Hi everyone, sorry for the long post...

 

What i have been reading about both products is that both First Class products are among the finest in the industry, so i dont think you will make a bad choice with either airlines.
LH offers an identical (thus more consistant) cabin in both the A380 and B748. AF offers a newer cabin in the B77W and the A380 is slightly dated.

That being said, the MQM's you'll receive for this trip on AF is a significant benefit and I would go for AF

 

And the ground experience in CDG with AF is miles ahead of that with LH/FRA.

 

Haven't been on AF in a couple of months now (to JFK, maybe 2 or 3 months ago) but my last LH experience is from last week (EWR) and another one two weeks earlier (ORD)

Generally: (1) both are SUPERB. As long as you don't go on British Airways all European First Class products are fine. And (2) all comments below are comparing the Air France 777 with the Lufthansa flight, the AF A380 being not as good

Cabin feeling: The AF 77W has only four rows, and feels slightly more claustrophobic - but not on a level that it's really disturbing. The Lufthansa A380 feels much roomier, and the B747-8i even more so.The B747-8i feels nice because the First Class cabin is in the nose of the plane
Seat quality: You won't hear me say anything bad about either. Both are fantastic. Enough storage, table large enough,comfortable in any position. Subjectively: I prefer the Air France one for sitting, the Lufthansa one for sleeping, but that may also have to do with the following point:
Privacy of the seat: Hmmm... for me that is the weak point of both seats and I prefer the setup on for instance LX. To get good privacy on AF, you need to pull the curtains, which makes it then feel more claustrophobic, a bit like a field hospital. The Lufthansa seat has the "shield" or "wall" around the back and side of your seat,which is slightly better. But when it's down, you are pretty much exposed to the rest of the cabin.
Flight attendants: Again, both are great. I find the Air France ones more elegant and "First Classy", the Lufthansa ones more attentive and proactive (not to say that the AF ones are not, but LH usually better). A question of personal preference, really. Also, it differs from one crew to the next. Consistency usually pretty good across crews in First on both carriers
Catering: Again, personal preference. But actually, I find the LH catering to be more achieved than the one on Air France. Also more choice on LH. Flights from the US on Air France have a not so great reputation for catering, but Lufthansa is actually good (if not as excellent as leaving from Europe). Both have dine-on-demand, and both have a variety of things they can serve you outside of the main meal services if you feel peckish. Lufthansa choices somewhat larger and more refined for that snack service.
IFE: (I usually don't care.) Again, both have large screens, although I think the AF one is somewhat larger? What makes me prefer the AF system is the choice of more artsy and French movies, but that is just my taste for movies. People that are into the typical stuff served by the US airlines (a spider mutes into a giant spaceship, Manhattan is in ruins after 3 minutes and the longest verbal exchange in the film is "My revenge will be sweet" replied by "Hmmpff") will also find something that doesn't awake their brains too much
Internet/WiFi on board: the only true difference. If it matters to you, then don't take Air France, they don't have it. Lufthansa has it on all longhaul planes (and soon all shorthaul)
Amenities: Lufthansa has the nicer Pajamas, Air France the nicer amenity kit. But again, both are great.
Ground experience: "Miles ahead" for AF is an exaggeration. It depends:

• leaving from JFK, both airlines will escort you through security, and bring you to their lounges. Lufthansa has an entire floor of its lounge for First Class �-la-carte dining and a large buffet, the quality is okay-ish. Air France has a dedicated section, I've missed it last time I went through JFK - check the posts here on the forum, not sure iwhat the dining experience is there.
• Transiting in either direction is better in Paris, no doubt. You get picked up at the aircraft door and a limousine drives you to the Premiere lounge and then to your connecting flight. But you have to go through security when arriving from the US.
• Transiting USA-Europe in Frankfurt, coming from the US, you typically arrive at the Z gates, and the First Class lounge is right there after passport control, no need to go through security. For your connecting flight, if it leaves from an open stand, they'll drive you. Otherwise another short walk in the same concourse, just one level down. The walks are not long, but definitely more walking than in the case of Air France where they drive you
• Transiting Europe-USA in Frankfurt, again, depending where you come from it's just a short walk to the First Class lounge and then on to your US-bound flight. Basically the US flights leave on the upper floor of the concourse from where the European flights leave.
• Arriving Europe better in Paris: they usher you through passport control, which can be a very very messy place in Paris. In Frankfurt, no such assistance, but usually not such a mess either. Lufthansa is much better with priority luggage than Air France
• Leaving Europe better in Frankfurt, as the First Class Terminal is a full terminal building in its own right, entirely dedicated to First Class pax. You can get out of your car in front, security is right behind, and the lounge (the entire terminal is actually a lounge) right behind that. From car to lounge it's about 15 meters. In Paris, other than getting to the actual place where the Premiere staff awaits you being an absolute chaos (not AF's fault), you still have to cross the full Terminal 2E. You do so with an escort, but it's a walk which is about as long as the walk from the First Class lounge to the gates in Frankfurt.
• Arriving USA the same. Both airlines have staff that escort you through immigration in JFK Terminal 1.
• All in all... At JFK, slightly prefer Lufthansa, terminating and transfering in Europe I prefer Air France, originating in Europe I prefer Lufthansa

 

I am not as seasoned on both products as San Gottardo.
I have only flown once on AF new 77W (but many times on the A380) and once on LH 748.
AF F seat on A380 is ancient and offers no privacy. I would avoid it.
AF 77W has only one row (only four seats not four rows as mistyped above) and I find it a bit claustrophobic and much prefer the nose of the 747 on LH.
LH catering and wines are superb and original. With only four seats (and possibly only a couple of pax) AF catering offer less choices.
I find the AF 77W screen rather smallish and far away.

Otherwise I fully agree with San Gottardo's comments. But I would never pay to fly AF A380 F.
If you do not have preference for destination, I would also consider LX.

I know that there is a lot of BA bashing here. But I find their F suite on the A380 truly excellent, especially if you have a window seat, at least on par or better than the standard new F seat as on AF and many airlines. I have flown it many times. But BA 747 is the worst in F and not much better on 77W middle seats). BA A380 F window seat plus their excellent catering/wines (not Champagne make me very happy at reasonable price.

 

Flown both and have to say AF wins hands down for ground services. Mrs L and I happen to like the 380 more than the newer 777 cabin for various reasons. Yes, it's older but the ambience of the larger cabin works for us as does the flight experience of the larger aircraft. First world problems I know and how lucky to have the choice. As a footnote the pyjamas on AF fit better than LH and are cooler with a softer feel in my opinion.

 

 

The problem with BA is less the hard product than the soft product: lacklustre catering, haphazard crews (some of which can be very inexperienced); the ground product is also under-whelming: the CCR is simply not in the same league as the Premi�re lounge and the FCT/FCLs, The concept of being taken by limousine to/from the plane is totally unknown at BA.

BA F is better understood as premium business (in the same way as PE is premium economy) than a genuine first product, imo. If you think of it that way, it is not bad given that it is typically situated at a lower price point than AF and LH F, including frequent offers of complimentary one-way upgrade on J/C/D class tickets.

 

I'll make this short as the OP hadn't asked for it

Ground: good. Very nice First Class lounge in Terminal E Zurich with a terrace and a great view (see picture); in Zurich, there is a private entrance with a dedicated security check and you get your private escort through a private passport checkpoint, limousine service to the concourse where the longhaul flights leave from (you have the choice of being dropped of at the First Lounge there, or at the gate of the flight), escort service at outstations. First Class Lounge in Terminal A (for medium haul connections) underwhelming, catering in the lounge good, but very clearly a league below Paris. Great advantage of Zurich vs Paris and London: no need to go through security again when arriving from US and transferring to another flight.
Seat: my preferred: the right mix between privacy and not claustrophobic. Large screen. Good storage. Great bedding, with very comfortable pillows and mattress, duvet large enough. Good amenities (the only ones I take from planes time to time, La Prairie). Very good pajamas, like Air France basically (personally I prefer Lufthansa). Special pajama edition on the A340
Flight attendants: many of them went to hotel school in Switzerland (not the prestigious ones, but still): EXTREMELY proactive, attentive to details, very polished and professional service, can do amazing things in an aircraft galley. Less "chic" than the AF ones. Basically Swiss vs. French stereotypes coming true
IFE: good! Lots of choice. Internet on board all the A330 and B777 planes, but not on the A340s (few remain in the flight, none going to the US)
Catering: very good, and the most restaurant-alike in setup and protocol

All in all up there with Air France and Lufthansa as the three European top products, which are each great for different things and each has its different weaknesses.



View from terrace of First Class Lounge Dock E, Zurich Airport


And rightly so. Whilst flying First on Air France, Lufthansa or Swiss is like staying at a Four Seasons flying First on BA is like staying in the suite - of the Holiday Inn. Calling that product First Class is misleading customers, an insult to your wallet. Outright filthy cabins (don't they use vacuum cleaners from time to time), tiny seats,not much storage, bedding with duvets that are too narrow and too short, atrocious catering where usually they run out of choices very fast (in First Class nevertheless...), small screens with bad image quality, sourly staff that is not on the same level of First Classy-ness and professionalism as AF, LH, LX. On the ground: a complete joke. The "Concorde Room" is a dark dump, transfer from/to planes is with the masses, transfer beteween flights happens in that mad house that LHR is where First passengers are being dumped to use the same inefficient transfer experience as everybody else, including long waits, and so on. Seriously, if someone thinks about spending money on a once-in-a-lifetime First Class experience with a European airline, this is money badly spent. I qualify my opinion slighty, I have only been on the A380 once, to JNB, but cannot recall that the suites made up for any of the other shortcomings of the product. Clearly clearly inferior.

 

While I broadly agree with your sentiment, i think that you are over-egging the pudding a little here. If AF/LH/LX is like staying at a Four Seasons, a more appropriate comparison for BA F than a Holiday Inn suite would be something like a Hilton/Westin/Crowne Plaza suite. Clearly not the same class but let us not exaggerate either: BA F is not premium economy, which is what your Holiday Inn comparison would suggest.

 

I do quite agree. I had the pleasure to experience them both recently. IMHO the LH F ground experience at FRA ranks pretty close to the AF F ground experience at CDG, except perhaps walking is required in some cases. However, I do think that AF F is better in the sky than LH F. AF pays a more attention to detail, both in the cabin features and in the service aspects.

But the comparison is in the details, and opinions may vary on that. When it comes to the big picture, both LH and AF have excellent F products, and they both outclass BA F in many ways.

 

 

I adore Lufthansa F but I have to lean towards Air France in F, especially on the 777. My entire LHR-CDG-SIN experience was that good. I actually like the privacy of the curtain and thought it was a very clever idea over doors. The only time things felt claustrophobic was when everyone had their curtains shut, but you would only notice that when going to and coming back from the bathroom. It might actually be nice for you and your wife as you would have the two middle seats and a nice sized enclosure with the curtains. AF had better on-board catering and better ground services. AF's lounge at CDG and LH's First Class Terminal at FRA are both terrific, though I must admit the Biologique products and the beautiful bathrooms in AF's lounge spoke to my girly side.

I'm a fan of SQ Suites but if you are thinking of doing the JFK-FRA flight then connecting on to your final destination in Europe, it might be a bit of a letdown only because of the timing of that flight. It's a night flight that goes by pretty quickly so there's not much time to enjoy the experience, or at least that's how it felt to me. Also, SQ doesn't have its own lounges at JFK or FRA so you have to use partner lounges and neither are first class lounges, although the Virgin Clubhouse at JFK is really nice.

 

There are some great viewpoints and comparisons in this thread. I'll add my $.02 and personal preferences:

In recent months I've flown AF, LH, LX, and BA. I would rank as follows:

Ground- Air France by far. AF is incredible. From ZRH the service includes E Class car pickup at my home, meet and greet on arrival at airport, escort through ZRH (which is a bit overkill!), blocked off space in ZRH lounge, pre-board and introduction to cabin crew on the flight to CDG, on arrival escort waiting on jet bridge, car service to the La Premiere lounge (currently using Jaguar), passport formalities handled in lounge (in most cases, otherwise they quickly escort you through customs), and on departure the agent will find you and drive you directly to plane.
LX will drive you to E gates from A gates, and the new lounge has a security challenge, but on boarding you're literally on your own.
BA- forget about anything. You're lucky to be able to get get on the plane behind the 100 pre boards and others who have already queued up.
LH- Car service from FCT to your plane always, and sometimes depending on which lounge (I typically go to B lounge when flying to US as you get a guaranteed ride)

Lounge-
AF- Also my favorite. Amazing food, catered by Ducasse, normally never too crowded (unlike LX/LH or BA they restrict La Premiere lounge entry to La Premiere guests- and sometimes those who pay for the service while flying business). Wines are great quality.
LH- A close second, tends to be more crowded, but good food and they have a buffet setup. They also have a bigger feature of whiskeys and other drinks than AF does.
LX- Also very nice, love the outside area in terminal E on a nice summer day. Food and catering top quality, drinks only so/so.
BA- Typical British Airways. Food is mediocre at best, only saving grace is the free flow Grand Siecle and typically a few decent wines. Normally quite crowded, and not very personal.

On Board-
AF- Two different experiences here depending on 77W or 380. I actually like both setups although 77W is much more private. Even though 380 seat is old the cabin just feels incredibly spacious (no middle console) and open. Downside is 1 toilet for 9 passengers on the 380. 77W is VERY private and great if you want to keep to yourself, block out the noise/light with the curtains and watch movies all flight. Speaking of movies, the TV on the 77W is huge, on the a380 it's a bit of a joke. Service is very much crew dependent. I've generally found AF service is better on the ground than in the air, it tends to be fairly slow however great wine list (and champagnes are always great- Cristal, Krug, Comte de Champagne, etc... )and probably some of my favorite catering. Also the PJs are great! That being said I've also had some amazing crews.
LH- Seats are very nice, leather and well kept. TV is a bit small for the size of the seat, and as mentioned above privacy isn't the best. Catering varies (at least the menus are always published ahead of time). They tend to have some very german food items (which depending on personal preference can be great or just okay) and the wine list has suffered in recent years and the champagne varies from mediocre to great. Service seems to depend on crew, in Feb I was 1 of 2 passengers and felt the service was a bit off. I've had some great flights and some bad flights.
LX- My favorite experience of all. LX is like the exact opposite of AF. Mediocre ground services but once you're on board you WILL be taken care of. I've never had an "off" crew in all of my LX flights, the catering is, as mentioned above, restaurant quality, ample choices, high quality wine list, etc... Seat is fairly consistent if you're on 333 or 77W (TV size and privacy doors are included on the 77W. The a340 seat is old but still comfortable. Great PJs.
BA- premium business class is a good description. I like to joke that they always have a few decent wines because it's the only way the food they serve seems edible. This has been consistent for me in several BA flights. Also on several occasions I've been denied my 1st (or 2nd) choice when not pre-ordering. Seats are comfortable, but cramped, privacy depends on plane, and service depends on crew. I've had some amazing flights and some "never again" flights.

Outstations-
Arrival- AF has had over the top arrival service. Carted to immigration in SIN, private channel in HKG, US is hit and miss depending on the airport. But there will be someone waiting for you.
LX/LH- Normally a greeter, sometimes they will try and expedite through immigration but you're on your own most times.
BA- Don't even ask...
Departure-
AF tends to contract to separate lounges for their La Premiere passengers- CIP terminal in SIN, Qantas lounge in HKG, Qantas at LAX, Virgin Atlantic at SFO... or private areas in their own lounges where appropriate
LH/LX- tend to use a Star Alliance lounge, if First Class option is available then you will use it. Some lounges set aside some space for First.
BA- Gold lounge with the other 40% of passengers who seem to have gold card with some exceptions (IAD, SIN, JFK) where they have a Concorde room or Condorde
dining option.

Overall its' down to personal preference, but my ranking is as follows:
AF- Only because the ground service is amazing. I've had some bad experiences while on board, but the whole experience really "feels" First Class and that's why I like it the most.
LX- Consistent. I don't have to question what sort of crew will I get, it's always amazing food, great service, and very First Class feel- even if Ground services are lacking
LH- Mixed. I do feel it could use a re-fresh (especially TV slide) and I don't love the food. But the ground service is 2nd to Air France and the Terminal in FRA makes up for this. Grab a duck if you fly through the FCT or the FCL!
BA- I am in the camp that doesn't even call this First Class. I've learned to lower my expectations and only fly on points or upgrades because it truly isn't worth a premium these days.

 

Great points made by everyone in this thread. I've flown AF/LH/LX multiple times and want to add a few points:

1. I think AF Pajamas are the best. They are very stylish and made of great material.
2. AF Food is also the best IMO. Certainly at the CDG lounge, but also in-flight. LX dining is better than LH dining on the ground (even FCT), but I think LH has better in-flight food.
3. My seat ranking is: AF 77W > LX > LH 380 > LH 7478i > AF 380. I don't find the 77W claustrophobic, esp. when you have the cabin to yourself :-)

. I hate with LX/LH that you're left on your own basically. You can go to FCT in Fra but there's something ironic about leaving the airport and doing security again (albeit easy) for a different lounge.

If the timings work, I'd just go AF for the MQM and because the ground service at CDG is so, so nice. When flying F it's fun to "feel like a celebrity" and AF has the best experience there. You can't go wrong with any of them OP, have a great trip!