Nuremberg doesn't get the nonstop treatment, and after two decades of routing through half of Europe's hub airports, I've come to see that as a hidden advantage rather than a limitation. There is no nonstop business class from Detroit to Nuremberg — every itinerary connects, typically through Frankfurt or Munich on Lufthansa, or via Amsterdam and Paris on Delta and United's joint-venture metal — and that single-connection structure actually gives travelers more equipment variety and scheduling flexibility than a direct flight would. Delta's Detroit hub advantage is real here: DTW is one of the airline's premier fortress hubs, meaning smoother check-in, dedicated Delta One check-in lanes, and a Sky Club experience before the roughly 8.5-hour transatlantic leg begins.
My own preference leans toward Lufthansa when the routing allows it, connecting through Frankfurt or Munich, both of which sit close enough to Nuremberg that a short onward hop or even a train transfer becomes practical if flight timing gets awkward. Lufthansa has been rolling out its Allegris business class on select long-haul aircraft, featuring suites with closing doors on certain configurations — worth requesting specifically when booking, since not every frame has it yet, and older 747-8 or A340 business seats still fly plenty of these Frankfurt rotations. Delta One's suite, with its consistent privacy door across the Airbus and 767 fleet, is the safer bet if you want guaranteed hard-product quality regardless of aircraft swap. My insider tip: when connecting through Frankfurt, clear immigration and recheck bags early in Terminal 1, since Lufthansa's short intra-European hop to Nuremberg often departs from a distant satellite gate with tighter walking times than posted connection minimums suggest.
Winter and shoulder-season months — January, February, March, October, and November — consistently offer the softest business class availability and pricing on this corridor, largely because Nuremberg's trade-fair traffic (Spielwarenmesse, IWA) spikes demand in narrow windows you'll want to avoid. Given the multiple carriers and connection points involved, fares shift unpredictably week to week, so setting up automated fare alerts for this specific city pair is the smartest way to catch a favorable window before it closes.
