The Lufthansa First Class Terminal Experience

After a surprisingly impressive flight on Lufthansa from Madrid to Frankfurt, it was time for a truly special part of this travel experience, a terminal dedicated to First Class passengers on one of the premier airlines in the world.

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To access the FCT from the main arrivals area, just exit and continue walking left. You’ll pass a few parking lots and a taxi staging area, but the FCT will soon be visible almost straight ahead. The entrance at the ground level features a sleek elevator that leads up to the lobby level.

Upon exiting the elevator, we were greeted by our personal Lufthansa representative, Monica. She verified our eligibility via a tablet, then warmly welcomed us and whisked our passport away for check-in formalities. We quickly cleared security at a dedicated station, and found a duty free section to our left with the rest of the lounge/terminal straight ahead.

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Monica gave us a brief rundown of how the FCT was laid out. In the center of the terminal was a concierge desk where a LH representative was always available to answer any questions we might have. To the left were some offices with closing doors for phone calls, along with a variety of seating. More to our interest, a beautiful and extensively stocked bar was located to our right, along with the a-la-carte restaurant and buffet. Further towards the right was the relaxation area, with showers, the bathtub (!), and two private nap rooms. We found a place to settle down with our luggage, and Monica promised to return and find us once she had our boarding passes ready.

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Robert and I quickly started browsing the drink selection. I chose a glass of Louis Roederer Rose 2013, and Robert enjoyed a Kavalan Solist on the rocks. While trying to order our drinks at the bar, the only true negative part of the FCT experience became apparent: there just wasn’t enough staff, especially at the busier times. It seemed that there was only one or two servers/bartenders, who were responsible for making all the drinks (including coffees), along with taking orders and clearing plates for the a la carte restaurant. The only self-serve beverages came from a small juice bar located on a communal table. We had to stand awkwardly at an unmanned bar for about 5 minutes before somebody went behind the bar to take our order and make our drinks, with a promise to deliver them to where we were sitting. Later on in our experience, we had to wait almost 15 minutes after ordering our drinks before they were brought to us. While we are definitely talking first world problems here, this slowness of service would have been annoying at a mid-tier restaurant, much less for a premier first-class lounge experience.

With drinks in hand, we toasted to a great vacation ahead. Shortly thereafter, Monica returned with our boarding passes, along with an incredible surprise.

We almost died laughing and blushing because HOW CUTE IS THAT??? A beautiful red rose, and two famous Lufthansa First Class rubber duckies wearing tuxedos! Monica smiled as she presented them to us, describing them as “a pair of wedding ducks to celebrate your honeymoon.” The packaging just took it over the top, and we had grins on our faces for the rest of the day every time we saw them.

Soon after, I ordered a drink and walked down the corridor to check with the shower room attendant about how long the wait might be for the single shower room that also included a full size soaking bathtub. Since the FCT only has one, there can sometimes be a wait for the space. When I approached the desk, there was nobody there. In theory, there was a bell you could ring for service, but a few rings yielded no results. I retreated back to the central concierge desk to ask them instead, and with an apology, the concierge marched towards the corridor to find the attendant. It seems that the attendant was also responsible for personally cleaning all 4 shower rooms and 2 nap rooms between uses, along with cleaning the bathrooms, and maintaining cleanliness on the buffet line as well. Honestly, it seemed like far too much responsibility for one employee, and further enhanced the perception of the FCT being understaffed.

The attendant informed me that the bathtub room was unoccupied and available immediately. I let her know that I was waiting for a drink from the bar still but once I received it and downed it, would be right back and take my turn. I went back to the main lounge area, waited a few minutes for my drink, downed it, and was back at the desk within 5 minutes…..only to find it empty. A few more futile rings of the bell….nothing. After waiting a few minutes, I returned to the concierge desk with a combination of sheepishness and annoyance. The whole charade repeated itself, and I finally found myself in the bathtub suite, ready to relax.

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The bathtub suite was equipped with a sink, toilet, rainfall shower, and of course, a bathrub. In addition to the standard shampoo, body wash, lotion, and other amenities, there was a collectible #FirstClassDuck (only available in the FCT bathtub suite, although the attendant was happy to hand them out upon request as well), along with some lovely scented bath salts. I enjoyed a nice soak in the tub, then a quick rinse and shower. Simultaneously, Robert did the same in a shower suite, and we regrouped and met for a nice, leisurely meal.

We found ourselves a table at the restaurant, and settled in to look at the menu. At this point, the FCT was mostly empty, presumably after a bank of flights had just left. We received prompt service from the friendly bartender/server, and quickly placed our water order (Valser Still for me, Glenlivet Sparkling for Robert), more for the novelty of having so many choices for water rather than an actual preference. Robert enjoyed more whiskey on the rocks (Glenfarclas 25) while I enjoyed a Louis-Jadot Pouilly-Fuisse. We each ordered a soup (Tom Kha Ga for Robert and Gazpacho with Shrimp for me), an entree (Seared Cod with Coconut Rice for Robert and a Filet for me), then proceeded to the appetizer bar to enjoy some nibbles while the rest of our food was being prepared.

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All of the food was absolutely delicious, and not out of place in a high-end restaurant. The wild Chanterelle salad, buffalo mozzarella, and perfectly balanced gazpacho were some of my favorites, and both main proteins were beautifully cooked as well. I sipped on a Monkey 47 Gin and Tonic with my meal. Lufthansa partners with famed catering company Do and Co for their lounge and inflight service, and they did a phenomenal job.

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Thoroughly stuffed, and a little drunk, I sought out a nap room for a quick snooze. The nap rooms were well insulated, and featured a bed with a sheet, comforter, and pillow, along with a conveniently placed charging port, some water, and a signature Lufthansa rose. The bed wasn’t particularly comfortable, but did the trick for a quick two hour nap.

After waking up from my nap, I did some work and made some phone calls. Robert and I convened for one last drink, then checked out the duty free selection. Robert somehow managed to use almost an entire tester of La Prairie Skin Caviar on his face, while I bought some chocolates for the crew and some wine for consumption during our hotel stays.

Before we knew it, Monica had returned to retrieve us to go downstairs to our tarmac transfer to the plane. We were led to the world’s cutest little passport control booth, where the officer quickly stamped us out of the EU, then led to our waiting Porsche Cayenne Turbo (Sticker Price: $126,000+!). Unfortunately, we didn’t really get to experience the speed of the car, as all too quickly we pulled up next to our gorgeous 747-8i. A few quick photos, then our driver whisked us up an elevator to the jetbridge, past all the boarding economy class passengers, and handed us off to the crew who would be looking after us on our 10.5 hour journey to Johannesburg.

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Which part of the FCT experience was most impressive to you? Anything on the drink list that we really should have tried?