As my fourth post, I'm dedicating this to Lufthansa. The airline that can be a pain in the buttocks, or a wonderful carrier to fly with, depending on who you're flying with.
My first Lufthansa (LH) experience began when I had a ticketing hub-bub at the time with Singapore Airlines (SQ) and LH. Long story short, I tried to change a flight and date, then all hell broke loose. In the end, both SQ and LH managed to pull it through, and that was a beautiful in the end, albeit terrifying first experience.
The second experience was the actual flight experience with them in June 15th 2012, which I know is a very short time ago, as part of my Round-The-World (RTW) trip. I had a great experience then, and it was memorable.
The flight was LH 455, San Francisco (SFO) to Frankfurt (FRA), departing at 14:55 PST. The plane was the almighty Airbus A380-800 (388), with a seat configuration of 526 passengers. The Seat Configuration included 8 First Class, 98 Business Class, and 420 Economy Class. Which is completely different than SQ's 388 seating "only" 471.
The first thing I saw when I went to the gate from the United Airlines (UA) International First Class Lounge, was the line of people waiting to get on the plane. Luckily, since I seated in First Class I can use the line on the right hand side specifically for Business/First Class, and no waiting in line. For this particular flight, it was 100% full.
As I went down the jet bridge into the plane, I was greeted by the wonderful smiles of two flight attendants of whom directed me to the second level of the aircraft. This was my 3rd 388 experience in my lifetime, so it's still exciting and my first ever experience flying with Lufthansa.
The Lufthansa First Class was indeed wonderful. The hard products (i.e. seats, amenities, bathrooms, etc), were some of the best I've ever experienced. Their staff serviced me quite satisfactorily from the moment I reached my seat, 1K. Of course, being an "amateur" photographer, I had to take lots of pictures from my surroundings.
After the plane took off, I went out and about to, checking out the entire place, including the bathroom, of which I found to be overwhelmingly large. Moving on, the first class seat was indeed comfortable, and very sheik. The warm cream colors and the tree-trunk colored seats were quite nicely done. I came to the conclusion however, that these seats are generally about the same as other newer generation seats used by various airlines. Or as some stated, its only an upholstered seat with updated features.
In the case of food and wine, when comparing Lufthansa with Singapore Airlines or All Nippon Airlines (NH) and Cathay Pacific (CX), I found it to be lacking in flavor. The presentation of the food is almost certainly better than how it tasted since it was more or less rather bland, especially the entrée. Wine selections are quite nice, although the champagne could be better (like Thai Airways (TG), SQ, NH, or CX. Hint hint). But to be fair, I found their desserts were absolutely delightful!
The flight from SFO to FRA was rather uneventful, with some small bumps underway. The bed, including the linens, duvets, and others were really nice, and I slept quite well until breakfast time (Around 2 hours before arrival in FRA). One thing I find most annoying is that every time I need a spare pillow, due to the full flight load, they had to get smaller pillows from Business Class. Its just common courtesy that an airline should have some spare pillows for every class and not having to see if there's some left from another class.
Breakfast was, well.. Colorful. I had freshly cooked eggs with bacon, to which I still say its bland. However the fruits, muesli, and other selections such as bread was quite nice, and most definitely better than the egg.
Pictures from LH 455 SFO-FRA:
The two Flight Attendants greeted me with their warm smiles:
Stairway to First Class Heaven:
Front End of the First Class Suite (Ottoman and Screen):
Lufthansa First Class Seat 1K:
The Official Welcome to First Class:
Love the Rosy Touch:
Personal Storage for 1A and 1K at the front and the rest at the back near the galley:
Rear View of the First Class Cabin:
The Flight Deck:
The Illustriously Large Lufthansa First Class Lavatory:
The Flight Map Animation:
Food & Beverage Service:
Prepping the tables
Scrumptious Bread Selection
Caviar!
Overall Appetizer Presentation
Main Menu: Lamb Shanks with Pasta
Refresher: Cheese, Crackers, and Fruits
Desserts:
Full Bed Mode:
Champagne (Taittinger I believe) with Ice Cube:
Power Outlets & Ports:
Breakfast Meal:
LH 455's Fantastic Crewmembers:
Lufthansa Economy Class Seats:
ANA (NH) Boeing 787-800 (788):
The Designated SEN Lounge:
One comment on LH Pilots, they handle their aircrafts much rougher than SQ Pilots it seems..Especially when they're making an angled turn, which seemingly very forced. Even the landings are much rougher than SQ. Although LH Pilots are amongst the nicest when it comes to visiting the flight deck, along with UA (not ex. Continental Airlines (CO) Pilots).
However, I find the crew to be excellent, even though some of them have difficulties understanding my english. I had phenomenal service from them and they even allowed me to take group photo with them! Unfortunately, that would be the first and last big group photo until today due to several complications that I cannot blame the crews, although there was one LH crew that I can certainly blame...
At this point, I will fast forward time until September 22nd, 2012 at 19:05 PM, Jakarta time. There is really nothing special in Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport (CGK) other than being Indonesia's largest airport. So I went down the jet bridge as soon as my boarding pass (BP) was scanned, and I found the customary smile the LH Munich crew so graciously gave to me.
(Intermission: Lufthansa's Reservation Team and Office in CGK is certainly one of the best in the system. I'm writing an official email to Lufthansa regarding the changing of systems that will not allow anymore customer interactions in their CGK office. It is a loss on LH's part should there be no more face-to-face office.)
This particular flight is LH 791, an Airbus A340-300 (343), Jakarta (CGK) to Munich (MUC) via Singapore (SIN). Although sadly, this routing is duly cancelled as of October 14th this year. One of LH's (rather lame) excuse was that the capacity restrictions at MUC airport forced them to cancel the flight. Henceforth, its 45 years of service to Indonesia is also going to be their last. Shame on you Lufthansa! :(
Getting back to topic, this particular A343 was refurbished to include the newer First Class Seats like the ones on the A380. The load from CGK to SIN was very light, only 2 other passengers in First Class, but the crew said all others were full.
The flight from CGK to SIN was only 1 hour and 34 minutes long, but it was certainly one of the better impressions I got from LH. This time the crew was on a short duration only and they're waiting to change crew and passengers, so not much of a picture. Nevertheless, they're a great crew!
Pictures from LH 791 CGK-SIN:
The First Class Cabin Crew:
The First Class Cabin Ambience:
A Wifi (FlyNet) Aircraft:
A Welcoming Presentation:
First Class Lavatory:
Champagne and Macadamia Nuts:
Front Galley:
Flight Deck Pictures:
Smaller Screen than the A380:
An Extra Touch:
Overhead Storage:
Appetizers &Dessert:
On to the next flight on the list, I was transferred from LH 791 to LH 779. LH 779 is a A380-800 Service from SIN to FRA scheduled at 23:05. This flight is particularly full with F 8/8, C 98/98, and Y 420/420.
The moment I set foot on this flight, it was definitely one of the friendliest crew I've met, and the chattiest (Not that I mind.. ;)). The funny thing is when I pulled up my camera as I entered the jet-bridge towards the aircraft the greeter suddenly jumped when she saw I had a big camera (apparently she was camera shy), but nevertheless, it was a great crew.
Since this is an evening flight, I felt the necessity to sleep, which I did for at least 7 hours. This is done, of course, right after dinner was served. Another funny moment happened when the crew "ordered" me to sleep, you can't but experiences like these but I loved every moment of it.. The cabin ambience of this aircraft is not unlike the other 388s with one defining difference: On LH 455 and 454, the First Class Cabin was showing wear, but on this particular flight, LH 779, it seemed like a brand new aircraft.
To note, the cabin was fully darkened to allow passengers to sleep, so there are none of those mood lightings were lit. The other difference is that the First Class Cabin has a very thick curtain in the front and at the back. So the cabin was insulated from the noise and light of other areas of the plane.
Nevertheless, I slept rather well on the aircraft, and like I said, one of the best crews ever albeit very camera shy. At this time I'd also like to emphasize that LH's Pilots are rough handlers compared to SQ's Pilots, and I am not too fond of their stair entry barrier in the front stairs when in flight. The moment we land in FRA, there were no special immigration lines or even inter-terminal buggies for First Class. TG was better in that respect, but in a moment, I'll tell you why LH in FRA might just be better.. ;)
Pictures from LH 779 SIN-FRA:
First Class Ambience (Not much different than other flights):
Passenger Storage Locker:
Pre-departure Nuts and Drinks:
Always love the LH rose:
Forward Cabin Stairs:
LH 791 Bound for MUC:
The bigger 388 Screen:
Beautiful Rose Picture:
Appetizer before Appetizer:
Fruit Tea with Mixed Berries:
Caviar:
Appetizer Courses:
Garlic Bread & Pretzel Bun:
LH's Delectable Appetizer Threesome:
The Main Dish:
Apple Tartine:
Chocolate and Dessert Aperitif:
My Prepared Bed:
Some More Roses:
The Usual Breakfast:
Arrival in FRA:
One Last Goodbyes (No Group Picture T_T):
No comments:
Post a Comment