LH638
MUC-DXB
Duration: 5:35 (5:31)
A340-300: D-AIFD
F class; 4 pax / 8 seats
Seat 1A & 2A
Miles earned: 5800 Eurobonus points
At the gate, boarding had already started. We went through priority boarding and took the bridge to the front of the aircraft where we were welcomed by the purser. We quickly realized that we got lucky again as we had gotten Lufthansa's new F. I had actually checked on Flightradar before our flight and saw that the service to DXB from MUC was usually operated on an aircraft with new F.
View from my seat
Already famous seats
Another view, note the red rose
At our seats, we had a Bognier amenity kit waiting, a pair of slippers and noise canceling headphones. The Bognier is available is 2 versions, 1 for gents and 1 for ladies. The gent kit has nothing special really, I discarded in MEL and I don't remember what was in it! The lady's kit is slightly better but does not pack any fancy cosmetics which is slightly disappointing.
Bognier lady Amenity Kit with a whopping two "La Mer" cosmetics
While putting my slippers on I was offered a pajama kit, from Van Laack in L. I had to change it M as it was way too big for me.
While checking all of this out, a funny episode happened. A lady and her husband came through the front door. Upon entering the F cabin, she stopped, turned back to her husband and said:
- "Weeell, it doesn't look that bad! I don't see why you're complaining about the Business Class all the time"
To which the slightly embarrassed gent replied:
- "Keep walking honey, this is First Class..."
Priceless moment, even though she was right. Business Class is not that bad.
After boarding was completed, it took sometime before we left the gate as the plane was loaded with many cargo containers. There are worse places to wait though, and we were served Champagne as a pre-departure drink. When we were finally ready the plane headed for the deicing which took another 15 minutes. In the end we took off with 50 minutes delay, and our climbing rate was painfully slow, presumably because of all the cargo. I know the A340s are not fast climber, but that was really strange, as we headed West for about 10 minutes in order to climb high enough before turning left and finally heading east, over the alps.
Service on board that night was simply excellent. Personalized, courteous and efficient. We were addressed by our surnames, and when we were given the menus, there was a handwritten note on them. That's a simple thing but I was glad to see LH is doing that now. I also love the rose placed on the holder in front of the seat. That's a simple thing but it's a nice little extra!
Note on our menus
Introduction
Dinner service menu, translated from German (Arabic was also available)
Whites
Reds & Dessert wine
Champagne
And I'll stop here for the menu pictures as there are plenty other regarding digestives, special wine selection for the month, soft and coffee selection etc...
For dinner we requested to be seated together as we usually do. Sadly, since there are no seat belts on the ottoman, the purser advised us not to. We respected her recommendation and did not insist. We quickly changed into our Van Laack pjs and then service began.
Another glass of champagne - Cuvée Louise - and warm nuts
Appetizer
So it was time for Caviar; which was simply excellent. Note the lemon packing; very nice touch. I respectfully denied the vodka that night but was served some more champagne. My starter, King Prawn Confit with Kimchi was served with a second serving of Caviar
Caviar and starter
My GF had the Caviar and the Cecina de Vacuno salad
The baby leaf salad
My main was also impeccable, especially accompanied by the beautiful St Emilion.
Four spice free range goose
My GF had the Char filet with Asparges. Excellent too.
Finally I had the cheese for dessert. The selection was excellent and the quality as well. A box of chocolate was also distirbuted. we kept those for later as we were really stuffed!
Cheese platter
Part 2 coming up below...