Lufthansa offers one of the few widely available first class products across the Atlantic, and for that matter, it’s one of the best first class products between the United States and Europe that’s bookable with miles.
With the the IATA winter 2025-2026 schedule having just kicked in as of late October, I want to recap which Lufthansa planes feature first class, which routes they fly, what to expect from the experience, and how to redeem miles for the product. There are a lot of seasonal changes coming to the aircraft and routes featuring first class, plus the expansion of A350 first class service and reduction of A340 first class service, so let’s go over all the details.
Lufthansa planes with a first class cabin
For the winter 2025-2026 season, you can expect first class to be available on four aircraft types — the Boeing 747-8, Airbus A340-600, Airbus A380, and Airbus A350-900. Specifically:
- Lufthansa has 19 Boeing 747-8s, which fly from Frankfurt to key, high yield, and high capacity markets; these will stay in Lufthansa’s fleet for years to come, and they’ll even be reconfigured with new cabins
- Lufthansa has six Airbus A340-600s, which fly from Frankfurt to key destinations where there’s demand for first class; however, these planes are expected to be retired in 2026, so don’t expect them to stick around for long
- Lufthansa has eight Airbus A380s, which fly from Munich to key destinations where there’s significant premium cabin demand; these planes will be sticking around for years, and will even be reconfigured with new cabins (though not necessarily a new first class)
- Lufthansa offers its new Allegris first class on 10 Airbus A350-900s, and that fleet will grow over the coming years; these planes are flying from Munich to destinations with premium demand
Lufthansa routes operated by Boeing 747-8s
For the winter 2025-2026 season, Lufthansa will operate Boeing 747-8s with first class exclusively out of Frankfurt. You can expect these planes to operate from Frankfurt to the following destinations:
- Buenos Aires (EZE)
- Chicago (ORD) — through January 11, 2026
- Johannesburg (JNB)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Mexico City (MEX)
- Miami (MIA)
- New York — as of January 12, 2026
- Newark (EWR) — through January 19, 2026
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Sao Paulo (GRU)
- Tokyo (HND)
- Washington (IAD)
Lufthansa routes operated by Airbus A340-600s
For the winter 2025-2026 season, Lufthansa will operate Airbus A340-600s with first class out of Frankfurt. You can expect these planes to operate from Frankfurt to the following destinations:
- Boston (BOS) — through January 11, 2026
- New York (JFK) — through January 11, 2026
- Riyadh (RUH) and Dammam (DMM) — through January 11, 2026
We’ll see how this evolves, but it looks like Lufthansa could be retiring the A340-600s as of January, based on the current schedule filing. Note that Lufthansa is also flying A340-600s to Detroit (DTW), but isn’t selling first class on the flight.
Lufthansa routes operated by Airbus A380
For the winter 2025-2026 season, Lufthansa will operate Airbus A380s with first class out of Munich. You can expect these planes to operate from Munich to the following destinations:
- Bangkok (BKK)
- Delhi (DEL)
- Los Angeles (LAX) — through January 11, 2026
- San Francisco (SFO)
Lufthansa routes operated by Airbus A350-900
For the winter 2025-2026 season, Lufthansa will operate Airbus A350-900s with Allegris first class out of Munich. You can expect these planes to operate from Munich to the following destinations (let me emphasize these planes also have the new Allegris business class):
- Bangalore (BLR)
- Cape Town (CPT)
- Chicago (ORD)
- Miami (MIA)
- New York (JFK)
- Newark (EWR)
- Shanghai (PVG)
- Tokyo (HND)
What to expect from Lufthansa first class
Lufthansa offers a solid first class experience on its Boeing 747-8. When departing Frankfurt, the awesome experience starts on the ground, as you can use Lufthansa’s incredible First Class Terminal.
While there, don’t forget to pick up your duck, since that’s always a fun feature of Lufthansa first class.
From there you’ll be driven across the apron to your plane, which sure is a treat.
Lufthansa’s 747-8 first class cabin features a total of eight seats, spread across three rows. There are three rows of single seats on each side, and then in the third row there’s a pair of seats in the middle. With so many airlines retiring the 747, it’s such a treat to be able to sit in the nose of the queen of the skies!
Lufthansa’s inflight catering in first class is generally good as well, with a caviar service to start, along with a variety of appetizers, main courses, and desserts.
While Lufthansa’s inflight entertainment selection is just okay, the airline does have inflight Wi-Fi, and first class passengers receive a voucher for complimentary access.
I’ve found service in Lufthansa first class to be pretty consistently excellent, and to strike the right balance between being professional and personable.
Lufthansa’s A340-600 first class and Airbus A380 first class also consists of eight seats, but the seats are instead spread across two rows in a 1-2-1 configuration. The Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich is also pretty awesome, and in many ways I prefer it to the Frankfurt lounge.
Then there’s Lufthansa’s new Allegris A350-900 first class, which consists of just three seats. This is a massive upgrade over Lufthansa’s old first class product, though the challenge is that the cabin is much smaller, and there’s no way to redeem miles for it. Still, if you can fly the new Allegris first class, it’s worth seeking out.
How to redeem miles for Lufthansa first class
You can redeem miles from all kinds of Star Alliance airlines for travel in Lufthansa first class. Generally Lufthansa makes first class award seats available to members of partner airline frequent flyer programs at most a few days before departure. Note that it’s not possible to redeem miles for the new Allegris first class, so you’ll have to fly the 747, A340, or A380.
Historically, Lufthansa has pretty reliably opened up first class award seats as the departure date approaches, assuming there are empty seats. Unfortunately in recent times, the airline has definitely become stingier with making these seats available.
So, what are the best programs for booking Lufthansa first class? Here are some popular options that partner with transferable points currencies, with pricing listed for one-way travel between the United States and Europe:
- The Air Canada Aeroplan program charges 100,000 points (for up to 6,000 miles of travel)
- The Avianca Lifemiles program charges 130,000 miles
- The United MileagePlus program charges at least 140,000 miles
None of those programs have carrier imposed surcharges on these awards, which is why I’m highlighting them.
Bottom line
Lufthansa offers a solid first class product on a subset of its long haul fleet. For the winter 2025-2026 schedule, you can expect to find first class on Boeing 747-8s and Airbus A340-600s based in Frankfurt, and on Airbus A380s and select Airbus A350-900s based in Munich.
The first class product across aircraft is pretty similar, with the exception of the A350-900s, which have the new Allegris first class seats. Unfortunately there’s no way to redeem miles for the new product, though.
Hopefully the above is a useful summary of which routes you’ll find these planes on, what to expect, and how to redeem miles for the experience.
Any other questions about Lufthansa first class that I missed?