After a nice afternoon in the First Class Terminal at Frankfurt Airport, it is now time to board the plane for Beijing.
Ground experience
Still at the First Class Terminal, our host comes to meet us to tell us that the boarding has just started for Beijing, and that our car is already ready for boarding. So we gather our things and prepare for the departure to the Chinese capital.
We then take the elevator that leads to the boarding area. The immigration officer gives us back our passports, and the boarding agent scans our passes and directs us to our driver who will take us to the plane.
As on our arrival, it is in a Porsche that we will be taken to the 747-8i heading to Beijing. As we are only two to embark, at this moment, mounts the hope to be only two in the cabin.
The Porsche experience is really excellent and brings the Lufthansa ground course in Frankfurt up to a higher level.
A small lap around the track and here we are under the plae that will take us to Beijing.
The 747-8i is massive and its engines are huge.
At our side, a 747 is present in retro livery.
When we get out of the car and see us shooting the plane, our driver offers us to immortalize us in front of the plane, which we accept with pleasure.
Here we are in front of the elevator that leads us to the footbridge.
Boarding
Once at the top, we join the classic priority customer route with our escort.
The gangway is attached to the 1L door that serves the premium part of the unit.
We are welcomed by Francisco, our First Class purser, who will give us a perfect service on the whole flight.
Very warm, he leads us to our seats and gives us the good news: we will be the only passengers in the cabin tonight, which will be privatized for TravelGuys.
I discovered this First cabin for the first time, and I am pleasantly surprised. If it is clearly not a suite, the seat is very comfortable, similar to the seat of Air France.
The comfort elements are brought quickly by Francisco, who will successfully try to determine our size.
During the boarding, a bottle of champagne is uncorked, and we will drink a good part of it while observing the last boarding operations.
We push back to the time for Beijing and join the runways after a long taxi.
Cabin and reception
The Lufthansa First Class cabin of the 747-8i is located in the nose of the aircraft. It is composed of 8 seats, obviously entirely flat.
Bertrand and I occupy the two front seats.
The available space is very open, which is ideal if the passengers know each other like we do.
The cabin is very airy, which is in total opposition to the global trends of the First market which favors suites.
The nose is really a pleasant space in which the atmosphere is very cozy.
The seat itself is obviously very wide, and its comfort is maximum.
A pillow has already been arranged for us, but I will use a second one when I switch to the night position.
The legroom is endless in this cabin, and it is difficult to touch the ottoman when the seat is in the take-off, taxi or landing position.
The seat controls are rather simple and hidden in the armrest, which avoids wrong manipulations (like in the Air France cabin for example).
The IFE is a bit far from the seat, and requires the use of a remote control.
The remote control is a bit old school, a bit strange considering that the aircraft is very recent.
The space is ideal for relaxing, ideally with a glass of excellent champagne.
Your hosts welcome you to their private Lufthansa First Class cabin.
The cabin is equipped with two toilets, one for each of us as we are only two passengers in this cabin!
It is luxuriously equipped, in a very sober German style. Here again, the rose is present.
The toiletries are the height of aesthetics, as Lufthansa uses the Swiss brand La Prairie, known worldwide for the quality of its products.
The light wood and leather tones are elegant, and stand out even more in daylight as each of the two toilets is equipped with a window.
These cabins also allow you to change into the comfortable clothing provided by the airline to its first class passengers.
After this discovery, we finally take off to Beijing for a flight of about ten hours, unfortunately too short.
Our presence in the nose of the aircraft creates a certain stability of the cabin, and a very limited noise.
The toiletry kit provided by Lufthansa is not of excellent quality, and looks more Business than First.
Nevertheless, its content does more credit to the First class than its container.
In the night position, a mattress overlay and a cozy comforter increase the comfort of the cabin, and the bed is prepared by the purser of course.
One last little shot before going to sleep!
We will spend an excellent night of 7 hours in this very comfortable cabin.
Service and catering
The service was perfect in First during this flight, as one can obviously expect in this class. However, we will note the extra human warmth brought by our purser, a feeling that we unfortunately do not find enough in our national airline where the service can sometimes seem stilted.
The menu offers excellent dining options, almost all of which we will try.
The meal begins with a distribution of hot oshibori on a plate, a marker of quality (even if a more elegant ruler would be better).
The salmon tartar and radish carpaccio, served with Laurent Perrier Cuvée Alexandra Rosé, is just perfect and fresh, an excellent food and wine combination.
The appetizers (all of them) are now served in small bites, always washed down with Cuvée Alexandra for my part. Water, wine and bread will be served continuously during the meal, including between courses.
After the appetizers comes the service of caviar, served by the ladle, with its accompaniments and vodka.
Note that we will have 3 refills each of caviar, until we empty the pot. This is a change from the 3 grains served on Air France, as an offense to the First passenger.
Between two courses, a quick look at the geo vision with a rather fast service (we usually dine rather quickly with Bertrand).
Between the appetizers and the main course, a sort of trou normand with rosé champagne and peach ice cream is served: it is quite refreshing.
For the main courses, it is difficult to choose… So our purser offers us to taste everything. Bertrand and I will take two dishes each, easy to swallow since the portion is quite small.
Bertrand and I will take the beef, well cooked but overcooked for both of us.
I’ll have the spaghetti next, with a really great sauce.
Bertrand will take the risotto and its shrimp skewer which was really excellent too.
As a good Frenchman, I go on with the cheese before the dessert, served on the cart and with a choice often wider than on the national airline.
Excellent rice with coconut milk for dessert, always washed down with Cuvée Alexandra rosée, decidedly excellent.
A very generous coffee shooter before going to bed, with this excellent XO Cognac.
Superb sunset at the end of the meal.
As we leave the European territory, the cabin is slowly getting ready for a short night.
A tea is served to us before switching the seats to the night position. We will use another seat as a bed, and yet another for breakfast service. In the end 6 seats out of 8, the cabin being ours!
When I wake up, still hazy, Francisco brings me a hot oshibori and a freshly squeezed orange juice.
The menu is plethoric and it is difficult for me to make a choice among this rather attractive menu.
I choose a little bit of everything. The fruit plate is exceptional in quality, and the fried eggs are perfectly cooked, a la minute of course. The bacon is even crispy.
The cold items are of excellent quality, but I wish they had been served with the eggs.
A little mint tea to wash it all down.
Arrival and disembarkation
Unfortunately, we arrive too early in Beijing. The weather is heavy and the sky is low.
We obviously disembark first by the jetway that leads us to the terminal.
At the top of this escalator, two escorts are waiting for us and they will take us to the Connections security checks as we continue on Asiana towards Seoul.
Bottom line
An exceptional flight, with quality catering and a very attentive crew. The private cabin has a lot to do with it, but the experience is really excellent, even on the ground!
For the record our routing :
- Paris-Manchester, Air France Economy
- Manchester-Frankfurt, Lufthansa Business Class
- Frankfurt-Beijing, Lufthansa First Class (here)
- Beijiing-Seoul, Asiana Economy
Seoul-Beijing, Asiana Economy - Beijing-Munich, Lufthansa First Class
- Munich-Frankfurt, Lufthansa Business Class (not interesting, not reviewed)
- Frankfurt-Manchester, Lufthansa Business Class (not interesting, not reviewed)
- Manchester-Paris, Air France Economy (coming soon)
Articles similaires
Review : Lufthansa First Class, A340, Frankfurt-Hong-Kong
Review : Lufthansa Senator & First Class lounge Francfort – Gates Z
Paris-Frankfurt on Lufthansa in business class : business as usual
Review : Lufthansa Business Class, Francfort-Istanbul, A320
Review : Lufthansa, First Class, Hong Kong-Munich, A380
