The TERRIBLE Business Class That You Should Still Try: UPPER DECK on Lufthansa 747-8

I've always wanted to be on the upper deck of a 747 since I was a kid. With very few operators left, a unexpected routing change landed me on Lufthansa. I'm...just not sure this is what I had in mind. What's it like to fly on the upper deck of Lufthansa's 744 in business class? Let's find out on this trip from Frankfurt to Chicago.
This ticket was part of a larger Avianca award ticket.
0:00 Introduction
1:01 How I Ended up on this Flight
1:46 Ground Experience and Lounge at Frankfurt
2:43 COVID Check Debacle and Boarding
4:32 The Upper Deck
5:23 Takeoff
6:04 Seats
7:10 Food and Drink
9:24 Amenity Kit, Entertainment, WIFI
10:37 Landing
11:30 Lost Baggage
12:16 Pros, Cons, & Conclusion
14:56 See you in 2022!
#lufthansa #upperdeck

[@scottbrandon6244]

Back in the 70s the upper deck was a first class bar and lounge. First class seating was in the nose on lower level. The spiral staircase led to the entertainment on the upper deck.

[@bryanward3327]

First of all, don't you think it is completely unfair to compare a post pandemic flight (very early on) to a pre-pandemic flight (your Turkish flight out of ATL)? Yes, the food looked a lot better on Turkish, but what would Lufthansa had looked like 18 months earlier? I bet it would have been a lot betterr, not to mention, any way you slice it, it's airline food. Even some of the offerings from ANA have looked god awful lately. Second, if you want privacy, charter a corporate jet. This is airline travel, there's no stipulation of privacy on any flight in business. Even with most of the seats that fully enclose, anybody walking by can see over the top of the partition. Privacy in those seats in an illusion. Next, don't you think it is unfair to compare what looked like a brand new seat in a new aircraft to a 10 year old aircraft that was state of the art at the time? Even United Polaris has only been out for 7-8 years (4+ at the time of your video). I wouldn't expect any airline to spend 10s of millions of dollars to retrofit their fleet just because someone else came out with a new product. That would be a very poor business decision. Yet, here we are with 2024 just a few months away and Lufthansa planning to retro fit their aircraft during the year. I'd guess that there will be quite a few people that will complain that United doesn't have a the single middle seat when they start comparing it to Lufthansa's new product. Yet I bet United doesn't change a thing....well, I guess we know that now after yesterday's Polaris 2.0 announcement. For perspective, I have flown on the Lufthansa 747-400 and -8 this year from Asia, both Upper Deck. Each was a fantastic flight and I will admit, that may have a lot to do with the cabin crew and how wonderful they were. I did skip the departure meal both times, but the drinks were great, chocolates great, and breakfast was pretty good as well. On both flights my seat mate was a guy, yet I didn't play "footsie" with him. Those seats actually provide more room than the Polaris business class seats and are most certainly easier to get out of, even from the window. Hurdling the other person to get to the lav mid-flight was a minor inconvience. The pro side of that is it is nice to be able to have a conversation with soneone else at the start and end of a 12 hour flight from Asia. As far as the new product, it will most certainly be interesting to see if Lufthansa can get the new product upstairs in a 1x2x1 configuration. With or without it, I would recommend to anybody that they fly Lufthansa business class, particularly when Allegris goes into service. As for the lounge at the Frankfurt Z gates, it's very nice at this point. Breakfast buffet, self service full bar, gourmet coffee, candy, pretzels, and beer on tap. Best of all is the ability to take a shower before your next flight, lockers, and their quiet areas. Travel is travel and it's never without flaws on any given day. Case in point, having heard so many good things about Singapore Airlines, I was very excited to fly them this year on an A350 biz class. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was very underwhelmed. The service was cold, robotic, and lacked any friendliness. The seat was great, the A350 was amazing, food just okay, but my overall impression was a B- at best. Switch that to my connecting flight being the 747-8, it was an A. I would guess though that those ratings could be flip flopped on any given day. The point is that the hard products neither make or break a flight, it's the personnel and how well they do their job. A good FA will apologize for a poor meal and offer you a second option, even if they have to go raid the first class rations. In the end, we all have different standards, but putting Thai and Air New Zealand on your top 5 is laughable. Talk about no privacy, then you're talking about Air New Zealand where you face the person across the aisle from you, hard pass on that.

[@indianairlines]

Great review! I like the witty dialogue too. Very entertaining and enjoyable. Thank you.

[@Blank00]

Top 5 reasons ro fly Lufthansa: 1. 747-8 2. 747-8 3. 747-8 4. 747-8 5. 747-8 * I live in New Jersey and while Air China and Korean Air fly 747-8s, they don't use them for EWR

[@charlesjohnson9249]

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to pay Lufthansa prices for the probably shittiest Business Class on the planet. OK, maybe Air Koryo is worse. EK, SQ, EY, QR and CX would be ashamed to call this crap their Business Class. Hey Lufthansa: it´s 2022, you are late by approx. 25 years.

[@SomaticWise]

Agreed! That’s exactly the reason I’ll be flying Lufthansa later this year. After watching this video….it’s the ONLY reason.

[@bryanward3327]

@@SomaticWise I've had two flights on Lufthansa 747-400 and -8 in the past 6 weeks from Asia to Frankfurt. Home is the US and I took United from Frankfurt both times. Loved the Lufthansa flights, great cabin crew in business (upper deck both times), and the drinks and breakfast were great. I skipped the take-off meal both times, so can't really attest to anything. Don't listen to the critics over their business class seating. A new product is coming and they are not the only airline that still has the 2x2 or 2x2x2 on the main deck. You want privacy, charter a private jet. Otherwise, just jump onboard Lufthansa and enjoy the experience as well as more room than you have in the pods that most airlines now have in biz class. As much as I like United and I'm 1K, I'll tell you my Lufthansa flights were by far nicer than the United flights on a practically brand new 787-10. My best advice, just be really nice and not demanding to the crew and you will get great service.....YMMV if you are in economy.

[@michaelstemniskiaviation2665]

This product is an insult to business class travelers. They pay $5000 for an outdated seat, bad food, etc. What makes this even more of an insult is than Lufthansa is a 5 star airline even though that’s a 2 star business class. If it weren’t for the friendly service it would be a 1 star business class for sure. Lufthansa sure does not live up to its 5 star reputation.

[@cjedgerly]

Thanks for the video! I'm trying the 747-8 upper deck in November from EWR to FRA - bucket list item even with the quality issues

[@BM-pp3tr]

I flew on this exact plane last week, booked with United but operated by Lufthansa. I am not a princess or a diva, I usually fly economy (even for 14h longhauls) or economy plus. It was a business class sea on the lower deck, bulk-head Isle seat which was probarbly the best seat on that level. No amenities bag, something one would expect for a 4000USD round trip ticket. Seats were arranged 2-2-2 with the legs angled inwards, privacy was non existent. One of the meals was so bad I had to send it back (I have never done this in my life, but the chicken was slimy to the point i gagged after my second bite). They brought me a polenta instead which was kind of edable. The resolution of the TV screen was so bad that I just shut it off for the flight, it was like watching an old VHS video, one could barely make out the faces on the screen. The sterwardess was however very kind, if not for that I would rate this a 1/5 for the money spent. In contrast, the return flight was with United, also business class-bulk head and amazing. Access to a pretty incredible lounge, the food was good, ameneties bad, 1-2-1 arrangement of the seats, screen was decently high resolution and overall a great trip. The stewardess was however probarbly one of the worst ones ive experiences, but that didnt matter as the actual flight experience was good, a solid 4/5. I am never flying Lufthansa businss class again, thats for sure.

[@mstrmren]

1:42 Döner was invented in Berlin, and is popular throught Germany and Weißwurst is a thing pretty much only Bavarians eat, no one else in Germany. Oh, and about the Business Class, they had planned to launch the new Business Class with the 777-9, but because of the delays LH will install a new Business Class on their 787s. They also have one A350 with a 1-2-1 Business Class that was taken over from Philippean Airlines and while they changed the Economy seats, the Business Class stayed the same.

[@carlo.edelmann]

„Transit time was one hour at Frankfurt. I have been to the Lounge there and then I was almost too late for the flight…“ Find the error 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@andrewstorm8240]

Upstairs is the best - it’s like a private jet. in the old days you would meet pilot. Now you still get good service

[@GWDMCastle]

For the 'error' at 3:33, since I assume your address is listed in/near Chicago, they probably either read or entered IL for Illinois as the country code IL (which indicates Israel) at some point, causing the mixup. Glad it was a quick fix though!

[@Travelog]

Huh, you may be right with that one! Never occurred to me!

[@jorgegustavoortiz7717]

Cold rice from the fridge is absolutely disrespectful and disgusting...

[@w.ericwatt2987]

2 years later...all the bad got worse. Upper deck has no air vents...so the air is stale and hot. The crews are horrible and serve horrible food ...reluctantly. ATH-FRA with 60 minutes to catch FRA-IAH...were the last to board (with wheelchair help speeding us through the transfer distance and bureaucracy ). SERVICE WAS HORRIBLE...we were bothering them when we asked for water...just water. After meal service they disappeared. 11 hour flight was just miserable. Lufthansa is milking these planes ...should have retired them and their old grumpy crews long ago.

[@danielqueiroz5815]

I have use this product before and will use it again. I agree with everything you said, it IS terrible. But, it is much cheaper than Swiss or KLM which are far better. And my only point when flying business is that I want a silent cabin with a flat surface to sleep on. No matter food or amenities. And the front of the upper deck is as quiet as it get as the kitchen is on the back. There I can sleep through the flight and I am happy enough.

[@yvr2002rtw]

I only fly Lufthansa in First Class (rare these days as you only find them on the 747-8). For Business Class, I'd rather take their other Star Alliance partners. Perhaps Lufthansa and other airlines that offer both First Class (when it's available on more routes pre-pandemic) and Business Class purposely make their Business Class slightly more awful as an incentive for passengers to pay more for First Class? Airlines that don't offer First Class tend to do better in Business Class.

[@Travelog]

That's a very good point re: first class, and initially I had some thoughts about it that I ultimately cut for time. You're right that airlines without a first class tend to have a great business class, but there are also several that have a great both. For example if you fly ANA, Thai, Cathay Pacific, JAL etc. in business you think wow that was great, I can only imagine how much better first must be. When the business class isn't that great, I'm not really encouraged to go the extra mile/cost to fly first. American Flagship First anyone? The food is from the same caterer, can it be that much better? I know Lufthansa first (and the terminal) are one of the high points of many in the mile and points space, but the difficulty in booking it more than two weeks out and fuel surcharges unless you use Avianca/Aeroplan/United miles means I'm not in a huge rush to try it. But who knows, I may in the future if a spontaneous trip to Europe occurs.

[@homer3152]

What a hilarious wonderful video..i could not stop laughing at your great narrative, hehe!!! And it is all so true and this is why, being German, i have been avoiding my flag carrier and supposed to be 5 star airline for 30 years. I am glad though the service was excellent. And when it comes to the food, I think you had a bit of bad luck..i have seen way better menues here on youtube. Kind regards and thank you for sharing this. PS i think some airlines can be worse. Seen recent vids of Iberia who offer drinks in business class only at meal times..nothing in between. And not even to mention the attitude of Iberia crews compared to LH. Personally, i will continue to stick to my QR/EK preference, as long as i dont have to cross the big pond..Finnair might be a good alternative then.

[@Thefinestselection2024]

Homer, LEBEN SIE NOCH SIE WÜNDERTÜTEEEEE :)))))

[@homer3152]

@@Thefinestselection2024 Na klar..und wie hehe

[@Thefinestselection2024]

@@homer3152 ich liebe Sie einfach;) Vernachlässigen Sie Ihre Playlist nicht ;)

[@homer3152]

@@Thefinestselection2024 🤗🥰

[@FadiGamingRP]

i used mileage points for my flight, im really thinking of paying the 1,000usd for first class

[@dang5297]

Is the premium economy class just as lacking ?

[@dougwint]

Would you recommend row 84?

[@Travelog]

That’s where I sat. It was fine. You’re right by the jump seats and the drink card was parked right in front of me, but otherwise didn’t have any major downsides. Lufthansa finally is going to refit the seats, but god knows when, perhaps by 2040 at this rate!

[@omkarkekane2611]

12:19 I think you can track your bag on the app.

[@Travelog]

That's true, I saw Lufthansa now has some expanded tracking in their app. However, it was Croatia that didn't deliver my bag, and I had no idea, so had not downloaded the Lufthansa app to check!

[@derisleybrittain]

Excellent 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🍷🍷🍷🍷🍾🍾🍾🍾☀️☀️☀️☀️

[@berndpape407]

German Lufthansa don't know kindness and service .

[@matthiaskunz2364]

Perhaps you should try Lufthansa without the Corona redtrictions. I flew Lufthansa several times and von not agree with your experiences. Especially the lounges normaly serve several warm dishes. Draft beer and so on

[@Travelog]

That's fair, though my very first flight review was them back in 2018 and I had similar thoughts on the food. And sure there's some hot buffet food and soup, but it's no Polaris lounge.

[@HelloOnepiece]

Lufthansa fianlly introduced 1-2-1 business class on their A350... in 22 years maybe they will even give you unlimited wifi

[@Travelog]

Ha it’s true they did but not on purpose. They bought some planes on the cheap that already had the interior. With the 777x delayed yet again now they’ve said they will start to install their new seats, but I’ll believe it when I see it. They are still flying the 747-400 for goodnesses sakes!

[@dodgers4121]

I flew only once on Lufthansa Business class but I found it very comfortable. I don't care about privacy on a airplane, I don't care about food (it's junk on any airlines), What I WANT is a damn good bed! Lufthansa seat is very comfortable, I slept for a good 7 hours over 10hours flight.

[@robertgonzales3936]

Try Austrian long haul business class they are better LH is a joke airline they are a fake 5star airline I never enjoyed flying with LH and now on their short-haul flight they charge for a snack can you imagine and on top of that their business class is not something special either United its better but if you want real business class you should fly with Qatar that's the best business class Q suite.

[@Travelog]

Indeed, I had Qatar q-suites, United Polaris and ANA "the room" booked over the past two years, all were canceled due to covid. I'm looking towards the future though!

[@felsner1]

Lufthansa is by far the weakest link in the Lufthansa Group...

[@Travelog]

I can’t speak to Brussels (though Sabena was terrible) but I’d agree with you re: Austrian and Swiss for sure!

[@jojova3776]

Enoying voice.

[@krisgoyvaerts5284]

as an american you are used to crappy food so stop complaining

[@ThePolaroid669]

very fussy about your food. get over it.

[@Travelog]

I expect my food to be edible, yes. Sorry I have some semblance of standards when people are spending 4-6k on these seats. Why there's such a disparity between Lufthansa and their own subsidiaries like Swiss and Austrian I do not know. Hell I'd even prefer United...