I must admit I was really excited for this flight as it would be my first time on board a Boeing 747 ‘Jumbo Jet’. As an aviation enthusiast, I couldn’t wait to fly ‘the Queen of the Skies’ for the first time.

By Nico.
More by Nico.
Nico flew this flight before the pandemic.

Lufthansa is the biggest non-cargo operator of the 747. Where most airlines are phasing this plane out, Lufthansa recently took delivery of several 747-800’s. The plane we would be flying today was for example only two years old.

Flight info
Lufthansa 498
Frankfurt (FRA) to Mexico City (MEX)
Saturday, February 29
Depart: 1:35 PM
Arrive: 6:65 PM
Duration: 12hrs 20 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 747-8
Seat: 84A (Business Class)

On the ground

Boarding started on time, with first and business class pass passengers being invited to board first. I guess I was in bad luck today with my encounters with Lufthansa ground staff in Frankfurt, because the gate agent was downright rude.

I showed her my boarding pass on my phone, and she yelled: “Are you flying business class?! This is the line for business class!”.

I pointed my finger to the words “business class” on my boarding pass, and she just replied: “I don’t get it, it is always written somewhere else on all boarding passes”.

Uh, ok? An apology for shouting to me would have been nice too. Or just a “hello” and “have a nice flight” before or after our little chat. Afterwards, she was rude to my husband too.

We looked at each other, and needed no words to express what we were thinking: “what a b*tch”. Luckily, that bad feeling disappeared as soon as we saw the nose of the beautiful 747.

At the door, we were greeted by two very friendly cabin crew members who warmly welcomed us on board and pointed us to our seats.

Cabin and seat

The Lufthansa 747-8 has 80 business class seats (massive right?), spread across the lower deck and the upper deck. On the lower deck, seats are in a 2-2-2 configuration. There were already too many passengers on board, so I wasn’t able to snap a good picture of the cabin. I hope Lufthansa doesn’t mind me taking one from their website.

I would recommend you to select a seat on the upper deck. The upper deck has a 2-2 configuration and feels much more private.

And also: is it just me, or is it too much fun climbing stairs in a plane?

So, on the upper deck seats are in a 2-2 configuration: meaning that someone sits next to the window, and another passenger next to the aisle. Each seat has a reading light in the headrest cover.

It is an industry trend that airlines do everything they can to offer business class passengers direct aisle access, so you don’t need to climb over someone if you need to go to the toilet.

Lufthansa doesn’t follow this industry trend. I didn’t mind on this flight because I was traveling with someone, but it would be a reason for me to avoid Lufthansa when flying solo.

Another advantage of the upper deck, are the storage compartments between the seat and the fuselage.

There is a footwell in front of every seat. As the seats slightly bend towards each other, there is a great risk of playing footsie with your seatmate. Once again: this was no problem for me as I wasn’t flying alone, but I wouldn’t like it if I were flying solo.

Amenities

Waiting on our seat were a pillow and a blanket. Both were very plush and thick, which is very good.

In front of the seat is a small storage compartment, which contained a bottle of water and the amenity kit. I really like the design of the amenity kit, by the way.

The amenity kit contained a toothbrush with toothpaste, breath mints, earplugs, eyeshades, socks and both body lotion and lip balm from L’Occitane.

There were some extra amenities in the toilets like a comb, mouth water, shaving kits and refreshing towels.

Also waiting at our seat was a mattress pad, to get more comfortable when sleeping. Between the seats were two power outlets. On the overhead panel were individual reading lights, but unfortunately no air nozzles.

There was wifi on the plane, available if you’d buy a wifi pass. There were three packages, depending on how much data you need, going from 7 euros over 17 euros to 29 euros.

Entertainment

The inflight entertainment had a very large selection of films, series, music and games. Business passengers get to use AKG noise cancelling headphones, which were really good. A funny detail: Lufthansa also provides headphone covers, for the germaphobes amongst us.

Service

As soon as we got to our seat, a very friendly flight attendant offered us a welcome drink. She was young and very enthusiastic, and also took her time to chit chat a little bit with her passengers.

For pre-departure drink we were offered the choice between champagne and orange-mint juice.

Once airborne, service started with a hot towel. A few minutes menus were distributed and orders were taken for the first round of drinks. You can find the entire menu here.

As an aperitif, I chose champagne and my husband opted for a gin-tonic. The drinks were served with nuts. The champagne was a Castelnau Brut Réserve and was really good. The flight attendant proactively also offered us some water.

After the empty glasses were cleared, table cloths were brought out and the table was set with cutlery, butter, salt and pepper with the Lufthansa logo on.

As a starter, I selected: ‘Prawn Confit with Pumpkin Salad, Wakame and Dashi Mayonnaise’, my husband went for the ‘Porcini Mushroom Panna Cotta, grilled Nectarine and Button Mushrooms’. Both were very good.

Bread and more drinks were offered with the starter. I went for a glass of Riesling, which accompanied the prawns really well.

After the starter, salads were served.

As a main dish, we both opted for the classic German option: ‘Roast Beef with Horseradish Sauce, Savoy Cabbage, Carrots and Risolee Potatoes’. It looks very ‘German’, but I mean that in the best possible way. We were flying Lufthansa after all.

After the main dish, it was time for cheese and dessert. The dessert consisted of a ‘Polenta Flummery with Cherry Compote and Chocolate Sauce’. It wasn’t bad, but certainly wasn’t my favorite part of the entire meal.

After that, the table was cleared and we were both given a small box of chocolates, which is a really nice touch.

Service during the meal was good. Our flight attendant couldn’t be more friendly, and always proactively offered water and wine refills to an extent we really had to stop her from serving us more alcohol.

After this extensive meal it was time to try and take a nap. The seats go fully flat, and you have the mattress pad to offer some more comfort. I believe the mattress pad is more a gimmick than something that makes your seat actually more comfortable, but hey.

I didn’t sleep too much, which isn’t weird on a daytime flight. In the end I watched a movie and read a bit. Soon enough we were flying over Canada.

In the middle of the flight, some snacks were served. Both packaged snacks and plated ones.

Two hours before landing, a new meal service started. This time there was no choice for the starter, and two options for the main meal. I had the ‘Breast of Corn-fed Poularde Tandoori Style with Nut Basmati Rice and creamy Spinach’, which I really enjoyed.

Not long after that, we started our descent into Mexico City. The airport lies really close to the heart of the city, giving us great views during approach.

After the landing we had to wait on the tarmac for a little while because apparently our gate was still taken by another plane. Almost 20 minutes later we reached our final parking condition and it was time to bid the crew and this lovely airplane goodbye.

Bottom line

Overall this flight exceeded my expectations. The service was great and the food was good. A major downside of Lufthansa’s business class is the seat.

Most airlines offer direct aisle access these days, and Lufthansa really needs to step up its game on this. I didn’t mind because I wasn’t traveling alone now, but I really wouldn’t like this seat if I were traveling solo.

As a couple, this product is a perfectly nice way to reach Mexico City well fed and wel rested.