hey guys, this is my first post. I have a question for you guys, im booking reward travel for next summer and i have a dilema, I have enough points to either fly air france first class or lufthansa business class... what should i go for?

Wait, change that.. lufthansa bussiness class VS Air france bussiness class.. which one?

For me the airline with the schedule that best met my needs would have the inside track.

the times are fine for me using both airlines... making this difficult

I think you would be happy with either choice. Since seats for award travel in the summer months tend to be limited, the important thing now would be to simply MAKE a choice.

Business class still means a connection at CDG or FRA. I think FRA (or almost anywhere) will be better than CDG for your transit.

What routes are you flying? The plane type on the specific routes may also make a difference.

One suggestion - check to see if the Lufthansa route in question will have 'new' business or 'old' business. I don't know anything about the rollout schedule, but I can tell you that 'new' business is quite nice - flat beds, great IFE and wi-fi.

I am taking JFK-ATH. And to my knowledge the flights are all with the new business class on Lufthansa.

There can be no guarantee that your particular business class experience will be better on one airline or another. There are many variables, such as the crew and your own preferences. Many people adore AF. I've flown AF in coach and business and frankly prefer DL. CDG is stressful to connect through. I've never flown LH but can't imagine that FRA or MUC would be nearly as much of a zoo as CDG.

Good luck.

You probably know that the intra-European segments on either carrier are likely to be a modified version of economy - the same seats but with no one assigned to the middle, and a little better meal/service.

If the Lufthansa flight connects in Munich, that will be a much easier connection than Paris. It's a very nice terminal. I'm not wild about the Lufthansa business lounges (assuming you would have time to use one), particularly at Frankfurt. The last few times I've used them, they were so crowded it was hard to find a place to sit - but that could have been bad timing.

Does either one entitle you to the airport lounge?

to my knowledge they both allow me access to the airport lounge

I've not flown Lufthansa business class, but have done so on Air France. I'm not a big fan of business class on Air France, plus, CDG is a complete pain the in the ass (in my opinion). Like jlillberto, I prefer Delta. If flight times are comparable, I'd opt for the new business class on Lufthansa.

turns out its the old business class by lufthansa... Should i go with Lufthansa or AF?

Check the sticky on the Flying Blue forum at flyertalk.com that discusses the retrofit schedule of the business class cabins on AF. I don't remember whether JFK has the new seats/cabin yet. Old business class on AF isn't very good, but I haven't flown LH so can't really compare the two.

I vote for Lufthansa with no doubts.
For the new LH business class check

www.lufthansa.com

on the bottom of home page click on
Product - New business class

then interact and test seats and also go to routes.
It shows JFK with LH400/401 and also via Munich (LH410/411)

Try to book any of these flights only, as they have other flight numbers via FRA hub which probably do not have new C class yet, although it might be they will by next summer, when you will be travelling