Thanksgiving 2023 EuroTrip: Part 4 (Frankfurt lounges + FRA – LHR)

Upon arrival in Frankfurt off my economy class flight from Venice, I made my way through the Schengen exit checks. Scott had already arrived that morning and was relaxing in the Maple Leaf Lounge. Since I was departing Frankfurt on a Lufthansa (international) business class flight, I was eligible to use the lounge under Star Alliance rules. Scott could’ve guested me in if I was only traveling economy.

We didn’t spend much time in the Maple Leaf Lounge, so I only got a handful of pictures and didn’t try much of the food.

The gummy worms and salad and pastries was an interesting combination. I really just did it for the picture because I wasn’t hungry.

By this point, Scott had finished the work he was doing, and it was time for us to move on to the Lufthansa lounge, so I didn’t check out the other seating areas. As one would expect, Frankfurt is a massive Lufthansa hub, so their lounges are much larger here than Air Canada’s. 

On the way, we stopped by an outdoor area to check out the planes, including a 747 (my favorite of course).

Lufthansa has two flavors of lounges at Frankfurt (excluding the first class terminal): the Business and Senator lounges. The last time I’d been in a senator lounge, I believe, was in 2021 in London when the United lounge hadn’t reopened yet. I’m not actually sure if I was in a Business or Senator lounge in Berlin in 2022. I truly cannot tell the difference between them. In theory, the Senator lounges are the fancier ones.

The access rules for these lounges are kind of interesting: a Star Alliance Business Class ticket will get you access to the Business Lounge (makes sense). Star Alliance Gold gets you access to the Senator Lounge (cool). If you have an Amex Platinum Card you can also get access if you are departing on Lufthansa. In Economy, the Platinum Card gets you access to Business Lounge and in Business you get “upgraded” to the Senator Lounge. Neat. Scott got access to the Senator Lounge with his Star Alliance Gold Status through Air Canada. I got access through my Business Class ticket and my Amex Platinum card. I could’ve also gotten access as Scott’s guest.

The entry to the lounge is relatively discreet on the main level of the terminal. However, you go have to go upstairs, and it’s clear why: the lounge was the biggest Senator Lounge I’d ever been in. At the time, I thought it was huge (until I went to the Etihad lounge in Abu Dhabi… the next day)

The main room is the dining area:

With an extensive selection of self-serve soft drinks and alcohol.

Then a coffee station:

And then finally was the buffet, which took up far less space than all the drink options, which was interesting:

The food offered was standard Lufthansa/German fare, including pretzels!

And also stews, schnitzel, and dumplings:

I got a pretzel and some other small bits.

I then went back for some Mozart chocolate cream liqueur, to which I added a single big piece of ice, which was fun.

I headed to the gate before Scott so I could get some pictures. On the way there, I passed by a Lufthansa First Class lounge. It’s interesting how consistent and minimalist all Lufthansa’s signage is.

From checking online, we knew our plane was arriving from within Schengen (so no passport control for the passengers), so I was interested in seeing how they dealt with Schengen arrivals before immediately sending the plane outside Schengen. 

The answer is that they use the lower floor for Schengen arrivals and so used stairs to deplane everyone. Those of us about to take the flight to London, however, would be using the jet bridge to enter from the upper level.

We boarded with group 1 and sat in seats 1D/1F. 

As one would expect, this A320 was in a standard European configuration. Our Business Class seats were simply an economy seat with a blocked middle. 

I considered moving across to seat 1A, since the row beside us was empty.

But actually, it was more so that basically the entire plane was empty.

Lufthansa operates a near-hourly service from Frankfurt to London on weekdays, and they definitely don’t need to operate all the flights with A320s because this flight was extremely light. We sat at the gate for a while after we boarded waiting for our landing slot position at Heathrow.

By the time we took off, the sun was beginning to set. I’d forgotten how early the sun sets in Europe in November.

Shortly after take off, they came through with a drink service and then a few minutes later with the meal service. Service was not exceptionally slow, but given how few people were on the flight, I really would’ve expected the service to be a bit quicker.

This salad dish is from Lufthansa’s “Tasting Heimat” menu. The idea behind the dishes is that they have German flavors and remind one of a specific region of Germany. I like the idea, but I would’ve liked to know what region this was in reference to. I don’t know enough about German states to guess. 

However, apparently home in this region tastes… simple; this was basically a Caesar salad with some bean salad under it. The dressing was also served pretty much as a glob toward the top, haha. The winner for me was the bread, as it often is. The chocolate dessert didn’t really do much for me, but the blue bowl it was served in was very nice. 

Before I do the summary, I’d like to take a moment to compare this flight ((to the previous one, which I had taken in economy)). Unlike the previous flight, this one was super empty, so space was not at a premium at all. But if we look at what I got over economy, would upgrading on the previous flight been worth €65? I’m inclined to say no.

In summary, this Lufthansa EuroBiz flight was, quite simply, boring. Lufthansa really is not a preferred airline for me (especially for short-haul flights). The ground game in Frankfurt before a short-haul flight is pretty good, as long as you can avoid interacting with the staff (4/5). The bulkhead seat on this flight was as good as you can hope for within Europe on a narrow-body (4/5). The meal offered was alright and appropriately simple (3/5). The service was not particularly good or noteworthy (3/5). There was again no IFE (0/5). This flight gets a 14/25, which puts it only marginally above the Economy Class flight from Venice.

This flight was booked as part of the Aeroplan redemption to Cairo. The ticket was complicated enough (and Scott booked it) that I can’t really speak to how many miles this part cost, but I can confirm that I got no points or status credits on any airline from the booking.