If you would like a taste of the rich and famous, or just the “rich” and not famous, save your airlines miles for a First Class Ticket and experience Lufthansa Airlines. Our “five minutes of fame” began at the special First Class Check-in where a driver was summoned to take us to the off-site dedicated First Class Terminal. Use of this terminal will now only be available to passengers originating their journey in Frankfurt with the opening of a new Lufthansa First Class Lounge within the main terminal and open to all transiting and departing passengers (effective February 2009).

We were chauffered to the off-site Terminal where a personal concierge greets you, walk through the dedicated Lufthansa security and into the main lounge where passports and boarding passes are retained until time for embarkation. Lufthansa’s First Class Lounge is a slice of heaven. Comfy couches, reclining chairs, individual sleeping rooms (beds, pillows, blankets), immaculate bathrooms and showers …just for starters!

Lufthansa serves on beautifully set tables for meals in their First Class Lounge
Sit down in the separate dining room and select from the long breakfast buffet (our flight landed at 5:30 a.m. and the Lufthansa Kolkata/Calcutta flight wouldn’t leave until noon and if nothing on this humungous buffet suited you, chefs will concoct something to order. Rich and yummy Greek yoghurt, non-fat yoghurt, flavored yoghurt, meusli…View image….hand-squeezed juices… Parma ham…cold cuts…hot and cold dishes…pastries…all served in glass or on china…not a plastic utensil to be seen. If you are in the Lounge around Lunch or Dinner, the menus change with pasta, meats, fish…you have a taste for it…it’s on the buffet.

a very small sectiion of the First Class breakfast buffet in Lufthansa Lounge
The sleek and beautiful Lufthansa women staff must walk miles throughout the day serving any kind of coffee (you are not allowed to get your own!)…Starbuck’s, look ashamed, drinks, constantly asking if there is anything they can do for you…. A long liquor list to choose premium champagnes, wines. There are five different kinds of Tequila, three Sakes, Seven Gins, nine Vodkas, 15 different Grappas, and 25 scotches to choose from. Want a blended cocktail? Mai tais, Mojito, Martinis coming right up. It’s just criminal that at 5:30 a.m., our systems weren’t up to Sake tastings… Oh well…

a few of the many Sakis available in Lufthansa First Class Lounge
There are individual rooms with touch screen computers, printers, pads of paper, staplers and eye-candy for me, men sharply dressed in suits and ties flying off to conduct another day’s business. No business casual for them.

My absolute favorite part of this experience occurs when your flight is almost completely boarded. A personal concierge collects you, descend one level to Lufthansa’s dedicated customs area, meet your personal chauffeur and DAIMLER (or similar automobile) and are then driven on the field and directly to the plane where the First Class Purser is waiting to tuck you into a spacious, completely reclinable into a bed, seat! ex-Marine (husband, Steve) and I were two extremely happy campers!

Now, I ask you. Isn’t this worth saving those hard-to-come-buy miles for at least one “rich” experience? Enjoy!