Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt Airport (FRA)

We had a roughly two hour layover in Frankfurt, as we were arriving from Tampa in Eurowings Discover's A330 business class, and connecting to Venice in the A321 business class. The Senator Lounge was where we spent most of our layover, and it reminded me of how weak the lounge game is.

Air France has significantly improved their lounge experience, but the lounges of other European airlines haven't changed much.

Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt location & hours

It is the largest hub of the carrier and has several lounges. Our flight was departing from gate A56, so we decided to visit the non-Schengen lounge at gate A50. This had to be done through passport control and then through the tunnel.

We followed the signs to A50-A69.

I have a hard time walking through the airport since I get distracted by all the pretty planes. Long live the jumbo jet!

We found the entrance to the lounge. We scanned our boarding passes and were admitted without the lounge agent saying a word.

The lounge is open from 5:30AM until 9:30PM and covers most of the departures of the airline.

Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt entry requirements

The lounge system of Lufthansa is unique.

• Lufthansa Business Lounges are the carrier’s business class lounges, which are open to all Star Alliance business class passengers
• Lufthansa Senator Lounges are more premium, and are open to Star Alliance Gold members plus Star Alliance first class passengers; the airline technically markets this as a first class lounge, so that it doesn’t have to let Star Alliance first class passengers into its real first class lounges
• Lufthansa First Class Lounges are the carrier’s best lounges, though they’re reserved for HON Circle members and Lufthansa first class passengers; Lufthansa gets away with this by marketing this as a HON Circle lounge that Lufthansa first class passengers just happen to get access to

The Senator Lounge was used because of my Star Alliance Gold status, which I earned through a recent Singapore KrisFlyer promotion. This is supposed to be better than a business class lounge. If you were flying from Singapore Airlines Suites to New York or Singapore, you would be directed to the Senator Lounge.

Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt seating & layout

The Senator Lounge was very busy during our visit. Unless I'm looking to eat, I'm usually happy to find an empty gate area and sitting there. The lounge was busy.

The lounge had a variety of seating options, including rows of chairs, dining tables, and high-top seating. It's interesting how they put ads in the lounge.

There are some seats in a pre-reclined position along the forest wall, but they were all occupied when we visited.

There is an office area with cubicles, as well as a few phone booths.

Magazines and newspapers were included in the reading materials.

The lounge has great views of the apron. They are hard to photograph due to the windows being used to control the temperature in the lounge.

Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt food & drinks

The main buffet lounges were back toward the entrance, and the selection was pretty standard.

There were many types of food, including salads, pretzels, rolls, curry with rice, sausages, potatoes, and more.

I witnessed a lot of people putting a lot of sausages on their plate. It is a nice taste of Germany for those just having a layover. I guess I'm not the target guest for the lounge's most popular food item because I don't eat pork.

There was a selection of desserts, including a couple of desserts in jars.

The alcohol selections at the Senator Lounges are better than those at the Business Lounges. There was a large selection of alcoholic beverages.

There was a selection of tea and coffee machines.

There is only one main buffet area in the lounge, and it gets crowded. There was a small self-serve station at the other end of the lounge, with a coffee machine, water, and some sweets.

I had a drink and a pretzel.

Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt bathroom & showers

I couldn't take a picture of the Senator Lounge rooms because there was a long waiting list. The toilets were at least clean, though they didn't smell great.

Am I the only one who finds Lufthansa’s lounges to be disappointing?

I am aware of the challenges airlines face with lounges.

• Real estate in airports is not only expensive, but often simply not available, so even if Lufthansa wanted to expand lounges, that might not be an option
• It can be hard to control crowding in lounges, especially with standardized access rules at the major global alliances

That is said.

Most of the lounges at Lufthansa aren't very good and haven't evolved. The airline offers a lackluster experience with the addition of the subpar long haul business class seat. It is the only airline in Europe to have a Skytrax 5-star rating.

I don't know if I'm the only one who feels that way.

Bottom line

When you consider that the lounge is supposed to be a premium lounge that is better than your typical business class lounge, it can get very crowded. I don't think that Lufthansa is competitive anymore because of this lounge.

I suppose if you really want some sausage or booze then stop in here, but if you want to sit in an empty gate area then I'd rather you do that.

What was your experience at the Senator Lounge?