Jul 29, 2013, 5:44 am
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:
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:
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.
- 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.
The FRA F/HON First Class Terminal FCT FAQ
Mar 21, 2024, 11:18 am
#6106
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: LH M&M, BA EC, DL SM
Posts: 5,734
As long as it does not push arrival beyond 4 hours, they probably don't care.
Different standards: Just had a slightly delayed flight on LH from ZRH: Shown in red as delayed by the ZRH screens and in green as "on time" in the LH app. Times given were the same
Mar 23, 2024, 10:22 pm
#6107
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: Virtuoso Luxury Travel Agent; Bonvoy Titanium Elite; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 665
I thought LH had started offering ground escort/arrival service in FRA even when not on a remote stand? Either this is already discontinued or inconsistently offered. Arrived in F from BOS and no one was there to escort to FCL/FCT as was mentioned upthread.
Mar 23, 2024, 11:28 pm
#6108
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Stoke on Trent, UK (MAN ), BUE, BKK, DBV
Programs: LH HON***,UA,BA.EK Gold,AV.
Posts: 11,662
Mar 24, 2024, 4:52 am
#6109
Join Date: Sep 2022
Location: FCO, SYD
Posts: 198
Just by way of another data point, I flew AMS–FRA–PVG–SIN in J/F last week. For the first segment, there was a Porsche already at the remote stand as the plane pulled in, but then we had to wait quite some time for the stairs to arrive. As the only F/HON passenger, the driver said that he would take me to B, as my onward flight was to PVG, but he acquiesced when I asked to be taken to A instead.
Upon arriving at the terminal, I was met by a very earnest escort who insisted on taking me to FCL B upon discovering the destination of my onward flight, some four hours away. On the pretext that I was meeting a friend, I asked to be taken to FCL A instead, which triggered a tussle of behemoth proportions, as she insisted that I had to go to B. As we were approaching the entrance of FCL A, I thought I had at length persuaded her, but she merely brought me past the lounge before wanting me to follow her to B! I repeated the pretext of meeting a friend, and began going up the stairs, while she followed me, asking where he was and wanting to know his name so that they could look for him, etc., etc., and even when I said I didn’t know whether he had already arrived, and that I needed to get into the lounge and on the WiFi to contact him, she said she would wait until I found my friend and then she would take me to B. I replied that it wasn’t necessary, thanking her for her services and assuring her that I would find my own way to the gate for my onward flight, and she countered that she couldn’t without checking with her superiors, etc., etc. She seemed genuinely worried that she would get into trouble if she didn’t get me to FCL B, or if I somehow got lost in the terminal. Finally, the lounge dragons intervened, saying «Niemand wird gezwungen, irgendwohin zu gehen.» and she reluctantly left me alone to enter FCL A.
At PVG, I was, along with the 7 other F passengers, met by three escorts just as we emerged into the terminal from the jet-bridge. We were taken severally to where we needed to go, in my case immigration—everyone has to enter the country and clear customs with his luggage—and, upon ascertaining that I had not filled in an arrivals card, my escort pointed it out to me and waited as I did so. He then brought me through a barrier and led me to a ‘special’ immigration queue that was quite short, promising to wait for me on the other side. Unfortunately, he had both indicated the wrong card to me and brought me to the wrong queue, so I had to complete another card and join another, rather longer, queue at the other end of the hall. By the time I had gotten through immigration and been led me to the luggage hall, my escort’s colleagues had already taken our suitcases off the carousel, so I collected mine and followed him though customs and to the SQ check-in desks, where he left me to drop the luggage for my onward flight.
In brief, then, I was met by an arrivals escort at both FRA and PVG, but had a rather stressful tussle with the former and was led astray by the latter. Perhaps these merely represented teething problems, if this is a new service, although I rather think I would have done better on my own on both counts.
Upon arriving at the terminal, I was met by a very earnest escort who insisted on taking me to FCL B upon discovering the destination of my onward flight, some four hours away. On the pretext that I was meeting a friend, I asked to be taken to FCL A instead, which triggered a tussle of behemoth proportions, as she insisted that I had to go to B. As we were approaching the entrance of FCL A, I thought I had at length persuaded her, but she merely brought me past the lounge before wanting me to follow her to B! I repeated the pretext of meeting a friend, and began going up the stairs, while she followed me, asking where he was and wanting to know his name so that they could look for him, etc., etc., and even when I said I didn’t know whether he had already arrived, and that I needed to get into the lounge and on the WiFi to contact him, she said she would wait until I found my friend and then she would take me to B. I replied that it wasn’t necessary, thanking her for her services and assuring her that I would find my own way to the gate for my onward flight, and she countered that she couldn’t without checking with her superiors, etc., etc. She seemed genuinely worried that she would get into trouble if she didn’t get me to FCL B, or if I somehow got lost in the terminal. Finally, the lounge dragons intervened, saying «Niemand wird gezwungen, irgendwohin zu gehen.» and she reluctantly left me alone to enter FCL A.
At PVG, I was, along with the 7 other F passengers, met by three escorts just as we emerged into the terminal from the jet-bridge. We were taken severally to where we needed to go, in my case immigration—everyone has to enter the country and clear customs with his luggage—and, upon ascertaining that I had not filled in an arrivals card, my escort pointed it out to me and waited as I did so. He then brought me through a barrier and led me to a ‘special’ immigration queue that was quite short, promising to wait for me on the other side. Unfortunately, he had both indicated the wrong card to me and brought me to the wrong queue, so I had to complete another card and join another, rather longer, queue at the other end of the hall. By the time I had gotten through immigration and been led me to the luggage hall, my escort’s colleagues had already taken our suitcases off the carousel, so I collected mine and followed him though customs and to the SQ check-in desks, where he left me to drop the luggage for my onward flight.
In brief, then, I was met by an arrivals escort at both FRA and PVG, but had a rather stressful tussle with the former and was led astray by the latter. Perhaps these merely represented teething problems, if this is a new service, although I rather think I would have done better on my own on both counts.
Mar 24, 2024, 5:03 am
#6110
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Stoke on Trent, UK (MAN ), BUE, BKK, DBV
Programs: LH HON***,UA,BA.EK Gold,AV.
Posts: 11,662
Just by way of another data point, I flew AMS–FRA–PVG–SIN in J/F last week.
In brief, then, I was met by an arrivals escort at both FRA and PVG, but had a rather stressful tussle with the former and was led astray by the latter. Perhaps these merely represented teething problems, if this is a new service, although I rather think I would have done better on my own on both counts.
In brief, then, I was met by an arrivals escort at both FRA and PVG, but had a rather stressful tussle with the former and was led astray by the latter. Perhaps these merely represented teething problems, if this is a new service, although I rather think I would have done better on my own on both counts.
Mar 24, 2024, 12:13 pm
#6111
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: AUH
Posts: 8,267
I'm not sure if I would put up the staff who was supposedly there to be helpful, and yet persistently questioned my choice to use a lounge which I'm entitled to use. I would have just told her firmly but politely "I do not need your help anymore, thank you" and then walked on.
Mar 24, 2024, 8:37 pm
#6112
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Stoke on Trent, UK (MAN ), BUE, BKK, DBV
Programs: LH HON***,UA,BA.EK Gold,AV.
Posts: 11,662
I'm not sure if I would put up the staff who was supposedly there to be helpful, and yet persistently questioned my choice to use a lounge which I'm entitled to use. I would have just told her firmly but politely "I do not need your help anymore, thank you" and then walked on.
Mar 28, 2024, 1:24 am
#6113
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: LH M&M, BA EC, DL SM
Posts: 5,734
escort who insisted on taking me to FCL B upon discovering the destination of my onward flight, some four hours away. On the pretext that I was meeting a friend, I asked to be taken to FCL A instead, which triggered a tussle of behemoth proportions, as she insisted that I had to go to B. As we were approaching the entrance of FCL A, I thought I had at length persuaded her, but she merely brought me past the lounge before wanting me to follow her to B! I repeated the pretext of meeting a friend, and began going up the stairs, while she followed me, asking where he was and wanting to know his name so that they could look for him, etc., etc., and even when I said I didn’t know whether he had already arrived, and that I needed to get into the lounge and on the WiFi to contact him, she said she would wait until I found my friend and then she would take me to B. I replied that it wasn’t necessary, thanking her for her services and assuring her that I would find my own way to the gate for my onward flight, and she countered that she couldn’t without checking with her superiors, etc., etc. She seemed genuinely worried that she would get into trouble if she didn’t get me to FCL B, or if I somehow got lost in the terminal. Finally, the lounge dragons intervened, saying «Niemand wird gezwungen, irgendwohin zu gehen.» and she reluctantly left me alone to enter FCL A.
She was probably new and didn't want to make a mistake by playing by the rules she had been told, but doubt that she will be part of the escort team for too long, if she doesn't adapt to reality.
Mar 28, 2024, 10:22 am
#6114
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,072
That's what I'm thinking, a poor intern was told she has to make sure they end up in the right lounge and all that she has towards "what is the right lounge" is a table of gate numbers with FCL A and another table of gate numbers with FCL B.
Mar 28, 2024, 1:29 pm
#6115
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: LH M&M, BA EC, DL SM
Posts: 5,734
Most likely. But still bad service. Glad that the LDs stopped her.
Mar 29, 2024, 3:34 am
#6117
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Stoke on Trent, UK (MAN ), BUE, BKK, DBV
Programs: LH HON***,UA,BA.EK Gold,AV.
Posts: 11,662
F pax ought to be given the choice / options, Lounge nearest gate ? FCT for its different benefits etc
Mar 29, 2024, 3:38 am
#6118
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,072
I understand that escort all the way to FCT would be impractical to offer as it would entail the intern walk all the way out of secure area, and then unlike the pax they have to walk back to the main terminal to resume their duties, but if pax requests another option than "default", whether it's the other FCL or FCT, or the train station if on a long enough layover to go to Frankfurt or Mainz instead... they absolutely need to be trained to accommodate it
Mar 29, 2024, 3:48 am
#6119
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Stoke on Trent, UK (MAN ), BUE, BKK, DBV
Programs: LH HON***,UA,BA.EK Gold,AV.
Posts: 11,662
I understand that escort all the way to FCT would be impractical to offer as it would entail the intern walk all the way out of secure area, and then unlike the pax they have to walk back to the main terminal to resume their duties, but if pax requests another option than "default", whether it's the other FCL or FCT, or the train station if on a long enough layover to go to Frankfurt or Mainz instead... they absolutely need to be trained to accommodate it
Mar 29, 2024, 3:51 am
#6120
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: LH M&M, BA EC, DL SM
Posts: 5,734
When I was at the FCL in A last week, one of the (very friendly) LDs recommended the FCT to two passengers who said they had never been to the FCT and volunteered to walk them there. The flight of these pax to MUC had just been cancelled and all of a sudden they had the time to experience the FCT for the first time. There are still good employees at LH!