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Old Jul 29, 2013, 5:44 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: supine
Do I have entitlement to access the First Class Terminal (FCT) in FRA?
- Yes, if you are departing from FRA on a flight operated by LH/LX/OS, and at least one of the following is true:
  • The class of service on your departing flight from FRA is F.
  • You have arrived on a confirmed F segment on LH or LX metal, on the same day, even if the ticket of that F segment is different from the ticket of the segment from FRA.
  • You will be departing on a confirmed F segment on LH or LX metal, on the same day from a connecting station, and the ticket of that F segment is the same ticket as the segment from FRA. Separate tickets means you are not entitled to FCT access.
  • You hold HON status.
  • You are invited as a guest by someone who meets the above criteria, and you meet the requirements of a guest as discussed later in this FAQ.


But the LH website contradicts the above:"Access to the First Class Terminal at Frankfurt Airport is only possible with a confirmed same-day departing First Class flight on Lufthansa or SWISS. HON Circle Members may access the First Class Terminal with a same-day departing flight on Lufthansa, SWISS or Austrian Airlines. Access to the First Class Terminal is not permitted for arriving passengers."

- The above has been on the web site for some time, and does not appear to be the actual policy, as many here attest from personal experience.

What are the opening times of the FCT?
- 0530 to 2200 daily

Where is it located?
- About 200 metres to the west of Terminal 1

If arriving in FRA on a LH operated flight in F, will I get a car transfer from the arriving flight?
- Ordinarily, no. However, if you hold HON status, you're arriving / departing from an apron position and your onward flight is operated by LH / LX / OS, LH aims to send a car to meet you from your arriving aircraft. See for more info. NB If you do get the car service on arrival, you will be driven to the main arrivals area and not the FCT, as this does not offer immigration and customs facilities for inbound passengers.

How do I get to the FCT in FRA?
- The First Class Terminal at Frankfurt is located close to Terminal 1. You can reach it by car via the access road to Terminal 1: the entrance to the First Class Terminal is off this road, approximately 200 metres before you get to Terminal 1. When arriving on public transport, the First Class Terminal is only a few minutes’ walk from Terminal 1.

Locations of Lufthansa lounges at Frankfurt Airport

The FCT is a departure terminal/lounge and is not meant for transfer pax. Transfer pax can use the FCLs located in the main terminal building which offer the same amenities as the FCT. There is no transfer or shuttle to the FCT. You can walk to the FCT, though.

If on departure level take the escalator down to arrival, walk out of the terminal and turn left. You will pass the bus shuttles to the airport hotels and taxis. Cross the street - whilst waking under the access road above to departures - you will see taxi divers' coffee shop to the right - and more taxis parked to your left. You will see the First Class Terminal across the street. Cross the street in front of the coffee shop, turn right and the First Class Terminal is on your left. Go through the automatic doors and take the elevator to the main reception area.

Pictorial guide may be found here.

If the FCT is not meant to be a transfer lounge then why do some people use it as such?
- Aside from the experience, there are practical reasons for you to consider using the FCT for a connection:
  • If you have a long layover, the FCT will be less crowded than the FCL B (but more crowded than the even newer FCL A by A13).
  • If your connection requires clearing passport controls, it is faster to do it at the FCT where you will surrender your passport upon admittance and get it back moments before you are driven to your plane. Presumably if immigration has questions they will deal with it while you are lounging in the FCT versus waiting until you depart for your plane. Note that permanent residents of the USA who are heading back to the USA from FRA or a connecting airport should also surrender their green card, but gently but firmly request it be returned quickly. The German immigration people don't need your green card, and LH only needs it to enter into the passenger record, so there is no reason why your personal assistant cannot return it to you soon after.
  • You do not have to waste time walking from the FCL to a gate position that is potentially more distant from the lounge than your arriving gate, or worse yet, is actually a bus to a plane parked at an apron position in the middle of the tarmac. You will leave the FCT after boarding starts and a driver will take you to the plane wherever it is.
  • If your plane is parked at a jetway, you will be whisked to the front of the line of pax boarding in the jetway, saving even more time.
  • If your connection requires going through security, you are guaranteed to have a much faster and gentler screening at the FCT than going through security in the main terminals, and if you are carrying valuables, the FCT checkpoint eliminates all angst about theft or forgetting them.


How many guests am I permitted in the FCT?
- One, assuming a lower cabin class and that they will be travelling on the same flight as you. If they also are confirmed to travel in F, they too will be entitled to a guest, meeting the same criteria
- Anyone with a confirmed segment in F is also entitled to bring in their spouse/partner and/or children, provided they are departing on the same flight, irrespective of the cabin class they are travelling in

I’m arriving on LH/LX/OS C and departing TG/SQ/etc. F, do I get in to the F terminal?
- No, but you will have access LH Senator (Star Alliance Gold) Lounges which are designated as First Class Lounges for Star Alliance carriers.

I'm arriving on TG/SQ/etc. F and departing on LH, Swiss, Austrian C do I get in to the FCT?
- Not unless you hold HON status, otherwise you will have access LH Business Lounges unlesss you hold Star Alliance Gold status and access to LH Senator (Star Alliance Gold) Lounges. Certain airlines (e.g. SQ) have arrangements for arriving F passengers to access LH Senator Lounges regardless of their status.

I’m arriving on any carrier in any cabin class and departing same day on LH/LX F do I get in to the FCT?
- Yes.

I'm arriving on LH / LX F and departing same day on another carrier in any cabin class, will I have access to the FCT?
- Yes, if your onward flight is operated by LH, Swiss or Austrian Airlines Group. Otherwise, you will only have access to the LH First Class Lounges or (if eligible) the lounge of the airline operating your onward flight.

What is the minimum connect time between flights in order to use the FCT?
- 90 mins is recommended, however some have observed that 60 mins is acceptable, while others still have got away with just 20 mins. Bear in mind, if in transit, that you will need to factor in the time between arrival and departure

Do I need to tip the staff in the FCT?
- According to LH policy, FCT staff are not allowed to accept gratuities.

What's the food like in the FCT?
- Well above the standard of anything you might expect from any airline in the air, a cut above lounge food of any other airline and equivalent to a smart restaurant in any major city

VAT Refund
- Yes, but there is a $75 trip fee and CC refund only.

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The FRA F/HON First Class Terminal FCT FAQ

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Old Jan 11, 2016, 11:22 am
  #3436  
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Originally Posted by NYC1
To be clear, I was stating it from an LH perspective.
Including the last sentence?
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Old Jan 11, 2016, 12:27 pm
  #3437  
 
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Originally Posted by NewbieRunner
Including the last sentence?

Yeah, they must love that.
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Old Jan 11, 2016, 12:37 pm
  #3438  
 
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Originally Posted by NewbieRunner
Including the last sentence?
Specifically the last sentence
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Old Jan 11, 2016, 3:41 pm
  #3439  
 
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Originally Posted by klausa
Specifically the last sentence
They should have considered to name the FCT "maximizer's heaven".
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Old Jan 12, 2016, 2:50 am
  #3440  
 
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...yes, I was told that there were hotels I could go to, and also that this is not for connecting flights, BUT, as it was my opportunity to experience I went for it. No regrets. My wife did get to use the room for 40 min afterall...

In regards to "only flyertalkers" doing it, I must say I did see another couple, who were also on my original flight, also in F at the FCT as well. (Obviously I will never know if he/she were flyertalkers, but I know I was not the only one there on a connecting flight.)

Last but not least, I do feel "bad" for one person who "had to" ride with us in the van instead of the porche to the plane, since we had the 3yr old and that was the car assigned to taking us to our flight....
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Old Jan 12, 2016, 11:16 am
  #3441  
 
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Originally Posted by RedRobin
...yes, I was told that there were hotels I could go to, and also that this is not for connecting flights, BUT, as it was my opportunity to experience I went for it. No regrets. My wife did get to use the room for 40 min afterall...
Good for you! Glad you liked it.

It is an experience not to be missed and I doubt that only flyerstalkers use the FCT during layovers. And to be quite frank, who cares.

The ride to the plane is usually so short that it does not make any difference to me whether it is a Porsche SUV or a van. I assume most users of the FCT have been in a decent car before and would feel the same. No need to feel bad.
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Old Jan 12, 2016, 11:47 am
  #3442  
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Originally Posted by worldclubber
The ride to the plane is usually so short that it does not make any difference to me whether it is a Porsche SUV or a van. I assume most users of the FCT have been in a decent car before and would feel the same. No need to feel bad.
I stepped out of driving a better car arriving at the FCT than I was driven to the plane in .
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Old Jan 12, 2016, 12:08 pm
  #3443  
 
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Originally Posted by TheBOSman
I stepped out of driving a better car arriving at the FCT than I was driven to the plane in .
Hope you enjoyed the 911!
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Old Jan 13, 2016, 4:13 am
  #3444  
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In the good old days you got a day room at the Kempinski Gravenbruch for free if flying LH F and connecting in FRA, including the shuttle to/from the Hotel: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/lufth...kempinski.html
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Old Jan 13, 2016, 9:40 am
  #3445  
 
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I'm arriving on LH / LX F and departing same day on another carrier in any cabin class, will I have access to the FCT?
- Yes, if your onward flight is operated by LH, Swiss or Austrian Airlines Group. Otherwise, you will only have access to the LH First Class Lounges or (if eligible) the lounge of the airline operating your onward flight.


Does it mean that if i am arriving on LH F to FRA (final destination of the ticket) and departing on the same day in Y on a separate *A ticket, i do get access only if i will be travelling from FRA on LH/LX/OS? And NOT, if on A3/TK, for example? Or do separate tickets not count at all?
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Old Jan 13, 2016, 9:46 am
  #3446  
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Originally Posted by igor82j
Does it mean that if i am arriving on LH F to FRA (final destination of the ticket) and departing on the same day in Y on a separate *A ticket, i do get access only if i will be travelling from FRA on LH/LX/OS? And NOT, if on A3/TK, for example? Or do separate tickets not count at all?
It makes no difference whether you are on one ticket or two separate tickets.
You'll get FCT access if your onward FRA-XXX ticket is on LH/LX/OS. Any other departing airline, you'll get FCL access only.
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Old Jan 26, 2016, 11:23 am
  #3447  
 
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Had the novel experience of leaving the FCT through the front door, after my FRA-IAD cancelled for snow. (After huge effort, they rebooked me LHR-IAD on BA for the following day -- BA F not as good as Lufty).

Walking out caused a minicrisis. Agents checked my docs, the called someone to be sure I was OK to leave. "We need to know who's in the terminal."
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Old Jan 26, 2016, 11:32 am
  #3448  
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Originally Posted by Alpha Golf
Had the novel experience of leaving the FCT through the front door, after my FRA-IAD cancelled for snow. (After huge effort, they rebooked me LHR-IAD on BA for the following day -- BA F not as good as Lufty). Walking out caused a minicrisis. Agents checked my docs, the called someone to be sure I was OK to leave. "We need to know who's in the terminal."
You couldn't get FRA-MIA/ORD or some other non-snow closed US gateway that day? Or FRA-IAD the next day??
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Old Jan 27, 2016, 4:12 am
  #3449  
 
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Originally Posted by SFO777
You couldn't get FRA-MIA/ORD or some other non-snow closed US gateway that day? Or FRA-IAD the next day??
Problem is U.S. domestic flights had all been cxld for two days as well, so nothing available from other gateways to WAS. And F was sold out on the Dulles flights, after the two days of cancellations.

To be honest, I didn't mind -- BA was something new that I wouldn't have tried otherwise, and it was their A380, which was interestiing.

FCT agents made a superheroic effort to find me something in F.
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Old Jan 30, 2016, 6:06 am
  #3450  
 
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Originally Posted by Kleffen
Inside the main FRA terminal there are two FCLs that you can walk between, through various controls and security stuff...

To get to the FCT you have to leave the main FRA terminal...

Alternative to walking to the FCT, is to pay E99.99, speed like hell with a Porsche on the autobahn and return it in the FCT...

The former requires 10 min. The latter requires 3 hours.
All - considering JFKFRA FRAPEK in F with a 5 hr layover. I'm familiar with the walk to FCT. Question is whether there's any value to visiting the FCLs in the terminal, other than just to kill time? Views, perhaps? Differentiated service (similar to Wing and Pier in HKG are different)? Or is the consensus just to skeedaddle right over to the FCT and light up a cigar?

Thanks in advance. Off to North Korea, in no real rush to get to PEK, may consider EK F or just fly CX. Want to try something new, though, and I've only flown LH F on 340s (old config) and 744s.

Jamie
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