Lufthansa - 747 400 - Upper Deck Business Class - New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA) | TRIP REPORT
I sat upstairs on Lufthansa's 747-400 in Business Class, and it was awesome! My ticket was initially booked in Economy, but a week before the flight I got an email offering a $900 fee to upgrade on the red-eye flight from New York to Frankfurt.
Lufthansa is Germany's largest airline along with one of the few carriers still operating the 747-400 (nicknamed Queen of the Skies). Its remaining fleet of 8 double-deckers won't be around much longer, with rumors of a retirement imminent around 2026.
The 747-400's in Lufthansa's fleet do not offer First Class, unlike the 747-8's. And honestly the Business Class product in the -400 is unimpressive and outdated. Frankfurt-based competitor Condor Airlines offers a much better product and service for half the booking price.
I hope you enjoy my comprehensive review/trip report!
Follow @quintinsoloviev & @qfsaviation on Instagram to keep up with my travels!
FLIGHT INFORMATION
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Airline: Lufthansa
Aircraft: Boeing 747-430 (D-ABVX)
Seat: 85K (Business Class)
Flight Number: LH401
Route: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
Flight Time: 6 hours, 40 minutes
Date of Travel: February 15, 2023
PRICING
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Total Price: $747 (Economy fare) + $900 upgrade = $1,647
Total Routing: JFK-FRA-GVA
Booking Location: lufthansa.com
TIMESTAMPS
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00:00 - Intro
01:12 - JFK Airport
02:29 - Lufthansa Lounge
03:44 - Turkish Lounge
07:14 - Boarding
07:38 - 747 Full Tour
11:06 - Taxi
12:11 - Takeoff
14:34 - Seat Review
17:13 - Meal Service
19:52 - Inflight
22:50 - Breakfast
23:52 - Descent
24:34 - Landing
27:21 - Ratings
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© 2024 QFS Aviation
The queen of the skies will NEVER DIE!!
AGREED! 👍 😊
👍💯🇩🇪✈️👑
It will
Who is the king ? Airbus A 380 is the king of the sky.👍
Airbus is euro-trash! Boeing rules the sky!
I'm a retired flight attendant and worked on the 747. Wonderful to see it again and miss those days. It was a great job! ❤
Same here. 😢
I first flew a 747 from Chicago to Hong Kong about 15 years ago. Middle seat coach for 14 hours. Recently got to fly a Lufthansa 747 from Boston to Frankfurt in business class, lower deck, front bulkhead seat. The forward most seat on the plane. On the return flight, business class, upper deck. I feel so fortunate to have had this experience on such an iconic aircraft, and with such a top shelf airline.
I was blessed to travel at the very front end too, as a young boy in 1977
They are very nice to let you film the aircraft before everyone onboard!
That FA @ 10:41 is amazing, flew with him FRA/LAX back in June 23‘ in First Class!!! That Guy happens to be the best FA in decades!!! ✌️😎 he looks a little bit like Trek Trendy 😅
I love Lufthansa for the variety in their fleet. They still fly many aircrafts that are almost gone, like the 340s and 747s!! Thank you LH!
Lufthansa is the museum of the skies, i‘m still not sure whether this is a good thing 😅😅😅😅
Brings back memories. I used to fly Lufthansa often to Frankfurt because I was in the publishing business (Frankfurt Book Fair). But I used Newark more often than JFK. The 747 may be a bit long in the tooth but, every time, it was like slipping into a comfortable old pair of shoes.
If you see this, I’ve been watching you for years and I want to thank you for all the content you have made and for never giving up
Thank you so much I truly appreciate that. It means a lot to me ✈️✈️
@@QFSAviationalso avatar is getting them
@@QFSAviation can I make an edit for you? If you want one name a Plane + a song or just a plane (and airline)
8:36 hahaha love how the stewardess said: “hes taking pictures of the eco now as well”
It's amazing to see the Queen Of The Skies fly around, it makes me really happy. Also QFS great video, i'm glad that you got to experience the Upper Deck.❤
always excited when a new qfs video appears
Die Lufthansa 🇩🇪 ist nachmals die Beste 747-8👑🇩🇪 danke für das schöne Video ✌️♥️
Again one of the best trip reports 🤩
Always amazing content! The upper deck vantage point is so crazy how much it differs from the standard seating.
I was in the army, so I traveled quite a lot, but never first class (or business class). I last left Germany in November of '91, so I can see a great deal has changed since then. Enjoyed your video - thanks for sharing your travel experiences!
I flew on Lufthansa from New York to Munich, and eventually to Tel Aviv. JFK-MUC was on an Airbus A380, it was my first time on a 4 jet double decker plane. Even in coach they were very nice to us and treated us very well (pillow, blanket, free wine and full meals, etc). I was initially supposed to do JFK-MUC-FRA-TLV, but when I asked for a direct MUC-TLV flight they only charged me $6 USD for the change fee. They also let me explore the upper deck when we landed in Munich. If I ever travel transatlantic again I definitely want to fly Lufthansa.
Cool! I love your videos! Keep it coming!
Can't believe there was room for complaint. I've never flown anything like what you had in this video. Amazing food service comfort, amenities. Wow.
All of these hate comments are just ridiculous.
Great review of "The Queen of the Skies". I've had several flights on this aircraft. All enjoyable. Thank you Quintin👌💚
so nice! keep em comin, cheers!
thanks....i flew this plane from FRANKFURT to WASH, DULLIS.....loved it
I flew this beautiful girl 2 years ago from Frankfurt Main to Detroit. I have flown the 747 many times but it was my kids first time aboard the queen of the skies and she did not disappoint. My kids were in heaven on the long flight but I just laid back, ate 2 meals and watched a couple of good movies.
Awesome flight very very nice. Please keep coming out with more vlogs!!
GREAT VIDEO QFS!
It’s amazing how outdated Lufthansa’s cabins are, even on relatively new A350s etc. That being said, I’ve booked to fly upper deck economy on their A380 from JFK-MUC (and then on to DUB) just for the novelty of flying the A380. Lufthansa really wins for its diverse fleet and I guess that makes up for the cabins, at least from an avgeek POV. I could have flown on a refurbished United 767 direct from EWR-DUB but where’s the fun in that 😜
Last time I flew in to JFK was 32 years ago, probably before you were born. On a NWA flight from Tokyo. A 747-200 upper deck, that's NWA configuration of International first class, there were only 6 lie flat seat with two FAs, The service was impeccable, I know not a lot of people would agree(LOL).
Oldie but goodie. - Red
🙌✈️
great flight! keep the videos coming
Hooray! The best of the best is back! Thank Goodness :)
enjoyed your rare footage of the cockpit
Great video Quintin!! Your taxiing shots were amazing. Keep up the great work! Another like from me. Also really like how you show the cities you fly over.
Thanks a lot!!!! I appreciate it 🙏🙏
@@QFSAviationOf course man!
Another awesome video mate. Can't wait to see many more. Lufthansa is on my bucket list.
I loved the coziness of the upper deck on our flight to Munich. I wish I hadn't booked the seats in front of the service area, because it didn't allow for privacy, but it was so quiet upstairs! There's lots of storage by the window, but no place else to stash stuff like glasses and earphones. Food and service were excellent! Would fly again.
You’re spot on! It’s very calm up there, kind of like the quiet car on Amtrak. The privacy at most of the seats isn’t great, besides probably the back two rows
Love the Coyotes t-shirt.
Go Yotes 🏒🌵
Such a glorious aircraft.
Really awesome video man!
It was an amazing video .the last time I fly with the 747 was in 1991,and then I was lucky to fly the same aircraft type in January of 2024.its always awesome experience.
Thank you for sharing your trip from last year! And Happy New Year to you this year in 2024@🎉🎉🥂 🥂 🎉😊
Yes, I miss ours 747-400s at my former airline over at United. But Lufthansa is still flying the 747-800 here to Chicago. Still soo nice see them fly on the passenger side of the airline industry.😊
I will never not watch a 747 video
The thing is, as much as the seat is outdated it’s Lufthansa and a 747. So I would always choose it 😂 Fun fact: you can disconnect the headphones inside of the compartment and plug in your own.
Agreed! Can’t beat the 747! And thank you for letting me know that, I didn’t know it was possible to disconnect the headphones 👍
So no privacy between the seat mates? I have the window seat and have to pee, I have to wake up the seat mate to get out to go?
Great video! Now I know what to expect when I travel to Europe in the summer lol
Great report!
I flew in Upper Lewel BUsiness Class from Frankfurt to Newark . This is a Old Business Class not like in a New Aircrafts. When we start to run everybody sow a smoke from seiling and we stopped in a runway. After aircraft was changed and 2 hours later we took-off. Amyway, it was amazing !!!
I flew upper deck busines class on Lufthansa B747-8 from Los Angeles, Miami, Buenos Aires to Frankfurt - great experiences.
Great video. First time watching your channel. I was wondering do you have to have a passport and check-in with both customs at both departing and arriving airports on this trip?
Great content 👏👏👏👏
Amazing Video
Perfect perfect landing
I flew business class from Osan AB to Kadena, then to Anchorage, and finally landed at LAX. What a flight. Slept 90% of the time. Flew to Osan from Oakland.
The queen of the sky’s in my 3 favourite plane
Sehr schönes Video. Was war deine Sitznummer? Der Ausblick auf beide Triebwerke ist der Hammer
Great video, Quintin! You probably ran into the nicest LH crew ever. Love how the purser took the time to talk shop with you during pre-flight prep. Pretty sure I've flown on VX years ago, before I started logging my flights. You didn't give any commentary about the veal main. It looked pretty dry. Was it?
That looked like a category 3 auto land. Great vid
❤❤❤ magnifique vol j'adore les voyages plus j'ai des heures de vol et plus je suis heureuse ,❤❤❤❤❤
Q- New subscriber. Great vid. Recently retired and I'm doing my travel homework. I'll check out your other vids. And thanx for the CONDOR Airline tip, dude. Thumbs up.....
3:19 definitely worths a screenshot 😎
Just home from an emirates flight from Mumbai. Seeing this makes me glad to be home. All that crap and stress about getting a seat 💺 better than anyone else. The horrible airports and immigration ugh. I flew business class and have to often. Hate it. Every second of it.
what town was that at the end?
Very nice flight.
8:33 von der Eco machta jetzt auch noch ein Bild. Noch ikonischer wäre es nur im Berliner Slang gewesen haha
How did you score a Police K-9 Unit backpack?
8:45 - I remember this place and I flew in 2015, I sat at 41K. 🙂
My mother ALWAYS flew to Frankfurt - BUT I haven't yet - just wondering when prices MIGHT dip? 27:24 / 29:02
Don’t see why the Lufthansa food is considered to be bad. Looked great
😀👍Крутой обзор! 747-легенда! Жаль, что он уходит....
I’m flying this plane from Frankfort to Chicago tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to it. It will be my first time flying B747 so I’m glad I’ll be able to do it before this type of aircraft is eventually phased out :)
I miss your videos. Keep them coming. I'm a flight attendant now.
More to come! I appreciate that. And congratulations on the new job 🙌✈️
I flew on this exact aircraft two months later, on a short-haul flight to Palma de Mallorca (PMI). D-ABVX operated all four rotations to PMI in April 2023, and each time the flight was packed with dozens of avgeeks who just wanted to fly on the 747-400 (myself included)
Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh yyyyyeeeeeeeaaaaa its back 🎉
I like your channel. Unlike some other travel youtubers, you don't pretend to be someone you aren't...
Nice video and I always love the 747-400 and have flown on the 747-8i with Lufthansa?
I forgot to put the word "have" in there.
Tks for another great video ! However, with those numbers, the overral rating should be 3,5 out of 5. Cheers from Brazil!
B747-400 Is The Wide Body Air Craft I Have Moost Fligth Whit,KLM Qantas Virgin And Few With Lufthansa.Great Video
The crew let you in early but you gave 4/5 for the friendly rating. I was wondering why :p
How in the world do you get access inside the cockpit?!
I flew into FRA over 10 years ago, business class. Most comfortable experience flying ever. Ausgezeichnetes Essen und Getränke für einen Flug.
Excited to try LH 747 upper deck soon. When you say your friend Charles, did you actually know him? I wonder if I can do the same and take a tour before the flight.
18:49 Have you thought about polarised lens filter?
Hey QFS! hope you’re having a wonderful day! I’ve been waiting for this review since you posted your previous review on the next flight you took… which was on the CRJ! Awesome video!
Good morning! I hope you like it! Had been editing this one for months but couldn’t get around to finishing it
@@QFSAviation Funny enough, I flew this exact route back in August of 2023… however it was westbound (FRA-JFK) the meal service was appalling on the flight and I illustrated it in my review of that one!
Завидую конечно... У нас из Сибири, до Турции те же 6 часов лететь, при этом покормят 1 раз и 1 раз чайку нальют. На видео кажется, что автор сутки летел, на самом деле 6 часов полета не так уж и долго, зачем там трехразовое питание непонятно - но допустим, что это бизнес класс и когда захочется пожрать пассажиру совсем неизвестно. А вообще здорово, что есть такие самолеты и рейсы...
I've flown in a 747 over 100 times, 100% of which were business trips. For those flights where I couldn't get a First Class seat, I flew upper deck Business Class. Those flights were the only ones where I took a window seat, in spite of the hassle of climbing over the person reclined in the aisle seat. Why? The storage area between the seat and the window. I had special luggage for those flights. I used a smaller rollaboard that fit sideways into that area, along with my rolling laptop/briefcase. Around the world. Twice per month. Frankfurt was always my first stop in Europe, usually arriving from Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific or occasionally from Singapore on Singapore Airlines. The First Class experience on those two airlines was much better than with Lufthansa, both on the ground and in the air. I typically only used Lufthansa Business Class for inter-Europe flights.
The beginning of your video reminds me of the Sopranos opening sequence. “Woke up this morning, caught myself a flight.”😅
4:07 looks like lounge food is better than what might be offered as airline food in this day and age.
Headset can be removed and replaced by your own. I used my own Sony instead of their AKG. It is just required to remove cable and connect your own
Great trip report! Love all the location stickers! Nice sunset departure! Super video from beginning to end! I would give this video a Jumani FIVE-STAR RATING!!! And don't forget to like and sub. Well done Quebec Foxtrot Sierra and thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks again!!! I’m glad you love the location stickers!!! 🙏🙏🙏
@@QFSAviation yes sir!!!
Lufthansa is scheduled to receive the first of their 777-9's about exactly one year from now (crossing fingers). Once the deliveries start, the 747-400's will be headed towards retirement.
спасибо за видео! у Люфтганзы всегда был хорош бизнес класс
Please, leave your comments little bit longer on a screen. It's will be easier to read them. Anyway, thank you so much for your videos.😊
Oh wow t2 was still up. When was this filmed?
15th February 2023.
Solid video, can’t wait to check out more of your content
I was seated in the same seat (85K) during my 747 flight from FRA-DEL
Благодарю за видео!🌟👌 Дочь 4 лет смотрит с радостью! Как и я!Теперь и книг про самолёты много в коллекции !
The replacement for the 747 is the 777X which has been delayed at least until 2025 due Boeing's ongoing certification difficulties especially as it shares many parts used on the 737 Max; but let's not go there..
Veal looked burnt?
i kinda knew that terminal 2 was going to close sooner or later
WAIT! I have been flying with LH for 20 + years, and I have flown on every long haul aircraft they have. Never knew they had a 2-3-2 in Business!!!
Good shot.. what is the duration of the flight?
Expand the video description.
I hope some of these can be converted with Dash 8 engines for better efficiency used in the final 747 series. Or I better hurry and go to Frankfurt before they're mothballed 🤞
I love any video with 747s. But your comments about the food in the lounge and selection on board. I mean REALLY. How much can one EAT? And I'm sure much if it is uneaten.
Never have been on it😊
No First Class on this plane ?
nice shoes