SFflyer123

I flew from SFO to France this summer. I wanted to try the LH B747-8 and the new LH business class, so instead of taking the SFO-FRA-France route, I took the SFO-LAX-FRA with the new B747-8. The other reason I took that flight is that the LH flight leaves mid-day around 2 to 3pm, getting in around 10-11am FRA time, or 1-2am California time. That just destroys the sleep cycle. The LAX flight is 7pm, so after dinner, you can sleep nicely on the plane until it lands at 3pm FRA time, or 6am California time.

As always, for the complete trip report, it is here in my video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S06q4n3kWo

For those who want text & pictures, it is below here.

After an uneventful flight on a small plane down to LAX, the painful part was that you actually had to LEAVE security and take a bus! That was simply beyond painful. Then, of course, you have to go through security again. That is a huge reason not to fly internationally through LAX. Thank goodness I had built in a 3hour layover, otherwise, the stress of making that connecting flight would have been too much.

After going through security, I headed towards the lounge, which is a star alliance lounge, not a LH lounge:

lounge by sfflyer123, on Flickr

This lounge is very impressive. It blows the UA club out of the water. The view is phenomenal over looking the terminal with this patio deck:

lounge at LaX by sfflyer123, on Flickr

The food was also delicious. LX and the Turkish non-stop also fly out of here, so there were some pretty heavy hitters here. They wanted to make sure that they had good food, I could see. The food was good:

soup and chicken by sfflyer123, on Flickr

potatoes and soup by sfflyer123, on Flickr

They also had free wi fi, which was great. Just a world class lounge, I must say.

Afterwards, I headed towards the gate. What was interesting was how the economy passengers lined up by number, and the business & first passengers lined up on the side. The economy lines did not seem too flattering; it was total cattle call for them, especially with the person holding up the sign:

Line for boarding by sfflyer123, on Flickr

I then take a few shots of the plane and its saw-toothed engines with the raked wings. Pretty cool since I had only seen pictures of a 747-8:

engine by sfflyer123, on Flickr

After boarding, I climb the stairs and I get into the upper deck. It was very nice. Just real private and very nice. However, unlike the old 747-400, it did seem bigger. It did not seem claustrophobic, and the overhead bins were much bigger. There also was no closet off to the right at the top of the stairs. I saw my seat, and it looked great:

Seat upper deck by sfflyer123, on Flickr

What was weird was how close your feet are to your seatmates. Yes, there is a barrier, but it was weird:

leg room by sfflyer123, on Flickr

I start with champagne. 7pm flight, why not right?

pre departure champagne by sfflyer123, on Flickr

The take off was extremely fast and very quiet. Almost as quiet as the A380. You could clearly tell that this was a very modern aircraft with powerful, efficient engines that had reduced sound. After take off, I had a glass of Bordeaux with some nuts. I’m surprised that LH still has the packaged nuts instead of the nuts in a warm crucible like UA:

nuts and bordeaux by sfflyer123, on Flickr

I then have the thai/Vietnamese spring rolls. They were simply delicious. Like a restaurant. I live in San Francisco where there is a lot of Asian food, so I think I know what good Asian food is. These were really really good:

spring rolls by sfflyer123, on Flickr

I then had the fish with some bean cake type things. This dish was good, but not great. I have had much better on LH. This was decent, but certainly not one of their finer dishes:

fish by sfflyer123, on Flickr

I had ice cream for dessert. I wasn’t in the mood for cheese, but that was also an option. Simple chocolate ice cream hit the spot before sleeping:

ice cream by sfflyer123, on Flickr

They also served some nice Lindt chocolates which were delicious:

chocolates by sfflyer123, on Flickr

Because it was around 10pm California time, I went to sleep and did not wake up for about 7 hours. It was great. I felt really refreshed when I woke up. I had the European breakfast of cold cuts:

breakfast--cold cuts! by sfflyer123, on Flickr

A nice cup of coffee to wake me and I was ready for European time!

coffee by sfflyer123, on Flickr

After a nice decent into the German countryside, we landed very well and very smoothly:

over the german countryside by sfflyer123, on Flickr

Overall, this was a phenomenal plane ride. They had great service and very good food. I would still give the edge to LX because the seat is pretty amazing with the new business class, but this is pretty good. It’s good to see that LH finally upgraded to lie-flat seats instead of those slide-down angled business class seats. I would definitely fly this again, but if LX and LH were the same price, I’d probably go for LX if the convenience were the same.

As always, if you want to see the complete video, it is here, without commercials or ads:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S06q4n3kWo

I hope you enjoy it, and happy travels to you! My next report will be at my destination: France.

Madone59

The new C on the 748 looks great, thank you for sharing. ^

You slept for 7 hours so clear the bed was good - anything you can compare it to?


Thanks!

MAH4546

Great trip report, really enjoyed.

I believe it's the same seat UA uses on it's 2-class planes (and AA on the A321), but arranged to face inwards towards each other.

jacobac00

Great report SFflyer123. I always enjoy your videos. Looks like a very nice flight.

JVPhoto

I just got off F in the 748i and loved the plane...was quiet, smooth and graceful. Before Christmas I have your opposite route and I am flying FRA-LAX-MRY since I knew it would have the proper J and not take the gamble on J in the A380 flying into SFO instead.

Bretteee

I am not impressed by the Haagen Dazs ice cream. I find it really cheapo for Business class.

JVPhoto

I don't mind the HD. I've had it in NH J and also in the OZ F lounge.

enviroian

Great trip report as usual SFflyer123!

I'll be flying the new business class on LH on their A380 in December, IAH-FRA.

That Star Alliance lounge looked great, even better than the one at LHR. Too bad they don't have one at IAH.

What stood out to me that I find most alarming is that it appears your seatmate is wearing Reagan-era DOCKSIDERS?? Whaaaaat? Didn't think they made those in years.

JVPhoto

They've never left the Prep set and about 2008 boat shoes resurfaced as being "cool" and done from John Varvatos, Ralph Lauren and even Prada and Louis Vuitton.

Mrtrash757

the amount of space between you and the otherpersons feet is disturbing...

fpc552

I believe you are referring the B/E Parallel Diamond. It isn't.

SFflyer123

Thank you for the comment. It's not as good as LX, but it's a little better than UA.


Thank you for the comment.


Thanks so much.


Thanks. Some A380s have the new J, so you may get it at some point.


Thanks for the comment. I guess it isn't very expensive or hard to obtain, really...


Thanks for the comment.


Thank you so much. I flew FRA-IAH, and yes, the new J is there. They solved the foot problem in the A380 new LH J, and I'll show my report in a bit.


they changed this in the A380, but I agree with you.


Thanks for the reply.


You guys know way more about fashion than I do!

themapelligroup

Nice pics and video, excellent report!

I think LH business class seats are great when flying as a couple, but might be disturbing when flying solo due to the feet space almost shared with the neighbor.

chilicat

I'm looking forward to the report on the A380 as I'm booked on it IAH-FRA in November.

SFflyer123

Thanks. I think you will love the A380 new J. It's awesome.


Thank you. wait until you see the A380 new J. It's much better than this.