Good afternoon from Toronto, Canada! My name is Alex, and… I’m crossing off a couple bucket items
today! I’m flying to Frankfurt with Lufthansa, on board none other than their Boeing 747-400.
The Boeing 747 is without doubt, an icon of civil aviation, revolutionizing air travel
all over the globe as the very first widebody airliner to enter service.
The 747-400 variant is a more advanced version that first flew in 1988,
providing better fuel efficiency and increased range. For many airlines,
these planes served as the backbones of their long-haul networks throughout the 1990s and
early 2000s. With the introduction of more fuel-efficient, and increasingly more capable
twinjets, the 747-400’s days, at least for the passenger version, were unfortunately numbered.
Despite that, I’ve never actually had the chance to fly on one of these planes,
and living in the less-density populated Canadian prairies for my whole life,
most of my long-haul flights have been on smaller widebodies instead.
Like any self-respecting aviation enthusiast though, I made plans to fix that in 2020,
which, as you might imagine, fell apart pretty quickly. Throughout that unfortunate year, it
seemed as though every last operator of passenger 747-400s retired them almost immediately.
So when Lufthansa announced late last year that they were re-activating some of their -400s,
I knew I was not going to pass up the chance this time,
and booked a flight from Toronto to Frankfurt, using Air Canada Aeroplan points in Economy.
Given all this, when I was checking in online and saw the option to upgrade to Lufthansa’s Business
Class, well, I was already sold by the fact that the seats up front would have a much better view
of the wing. And, if I was going to go all-in with this upgrade, for a plane that I would
probably never get another chance to fly on, I may as well go one step further
and cross another item off my bucket list - getting myself a seat on the upper deck!
So, needless to say, I was very excited for this flight. However,
after checking the flight status online and confirming on the screens in the terminal,
I found out I’d be spending an unplanned extra 5 hours here in Toronto.
Because of the delay, I got this $20 meal voucher when I got my documents checked at the counter.
Even though I was fully planning on spending that delay in a lounge, I’m glad those were given out.
The delay itself was due to a diversion that took place 3 flights before this one,
when the plane was flying from Frankfurt to Orlando and had to divert to Miami.
Given how busy this summer has shaped up to be, I’m not entirely surprised that
Lufthansa didn’t have any spare planes in Frankfurt to operate the flight to Toronto.
But even if they did, there’s a chance that might’ve meant an equipment swap and,
possibly a distinct lack of 747 in this video so I probably shouldn’t complain!
At the end of the hallway to the international gates is Air Canada’s International Maple
Leaf Lounge, which Lufthansa Business Class ticket holders have access to.
It’s a surprisingly large lounge, with plenty of seating, drinks, and snacks to grab on your own.
They also have these chocolate chip cookies which are, well,
not quite Air North quality but still very tasty.
In their lounges, Air Canada also has a table service, where you can scan a QR code, access a
menu, and somebody will bring your food to you. Considering the portion sizes of these are
more like snacks than anything, I kinda ended up trying the entire menu. All of
those choices were pretty good except for the ravioli which was unfortunately cold.
Although it’s a nice place to wait around, there unfortunately aren’t
any views to speak of from this lounge, so after sitting in the same seat and
staring up at the same skylight for about 3 hours, I was in need of a change of scenery.
As the sun set, and most of the evening’s other international flights departed,
I made my way down to gate 79 as Lufthansa’s flight to Munich was getting ready to leave.
Just over 5 hours late, our 747-400 finally arrived,
this 20-year old one registered as Delta Alpha Bravo Tango Kilo.
Tango Kilo was delivered new to Lufthansa in December of 2001, and has stayed with the
airline for its entire life. It was stored in various places over the last two years,
and is one of 8 747-400s that were reactivated in late 2021.
Now, technically, this’ll be my second ever time on the 747.
I flew on Lufthansa’s 747-8i in 2014 when they were a bit newer,
but this’ll still be my first ever flight on the iconic 747-400… And I plan to make the most of it!
Let’s go fly on a 747!
My seat across the Atlantic is at the very back of the upper deck, in seat 86K!
This is one of Lufthansa’s lie-flat Business Class seats, and just as I was hoping,
outside in the last few windows of the upper deck is this amazing wing view! Seriously, not only is
there a great view of both engines, but it is insanely cool to be looking down at the wing!
Waiting at every seat was this very soft and interestingly-patterned pillow and a warm blanket.
As you can see, there is no shortage of legroom whatsoever,
and especially with my long legs, I knew I was going to be very comfortable on this flight.
Also waiting at each seat was a packaged wipe, and very shortly after sitting down,
one of the two cabin crew members serving the upper deck came around with pre-departure drinks.
Since this’ll be, unfortunately, a nighttime departure, I’ll take a
look at the rest of the seat now while there’s still some light.
Starting at the front, there’s a literature pocket under the in-flight entertainment screen.
Below that, there’s this storage compartment which had an extra water bottle and this
Lufthansa bag to take home. That also doubled as the amenity kit, which I’ll go through later.
Between the seats are two universal power outlets, this large centre armrest which had
the seat controls and the tray table stowed inside, this compartment for a life jacket,
a fully adjustable headrest with a reading light attached, a movable armrest on the window side of
the seat, which had this compartment for the complimentary headphones right next to it,
Tons of extra storage along the side, the huge footwell, and this coat hook.
As for the IFE itself, I’ll take a look at that when we get in the air.
Even just sitting here at the gate, about to travel internationally for the first time in
two years, on the upper deck of a 747 no less? I was practically buzzing with excitement.
Soon after, these Business Class menus were handed
out and my excitement only continued to build as our captain welcomed us on board.
With that, the cabin lights dimmed, and we were finally on our way across the Atlantic.
Here’s our departure from Toronto, with some incredible sound from those
four General Electric CF6s off of runway 33R.
Well that takeoff was… Pretty much everything I’d hoped for!
Although it would’ve been better seeing that wing view in daylight, that sound was unreal!
One thing I didn’t show on the ground is that the tray table folds out from between the two seats,
sits at a good height, and slides too.
Right behind the tray table is the remote for the in-flight entertainment system,
which, interestingly, wasn’t a touchscreen. Instead, they have this little trackpad on
the remote that moves a cursor on the screen, which I thought was pretty cool.
The actual selection is decent enough, and you can find a good amount of movies, TV shows,
music, audiobooks, and podcasts. But, given my reasons for being on this flight,
I had zero intention of watching anything and left it on the moving map for the duration.
Now, while I was on the flight, I didn’t quite realize that the bag
from before was the amenity kit or that it had anything inside.
Still though, inside was a pair of Lufthansa socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste,
some cream and lip balm, a mint, and these coverings for the headphones. Interestingly, eye
masks and earplugs were also available, you just had to go and get them from the lavatory instead.
Pretty promptly after the seatbelt sign went off, the cabin crew began the meal service,
starting off with a drink and this bowl of nuts.
The actual meal appeared a few minutes later, and I went for a veal dish for the appetizer,
plus a warm bun, and this main course of sea bass with vegetables. This also
came with Lufthansa branded cutlery, plus some butter, salt and pepper, and some tea to drink.
The appetizer included roasted veal slices with tomato olive sauce,
roasted red grapes, and a grilled pineapple slice. I’m not the biggest fan of pineapple
so I didn’t have much of that, but the rest was surprisingly tasty!
The main course was a pan-seared sea bass in vanilla sauce with green olive and tomato,
along with a carrot, asparagus, squash, and potatos. Again, all very tasty!
Also, that bun may have just been the softest piece of bread I’ve ever had on an airplane!
Then again, I’m more accustomed to Canadian airlines, so all of this is pretty wild for
me! Lastly, these small cups of gelato were handed out for dessert, and were excellent
too - not frozen solid and not too liquidy either. Overall, a really really good meal, and our cabin
crew did a fantastic job making sure the service went by quickly, so we could get some sleep.
With that done, it was time for bed, and even though I was very much here for the 747,
I wanted to make sure I got my money’s worth on that upgrade by getting some proper sleep.
Each seat folds fully flat in about 30 seconds or so,
and leaves you with a bed that Lufthansa says is almost two metres long.
I still have to bend my knees to fit my legs, but one of the upsides to this layout is that foot
room isn’t vertically restricted at all, like it would be in a pod with all aisle access. With that
extra space for my feet and luckily not having someone in the aisle, I was very happy here.
As difficult as it was to shut off the avgeek part of my brain for a moment,
I managed to get 3 solid hours of sleep and decided to go explore the rest of the 747.
The upper deck on Lufthansa’s 747-400s has 22 Business Class seats in their usual 2-2
configuration. At the very front by the door to the flight deck is this lavatory which was
relatively spacious. Here, they had complimentary eye masks and earplugs sitting on the counter.
At the very back of the upper deck, you’ll find this very large galley that sits
basically where the 747’s hump meets the main deck.
Just forward of that are the stairs down to the main deck, and I still couldn’t get
over just how cool it was that there’s still so much more airplane below where I was sitting!
Lufthansa’s aircraft are all fairly premium-heavy to begin with, and the 747-400 is no exception.
Between the first and second set of doors is another Business Class cabin,
seating 28 passengers in a 2-3-2 layout. And yes, that does somehow mean that at least four people
could get a lie-flat middle seat, which is an odd combination to say the least.
But I’m not here to criticize Lufthansa’s cabin choices,
there are plenty of other videos on YouTube that do that well enough!
Even further forward in the nose is a third Business Cabin, which has 17 seats in a… less
conventional layout. As you can see, there are two pairs of seats on either side that get closer
together as you move forward, leaving room for a singular seat right in the middle at the back.
In all three cabins combined, that’s a grand total of 67 Business Class seats!
Further back past the second set of doors is a small Premium Economy Cabin,
seating 32 passengers in a 2-4-2 layout.
Finally, the rest of the plane is Economy Class, seating 272
in a 3-4-3 configuration, for a grand total of 371 seats on this Lufthansa 747-400.
What I didn’t quite realize until going downstairs… as one does, is how surprisingly
empty the flight was. This did take place in May before things got really busy, but because of
the delay, I wonder if a bunch of people with connections got rebooked onto other flights.
Eventually, I headed back upstairs where the breakfast service was just starting.
Our cabin crew member gave me some chocolates, and a cup of coffee to start off with.
Pretty soon, the breakfast tray appeared, and on it was a croissant,
some fruit, and a plate of muesli, which I’ll be honest, I had never heard of before,
but it basically tasted like oatmeal and wasn’t bad at all.
Plenty of beverages followed for the rest of the flight,
including an espresso and this glass of ice water.
I will just say though, the cabin crew member serving my side of the cabin was so friendly,
and after I explained that I booked the flight just to fly on the 747-400, they even helped
arrange a flight deck visit after we landed, which was just the cherry on top to a fantastic flight.
Obviously, this was a pretty personally significant flight for me,
and I was just so glad to have finally flown on such an iconic airplane.
Sadly though, I kinda picked one of the 747’s shortest transatlantic routes,
with a flight time of only 6 hours or so. Before we land though, here’s a look at
the seatback pocket contents, which just had the 747-400’s safety card and nothing else.
Unfortunately, this amazing ride on the Queen of the Skies had to come
to an end, and here’s our arrival into Frankfurt, landing on runway 25 Centre.
So I finally flew on a 747-400! What a fantastic flight this was, for so many reasons!
Lufthansa’s Business Class was actually really enjoyable, and although you could
certainly nitpick a few things about the seat, it just worked out phenomenally well for me.
Would I have enjoyed the flight as much in my original Economy seat? I think so, but the
upper deck really is an experience of its own. The upgrade was a bit of a splurge, but for me, it was
more about the upper deck and the 747 in general and less for the actual Business Class seats.
From my perspective as a lifelong aviation enthusiast, I finally got to fly on one of
the most iconic commercial airliners in the world, in one of the coolest seats,
and on a phenomenal if not so punctual flight. I’d say that upgrade was worth every single penny.
Honestly, this is one of those flights I’m going to remember for a long time to come,
and if it ends up being the only time I fly on the 747-400, I’m very glad I didn’t
miss the chance. Thank you all so much for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one.