Newark (New York) – Frankfurt

Flight Number: LH 403
Flight Route: EWR – FRA
Departure Time: 06:15 PM EST
Take Off: 06:41 PM EST
Landing: 07:22 AM CET (+1)
Gate Arrival: 07:32 AM CET (+1)
Aircraft: Boeing 747-8I
Seat: 2K

The moment of truth – Lufthansa on its long haul flight seem to have a 1 – 1 configuration in the first 2 rows of First Class and the third row consist of 1-1-1-1. With a total of 8 seats it does feel very crowded (especially in the third row) but sure beats the BA configuration that manages to fit 14 First Class seats in the nose of the B747.
Even though it was a last minute booking – there were 4 seats (all in Row 3) that were available at check-in. As soon as I settled down, a flight attendant came by to offer pre-departure beverages of choice. I will let everyone know now that I’m not a huge drinker anymore (especially on planes) and with my South Korean roots; this seem to have caused quite a stir with my friends (long gone are the days of dropping 6-7 bottles of soju on a Wednesday night). I opted for just a glass of water and it came with some mixed nuts.

After that we were presented with the amenities for the flight which included – pajamas, amenity kits, slippers and the menus

The pajamas and amenity kits (for which I still haven't opened)

I actually don’t like opening the content of either the pajama or amenity kit on flight and usually save them for much later (at home). However, I always carry my trusted Cathay Pacific First Class pajama in my carry on for every long flight (I probably have to write about these once I get back home to New York and my wife tries them – she has become a sucker for these amenity kits and especially the pajamas).

After receiving the kits, I had a quick look through the food and drinks menu. The food menu consisted of:
The Drinks Menu:


Before the meal was served cabin crew member went around to all the First Class Passenger and introduced himself and provided wi-fi certificate.


The certification was valid for 24 hours but the internet signal was weak at best – sending message via whatsapp/imessage was sufficient but anything more would be problematic.

Meal Services:
Just shortly after the reviewing the menu the flight attendant came around to give the amuse bouche as well as the warm towel. The amuse bouche wasn’t very exciting but cleansed my pallet very well – it was chicken & pickled vegetable wrapped in rice paper with a side of sweet chili sauce. The warm towel was presented but had a strong lavender fragrant (which was too strong for me).

Now this is where the fun begins – for a circa 7pm departure all 6 passengers were wide awake for the meal service. First up it was the caviar (I’ve had caviar several times for my client & team dinners) but Lufthansa presents its caviar service with all the standard fixings.

Caviar was excellent and the FA also came around with the appetizers. I chose:

• Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Celery Roots and Green Apple Salad, caramelized Figs, spiced candied Pecans
• Prosciutto, Red Heirloom Tomato, peeled Yellow Cherry Tomato, peeled Red Cherry Tomato, Watercress, Balsamic Pearls
• Fresh Leaf Salad, shaved Fennel, Celery, sun-blushed Tomato presented with dressing

I actually asked the FA to leave out one of the appetizer which consisted of goat cheese (which I’m not a huge fan of). The appetizer was tasty and refreshing – I devoured the shrimp and the salad was refreshing. The FA kept on asking if I wanted any alcohol with any of my meals but I declined (he seemed extremely shocked) until now – I asked him for a refreshing white wine with the caviar and appetizer. He presented me with a glass of 2016 Vollrads Schlossberg which was a German wine (my first actually). It went extremely well with both the caviar as well as the appetizer. For my main I had ordered the:

• Seared Veal Medallion, Green Peppercorn Sauce, Baby Zucchini, caramelized Fennel, roasted Cherry Tomato, Anna Potatoes
• Glass of 2015 Indian Wells Columbia Valley Merlot

The peppercorn sauce and the potatoes were excellent, however the veal (which I asked for in Medium) was extremely dry and probably cooked more towards well done. For dessert, I went with my favorite – the Crème Brulee. I’m a sucker for these and this is my go to dessert. I was also presented with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.


After a full meal service and only having Chopt salad for lunch – I was extremely full and ready for bed. I asked for my bed to be made and in the meantime, I toured the bathroom. Lufthansa First offers 2 bathrooms for 8 passengers and luckily I never had to wait for one. The bathroom was well stocked with and always kept clean throughout the flight (the FA would stop me from going in before they inspected/cleaned it). I’m a sucker for these Evian Facial Spray!!



Note: For detail oriented individuals - you will notice something is out of place :P

For some reason, I did not sleep very well (it might be that I didn’t take my Melatonin) – the bedding was extremely comfortable but one thing that I still don’t understand is why do airlines keep their cabin temperature quite warm inside the cabins. I slept for 2 hours and woke up semi sweaty and with about 90 minutes before landing I was offered breakfast. Since I had a 10hr layover in FRA and will most likely be spending all of the layover in the First Class Terminal I decided to go with a very light eggs and bacon with a side of orange juice.
Fresh scrambled eggs on a plane is always a delight. Upon landing into FRA, we were met by a Lufthansa representative on the jetbridge for all of LH First Class and HON Circle passengers. As they were guiding us towards immigration – I suddenly get a text from my wife asking if the Terminal at FRA had a Hermes store. So I declined the guide once I saw a Hermes store and begin to do my shopping.

Note: Post my purchase getting Tax Return was extremely simple. Post my purchase, all I had to do was go around the corner and show my non-EU passport and get a stamp on the tax form. Post returning to the store, I would get my tax back (no commission was taken)

All in all, the Lufthansa First Class did not disappoint and I will definitely keep this as one of the options to Europe.