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I’ve lived in Berlin for ten years, and traveling with Lufthansa is always a pleasure. However, it was only recently that I tried Lufthansa’s Business Class. I thought of booking a business class ticket with Lufthansa on my recent journey to Scotland. Since there is no direct flight from Berlin to Glasgow with Lufthansa (there’s a stopover in Frankfurt), it actually meant that a return ticket would consist of four flights in total. And that’s how I wrote a very detailed Lufthansa Business Class Review.
Before writing anything else, I would like to point out that this is not a sponsored post. I paid for my tickets, and all opinions are my own. Therefore, Lufthansa has nothing to do with this article, and what you are about to read is 100% my personal experience, an honest Lufthansa Business Class review.
So, let’s start with this detailed Lufthansa Business Class review.
*Some links are affiliate links. It means that if you buy something, I might earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Lufthansa Business Class Review
At Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL)
Lufthansa operates all its Berlin flights from Tegel Airport (TXL)*. Even though there is a controversial airport under construction, the truth is that Tegel is very convenient. Honestly, I think that Terminal A should be a prototype for all airports because it offers the quickest access to the gates. Lufthansa is obviously using Terminal A.
In its Business Class, Lufthansa allows you to have two suitcases up to 32 kg and two pieces of hand luggage up to 8 kilos each. This is a very generous amount, so if you have to carry many things with you, you might want to consider a business class upgrade.
*Berlin Tegel shut down in November 2020. Here’s my farewell to a beloved airport. It is now replaced by a new airport, the Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). I will soon visit the Business Class lounge of BER, and I’ll replace these sections about Tegel.
Fast track lane in Berlin Tegel?
The airport is relatively old and doesn’t have a fast-track lane. So even if you are traveling Business Class, you’ll have to queue with the Economy Class passengers. You should calculate approximately 15 minutes of waiting time if you’re standing at the end of the queue. At least you will fly from Terminal A, one of Europe’s fastest terminals due to its shape. The gate of departure will always be straight after the security control.
The Star Alliance Lufthansa Business Class Lounge at Berlin-Tegel
Of course, a Business Class ticket always gives you access to the Lounge. There you can unwind and have light snacks and drinks before your flight. Oddly enough, the Star Alliance Business Class Lounge in Berlin-Tegel airport is located before the security check. Unlike other airports, you can’t go from the Lounge straight to the departure gate. Therefore, allow yourself an adequate amount of time to go through security.
The Star Alliance Lounge in TXL itself is a bit dated too. It will remind you a bit of the ’80s, but the truth is that it’s functional and clean. There is a good variety of food and drinks -and yes, you can also find sausages if that’s what you have in mind when you think of Germany. There is also a Wi-Fi connection and a stand with newspapers. Most of the newspapers are in German, but you’ll also find a couple of international ones if you are lucky enough.
At the Gates
There is, of course, a dedicated lane for Business Class passengers. You can proceed directly to the lane and embark when the flight is announced.
Lufthansa Business Class Review: On Board
First of all, I have to say that I booked an intra-European flight. That said, one should always be prepared for corresponding standards. Deep inside me, I hoped that Lufthansa would be different from the other airlines, and their intra-European Business Class, even for a flight within Europe, would be of a much higher standard. It’s not that I felt disappointed, but honestly, I’d love to see something more. After all, Lufthansa is one of the most prestigious airlines in Europe.
Lufthansa flies the A320 and A321 for both domestic and intra-European flights. For the first leg of my flight, from Berlin to Frankfurt, we flew with the A321; for the second leg, from Frankfurt to Glasgow, Lufthansa used an A320. Exactly like in the Business Class of Aegean Airlines, Lufthansa uses the same pattern: it offers either window or aisle seats. The middle seat is blocked; therefore, you can have extra legroom. There wasn’t a table blocking the middle seat, though.
No welcome drink
Surprisingly enough, there was no welcome drink before the flights. I found it odd because a welcome drink is always a nice add-on. Well, I didn’t expect that from an airline like Lufthansa, and it was a bit disappointing. I think that it’s not a high cost for the airline, nor big trouble for the stewards.
I don’t know if Lufthansa doesn’t pay that much attention to its intra-European flights, but there was no hot towel either. While no one misses a welcome drink or a hot towel, the truth is that both of these things add something to the Business Class experience.
After take-off
All four take-offs I had with Lufthansa were excellent. I have written in the past about how much I enjoy comfortable flying and the endless view from the Business Class seats. Nothing interrupts the view, and the journey goes by fast.
One thing I noticed, though, is that on all my flights, the Business Class curtain remained open at all times. This is not a personal complaint (I don’t care about such things), but fellow passengers did complain. From what I could hear, they complained about the queue in the Business Class toilet. While this isn’t a problem for me, I can understand that some people don’t like to queue when they pay significantly more money.
On the other hand, the crew is really attentive and helpful. I found the crew of Lufthansa to be more laid-back and less stiff than in other airlines. Also, what surprised me is that the crew doesn’t consist of only young women. There were older cabin members too, and the ratio between men and women was 1:1. Yes, a detail, but I found it important in terms of equality; therefore, kudos to Lufthansa for that.
The Lufthansa Business Class Menu
Now, whenever you hear of Business Class traveling, your mind probably goes to exquisite food. The truth is that the Lufthansa Business Class Menu was delicious.
Unlike with other airlines, there was no menu to choose from. All Business Class passengers of Lufthansa were served the same tray, including the same dishes. It was a rather gourmet choice for an intra-European flight, and I must admit that I enjoyed it very much. You can see the current Business Class food menu here.
On my first two flights (Berlin-Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Glasgow), I had the same dish: Mozzarella with Pesto, a bit of pasta, and some prosciutto. There was also a Panacota for dessert and a small box of pralines made in Latvia. A nice, light meal for sure. The crew offered refills on drinks and coffee, and the service was excellent.
A short note: My flight to Glasgow was almost two hours long. I don’t know if there is a menu on longer flights in the Business Class of Lufthansa.
Overall, the food was the highlight of my flights. Well done, Lufthansa.
In-flight entertainment
It’s typical for flights within Europe not to have some spectacular entertainment on board. I didn’t see any crew member offering newspapers (maybe I had to ask), and there’s only the in-flight Lufthansa magazine. The magazine is small, but some of the articles were really good.
If you download the Lufthansa app, you can have access to several e-journals on board. This is something that you have to do before the flight, otherwise, you can’t take advantage of the service.
On all four flights, there was Wi-Fi available onboard. Of course, it was not free of charge. There were three different plans to choose from, offering different amounts of MB and bandwidth. Please see the photo below for pricing. There are currently three programs for using the Internet on board. The first one costs 3 euros, and due to its low bandwidth, it’s just for messaging on platforms like WhatsApp. The second one costs 7 euros, and it’s adequate for browsing. Finally, the third one costs 12 euros, and its bandwidth is enough for streaming movies and music.
In general, I’d say that the in-flight entertainment was average, but this is the case in almost every airline flying within Europe. However, since I appreciate Lufthansa very much, I hoped it would stand out. For example, to offer for free their basic Internet plan.
If you’d like to see more, you can find here the current entertainment program.
Before landing & after landing
One more drink
About half an hour before landing, you’ll have the chance to order one last drink. Then, the crew will start collecting the trays, and the plane will be ready for landing. As I wrote earlier, there is no menu in the Lufthansa Business Class; therefore, you will have to ask the crew about the drinks they serve. I found the red wine good, but I didn’t try anything else from the bar.
You’ll get your luggage first
Obviously, if you have a business class ticket, you will be among the first to pick up your luggage. That’s one of the sweetest things when flying business class because you won’t have to wait in vain for your luggage. My suitcase was already there when I arrived at the pick-up.
A couple of photos from the Business Class Lounges of Lufthansa
One of the privileges of buying a business class ticket is definitely the access you have to the Lounges. It’s much nicer to relax there while waiting for your flight. Plus you get some food and drinks for free -as you probably know, these are really expensive in the airports.
I have used the Lounge of Berlin-Tegel several times when flying with Aegean Airlines. This time though, I used two more lounges: the Panoramic Lounge in Frankfurt, close to Gate A26, and the Upperdeck Lounge in Glasgow’s Airport. Both of them are much more modern than the one in Berlin, especially the one in Glasgow that enjoys fantastic views of the airstrip. I’m adding here a few photos from both lounges.
A short note: I’m not the biggest fan of Frankfurt Airport. It belongs to this chaotic family of airports (Heathrow in London, Schiphol in Amsterdam, Charles de Gaulle in Paris) that make me nervous. If you have a corresponding flight and the timeframe is too tight, you’ll probably lose it. I never arrived on time in Frankfurt, and all my stopovers were stressful. As for advice, I’d say that if you’re traveling via Frankfurt, allow more than one and a half hours for the connecting flight. Otherwise, you might be too tight and have a stressful first flight.
So, anyway, here are the photos from the Business Class Lounges. The first one is from the buffet of the Business Class Lounge at Glasgow’s airport.
I find the airport in Frankfurt to be rather stressful. Here you can see a busy passenger taking a break before heading to the gate for his next flight.
And one more photo from the Business Class Lounge in Frankfurt. I must say that it had the most impressive buffet of all the lounges I’ve visited so far.
There are several Lufthansa lounges throughout Europe. If you’d like to see if there is one in your destination, please see here the list of the company’s lounges.
Lufthansa Business Class Review: what I liked & what I didn’t like
So, I’m writing here two shortlists with the things I liked and didn’t like. After all, a Lufthansa Business Class Review has to include such things, right?
What I liked in Lufthansa’s Business Class
- The food. I found it to be excellent, having adequate portions.
- The crew. The laid-back mentality is something to appreciate. But at the same time, the stewards and flight attendants of Lufthansa are professional, attentive, and polite. The fact there were both men and women in a 1:1 ratio is also a detail that matters. Last but not least, having older and therefore more experienced crew members always gives extra points. It’s not everything about beauty.
- Take-offs and landings. Four take-offs and four smooth landings are something to appreciate -and to enjoy. Plus, it doesn’t happen accidentally.
What I didn’t like in Lufthansa Business Class
These are all minor details, but still, I think that I should point them out.
- The lack of a welcome drink. Yes, everybody can live without it, but the little things sometimes make a difference. Plus, such small details give you the real feel of a Business Class journey.
- No menu. I don’t know if you get a menu on a three-hour Lufthansa flight, but on a two-hour one, you don’t. And since we’re talking about Lufthansa, I think having one is a must. The flight to Frankfurt was too tight, but the one to Glasgow wasn’t.
- The curtain remained open. This isn’t misanthropic. As I said, I didn’t bother at all. But other passengers did, and it’s something to point out. Business Class tickets cost quite a lot of money, and such details should not be ignored.
Two odd things
Two odd things caught my attention.
The first one was that I started receiving e-mails from Lufthansa every other day that there were changes in my flight. The first time I got one, I became a bit anxious. It turned out that these were changes either in the airplanes or in the seats. However, I kept receiving them often, and in the end, I couldn’t recall which one I had chosen. It didn’t matter because you can change your seat when you do a mobile check-in. But I can’t deny that sometimes it was frustrating.
The second odd thing has to do with the miles. Lufthansa has its own miles program (called Miles and More), and you can earn miles when you fly. Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance, and since I have Gold Status with Aegean Airlines, I thought of adding the miles from the journey to Glasgow. According to the miles calculator, the trip to Glasgow would give me 4,000-4,500 miles. Well, to my surprise, the number of miles for my Miles & Bonus program of Aegean Airlines was…zero. I find it bizarre that a business class Star Alliance flight doesn’t award you any miles.
Lufthansa Business Class Review: The verdict
Flying with Lufthansa is always a joy, and when I thought of writing this long Lufthansa Business Class Review, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. You see, Lufthansa is a prestigious airline operating in destinations all over the globe. I’m sure that on long-haul flights, the passengers will be spoiled and enjoy high flying standards. For the intra-European ones, though, a few things were missing.
If you can afford Business Class journeys, you shouldn’t have second thoughts about buying one with Lufthansa. But, you should also know what to expect. If you think you’ll get the luxury of long-haul flights, you’d better forget it. Flights within Europe are short; although the service is good, the standards are definitely more basic. But for me, traveling Business Class is primarily a comfortable way of traveling. I know that it’s not optimal for the environment, but I also know that as a tall person, I suffer in the Economy, and I need two days to recover even after 2-3 hours of flight.
I decided to book a Business Class ticket with Lufthansa because the price difference was affordable for me. Unlike other airlines, my ticket cost me 420 euros return (with Aegean, I’d need a Berlin-Athens-Berlin ticket 600 euros). I always wanted to fly Business Class with Lufthansa, and the experience was indeed great.
Should you upgrade then? Well, if you can afford it, I’d say yes. After all, who doesn’t enjoy comfortable flying accompanied by a delicious meal?
Book your next Lufthansa flight here
More Business Class Reviews: Aegean Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines
*Extra: Taking a flight with Lufthansa after the lockdown
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Last Updated on July 9, 2022 by George Pavlopoulos