The Details

• Flight: LH431
• Aircraft: B747-400
• Class: Business
• Seat: 85A and 85C
• Route: Chicago O’Hare (ORD)-Frankfurt Main (FRA)
• Distance: 4,397miles
• Duration: 7hrs 47min
• Departure: 4:25PM
• Arrival: 7:12AM (+1)

The Preflight

After arriving in Terminal 3 from Indianapolis, we made our way to Terminal 1 to check in for our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt. Check-in was quick and within five minutes my fiance and I had our boarding passes. The line for PreCheck was non-existent and we cleared security even faster than the check-in time.

All passengers departing in business class or first class on Star Alliance airlines have access to the United Polaris lounge in the C Concourse of Terminal 1. This would be my second time visiting the lounge and it remains one of my favorite lounges in the United States.

Immediately to the right of the lounge entrance was an array of individual sofas as well as a drink station.

Further on the right was a buffett room with dining chairs as well.

Hot food options included chicken, potatoes, onion soup, green beans, and tortellini.

Cold food options included a salad bar, sandwiches, cold cuts, cheese, as well as cookies and desserts.

Further into the lounge was an elegant bar area with additional sofas and dining tables.

Behind the bar area were a self-serve coffee machine and fresh fruits.

We went to have a pre-flight lunch in the dining room which offers a la carte dining with a formal menu.

We decided to share the cacio e pepe risotto which was very tasty.

My fiance had a delicious chicken schnitzel with fresh lemon over a bed of spaetzle.

I had an excellent honey-mustard glazed salmon fillet which was cooked perfectly.

For dessert, we shared the signature chocolate chip cookie as well as a decadent bread pudding.

Before leaving the Polaris Lounge, I made my way to the nicely appointed restrooms.

Boarding began promptly at 3:30PM, forty minutes prior to our scheduled departure time of 4:10PM.

Our B747-400, registration D-ABVZ, was one of the few remaining commercial B747-400s in service. She was delivered to Lufthansa over 20 years ago in February 2001.

The Flight

Lufthansa features a total of 67 business class seats on board their B747-400s spread across the two levels of the aircraft. The main deck features 45 seats while the upper deck has 22 business class seats.

We were seated in the upper deck business class cabin which had 22 seats arranged in a 2-2 configuration.

My fiance and I were seated in the last of the business class cabin in 85A and 85C.

The Collins Diamond Parallel seats were 20″ wide and offered 64″ of pitch.

Each seat had an 11.7″ HD touchscreen for inflight entertainment.

Below the IFE screen was a small storage bin that had an amenity kit and water bottle.

The legrest was unrestricted and was even with the side storage bins which gave me even more legroom when stretched out.

To the left of the seat along the fuselage were shallow bins as well as a deeper storage bin that had a pair of headphones.

The center console was split in two and each half had a small drink table. There were also a few rudimentary seat controls with three pre-set seat positions for taxi/take-off/landing, lounging, and completely flat.

Underneath the center armrest was a small IFE remote and tray table.

There was a simple bi-fold tray table.

Below the armrest were two USB ports for each seat. In addition, there were two shared 110V outlets between the two seats.

In the headrest there was also a retractable reading light. The headrest was fairly comfortable and could be adjusted up or down.

Each passenger was also provided a nice pillow, thick blanket, water bottle, and amenity bag. Contents of the amenity bag included a toothbrush, hand cream, lip balm, eye mask, socks, and ear plugs.

Each seat also had a pair of low-quality headphones.

Once we were settled into our seats, the cabin crew came by to offer pre-departure drinks. Options included sparkling wine, water, or orange juice.

The dinner menu and wine menu were distributed next.

We pushed back three minutes early at 4:07PM.

Fifteen minutes after pushback we took off to a golden sunset flying over a frozen Lake Michigan.

Service began twenty minutes after take-off with a hot towel.

Service went at a slow pace with a drink service and cold mixed nuts served forty minutes after takeoff.

Fifteen minutes after the drink service the appetizers were served. My fiance had the broiled goat cheese with grilled artichoke and roasted bell peppers which were disappointing. Each passenger was also given a small side salad with Caeser dressing.

I had the grilled shrimp with apple slaw which was tasty. A warm bread basket was also served with options between white rolls or French bread.

None of the main course options sounded enticing for my fiance so she ordered the almond-crusted Halibut with Yellow Thai Curry for me. The curry sauce was very flavorful but the Halibut was overcooked.

For my main course, I had the seared veal medallion with roasted potatoes. The veal was also overcooked to well-done.

For dessert, I had a cheese plate served with a pitiful packet of club crackers.

My fiance had a cup of Haagen-Dazs dulce de leche ice cream.

The meal service concluded two hours after take-off with flight attendants passing out small boxes of chocolate.

There were two lavatories on the upper deck reserved for business class passengers.

The lavatories were well stocked with toiletries including mouthwash, razors, moist towellettes, and hair combs.

Lufthansa does not offer a turn-down service so I made my own bed for the remaining four and a half hours in the flight. Well fully flat, the bed measured 78″ long. I found the seat padding comfortable.

One hour prior to landing (and just three and a half hours after the dinner service), breakfast was served. I started with an espresso.

There was a single option for breakfast which was a continental breakfast of fruit and yogurt.

We touched down in Frankfurt at 07:14AM followed by a 10-minute taxi to the gate.

Thanks for the ride!

In my opinion, Lufthansa offers an underwhelming business-class product for their trans-Atlantic flights. The single redeeming factor for this flight was the novelty of flying onboard the Queen of the Skies one last time.