Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Houston 747-8i

Flying in the nose of the 747 is quite possibly the coolest experience in the air, and sitting in seats 1A/1K is the epitome of that experience. Why? You’re sitting literally in front of the pilot ( they sit on the upper deck ), and from your seat you can see the curvature of the plane. I’ve been fortunate to do it a few times in my life, and the first flight I ever blogged was a Virgin Atlantic 747 in Upper Class. I’ve had the great fortune of flying Lufthansa First Class several times in my life ( A380, A330) and this was my second time experiencing the 747-8i which currently is the only aircraft Lufthansa is flying equipped with first class. Needless to say, the experience of flying Lufthansa First Class on the 747-8i is a real privilege, and definitely one that I’d never be able to do without points – Lufthansa regularly charges upwards of $10k if using cash.

Our other First Class Reviews:

• Emirates First Class on the 77W
• Singapore Suites on the A380
• Singapore First Class on the 77W
• Cathay Pacific First Class on the 77W
• Qantas First Class on the A380
• Japan Airlines First Class on the 77W
• Lufthansa First Class
  • A380
  • A330
  • 747-8i
• British Airways First Class on the
  • A380
  • 77W
  • 747-4
• Etihad Apartments
• Etihad First Class 77W

Flight Details for Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Houston 747-8i

There are many ways to book Lufthansa First Class, which you can read in the next section, but I ended up booking the day before the flight with Singapore Airlines miles that were due to expire in January 2022. This is probably the least attractive method of booking since it requires nearly the most miles and Singapore’s search is rather clunky. But, the miles would go to waste if they weren’t used so that’s how I chose to book.

• When: September 2021
• Airline: Lufthansa
• Route: FRA-IAH
• Plane: 747-8
• Duration: ~11.5 hours
• Class: First Class
• Seat: 1A and 1K ( what?! keep reading)
• Program: Singapore Krisflyer 107.5k + ~$300

How to book Lufthansa First Class with points

Here’s a list of the programs that have access to Lufthansa First Class award bookings which you can book up to 30 days in advance. Don’t count on that window showing all the award space. Ordinarily, you’ll see more trickle in starting at the 14 day mark, then again  at 10 days , 7, 3, and finally the day/day of. That’s been my experience.

The programs you can use to book:

• Air Canada Aeroplan
  • 100k One Way
  • Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
• ANA Mileage Plan
  • 165k miles and must be booked roundtrip
  • partner of Amex and Marriott
• Asiana Club
  • 50k one way
  • Marriott
• Avianca Lifemiles
  • 87k one way
  • Amex, Capital One, Citi Thank You, and Marriott
• Lufthansa Miles and More
  • 85k one way
  • Marriott Bonvoy
• Singapore Krisflyer
  • 107,500 one way
  • Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
• United Mileage Plus
  • 110k one way
  • Chase, Marriott

The best 4 credit cards I’d choose to earn points for Lufthansa First Class

Amex

• American Express Gold
  • The Amex I use most with outstanding 4x dining and 4x US supermarkets

Capital One

• Capital One Venture X
  • $300 travel credit,
  • $200 Airbnb/VRBO credit,
  • 2x on everything
  • 10k anniversary bonus every year you keep the card

Citi 

• Citi Thank You Premier – arguably the most underrated credit card on the market
  • offers 3x dining, groceries, travel, and gas
  • $95 AF

Chase

• Chase Sapphire Preferred  is a great starter premium card and one that I actually carry
  • 3x dining, 3x online groceries, great transfer partners and $95 a year.

Choosing a seat on Lufthansa First Class 747-8i

You can see the seatmap from Lufthansa down below, but there’s a total of 8 seats, and on my flight, just 2 others were occupied.

• Most Privacy: 3A or 3K
• Couplea; 3G,D
• My fave: fly in the nose in 1A and 1K

Here you can pretty much see the full cabin.

One of the coolest parts of Lufthansa First Class in the 747 is having 4 full windows to yourself. I truly think this is one of the brightest cabins I’ve ever flown on. The absence of overhead bins gives a very open and bright ambience.

Now, you’ve booked and picked your seat. The experience begins at the Lufthansa First Class Terminal

While I’ve flown Lufthansa First Class multiple times, it’s almost always been via transit. This marked my first time at the First Class Terminal.

The process is quite thorough and my passport, vaccine card, and documents were taken and processed while I went through security. On the other side was a gorgeous lounge that offered dining, a full bar, bedrooms, showers, and of course Miles got his duck.

The coolest part…a tarmac transfer to the plane.

When boarding begins, you’ll be found in the lounge and whisked down to a waiting chauffeur to drive you to your plane.

Yes, Miles is a sucker for a staged photo and YES, that’s my big bird in the background. Those first 4 windows, in front of the captain, are all mine. In fact, regardless of which side of the plane you’re on…they ended up being mine.

Boarding

After going up an elevator, cutting in front of the coach passengers ( very naughty that I enjoyed that so much muhahaha), down the jetway and turning I boarded. It was then that my hopes were confirmed…nobody else had decided to sit in 1K which meant that I could use one seat to relax, eat, etc and the other for a bed.

Meet my living room and bedroom

Get settled in and Sipping some Champers.

As soon as you land at your seat they are all over you with the finer things in life like Champagne, silky Pajamas, and warm nuts. Every time I have warm nuts it reminds me of Ernest Borgnine. I shot a movie a few years back with Ernie and he was one of the most amazing people.  He told me the story of a New York chestnut-roasting street vendor who was always happy. Ernie asked the guy why he was so happy roasting chestnuts, and the guy said, “I’m not trying to set the world on fire, I’m just trying to keep my nuts warm.” Ernie laughed and laughed and loved it so much that he actually titled his autobiography after the exchange.

They were serving two fantastic champagnes and I ended up going with a Rose that was simply equisite.

 

The Seat

If I’m being very honest, the seat isn’t really anything to write home about when compared to what’s currently offered on Emirates, Etihad, Singapore, etc, but it is very comfortable. In fact, I’d say in bed mode, its one of the most comfortable I’ve flown on.

There is an ottoman that opens and slides back and forth for you to put your feet up on.

 

The seating and IFE controls are in the armrests as well as a nice amount of storage between you and the windows.

The IFE

This is the biggest downside to flying Lufthansa in general – atrocious IFE and one of the most limited selections of entertainment. We’ve heard that Lufthansa is coming out with a new business class and first class in 2022/2023 – let’s hope there are some big improvements.

Amenity Kit

Lufthansa does a fantastic amenity kit fill with la prairie products, and the bathrooms come with razors, shaving cream, etc. I still use an old Lufthansa First Class kit to transport my hard drives.

They also provide pajamas; however, I’m not a fan of the new style with buttons etc. I find them to run quite small and not breathe well at all.

If you wondering if I took more than one of those shave kits, the answer is yes…don’t judge me – free stuff is so hard to pass up!

 

Wifi:

Passengers in first class get free Wifi by using the code in the upper right hand. In years past, it was 17 Euros.

Food

One of the quintessential items to order if you’re flying Lufthansa First Class is the caviar plate. The serving was enormous and a true treat when paired with an exceptional rose and fine white wine.

Here’s a look at the full menu

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I had the chicken and chocolate tart which were completely ordinary and unremarkable. Honestly, I could have had the caviar and been done, but I always feel compelled to overeat when in first class.

The Bed

As I mentioned earlier, Lufthansa offers one of the most comfortable beds in the sky, and after a few glasses of bubbly it was warmly welcomed by this newlywed.

Even though Lufthansa First Class doesn’t offer doors like Qatar Airways Qsuites, British Airways Club Suites, Emirates First Class, Etihad Apartments, Singapore Suites, the list goes on… it does have a very large divider.

Overall:

There’s nothing quite like starting your day in a fabulous lounge, getting chauffeured to your plane, and sitting in the nose of a 747-8i for 11 hours to you destination. Lufthansa may not offer

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