie is actually quite good.

    I believe 50mb of internet was included. I used it up pretty fast.

    - Interesting, last year on LH431 (same route, different time) I got a full flight voucher for free.

    She was generous with the serving for sure!

    - Necessarily so, LH catering often declines after the caviar, though I like their dessert.

    The attendant suggested I go to the First Class Terminal and even got the Lounge Manager to escort me there. How’s that for service!

    - The attendant must have known you wanted the Porsche ride to the plane. The escort is a nice touch.

    But didn’t forget to ask for a duck.


    - I would like that one.

    Thanks for sharing the report!

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