asc12

We're flying in to Frankfurt T1 on a United flight from Dulles, business class but not Star Alliance Gold. We have about 4 hours in Frankfurt.

It seems like FRA and LH have a huge selection of lounges available for Star Alliance business-- which one should we hit?

* Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge T1, B concourse
* LH Business Lounge T1, A (Level 2)
* LH Business Lounge T1, A (Level 3)
* LH Senator Lounge T1, B [I don't think I have access, not *A Gold]
* LH Panorama Lounge T1, A
* PP Luxe Lounge (landside, I think)

Thanks for your help!

- The New Guy

lipsum

You won't have access to the LH arrival lounge.

I would give a recommendation based on which airport you'll be continuing to and on which of the two UA flights from DCA you'll be coming in.

asc12

Thanks for the reply. Arriving business class on United 932 from IAD, and heading to Genoa later that afternoon on LH226.

I got that list of lounges in FRA from the Star Alliance lounge page, and I got the access requirements for the LH Business lounges from LH's "Lounge types and admission" page (I can't post links yet, sorry). From those, it looks like arriving with *A business boarding passes does get me access to the LH business lounge, but I've never flown in to FRA before so... that's why I'm asking! I should add that it seems to matter that I'm a United Club member, although I've never used it internationally. Don't know why it hadn't occurred to me to mention this before...

(Edited to add info about United Club membership.)

lipsum

All right, so you onward flight is obv in eco? (Clearly, if the onward flight was in business as well, you'd have access to all the *A business lounges, including the LH C lounges and the AC maple leaf lounge. In your scenario, it would make most sense to use the LH C lounge in T1A.)

Assuming the flight is in eco: United Club access won't help as there is no United Club in FRA and, to my knowledge, the membership doesn't get you into the LH/AC lounges in FRA.

Arriving in C doesn't help you, either. You don't get access to the LH/AC departure lounges with the arriving boarding pass (and, in your scenario, you won't get access to the LH arrival lounge).

If you happen to have an Amex Plat, you'd have access to a subset of the LH C lounges.

Otherwise, you're down to the PP lounges. But honestly, the landside Luxx Lounge is pretty terrible. If you want to go landside, grab a snack at one of the airport's supermarkets instead. Or, get a drink at Paulaner's (located in the Squaire).


EDIT: You also have almost 5 hours on the ground. Provided you arrive well-rested and punctual from your UA flight, doing something around FRA (e.g., visiting Mainz) would be an option.

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Lots of misinformation in this thread...

Arriving from UA in Business gets you into the LH arrivals (welcome) lounge: https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/lounge-types-and-access, but no access to LH departure lounges -- however if you have a connecting flight read on below...

This is also completely wrong -- the UA club card will grant you access to the LH business lounges with a Y ticket (https://www.staralliance.com/en/lounge-access-policy). LH226 should depart out of A so I'd go to either the LH business lounge or the new panorama lounge in A.

Given how US arrivals are into Z and considered "clean", you can just clear immigration and enter A without having to go through security, so I'd head to the LH business lounges in A instead of the arrivals lounge (which requires immigration and you to reclear security on your way back into the terminal). The AC MLL B is nice but really not worth the trek.

Also recommend looking at this thread Lots of Lufthansa lounges in Frankfurt! Which one do I go to? in the LH forum for lots of info.

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Arriving on UA Business gets you access into LH arrivals lounge in FRA, while an onward *A departure + UC card gets you into the LH business lounges + the AC MLL.
Since UA arrives into Z and you'll probably depart from A it makes the most sense to go to one of the A lounges (as you'll only have to clear immigration but no security). And if you have plenty of time there are multiple lounges in A alone which you can check out

asc12

Thank you. This jives much more closely with my understanding from reading the LH lounge access rules. That other thread in the LH forum is great for knowing about the lounges, and this cleared up my access questions. Much appreciated.

NewbieRunner

Just to add to what has already been suggested the Lufthansa Welcome (arrival) Lounge is nicer than the LH business lounges but since the last admission is 12:30 it won’t be practical if you arrive on UA932. The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is also considered better than the LH business lounges but its location in B concourse means going through security once or twice (depending on the route you follow). This leaves 3 lounges in A concourse to choose from: near gate A13, above gate A25 and the Panorama Lounge.

LEONIDES

I gave my daughter my United Club passes for her trip to FRA. (I had several of those from the credit card) Will she be able to use those in any of the lounges in FRA? If so, which ones?

Thank you.