A week into the new year Shae and I were supposed to be flying business class on Qantas to Australia. Unfortunately that trip didn’t work out (you can read more about why here), so we ended up pivoting by booking a trip to Mauritius instead.
We made the decision to visit Mauritius at about 2am on January 10 and were fortunate to find business class availability for later that afternoon. The first leg was with Lufthansa to Frankfurt and the second was on Eurowings Discover, an airline that’s also owned by the Lufthansa group. We were able to add our time in Mauritius as a 15 day stopover which allowed us to tack on an extra flight on the end from Mauritius to Johannesburg, South Africa for only 5,000 points more. This was booked through Air Canada’s Aeroplan program and cost us 115,000 points plus $210.10 Canadian Dollars (~$157 USD) per person one-way. We don’t collect Aeroplan points, but they’re a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards and so we were able to transfer from Amex to my Aeroplan account that way.
Here’s a full review of our flight in Lufthansa Business Class from Dallas Forth-Worth to Frankfurt.
Flight: Lufthansa 343
Route: Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) – Frankfurt (FRA)
Scheduled Departure Time: 4:15pm January 10, 2023
Scheduled Arrival Time: 9:00am January 11, 2023
Aircraft Type: Airbus A340-300
Seats: 5H (me) and 5K (Shae)
Flight Class: Business
The business class cabin on our flight was set up in a 2-2-2 formation with a total of five rows.
Shae prefers a window seat while I prefer an aisle seat, so we picked seats 5H and 5K at the back of the cabin. I can’t remember if those were the only seats available at the time because in theory they’re not necessarily ideal because the galley for Premium Economy and Economy passengers is right behind there, but we didn’t notice any noise during the flight.
Waiting on our seats were a large pillow and a somewhat light blanket.
In addition to the pillow and blanket, there was a mattress pad rolled up that was waiting for us in the footwell.
Beneath the in-flight entertainment (IFE) screen was a little cupboard/drawer containing a bottle of water and an amenity kit.
There was an armrest between our two seats that had space at the end for drinks. Below the drinks holders were seat controls which included the ability to control the firmness of the seat.
Lifting up the armrest revealed the location of the tray table as well as the IFE controller. The IFE controller had a button in the middle which also acted as a sensor to control the cursor on the TV; you run your thumb over it to move the cursor.
The tray table was sometimes a little tricky to get in and out. It often took 2-3 attempts at pushing it down to release it, along with 2-3 attempts at pushing it down to get it to stay in place when putting it away.
The table could be pulled towards you and pushed away from you a few inches, plus there was a lever that enabled you to rotate the table away from you a little if you need to get up from your seat.
Speaking of getting up from your seat, the arm rest to my left had a button that could be pressed to lower it. That was useful when getting up while the tray table was there, as well as when trying to sleep as it gives you more space when the seat is in lie-flat bed mode.
Beneath the arm rest where the tray table is stowed was a pair of noise reducing (or noise cancelling) headphones that were already plugged in.
The headphones felt a little lightweight and didn’t cover the ear like my Bose headphones, but they were surprisingly good. I didn’t notice any outside noise while watching movies with these on.
Next to the headphones were a couple of USB outlets. Some might disagree, but I liked their placement as it meant you could have your phone charging right next to you while sleeping unlike some seating setups where the USB port is below the IFE screen.
If you need to plug in some other kind of device, there were a couple of plugs between the seats.
Next up was one of my favorite features of the seat. There were a couple of hooks next to the IFE screen for a jacket and a pair of glasses. It’s the glasses hook that I appreciated so much.
I always take my glasses off in-flight as I’m short-sighted and so have no problem watching movies without them on. I’m always paranoid though that I’m going to leave them behind on planes or that I’ll knock them off on to the floor when getting up because I usually hook them on to the seatback pocket. Having the hook higher up meant they weren’t in any danger of getting knocked off. That meant they were at eye level with the IFE screen too, so it would be hard to forget to put them back on when departing the plane at the end of the flight.
The seat’s headrest had a little reading light.
In addition to that light, there was an extra reading light overhead. Unfortunately there weren’t any air nozzles though which was a big negative omission because they kept the cabin pretty warm throughout the flight.
Our amenity kits were on the skimpy side. They came in a small bag and contained a pair of socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, cologne/perfume and headphone earpiece covers.
The in-flight entertainment (IFE) system had a selection of movies, TV shows, music, games, podcasts, audiobooks, etc.
The selection of movies wasn’t very comprehensive though. I found one or two movies to watch, but it didn’t feel like there were all that many new releases available.
Before departure the flight attendant came over to offer sparkling wine, water or fruit juice. Shae and I both took a glass of sparkling wine.
We were also provided with a wet towel along with a food and beverage menu for our flight.
About 30 minutes after take-off we were served warm mixed nuts and more drinks. I asked for some champagne and a glass of water.
The flight attendants had already taken our meal order by this point, so about 15-20 minutes later we received our appetizers. I ordered the BBQ pork tenderloin with horseradish slaw which also came with a side of what I think were golden sultanas. It was a tasty appetizer, with the horseradish slaw adding some zing but without it being too hot. A bread basket was brought round with a selection of rolls as well.
Shae opted for the green asparagus, red peppers, feta cheese, quinoa, yellow beets, and toasted pistachios with truffle oil sherry vinaigrette. She liked her appetizer too, especially the truffle oil sherry vinaigrette.
For my entrée I ordered the BBQ Wagyu beef brisket which came with greens with ham, tomato and lima beans, grilled baby sunburst squash, glazed pearl onions and llapingachos. I had no clue what llapingachos were, but it turns out they’re fried potato pancakes and they were particularly good. The beef brisket was nice and tender too.
Shae ordered the lemon and garlic seared shrimp which came with cheesy grits, collard greens and corn and lima beans. Here’s her verdict:
The dinner was amazing. I could’ve eaten it for the appetizer, dinner and dessert 🤣
All in all it was one of most enjoyable “complete” meals we’ve had on a flight. Usually one or two things are good, but to have all three courses be so tasty was a nice treat.
The dessert options were a tad disappointing as there wasn’t a very big selection. There was a cheese plate or a pumpkin cheesecake. I don’t like cheese and so that wasn’t an option for me; while I’m not a big fan of pumpkin either, I decided to go for that. It ended up not being too bad as it was light on the pumpkin flavor. I was already fairly full by this stage, so I only ate half of it as it wasn’t anything special.
Shae wasn’t interested in the pumpkin cheesecake, so she ordered the cheese plate – here are her thoughts:
The cheese plate was good. Nothing special about it but nothing offensive either. Also, cheese (like fruit) is not dessert but I didn’t want the other option.
n.b. it’s a long-running joke between us about fruit not being dessert because that’s what I usually have for dessert.
Once the meal was finished the flight attendants came round with small boxes containing a couple of chocolate truffles – one milk chocolate and one dark chocolate. I didn’t eat mine on the flight, but had them once we were in Mauritius and they were very good.
After finishing dinner I got up to use the restroom. The business class restroom didn’t seem any bigger than those that economy and premium economy passengers would use.
The photo above was taken shortly after boarding. During the flight the restroom had a number of amenities for passengers to use including mouthwash, ear plugs, a razor, comb, eye mask and more.
Upon returning to my seat there was a half-set of pajamas waiting for me. Lufthansa don’t provide pajama bottoms – only a top – but that top was appreciated so that I didn’t have to sleep in my t-shirt.
I’d snoozed a little on the flight already, but wanted to try and get some proper sleep. After changing into the pajama top, I moved my seat into lie-flat bed mode, added the mattress pad and set up the blanket and pillow.
My attempts at sleeping were mostly unsuccessful. The pillow was – in theory – comfortable, but the pillow was extremely warm and so I had to get rid of it. The cabin was kept very warm too, so with the lack of air nozzles I found it hard to get any sleep. Even sleeping without the pillow and blanket didn’t really help, so in the end I gave up and listened to some podcasts. Shae managed to get better sleep than I did though.
The flight had Wi-Fi service but I didn’t use it as it felt overpriced for what they offer. Some airlines provide free messaging in-flight, whereas Lufthansa charges $10. $22 for only two hours of internet or $35 for the whole flight both felt overpriced too. I didn’t have any urgent work to get done, so it wasn’t worth paying those prices just for regular surfing.
About an hour before landing the cabin lights were turned on and a short time later breakfast was served. This consisted of an omelet filled with cheddar cheese, potato rosti, sauteed button mushrooms and grilled Canadian bacon. Like I mentioned earlier, I dislike cheese and so I was disappointed that the omelet came with it. I was somewhat fortunate though because it wasn’t mixed into the omelet itself; instead, there was a mound of melted cheese between the folded omelet which meant I was able to scrape most of it out.
A bread basket was brought round and I asked for a croissant. Despite Lufthansa being a German airline rather than French, it was still surprising that they’d serve such a poor excuse for a croissant. The side dish containing strawberries, raspberries and blackberries was good though.
Just before landing, the flight attendants stopped by each set of seats in business class to personally thank us for flying with them. Our flight attendant chatted briefly with us after mentioning that she saw we were flying on to Mauritius which was a nice touch as it meant they’d made some effort at customizing their discussions with passengers rather than it just being a perfunctory “thank you.”
Upon landing, the plane didn’t have a gate available. It was raining in Frankfurt when we arrived, so I was grateful that the walkway down to the shuttle bus to the terminal was covered. After cramming us in to the bus like sardines though, we proceeded to stand there on the bus without moving for more than five minutes – I’ve no clue what the delay was, but we eventually got underway towards the terminal.
Final Thoughts
We had a decent enough experience flying Lufthansa in business class from Dallas-Fort Worth to Frankfurt, but it wasn’t particularly memorable. The service was good, the food was mostly tasty and I found the seat comfortable enough, albeit not spectacular. On the downside though, the entertainment selection was limited and the cabin was kept far too warm for me to be able to fall asleep in.
Would I fly Lufthansa business class to Europe again? I certainly wouldn’t avoid it, but it wouldn’t be my first choice either because if you’re going to have a lie-flat seat, it would be nice for the cabin to be a reasonable enough temperature to actually sleep in it.
See All Posts From This International Trip
- Lions & Quokkas & Scorpions, Oh My: A Month In Australia, South Africa & More
- We Were Denied Boarding To Australia – Here’s Why
- Flight Review: Lufthansa Business Class – Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) To Frankfurt (FRA)
- Flight Review: Eurowings Discover Business Class – Frankfurt (FRA) To Mauritius (MRU)
- Some Thoughts On Mauritius
- Hotel Review: Hilton Mauritius Resort & Spa
- Hotel Review: Le Méridien Ile Maurice (Mauritius)
- Restaurant Review: Sunset Filaos In Pointe Aux Piments, Mauritius
- 20 Fun & Interesting Things To Do In Mauritius (+ Many Bonus Ideas)
- Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Mauritius Mon Tresor
- Flight Review: Air Mauritius Economy Class – Mauritius (MRU) To Johannesburg (JNB)
- The Awesome Drive Between Johannesburg & Kruger National Park
- 50 Animal Photos From Kruger National Park In South Africa Taken With Our Phones
- Kruger National Park: 13 Tips For A Successful Self-Drive Safari
- Elephant Kisses – Meeting Tswale In South Africa
- Kruger National Park: 30 Photos Taken With Shae’s Nikon Camera
- Doing A Kruger Park Bush Braai With Royal Safaris
- Marloth Park: Like Living In The Best Zoo Ever
- Hotel Review: InterContinental Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Airport, South Africa
- Flight Review: Qatar Airways Business Class (Qsuites) – Johannesburg (JNB) To Doha (DOH) To Miami (MIA)
- Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha, Qatar
Did you asked the FA’s to lower cabin temp or increase the airflow???
I hadn’t; I should have, but after getting a short snooze in and waking up because of the heat, I was feeling a little more awake.