Lufhansa Boeing 747-8 - LH572

Route

LH572, Frankfurt to Johannesburg, 12 January 2016.

Duration

10 hours

On time departure and arrival

Departed late but arrived on time.

Ground crew and check-in

We were able to check in online 23 hours before the flight.
Our flight was from Munich to Frankfurt, and then onwards from Frankfurt to Johannesburg.
Passport Control was at Frankfurt Airport
Security checks was at Munich Airport, at Frankfurt we departed from the same terminal building (landed in Terminal 1 A and departed from gates Z), and did not have to go through security at Frankfurt. 
We were unsure if our luggage would be booked through to Johannesburg so we handed in our luggage at the check-in counters. The lady confirmed that we could drop off our luggage at the automatic/self-service Lufthansa counters and our luggage will be booked through to our final destination.
Ground staff was friendly and very helpful.

Boarding procedure

Priority boarding for first and business class passengers, families with small children and assisted passengers. We used the electronic gates to scan our boarding passes and boarded via a mobile bridge.
Boarding was a bit chaotic, this route used to be serviced by an Airbus A380 aircraft. At the time of booking it still showed the A380 seating options. The Boeing 747 takes less passengers and the flight was overbooked. The ground staff asked for volunteers to fly the next day on partner airlines. This caused a delay in boarding.

Luggage allowance

Hand luggage - One carry-on bag 8kg max
Checked luggage - One bag not exceeding 23kg, Lufthansa make use of the Piece concept for luggage

Seating

Number of seats - 208 in standard Economy
Emergency exit row seats cannot be book online, they are allocated when checking in at the counters.
Seat pitch - 78.74 cm (31")
Seat width - 43.18 cm (17")

Number of seats - 32 in Premium Economy
Seat pitch - 96.52.74 cm (38")Seat width - 45.72 cm (18")

View more information at Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 seat map or Seatguru Boeing 747-8 Economy seat information

We sat in row 32 against the bulkhead. These seats have limited recline, the kitchen are behind them and this can be a nuisance.
The overhead locker space was limited, and there were crew luggage behind our seats.
The USB port was underneath the armrest.
The controls to adjust the lights, call the attendant etc. was in the armrest. There is no cover on it so you very easily press the buttons by accident.

Amenities

Small cushion and blanket.
Headsets and covers for headsets speakers. The covers are very flimsy and mine tore when I tried to put it on the speakers of the headset.
Headsets were collected just before landing.
You have to ask for flight socks, eye masks and toothbrush.

Entertainment

German and English newspapers were available upon boarding.
Personal touchscreen monitor with additional controls in armrest. The selection of movies was a bit limited in my opinion, but still enough to keep you entertained on a 10 hour flight.
Lufthansa magazine available in seat pocket.
USB port underneath the armrest.

In-flight communication

Internet access via WLAN and mobile telephony via GSM was available after take-off.
See more information on Fly-Net 

Meals and refreshments

Dinner
The in-flight service started as soon as we reached cruising altitude.
We were served a hot dinner. There was a choice between a chicken dish and a pasta dish.
The food tasted good.
On the tray - Salad, bread bun, dessert, butter, salt, pepper, sugar, cheese, cutlery, wet wipe and serviette. Cup for Coffee.
Any special meals must be pre-ordered when you make your reservation.
Coffee, tea, beer, wine and other beverages were served before our meal as well as afterwards.

Breakfast
A hot breakfast was served around 2 hours before landing.

Toilets

The toilets were kept reasonably clean. In my opinion there are not enough toilets on the aircraft.
Basin to wash hands and brush teeth.

In-flight shopping

Available. Shopping magazine in seat pocket

Travelling with Children

Milk and baby food can be warmed up by the cabin crew
Read more on Lufthansa - Travelling with children

Crew

I found the crew competent and friendly. Instructions were given in German and English.

Disembarking

First and Business class disembarked first. We had an aircraft bridge to the terminal building at O.R Tambo airport.

Overall opinion

What I liked
The seats are wide enough and the legroom is adequate.
The staff was friendly and attentive
The plane was quiet with not too many rattles and noise.

Not so good
Limited recline on bulkhead seats.
Limited overhead locker space at bulkhead seats. The 
Configuration of Premium Economy seats makes the aisle very narrow when walking towards the toilets.
Not enough toilets.




Entertainment screen








 











Airline loyalty programs

Frequent-flyer programs are loyalty programs offered by the majority of airlines. 
There are many advantages to joining these programs but please be aware that each program has its own set of rules and partners. These programs allows you to earn miles that you can redeem in certain ways.
It may also allow you to earn tier/status miles that are used to determine your membership status. The higher your status, the more benefits you are eligible for.  How you earn miles and in what way you can redeem these miles depends on the program you join and it may be different for each program.

Membership benefits could include some of the following:

Redeeming your miles to upgrade to a higher class e.g. from Economy to Business.
Redeeming your miles to purchase flight tickets.
Using your miles for in-flight shopping.
Redeeming your miles with airline partners e.g. car hire and hotels.
Priority boarding.
Lounge access.
Priority on waiting lists when on standby.
Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating.
Additional luggage allowances.

Earning miles - Depending on the program, miles can be earned in any the folowing ways:

Flying with the airline and its partner airlines.
Making use of the program's non-flight partners e.g. car hire or retail outlets.
Making purchases with affiliated credit cards.
Promotional offers e.g. bonus miles or referring friends.

Keep the following in mind

• Only certain types of airline tickets e.g. full fare (Y) can be upgraded by using miles, this depends entirely on the program rules.
• When you redeem miles to purchase an airline ticket, you may still need to pay the airport taxes and any other relevant taxes. Some programs allow you to use your miles to additonally pay for these taxes.
• Lounge access is usually only available to higher status members.
• Tier miles cannot be redeemed and they expire at the end of the mileage cycle.
• Tier miles are usually only earned when flying with the airline self and not with their partners
• The amount of  miles you earn on a flight ticket will depend on the type of ticket, the distance travelled as well as your membership status.
• Redeemable miles may expire if not used within a specified time frame.
• You can belong to more than one membership program.
• Remember to quote /enter your membership number when making a booking or using a program partner.
• Keep up to date with the rules and regulations of the program.