Flight Review: Lufthansa Business Class FRA-MSP on B787-9 Dreamliner

Overview of Lufthansa Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner Business Class

Lufthansa is an airline that I’ve flown many times, but never in business class, that is until I booked two seats on a transcontinental route for my husband and me for a departure in July 2024.

On the route from Frankfurt, Germany, to Minneapolis, Lufthansa operated one of the five Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that the carrier acquired from Hainan Airlines, so it was a more updated product, yet wasn’t the newest Allegris cabin.

Here’s my experience flying Lufthansa business class from Tallinn, Estonia, to Minneapolis.

How I Booked Lufthansa Boeing B787-9 Business Class

Lufthansa started flying to Minneapolis in June 2024, so it’s a fairly new route. Of course, I didn’t pay money for this flight and used my credit-card points instead. Lufthansa is a Star Alliance member, so I had a few loyalty program options to choose from, but I ultimately went with Air Canada Aeroplan.

My husband and I were traveling in Europe this summer and needed to book a flight home at the end of July from Tallinn. Although we didn’t have a whole lot of flexibility with dates—we had a range of plus or minus a few days—we had a ton of flexibility in terms of where to fly. So, when availability on the Frankfurt-Minneapolis route popped up about six months before the flight, we jumped on it.

I booked a two-segment itinerary on Lufthansa: Tallinn to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Minneapolis for 70,000 Aeroplan points + $120.44 per ticket.

Chase was running a 20% transfer bonus to Aeroplan at the time of booking, so I transferred 117,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Aeroplan to complete this booking for two passengers.

Our final destination was Austin, Texas, so we booked the last leg of the itinerary on Delta Air Lines using Delta SkyMiles.

I earned the points needed for the Lufthansa flight with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, but Aeroplan is also a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards and Capital One Rewards.

Lufthansa Check-In at Tallinn Airport

The check-in process at Tallinn Airport went smoothly. It was in the wee hours of the morning, and the airport didn’t seem that busy. It didn’t take long for us to check our bags and collect boarding passes.

The short flight to Frankfurt was uneventful, so the rest of this review will focus on the long-haul flight to Minneapolis.

Lufthansa Lounge at Frankfurt Airport

As business-class passengers, we had access to the Lufthansa Business Lounge at Frankfurt Airport. Multiple Lufthansa lounges are available to business-class travelers across the airport, but we went in the lounge located in the departure area Z for non-Schengen flights because it was the closest to our gate. We presented our boarding passes, and complimentary access was granted.

If you hold The Platinum Card® from American Express (see rates & fees), you can access this lounge for free even if you’re flying economy class with one of the Lufthansa Group airlines (Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines).

Boarding Lufthansa at Frankfurt Airport

Since we were on a layover and spent time in a Lufthansa Business Lounge prior to the flight, we headed to the gate around boarding time.

When we arrived at the gate for a U.S.-bound flight, the airline agents checked our documents and directed us to the line for boarding Group 2. Boarding began on time, starting with passengers with families, and because we traveled at the end of July, we saw many families at the gate. Once everyone with children went on the jet bridge, our boarding group was called. This is Germany we’re talking about, so the process felt pretty organized.

Lufthansa Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner Business Class Cabin and Seats

Lufthansa business class on B787-9 Dreamliner features 26 flat beds arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration laid out in a reverse herringbone pattern. Every passenger has direct aisle access, and because of the angled design of the seats and a protruding wall, the seats feel more private than they initially appear.

Obviously, solo travelers will be better off choosing window seats A or K, and pairs will likely prefer seats D or G, but there’s no difference in terms of seat layout so either two will be fine. We chose seats 5D and 5G.

Storage-wise, I was pretty happy with how much there was. The seat had plenty of counter-top compartments on both sides to keep headphones, water and amenity kits separately.

In fact, there was another storage cubby near my knees on my right where I’d placed my purse, and I forgot to grab it *gasp* when I disembarked. I got it back, obviously, but triple-check all the nooks and crannies to make sure you have all your things before you’re off the plane.

The touchscreen seat control panel was built into the armrest, and an in-flight entertainment remote controller was inside yet another compartment, which made it hard to accidentally bump it and turn the screen on while sleeping. This compartment is also where I found a headphones jack, a USB charging port and a universal power socket.

The tray table slid from under the TV screen, and it was foldable, so I had the option to keep its surface small or fold it out and make it large during meals.

The overhead storage compartment felt super spacious. I stowed my 40-liter backpack there, and there was still tons of room to spare. It would be useful for passengers flying with large puffy coats, but since I flew in July, I didn’t need the extra space for anything else.

There were no individual air vents, so if you were too hot or too cold, there was no way to control the air flow at your seat.

Lufthansa Boeing B787-9 Business Class Bathrooms

The Lufthansa B787-9 Dreamliner business-class cabin featured three bathrooms: one in the front galley and two in the back galley. I think it’s pretty adequate for 26 passengers whenever the cabin is full. I never had to wait to use one.

The lavatories were rather small, the same size as you’d find in economy class. Select amenities, including a L’Occitane lotion, hand disinfection wipes, sleep masks, mouthwash and ear plugs, were available for use. A magnifying mirror was also built into the main mirror. The toilet had a touch-free flush sensor.

Lufthansa Boeing B787-9 Amenities

Lufthansa Business Class Amenity Kit

In place of a familiar cosmetics bag, the Lufthansa limited-edition amenity kit looked like a rolled up blue shopping tote or a laundry bag. It contained a L’Occitane cooling hand cream gel, L’Occitane lip balm, socks, eye mask, headphone covers, bamboo toothbrush, toothpaste and a mint.

Over the years of flying, I’ve collected quite a few cosmetics pouches, so this design felt like a fresh take on a functional amenity kit. I’ll definitely reuse it as a laundry bag on an extended trip.

Lufthansa Business Class Entertainment

Lufthansa in-flight entertainment system has a wide selection of movies, TV series, music, audiobooks, podcasts, games and a kids’ section on board. Business-class passengers can use an 18-inch touchscreen display and a pair of AKG noise-canceling headphones, which produced high-quality sound and felt comfortable on the ears. No one collected the headphones before landing, so we could enjoy the in-flight entertainment for the duration of the entire flight.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to pause or resume a film from the remote control, so that had to be done by touching the screen, which was rather inconvenient if you’re lying down.

Lufthansa Business Class Bedding Amenities

Each seat had a pillow and a blanket when we boarded, but there was no mattress topper. However, the seat itself was really comfortable and soft, so there really wasn’t any need for a mattress. The amenities didn’t include pajamas or slippers.

Lufthansa Business Class Pre-Departure Amenities

The service started with a pre-departure beverage on the ground, and I went with a glass of Champagne, my go-to on fancy flights. On this flight, it was the Bonnet Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne.

Also, flight attendants passed out pre-departure snack bags, which was a nice way to start enjoying all the business-class offerings.

At some point while taxiing, a purser came by letting us know that they were out of red wine. Otherwise, the plane would have been delayed by 30 minutes. Neither of us drinks red wine that often, especially when other options are available, so we were happy with a somewhat on-time departure without red wine.

Lufthansa Business Class Wi-Fi

In theory, Lufthansa FlyNet Wi-Fi was available on board. In practice, it was on a weird loop that wouldn’t allow me to connect. The Wi-Fi page kept telling me which website to enter in the browser, but then it kept looping me back to the start and never actually connected. So, I can’t speak to the cost or the quality of the signal.

Lufthansa Business Class Menus

The menus were distributed before takeoff, so we had some decisions to make.

Lufthansa Business Class Takeoff from Frankfurt Airport

We pushed back seven minutes past the scheduled departure time. A safety video began playing at the same time we started taxiing to the runway. We took off another 20 minutes later, and it felt smooth.

Lufthansa Business Class Meal Service

The in-flight service itself was wonderful, and we received great attention from the Lufthansa flight attendants.

After Takeoff

Since the flight took off right before noon, I assume the first meal was considered lunch. The following appetizers were included on the menu:

• Vitello tonnato with capers, avocado cream and pickled onions
• Shrimp confit on pineapple jelly and citrus fruit with olive oil caviar
• Burrata with tomato, arugula pesto and balsamic vinegar
• German bread culture – freshly baked potato bread from world baker Axel Schmitt

I chose burrata, which is always a good choice in my opinion, and it didn’t disappoint this time, either.

Salad was included with all meals and consisted of wild herb salad with radish, pomegranate and vinaigrette.

Main courses included the following options:

• Sous-vide cooked short ribs with fried green asparagus, roasted hazelnut and potato parsnip puree
• Fried halibut and prawn accompanied by shellfish sauce, potato and celery gratin
• Vegetarian ragout Zurich-style with fried mushroom and potato rosti

I went with the short ribs, and they were fine—not mind blowing by any means, but not bad.

The following desserts were listed:

• A cheese plate – lenggenwil, camboloza, rottal and sheep’s cheese
• Vanilla mousse tartlet with orange ragout and raspberry
• Fresh fruit

I finished the meal with the vanilla mousse tartlet, and it was delicious.

During the Flight

Snacks were available any time between meals, so there were options for those feeling snacky outside of meal service hours.

Additionally, cold express meals were available in place of multi-course meals for passengers who needed more time to work or sleep.

Before Landing

Because of the scheduled landing time around 1 p.m., this meal felt like a second lunch. It was served about two hours before landing, which felt a bit on the early side since some passengers were still sleeping, but I don’t know if that’s the standard.

The meal options were:

• Yellow beetroot, fennel salad and quince
• Red Thai chicken curry served with baby bok choy and basmati venus rice

I went with the chicken curry, and it was to my liking—not spicy but good flavors.

For dessert, there was a chocolate mousse with mango and pineapple compote.

Lufthansa Business Class Bed

The business-class seats on the B787-9 Dreamliner have three modes on the control panel: upright position, relaxed position and lie-flat position. The bed stretches out to 79 inches, which provides plenty of space to both short and tall passengers. I have to say that the footwell becomes narrower in the end, which might be less comfortable for tall travelers with big feet. Personally, I had no issues.

As mentioned, a mattress topper wasn’t included in the bedding amenities, so there was no need to “make” the bed. It laid itself flat at the touch of a button, and the controls were easy to understand.

Even though this specific flight departed Frankfurt just after 11 a.m., our first flight departed Tallinn at 6 a.m., meaning we didn’t get much sleep the night before, so I was out cold for several hours before breakfast service began.

Lufthansa B787-9 Arrival

We arrived in Minneapolis about 20 minutes later than the scheduled arrival time. As mentioned earlier, I’d left my purse on board, which I only noticed was missing after going through the point of no return, so I had to ask the Lufthansa agents to pick it up for me. The same plane was getting cleaned and prepped for the next flight, so luckily the ground crew was able to retrieve the bag for me.

Overall Impression of Lufthansa Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner Business Class

My overall impression of the flight was rather positive. The crew was super attentive; the seats were comfortable; and the amenities were nice. My husband and I both also enjoyed the in-flight dining experience.

Final Thoughts

Normally, I don’t mind economy class for flying between Europe and North America because it’s not that far of a flight, and I can rough it if it means I get to save points. However, since we traveled continuously for an extended period of time, I figured why not return home to work and responsibilities in style—as a last hurrah of sorts.

Lufthansa has a pretty nice soft product in terms of food and service, and this particular aircraft was a treat since everyone has direct aisle access and generally comfortable sleeping pods.