Lufthansa LH778, Business Class on upper deck, 747-800, Frankfurt to Singapur 🇸🇬

Travel with us in Lufthansa Business Class on the upper deck of the Queen of the Skies – the 747 – 800 – from Frankfurt to Singapore. Is the difference between upper and lower deck is really that big? See yourself.

Departure	30.04.2024 – 21:55
Arrival	01.05.2024 – 16:20
Aircraft type	Boing 747 – 800
Delay	15 minutes at departure
Class	Business – upper deck
Seats	87 K
Departure gate	Z 52

Departure airport

Frankfurt Rhein Main Airport is the largest airport in Germany and also a major player in Europe. Flights depart from here to destinations all over the world.

Arrival

This time I traveled to Frankfurt Airport by train and arrived directly at long-distance train station. From there, it’s only a 5-minute walk to the ticket hall. The view you get when you take the escalator descending into the hall and get a glimpse at the iconic information board always makes me feel quite excited and looking forward to the upcoming flight! From here on it’s clear: we’re off.

Of course, it is also possible to travel to the airport from Frankfurt city by S-Bahn or arrive directly by car or long-distance bus.

Check-in

At the time of our trip, we had to pre-fill a Singapore Arrival Card in order to be able to check in for our flight. The form has to be filled in and sent online starting from 3 days before arrival. The process really only takes a maximum of 10 minutes and you will receive your confirmation by email straight away. The visa is then directly linked to your passport details and no longer needs to be printed out.

I wanted to check in online via the app 23 hours before departure and had to complete some additional information. Funnily enough, I had a lot of problems with this as I couldn’t complete the process and got an error message every time I tried. So I just used the homepage and failed there too. Here, too, an error message kept popping up. So I called the hotline, but the nice employee answering the call couldn’t help me either and simply asked me to please check in at the counter.

On the day of departure, I tried one last time via the homepage and finally made it. God only knows what exactly the problem was. To be on the safe side, I checked in my suitcase at the counter anyway and re-checked whether all the data had been entered correctly and completely. The check-in employee confirmed this and additionally printed out a physical boarding pass for me.

Once I arrived at the check-in area, there were several free desks and no other passengers in front of me queueing. However, if it gets busier or you don’t feel like interacting with other people, you can now simply check in your suitcase yourself.

To do this, go to the signposted self check-in area – there is also a designated Business / First area – and scan your mobile boarding pass to receive your baggage label. You simply attach them and place them in the machines set up for this purpose. They will do everything else for you. In the premium area, Lufthansa staff will assist you, check whether you are eligible and hand out the orange priority tags, which are stuck to the label. As you can tell – I’m a big fan!

Incidentally, with both options you will always receive a receipt for checking in your bags and also an email if you are connected to Lufthansa online and have entered your email address at check-in.

Security Check

In Frankfurt Main you can go through several security checkpoints depending on your departure gate. At most of them, it is now even possible to leave all liquids and electronic devices inside your hand baggage.
This increases the speed of check-in enormously. Even with a medium-sized queue, you will never wait longer than 10 minutes at these checkpoints. This really is an incredible improvement for all passengers and security staff.

There is also the option of booking a time slot online via SmartWay. I have already tried this a few times and it worked really well. You can then simply go through security with your boarding pass 10 minutes before and after your slot which works super quick in most cases.

Lounge

As an American Express Platinum holder, I was able to use my Business Class ticket to enter the Lufthansa Senator Lounge at Gate Z 50. During my stay, there was really very little going on in the lounge. The place is huge and features the typical new Lufthansa design. If you like, you have great views of the apron, but you can also take a seat on the loungers, sit at the food tables or do some final work in dedicated work areas.

Of course you can also take a shower here. As I had a late flight and arrived at the airport a little sweaty after a long day at the office, I took the opportunity to take a shower before boarding. There are 10 shower cubicles available, which are really spacious, clean and new. Of course, shampoo and body wash are also available for use.

Boarding

Boarding started almost half an hour late and despite the fact that the Lufthansa groundstaff had a long time to prepare for boarding, it was unfortunately all the more disorganized once it started. First the families with children were called and let through. Then, at the same time, Group 1, i.e. First and Status members at the left gate, and Economy passengers on the right were processed. Unfortunately, the Business and Premium Economy passengers were forgotten during this process. It’s kind of strange when you consider that there are separate groups assigned and that regulated boarding is more relaxed and a lot smoother for everyone.

However, it was great that both doors were used for boarding at gate Z 52. This sped up the process immensely. A total of four fully automatic barriers were available.

Once through security, you go down a flight of stairs and Business and First guests go into the left bridge, Premium Economy and Economy guests enter the aircraft through the right bridge.

Welcome

At the front door I was greeted by a very friendly flight attendant and sent through the entire lower cabin and at the back up the iconic staircase. At the top of the stairs we were greeted again by another friendly colleague.

A short while after I had settled into my seat, the flight attendant came by and offered us a selection of drinks. These included the new signature drink from Lufthansa, the Avionic. Of course I had to try it straight away. It was accompanied by a small portion of salted almonds.

Start & Routing

The crew sped up boarding and the pushback startet rather quick at 10:10 p.m., which was the actual departure time. After a somewhat longer taxi, which is typical for Frankfurt, we took off at 10:25 p.m., 15 minutes late.

We flew off in a south-easterly direction, over the Balkans, Greece, past Turkey and across Saudi Arabia. Over the Red Sea and from there crissing the Arabian Sea, we flew over the southern part of India and across the Bay of Bengal into Singapore.

Interestingly enough around two and a half hours into the flight, all passengers had to remain seated with their seatbelts fastened for 45 minutes and were not allowed to use the washrooms. The special situation was explained with regulations for the airspace being flown through and announced half an hour in advance.

Cabin & Seat

Nothing more needs to be said about the Business Class seat on the Lufthansa long-haul fleet. We have already written about it in previous reviews and Fabi has reported on it in several videos on our YouTube channel. If you are interested in a detailed tour of the seat, please read the review of our flight from Frankfurt to Nairobi.

In this report, I would like to focus on the difference between the “regular” seating in regular widebody aircrafts and the upper deck in the 747-800. In contrast to the 2 – 2 – 2 seating that is usually installed in Lufthansa Business Class, there is only a 2 – 2 layout on the upper deck. There are 8 rows of seats up here. This makes a total number of only 32 seats on the entire deck. You reach the top via one of the most iconic staircases in aviation. And due to the small cabin and the separate access, it feels even more exclusive and of course much quieter “upstairs”.

Naturally, the seats are simply no longer up to date and passengers and cabin crew are eagerly awaiting the new Alegris seats. Nevertheless. The cabin feels open and airy and the seats are still in good condition.

But I have to admit that I still find it strange to have to sit next to a stranger inside a premium cabin – with no privacy at all. Having to share the footrest, which is only divided by a partition, is quite special. Fortunately, I was very lucky and had a great seatmate on this flight so I was able to have a lively conversation with her. Fortunately, I didn’t have to use the restrooms at night which would have resulted in me needing to climb over her legs. On the other hand, the seats are great when traveling with your partner. You are very close to each other and can enjoy the flight together.

Interestingly, although the upper cabin is only wide enough for 4 seats next to each other, it still has enough space to offer huge storage compartments by the cabin wall in addition to the overhead bins. I haven’t tried it, but I think a suitcase suitable for hand luggage should fit in there.

By the way Fun fact: For me, the seats at the bulkhead in the middle of the cabin and at the first row were always the ones I thought were the best. However, I was proved wrong. The footrest is not open at the top like on the other seats, but rather a hole in the wall like on business class seats on other airlines. In other words, it is completely built in – which of course restricts freedom of movement even more. And in the first row, the cabin becomes narrower towards the tip, which reduces the space. In addition, one of the two toilets is also located at the front.

Half-height cabin walls are installed in front of row 84 so that the seats at the emergency exits can also offer monitors, shelves and footrests. In these walls, the footrests are also limited upwards. Trolleys are placed here during all service times. All dishes and drinks are served from here. Of course, this makes the area rather agitated.

However, I must emphasize the lighting system. It is infinitely adjustable and simulated the sunrise in the morning so that the whole cabin wasn’t just lit up so very brightly. Unortunately, I found it a shame that it was relatively loud and very dry inside the cabin.

Entertainment

Lufthansa’s entertainment program also runs via the monitors. These are installed in the back of the front seats and can be operated via touchscreen or the remote control stowed inside the armrest. There are an incredible number of movies, series and audio tracks. Plus, of course, games, news and flight information. My favorite programm is of course the flight map with all kinds of information about the flight. Unfortunately, the Lufthansa 747-800 does not have any cameras installed in the aircraft to monitor take-off, landing and flight.

Amenities

For long-haul flights of 10 hours or more, Lufthansa provides slippers and a mattress topper for your use at each Business Class seat in addition to a pillow and blanket. A bottle of water and the amenity kit are also waiting inside the small stowage space. Porsche has been a partner for the kits for quite some time now. These consist of a kind of gym bag and are filled with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Clarify contents

In addition, fresh wipes, mouthwash, earplugs and sleep masks are also available for use in the washrooms.

Food, drinks & snacks

I took the opportunity to pre-order my dinner on this flight. You can choose from several alternatives to the meals on offer online via the app or the homepage. It worked really well. When asked for my meal preferences, the flight attendant already knew what I had ordered and only asked what I wanted as a starter.

Shortly before my flight, Lufthansa launched a new catering concept that introduced the new signature drink, which was served with the almonds before take-off. It also includes an amuse bouche with the first drink service. In my case, it had a Spanish touch with cheese, olives and peppers.

In my opinion, nothing else has changed in the execution of the service. Except that the small loaf of bread is served in addition to the “normal” starter. To be honest, I didn’t quite understand the concept. So I ended up having the starter with salad, a bread roll of my choice and also the small loaf of bread mentioned. That was a bit much bread for my taste. Of course, I couldn’t keep to myself and ate everything straight away. With so much bread, I was of course completely stuffed afterwards…

Die ausgewählte Hauptspeise war sehr lecker und genau richtig in der Menge. Natürlich konnte ich trotzudem nicht auf eine Nachspeise verzichten. Eigentlich war ich ja schon total voll – aber ich gebe eben alles für die Review! Leider war das Küchlein aber im Gegenteil zu sonst nicht besonders lecker…

Der gesamte Service ging zügig, wenn auch nicht schnell von statten. Wenn man die späte Startzeit bedenkt wäre noch ein wenig schneller durchaus super gewesen. Aber trotzdem alles total im Rahmen und fein.

Während der Nacht wurden hinten bei der Gally kleine Süßigkeiten und Getränke bereitgestellt.

Morgens war ich schon vor dem Frühstücksservice wach und kam in der Gally mit der Flugbegleiterin über der ersten Tasse Kaffe ins Gespräch. Sie hat sich sehr viel Zeit genommen und wir haben offen über das eine oder andere, ihren Beruf und die Fliegerei betreffend gesprochen. Wieder einmal war ich begeistert von den Lufthansa Mitarbeiter*innen der Kabine!

Zum Frühstück konnte ich mir eine äußerst leckere Süßspeise sichern und den Ausblick auf die unten an uns vorbeiziehende Küstenlandschaft genießen.

Waschräume

Im upper deck der 747-800 der Lufthansa befinden sich zwei Waschräume. Einer vorne vor der ersten Reihe und einer hinter der letzten. Beide sind gleich klein und nicht weiter besonders ausgestattet. Bis auf die bereitgestellten amenities konnte ich keinen Unterschied zu anderen Waschräumen in anderen Flugklassen feststellen. Die Crew hat ihr bestes getan und alles immer sauber gehalten, aber es ist doch immer wieder interessant, wie die anderen Fluggäste den Waschraum hinterlassen…

Tatsächlich sind zwei Toiletten für 34 Gäste vor allem zu den Stoßzeiten durchaus auch eine kleine Herausforderung. Vor allem, wenn alle sich gleichzeitig fürs schlafen umziehen wollen. Und dazu noch ein pro Tip von mir: die Wickelunterlage in den Waschräumen kann super als saubere und praktische Ablage für Eure Kleidung genutzt werden. Der Waschtisch oder gar die Toilette als Ablage finde ich immer sehr unhygienisch!

Service

Grundsätzlich muss ich sagen, dass ich ein großer Fan des Kabeinenpersonals von Lufthansa bin. Das was dem Konzern an hardware fehlt macht die Crew mit links wieder wet. Auf diesem Flug waren die Flugbegleiter*innen anfangs eher zurückhalten und ein wenig hölzern. Allerdings immer aufmerksam uns sehr freundlich. Erst später wurden sie dann offener, entspannter und aufgeschlossener.

Ankommen

30 Minuten vor der Landung gab es eine kurze Info vom Kapitän zu Wetter und verbleibender Flugzeit. Dann ging alles wie immer relativ schnell und die Kabine wurde schon für die Landung vorbereitet. Angeschnallt präsentierte sich die Insellandschaft vor Singapur von ihrer schönsten Seite.

Nach der Landung hatten wir ein wirklich langes Taxi und konnten dann aber nach Erreichen der Parkposition recht zügig über die vordere Tür und einen Finger aussteigen.

Zielflughafen

Der Flughaben Singapore Changi ist eigentlich ein eigenes Review wert. Er wird regelmäßig unter die besten Flughäfen der Welt gewählt. Mit Recht! Er ist hell, leise und extrem gut organisiert. Die Teppiche verleihen den Gebäuden einen ganz besonderen Charme mit ganz viel Gemütlichkeit.

Wie schon vorher beschrieben müsst ihr Euch ja zur Emigration vorher online anmelden. Wenn ihr das gemacht habt läuft alles digital ab. Ihr müsst nichts mehr ausdrucken und es wird nichts mehr gestempelt. Alles ist mit Eurem Pass verknüpft. Ihr werdet zu vollautomatischen Schranken geleitet und alles erfolgt ausschließlich automatisiert für alle Einreisenden. Ihr müsst Euren Pass an der ersten Schranke in den Scanner schieben und wenn er bearbeitet ist geht die Schranke auf und ihr könnt zur zweiten durchgehen. Dort wird wieder vollautomatisch ein Foto gemacht und der rechte Daumen über ein Glasfeld gescannt. Dann seid ihr auch schon durch.

Gleich nach der Passkontrolle kommt ihr zu den Kofferbändern. Mein Koffer hat ein wenig gedauert, war aber trotzdem noch noch alles im Rahmen.

Funfact: Fabi hat mich abgeholt und konnte von draußen durch eine riesige Glasfront die Gepäckbänder beobachten und mich dort schon entdecken. Das ist ziemlich cool und schafft eine tolle Offenheit in einem sonst immer so abgeschotteten Bereich.

Weiter ging es für uns gemeinsam dann ins Hotel Duxton Reserve – und zwar mit grab. Dazu gibt es am Flughafen in der unteren Ebene einen extra ausgewiesenen Bereich für den pickup.

Wenn ihr lieber mit dem öffentlichen Nahverkehr unterwegs seid dann könnt ihr aber auch mit der U-Bahn direkt aus dem Terminal raus in die Stadt fahren.

Fazit

Das war ein schöner und in jeder Form positiv ereignisloser und solider Flug. Für mich war es das erste mal in der 747 – 800 und dann auch noch im upper deck der alten Dame. Das war schon ein tolles Erlebnis. Das Essen war gut und der Service super.

Punkte

Ich vergebe für diesen Flug 9 von 10 möglichen Punkten. Es gibt lediglich einen Punkt Abzug für trockene Luft und die relativ hohe Geräuschbelastung. Dazu ist die Sitzsituation mit einer fremden Person als Nachbar doch ein wenig seltsam.

Empfehlung

Dieser Flug geht für alle. Vor allem für Familien, Paare und Gruppen ist die Lufthansa 747 – 800 Business Class im upper deck zu empfehlen. Einzelreisende können das machen, wenn sie gut mit Sitznachbarn können. Ansonsten kann es etwas komisch werden. Interessanterweise waren relativ viele Geschäftsreisende in der Kabine unterwegs.