First-class flying

The Lufthansa 747-8I takes to the skies and does not fail to impress
Two thousand and twelve has been an important year for German carrier Lufthansa’s premium product and service offering, with the start of a gradual roll-out of a new Business Class cabin across the fleet, and the receipt in May of the first of several new aircraft – Boeing’s new 747-8 Intercontinental.
In the seven months since Lufthansa brought the 747-8I into commercial service as the launch customer, the aircraft has received rave reviews, from both within the industry and also premium class passengers traveling between Frankfurt and Washington DC, Los Angeles, New Delhi and Bangalore.


A new level of flying on board Lufthansa’s First Class cabin

In early November, TTN was invited by Lufthansa to experience the 747-8I from Frankfurt to Washington, and to see whether the Queen of the Skies lived up to the considerable hype of the marketing brochures – which quoted one Boeing spokesman as saying that when passengers enter the 747-8 “they will notice that they are in a completely new aircraft and will experience a new kind of flying”.
Immediately upon embarkation, the 747-8I does feel different to its closest cousin, the 747-400. Subtly at first, the aircraft quickly begins to come into its own with a distinctive style and ambience.
Such an observation is, perhaps, hardly surprising. Boeing says it hired architects and psychologists when developing the interiors, and the results are very effective.
The sense of space in both First and Business Class cabins, particularly compared to the 747-400, is striking, thanks to clever lighting effects and what Boeing says is a more ‘open architecture’. 

     Guests can indulge in a quick pre-flight massage at the First Class Spa                                                                                     

Furthermore, the First Class cabin on the 747-8I is cocooned in the nose section of the main deck – eight seats, each convertible into a lie-flat bed just over two metres long and 80 cm wide, cocooned in what Lufthansa claims is the world’s quietest First Class in the air, and avoiding through traffic from other cabins on the ground too. So secluded is the cabin, which features outer skin insulation, sound-absorbing curtains and sound-deadening material in the floors – that Boeing calls it a ‘jet in a jet’.
Joseph Ozimek, Boeing’s vice president of sales and marketing and product marketing for the 747-8I, says the extraordinarily quiet First Class section is due primarily to its location.

The overhead of the First Class cabin is shielded from boundary layer noise [the noise of air rushing over the external surface of the plane] because that is where the upper deck is. And the lower deck is where the cargo is, so you only get boundary layer noise from the side,” he explains.
Unlike its Middle East rival Emirates, which has pioneered private suites in First Class, Lufthansa has opted for a more conventional fit out. Carsten Schaeffer, the airline’s vice president, sales and services for Southeast Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Pakistan, says this was a conscious decision made based on customer feedback.
“Our customers asked for bigger washrooms in First Class, and we provided that,” he says. “They [the passengers] clearly said they did not want a shower, because the challenge with a shower is that everybody wants to take one before arrival – and how do you manage that without queues?

We provide lounges in Frankfurt where you can shower in a clean, safe and comfortable environment. We found that more valuable, and that’s also the feedback we received from our customers,” he adds.The lounges in Frankfurt Airport, not least the exquisite and exclusive Lufthansa First Class Terminal – a 1,800 sq m haven at the hectic European transit hub – certainly do provide the highest levels of luxury and comfort, from bedrooms, a spa and relaxation areas to a la carte fine dining and fully equipped office units.
Yet it is the Terminal’s practical convenience – passengers can, for example, drive right up to the front door, have their car valet parked or rental car returned, and be greeted seconds later by a personal assistant to complete check-in and security formalities, which is arguably its most valuable attributes, further enhanced by personalised limousine transfer service straight to the door of the aircraft.
Schaeffer insists that achieving ‘seamless’ service throughout the entire First Class travel experience is a core goal for the airline.
“First Class prices are high so it is all about the product, both on board and on the ground. It is important to have a consistent, seamless offering for First Class passengers from pre- to post-flight,” he explains. “We see from the double digit growth we have in First Class travel that this strategy is proving successful,” he adds.
Taken together, the new 747-8I and First Class Terminal at Frankfurt are a very compelling proposition for the discerning traveller. With more 747-8Is to be delivered through 2013, even more passengers will experience the steadily growing legend in the near future.
And while there is no word from Lufthansa on when or if the new plane will serve Middle East routes, in our opinion the First Class product and service is well worth experiencing sooner rather than later.

(Top to Bottom) On board the 747-8I are spacious washrooms, two-meter long lie-flat beds and a service quality that is second to none