I recently completed a rapid fire First Class around the world trip where I had the opportunity to try out four First Class products for the first time.  The quick succession made it easier for me to compare the products because my memories of each was fresh as I was experiencing the next. The other “First “ impression posts can be found here.

• Cathay Pacific First Class 777 and 747
• Thai First Class A380

To be fair, this wasn’t my first time flying Lufthansa First Class but it was my first time flying First Class on their 747-8i.  The 747-8i and A380 are Lufthansa’s newest widebody aircrafts that launched with their new First Class.

I love Lufthansa and think they are wonderful. If you had asked me before this trip which of the First Class products on my trip I thought would be better, I would have put Lufthansa First Class on the 747-8i well above Thai and at least competitive with Cathay.  After this trip, I can say my preconceived notions were off as the Thai A380 product exceeded the Lufthansa 747-8i in most categories.

Cabin design and color scheme

I’ll start with the aspect of Lufthansa that really shines and that is the design of the new First Class cabin.  The color scheme and materials are excellent.   Lufthansa really did an excellent job designing the cabin.

While I enjoyed the flow of the cabin on the 747-8i, the ceilings were pretty low with overhead compartments.

I preferred the openness of the Lufthansa A380 cabin.

The seat

The first class seat on Lufthansa is very solid. It is unlikely I would have been able to make a good comparison to the Thai first class seat on the A380 if I hadn’t just spent 12+ hours in it since they are pretty similar.

The Thai seat is wider, more private, has much larger compartments for personal storage and is more comfortable for sleeping. Again, the Lufthansa first class seat is very good but the Thai first class seat on the A380 is better.

Thai bed

The food

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me five flights in a row, shame on me.  The food in First Class on Lufthansa is terrible.  There I said it. Prior to this trip, my International First Class experiences were dominated by Lufthansa so I kept telling myself that the reason the food was so bad on Lufthansa was because airplane food just can’t be good on any airplane.  That quickly changed after meals on Cathay and Thai that were excellent.

Here is Lufthansa’s Black Forest Ham entree.

Along with that “entrée” was white asparagus that was highly recommended because it was in season.  I have had very good white asparagus in Germany and love the dish.  This was just really, really bad.  Buttery and bad.

The bottom line

Lufthansa remains one of the very best ways to fly in and out of Europe.  The new First Class cabin is beautifully designed and the cabin layout is great.  I had assumed Lufthansa had a better First Class product than Thai before this trip but I have now changed my mind. I found the Lufthansa new First Class seat to be less comfortable and less private than Thai’s First Class seat on the A380.   Within the Lufthansa fleet, the 747-8i is a great aircraft and sitting in the nose is fun however I believe Lufthansa’s A380 is their superior product.