Flight Review: Lufthansa 787-9 Business Class, FRA-MSP

Introduction: Late Summer in Scandinavia
Flight Review: American Airlines B737-800 First Class, MEM-DFW
Flight Review: Finnair A350-900 Business Class, DFW-HEL
Flight Review: Finnair E190 Business Class, HEL-CPH
Lodging Review: Fairfield by Marriott Copenhagen Nordhavn
Our Time in Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Best Western Hotel Hebron, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Next House, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Story Hotel Studio Malmö
Our Time in Malmö and Ystad, Sweden
Lodging Review: IKEA Hotell, Älmhult, Sweden
Our Time in Älmhult, Sweden and High-Speed Train to Stockholm
Lodging Review: Motel L Älvsjö, Stockholm
Our Time in Stockholm
Flight Review: SAS A320neo Economy Class, ARN-OSL
Lodging Review: Comfort Hotel Grand Central, Oslo
Our Time in Oslo
Lounge Review: SAS Lounge, Oslo airport
Flight Review: Lufthansa A320-200 Business Class, OSL-FRA
Flight Review: Lufthansa 787-9 Business Class, FRA-MSP
Flight Review: Delta B737-800 First Class, MSP-MEM

Why I Booked This Flight

I booked this flight as I found reasonably-priced award space from Frankfurt to a US city with a non-stop flight back to Memphis. As I mentioned in the last post I was basically searching the whole eastern half of the US, looking for an award flight back. As it turned out, flying into MSP would allow me to catch a flight that would get me home earlier than from anywhere else, so that was a bonus.

How I Booked This Flight

I booked this ticket in January, before United’s most recent changes to MileagePlus. I was able to use 88,000 United Airlines MileagePlus miles plus $100.40 for the segment from Oslo to Frankfurt and this connection from Frankfurt to Minneapolis-St. Paul. Those 88,000 miles are worth about $968 and the cash price for these two segments was $4022, so I definitely got the better deal. It’s entirely possible I could have used fewer miles with Avianca or Air Canada but I have never been comfortable using Avianca miles – only because I’ve heard of issues in case of irregular operations – and I did not realize the search engine I’d been using was having issues communicating with Air Canada at the time so it was not displaying that option.

Boeing 787 – photo from lufthansa.com

LH 482 (DFW-HEL)
Boeing 787-9
Seat 4K (Business Class)
Depart: 11:10 AM (actual 11:19 AM)
Arrive: 01:15 PM (actual 01:14 PM)

Pre-Boarding

I’d planned to write a review of the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge near the Z gates, but it was so crowded that I didn’t feel comfortable taking photos. It wasn’t over-crowded, I was able to find a seat, but I was glad I wasn’t traveling with anyone because finding two seats together felt impossible. I just had tea and a scone before making my way to gate Z15, which was only a 2-3 minute walk.

Boarding

Boarding started just a couple of minutes late. It always amuses/frustrates me that while Germans are often stereotyped as efficient and precise, when it comes to boarding a plane (especially a Lufthansa Group airline) in a German airport, all bets are off. Boarding groups 1 and 2 were called at the same time and we all began scanning our boarding passes, heading down the stairs, and onto the jet bridge. The jet bridge then split, with business class going left to board through door 1L while Premium Economy and Economy continued on to board via door 2L. I crossed through the galley and turned right up the far aisle in search of my seat.

Seat

This aircraft has reverse herringbone seats so all the window seats are identical. That’s nice because you don’t have to worry about getting one closer to the aisle than the window; they’re all the same. I love navy and beige color scheme that the newer Lufthansa planes have. Though I do kinda miss the bold streak of gold I’ve seen on the pillows on some other Lufthansa flights.

Waiting for me in my seat (4K) was a pillow, a duvet and a mattress pad. You can see the seatbelt has a shoulder strap. I wish the height of it could be adjusted because it tended to cut into my neck.

The IFE monitor is a pretty good size and is also a touch-screen. I didn’t even use the IFE controller on this flight. The dining tray is stored folded in half. To extend the tray, just push it in gently and it pops right out. It can then be opened to its full size.

There was a very large entertainment selection though my favorite was the moving map. At least this map had us consistently flying to the left unlike on my flight from Madrid last year!

The footwell is pretty deep though it does taper. One very cool thing about the mattress pad was that it, too, tapered down at one end so it fit perfectly on the seat. One other nice thing is that, as you can see in the photo, there’s a bit of a cutout between the “wall” of the seat area and the actual side of the plane. That gives you probably an extra inch of space for your feet when turned sideways, something I’m sure a lot of folks with larger feet can appreciate.

Just over my right shoulder was the safety card.

Under the “counter” on the right side by my elbow was a storage compartment for the provided headphones.

A little bit forward of that compartment was a larger one with the IFE controller, an AC outlet and a USB-A outlet. Despite the “No Stowage” sign, it would be a fine place for your eyeglasses.

Along the side of that compartment was the panel with the seat controls as well as the overhead light and the reading light that can be seen right by the head rest.

Below that compartment was a small open compartment. This would be a good place for a water bottle while the seat is in bed mode.

Under my left arm was another compartment and here I found a bottle of water and the amenity kit.

The amenity kit was in this cute heart-shaped zipper bag.

It contained some pretty standard stuff: a mint, toothbrush and toothpaste, L’Occitane lotion and lip balm, compression socks and something that appeared to be covers for the earphones. (If that’s not what they are, let me know in the comments!) I was bummed there were no slippers but I still had mine from my Finnair flight so I used those.

Pre-Flight

Shortly after I got settled I was offered a beverage. I just wanted water but it came with a little paper sack which turned out to contain cashews. I do love me some cashews!

Shortly before boarding was completed at 10:59 AM the flight attendants passed out the menus:Though we pushed back about 9 minutes late at 11:19 AM, we sat in place for another five minutes before we started our taxi.

In-Flight

After we were airborne hot towels were passed out and the flight attendants came around to take our orders. I’d hoped for the halibut, but it’s a fairly large business class cabin and lots of members with status so they were out of the fish by the time I ordered. One thing I was glad to see was that the napkin had a button hole! I love it when that’s provided.

The meal began with an amuse. I’m still not sure what was in it but I’m not a fan of olives or bacon (I guess that’s what that is?) so I just left it alone.

The appetizers and salad were delivered on a single tray. I had the Fried Oyster Mushroom with marinated beetroot, horseradish mousse and ruccola pesto. That came with a Potato Bread and I selected a pretzel roll. The Meadow Herb Salad came with a vinaigrette dressing.

I ended up with the fried chicken main course with cranberry sauce and mustard potato. While it doesn’t look like any fried chicken I’m familiar with, it actually tasted pretty good.

For dessert I just had the fresh fruit, trying to make up just a little for all the junky food I had the last two weeks.

At about an hour and thirty-five minutes before we were due to land, hot towels were passed out for our pre-landing meal. That worked out well because it was about 11:45 AM at our destination so it was good to get back on normal meal times. The choices were a Bavarian Sausage Salad or a Mushroom Ragout. Not being a sausage person (though I’ll tolerate it on pizza), I chose the mushroom. It was all served on a single tray and I got one of those delicious soft pretzels as my bread. The Bavarian cream with raspberry sauce was pretty good too!

The flight attendants were just lovely on this flight. They noticed when my beverages got low and were always ready with a refill. They were polite, fun and seemed to really enjoy their jobs. Kudos!

Before landing we were plied with chocolates. We got these two yummy cream-filled ones:

And then a chocolate cookie! Not even thinking about it I put all of them in my carry-on and brought them right through Customs. I’m lucky the sniffer dog didn’t get to me!

Arrival

Despite leaving a few minutes late, we actually arrived one minute early by my watch. It had been years since I’d been through the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport and I’d never cleared Customs here so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

We were routed along the edge of the building, down to the far end of the terminal before turning right toward Border Control. At that point there was a lane to the left for those with Global Entry and one to the right for those without. I quickly went left, showed my face at the kiosk and went right through to the baggage area just beyond. It was only then I realized there was no restroom in the baggage area.

So heads-up! If you need to use the restroom before picking up your bag, be sure to follow the non-Global Entry path. Once you’re done you can cross back over to the Global Entry lane.

I was starting to get a little nervous about how long it was taking to get my bag before it finally showed up. Fortunately I was able to get it in time and enter the main terminal.

Feeling refreshed, I then came back to check my bag through for the domestic leg to Memphis. Since this was on a separate ticket I moved over to the Delta desk and was the only one in line there. I assume most folks were either terminating in MSP or connecting on a United flight.

Second heads-up! There is no Pre-Check at this security line. While there were only 2-3 people ahead of me in the line, it was a pain to have to take off my hiking boots and completely empty my pockets, etc. It’s been quite awhile since I had to do that!

In the end

I really enjoyed my first ride on a 787. I loved the interior and all the compartments built into the seat area. I was also fortunate to have a great crew which always helps the flight seem better. I’d love to travel with them again!