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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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Old Feb 3, 2013, 12:36 am
  #2326  
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Originally Posted by nov11
I think I have access to both FCT and FCL at FRA, but I just want to be sure.

ORD-MUC LH F
MUC-FRA-LHR LH C

All same day connection - I arrive MUC at 13:20 and leave the same day to FRA and LHR. I have access to the FCL for sure in MUC - what about FRA? Thank you!
Yes.
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Old Feb 10, 2013, 3:53 am
  #2327  
 
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Originally Posted by lindoro11
I have a feeling that I was one of the lucky ones here, as I recalled seeing the threads that since my arrival on LH was the day before, I wouldn't be allowed to use FCL in FRA.

Anyone has similar experience?
I would say you are lucky, I just had the SAME thing happen to me and was denied.

Flew sfo-muc in F and was supposed to connect to TG F to BKK but the LH flight was 6 hours late and everyone missed connections.

LH put me up in a hotel, and this morning I flew to FRA to take another TG flight in F.

All this much less than 24 hours but I was told no, after Senator lounge told my Thai escort to take me to F lounge.

To add insult to injury it is my B-Day...which I will not be spending in BKK thanks to the late arrival of my LH flight last night (not LH's fault).

Oh well, waste of time and petty on LH's part.
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Old Feb 10, 2013, 8:41 am
  #2328  
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Originally Posted by RS250Racer
Oh well, waste of time and petty on LH's part.
Why petty? The FCL is a departure lounge. Access to it as an arrival lounge is a courtesy extended to arriving LH F passengers. All you needed to do to access the FCL in MUC/FRA was to depart on LH F.
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Old Feb 10, 2013, 10:47 pm
  #2329  
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If I arrive in LH F then connect to OZ F, FCT access? It would be like an 11 hour layover, so it's important enough that I'd switch to LH F otherwise. Don't want to be in an awful SEN lounge for that long.
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Old Feb 10, 2013, 10:53 pm
  #2330  
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Originally Posted by GetSetJetSet
If I arrive in LH F then connect to OZ F, FCT access? It would be like an 11 hour layover, so it's important enough that I'd switch to LH F otherwise. Don't want to be in an awful SEN lounge for that long.
You don't have to use the SEN lounge. You would have access to either of the two FCLs, but not the FCT. Even if you did somehow get in to the FCT, it's a needless and pointless exercise as you would have to walk back to the main terminal and re-enter security, etc. to catch your OZ flight. The FCLs are just as good as the FCT and more convenient for your itinerary.
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Old Feb 10, 2013, 11:16 pm
  #2331  
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Originally Posted by SFO777
You don't have to use the SEN lounge. You would have access to either of the two FCLs, but not the FCT. Even if you did somehow get in to the FCT, it's a needless and pointless exercise as you would have to walk back to the main terminal and re-enter security, etc. to catch your OZ flight. The FCLs are just as good as the FCT and more convenient for your itinerary.
I can use the LH FCL? That's good enough. Are there dayrooms?
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Old Feb 11, 2013, 2:36 am
  #2332  
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Originally Posted by GetSetJetSet
I can use the LH FCL? That's good enough. Are there dayrooms?
Day rooms in the FCLs are actually better than those in the FCT. I've posted some photos earlier in this thread.

I wouldn't spend 11 hours in the FCL though!
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Old Feb 11, 2013, 6:21 am
  #2333  
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Originally Posted by NewbieRunner
Day rooms in the FCLs are actually better than those in the FCT. I've posted some photos earlier in this thread.

I wouldn't spend 11 hours in the FCL though!
I don't have much of a choice, landing in the morning and departing in the evening. I've been to Frankfurt a number of times before, I'd rather try to get some sleep in a dayroom than go into town.
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Old Feb 15, 2013, 7:04 am
  #2334  
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Originally Posted by GetSetJetSet
I don't have much of a choice, landing in the morning and departing in the evening. I've been to Frankfurt a number of times before, I'd rather try to get some sleep in a dayroom than go into town.
Walk over to the Hilton next door and get a day room- much better sleep and rest. If you want a lower rate- check with the Garden Inn (next to the Hilton)- between the two of them they will come up with something unless they are completely booked during the day (very unlikely).
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Old Feb 16, 2013, 8:54 am
  #2335  
 
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LH First Lounge FRA

I am flying in a few weeks ORD-FRA-BKK in UA and TG F. My understanding is that I cannot use the LH F Lounge in FRA and must use the Senator Lounge instead. Is this correct? If so, why? LH F passengers can use the UA F Lounge in ORD and the TG F Lounge in BKK, no? Why do Star Partners give LH F passengers a level of access that LH denies their F passengers?
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Old Feb 16, 2013, 9:05 am
  #2336  
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Originally Posted by UAkls
I am flying in a few weeks ORD-FRA-BKK in UA and TG F. My understanding is that I cannot use the LH F Lounge in FRA and must use the Senator Lounge instead. Is this correct? If so, why? LH F passengers can use the UA F Lounge in ORD and the TG F Lounge in BKK, no? Why do Star Partners give LH F passengers a level of access that LH denies their F passengers?
Easy: the dedicated first class lounges are the SEN lounges. It is as it is. And several Star Alliance airlines give their own passengers benefits they do not give to others. This is eg E+ and several upgrades and E+ for UA I do not get when flying UA as a LH elite. This is SA first class lounge access when flying LX ex JNB or it is the TG spa when flying LH. Other carriers offer by far mediocre loinge products to LH customers, in particular UA and US. And seriously: the dedicated UA international First Class lounge in SFO is to my believe not anyhow better (aka as worse) than the new SEN lounges. The only problem is that we allow in any star gold member and Germany is - different from the US - a typical Star transfer hub. And maybe one more: the strongest partners have the strongest voice.....
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Old Feb 16, 2013, 9:15 am
  #2337  
 
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Originally Posted by Flying Lawyer
Easy: the dedicated first class lounges are the SEN lounges. It is as it is. And several Star Alliance airlines give their own passengers benefits they do not give to others. This is eg E+ and several upgrades and E+ for UA I do not get when flying UA as a LH elite. This is SA first class lounge access when flying LX ex JNB or it is the TG spa when flying LH. Other carriers offer by far mediocre loinge products to LH customers, in particular UA and US. And seriously: the dedicated UA international First Class lounge in SFO is to my believe not anyhow better (aka as worse) than the new SEN lounges. The only problem is that we allow in any star gold member and Germany is - different from the US - a typical Star transfer hub. And maybe one more: the strongest partners have the strongest voice.....
But I have always been able to get into Senator Lounges due to being Star Gold even if all my flights are in economy. So being in F gets me nothing beyond that. That's a bummer!
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Old Feb 16, 2013, 10:51 am
  #2338  
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Originally Posted by UAkls
But I have always been able to get into Senator Lounges due to being Star Gold even if all my flights are in economy. So being in F gets me nothing beyond that. That's a bummer!
Are you complaining that LH graciously let you into Senator Lounges even when flying in Economy when they only let their Business Class passengers into Business Lounges?
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Old Feb 16, 2013, 6:23 pm
  #2339  
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Originally Posted by UAkls
But I have always been able to get into Senator Lounges due to being Star Gold even if all my flights are in economy. So being in F gets me nothing beyond that. That's a bummer!
Quote right, such a mistake. If all pax wee treated equal, most Star Golds should only be allowed into business class lounges considering that these are still miles ahead of read carpet clubs....
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Old Feb 16, 2013, 9:06 pm
  #2340  
 
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Originally Posted by Flying Lawyer
Quote right, such a mistake. If all pax wee treated equal, most Star Golds should only be allowed into business class lounges considering that these are still miles ahead of read carpet clubs....
Indeed. I think LH is too generous in admission to Senator Lounge and too stingy in admission to FCL.
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