To Europe in J, on BA and LH
Oct 14, 2012, 10:37 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,129
To Europe in J, on BA and LH
A ride on the upper deck of the 747 has been an aviation benchmark I’d yet to attain, so I was hoping for the best with this opportunity. My good friend and I were on our way to tour Normandy, visit friends in Paris, and then head to Tuscany. Hell, the last time I flew a 747 was 1999, and I was very excited to make acquaintance with the Queen again.
That said, I was not willing to pay BA’s confiscatory charges for pre-reserving a seat assignment.
On a Club World ticket, no less. A man has to have some dignity in the face of desire, after all.
Luckily, it appears I was not alone in this sentiment and I was pleasantly surprised with a decent variety of seats up top. Awesome!
We left the Milwaukee area just before 5, and successfully navigated respective rush hours and thunderstorms resulting in a timely arrival at ORD. A line of strong storms was stretching from MKE to western Illinois, but they were thin and fast moving, not wreaking much havoc at ORD.
Parked in long term and took the train to T5. Actually my first departure from the international terminal, to go along with the many arrivals. Went straight to security having printed boarding pass at home in case of a time crunch. I do wish I had stopped at the counter for a proper boarding pass memento rather than the xerox garbage we’re becoming accustomed to, but oh well.
On to the lounge. As you may know, British Airways now has a ‘sleeper service’ on particular flights designed to maximize sleep time onboard and offering a dinner buffet in the lounge. In abstract, I was not particularly keen on this idea, as I really enjoy the pageantry and experience of onboard dining. But this actually turned out more pleasant than had been expected.
Once past the pleasant ‘lounge dragons’, we headed to the dining area first. It really is a bit strange. Like the rest of the lounge, there are no windows, and I kept having to remind myself that I was at the airport about to fly to London and not an Old Country Buffet with a really posh clientele. The buffet was quite nice, with a good variety. I started off with corn chowder, then onto short ribs and mashed potatoes with a few other samplings. There were about 4 main course options, and more salads and cold cuts that went unexplored. Dessert was lemon bars and small cupcakes, that sort of thing. Beer and wine selection was very good. Definitely a pleasant dining experience.
Sorry for the crap picture
After dinner we retired to the normal lounge area for some whiskies to get properly buzzed for the flight. Nice overall drink and snack selection here.
British Airways 296
Chicago ORD - London LHR
D: 20:35
A: 10:00 +1
Boeing 747-400
If you think this looks good now, imagine with beer goggles on
First impression of the upper deck was the enormous aisle. Made for a more spacious environment than i’d anticipated.
The standard pre-departure Champagne was served and we settled in amidst BA’s classy and regal boarding music.
It was raining again outside was we pushed back for a short taxi and takeoff from 28. Definitely noticed less engine noise on the upper deck.
On our way!
I knew there would be food offered on board as well, but what that entailed was ambiguous to me. I remembered a past trip report on this flight where the menu had light meal and dessert options as well as a simple hot chocolate and cookies nightcap. It appears these options have been enhanced to a full main course offering, which was great news.
“Starter
Pork rillette with pickled vegetables
Warm corn soup with créme fraîche
Main
Roasted free-range breast of chicken with tomato tartare, mozzarella pearlini and frisée
Chilli-crusted striped sea bass with baby courgette, roasted garlic fingerling potatoes and sour cream chive sauce
Dessert
Lemon meringue pie
English Stilton and Coulommiers cheese with Crema de Membrillo and biscuits
A selection of fruit
Alternatively, may we suggest hot chocolate with warm oatmeal, cranberry, and walnut cookies “
Excited about seeing real main courses and still being full from the buffet, hell froze over and I passed on the appetizer course opting for just a main and dessert.
Despite the odd appearance of the sea bass skin up, the taste was very good and the potatoes/peppers/sauce made a great side. Very happy with the meal.
The pie was a fairly standard little tart, but nice enough.
Had some scotch again to wind down. They were out of the Glenlivet 15, so I settled for the Johnnie Walker Black. The horror.
Somehow I managed to cope.
Despite being satisfied from my multiple meals, I couldn’t pass up a walk down the stairs to the lower deck to check out the Club Kitchen. Nice feature, really. Cookies, candy bars, chips. Even a refrigerator with more substantive items like sandwiches. I had a crispy type of Cadbury bar and called it a night.
PTV: Acceptable selection of titles, but the screen itself is not up to par. Not necessarily just the size, but I found the resolution of the content to be generally pretty terrible for a somewhat new product. The airshow was quirky for some reason. After functioning normally for 2 hours, it decided to revert the destination to Chicago- initially alarming me- and then remained this way all the way across the Atlantic, rendering all time information useless.
Crew: Friendly -and young- so it may have been a mixed fleet cabin crew (or whatever they call it). Pleasant and prompt, very nice experience.
It’s always a positive sign when you say a flight is too short, and at a brisk 6:30, this flight was surely too short. After dinner, a maximum of 4 hours sleep is possible. Then you watch some TV. Now it’s less. Then I feel pressure to fall asleep promptly if it’s going to be any significant quantity. No matter the cabin, I’ve never been known to consistently sleep well on airplanes and this flight was no different. Oh well. It was more of a comfortable rest than any kind of legitimate sleep, but the CW seat made a very comfortable flat bed. I imagine the spaciousness felt on the upper deck could feel night an day to the middle section of the lower deck.
The seat
The seat was great as a bed, but I found it only average for other uses. It’s not the greatest for reclining and relaxing with the static footrest, and finding a good position for dining wasn’t easy. Maybe I didn’t have enough time to figure everything out. It was always comfortable, but I prefer a moving footrest. Headphones were nothing special.
Breakfast: Earlier in the flight, we were given room service-esque menus to fill out.
-Various drinks/smoothies
-Fruit or Museli bar
Hot item
Niman Ranch bacon with Gruyere sandwich
or
Granny smith apple and Cheddar panini
-Croissant/Danish tray
I was expecting a more traditional bacon roll, but the sandwich turned out interesting. It appeared to have been toasted on board. Not sure how this was done, but it was nice.
The ‘energising drink’ was a type of boosted smoothie and lived up to the billing which gave me a bit of a jolt as we descended to Heathrow.
Would I have preferred more substantive hot options for breakfast? Yeah, I guess, but it was fine for this flight. Of course BA also has great lounge options for breakfast, but we weren’t going to go through the hassle of entering the UK just for the better breakfast in the arrivals lounge.
Naturally, we had a brief holding pattern and ridiculously complex approach before touching down on 27L. I was amazed at the braking ability of the 747.
After what felt like too brief of an encounter, it was time to say “cheers” to the upper deck. We parked at B42 (I think), which meant using one of those crazy long jetway labyrinths. It was a very nice and sunny day in the UK, and despite the crisp temperature, the sun had heated the long walkway up to sauna levels!
After bursting into sweat, we made it to the terminal and then down to the train. After arriving in the main building, we completed the rest of the transfer maze and security and headed to the north Galleries lounge.
Didn’t try any of the alcohol in the lounge. At this point it would have just put me to sleep. Needed to make it to Normandy today. Wasn’t very hungry so just got some bitter orange drink and headed to the ‘outside’ area of the lounge. It was warmer out there, but plenty of seating and couches made for a nice spot to relax, and even view departures on the north runway. Being a cricket fan, I was all excited for the breaking news of the hour- the latest chapter in the Kevin Pietersen saga had just taken place- being left off the roster for the India tour (at the time). This was dominating the Sky Sports News which was on the large TV. Wifi worked well. Being in Britain, we then watched a few episodes of “The Inbetweeners”, which is highly recommended to anyone not familiar and still retains their juvenile sense of humor.
Nice view from lounge
Especially of underpowered aircraft takeoffs!
That said, I was not willing to pay BA’s confiscatory charges for pre-reserving a seat assignment.
On a Club World ticket, no less. A man has to have some dignity in the face of desire, after all. Luckily, it appears I was not alone in this sentiment and I was pleasantly surprised with a decent variety of seats up top. Awesome!
We left the Milwaukee area just before 5, and successfully navigated respective rush hours and thunderstorms resulting in a timely arrival at ORD. A line of strong storms was stretching from MKE to western Illinois, but they were thin and fast moving, not wreaking much havoc at ORD.
Parked in long term and took the train to T5. Actually my first departure from the international terminal, to go along with the many arrivals. Went straight to security having printed boarding pass at home in case of a time crunch. I do wish I had stopped at the counter for a proper boarding pass memento rather than the xerox garbage we’re becoming accustomed to, but oh well.
On to the lounge. As you may know, British Airways now has a ‘sleeper service’ on particular flights designed to maximize sleep time onboard and offering a dinner buffet in the lounge. In abstract, I was not particularly keen on this idea, as I really enjoy the pageantry and experience of onboard dining. But this actually turned out more pleasant than had been expected.
Once past the pleasant ‘lounge dragons’, we headed to the dining area first. It really is a bit strange. Like the rest of the lounge, there are no windows, and I kept having to remind myself that I was at the airport about to fly to London and not an Old Country Buffet with a really posh clientele. The buffet was quite nice, with a good variety. I started off with corn chowder, then onto short ribs and mashed potatoes with a few other samplings. There were about 4 main course options, and more salads and cold cuts that went unexplored. Dessert was lemon bars and small cupcakes, that sort of thing. Beer and wine selection was very good. Definitely a pleasant dining experience.
Sorry for the crap picture
After dinner we retired to the normal lounge area for some whiskies to get properly buzzed for the flight. Nice overall drink and snack selection here.
British Airways 296
Chicago ORD - London LHR
D: 20:35
A: 10:00 +1
Boeing 747-400
If you think this looks good now, imagine with beer goggles on
First impression of the upper deck was the enormous aisle. Made for a more spacious environment than i’d anticipated.
The standard pre-departure Champagne was served and we settled in amidst BA’s classy and regal boarding music.
It was raining again outside was we pushed back for a short taxi and takeoff from 28. Definitely noticed less engine noise on the upper deck.
On our way!
I knew there would be food offered on board as well, but what that entailed was ambiguous to me. I remembered a past trip report on this flight where the menu had light meal and dessert options as well as a simple hot chocolate and cookies nightcap. It appears these options have been enhanced to a full main course offering, which was great news.
“Starter
Pork rillette with pickled vegetables
Warm corn soup with créme fraîche
Main
Roasted free-range breast of chicken with tomato tartare, mozzarella pearlini and frisée
Chilli-crusted striped sea bass with baby courgette, roasted garlic fingerling potatoes and sour cream chive sauce
Dessert
Lemon meringue pie
English Stilton and Coulommiers cheese with Crema de Membrillo and biscuits
A selection of fruit
Alternatively, may we suggest hot chocolate with warm oatmeal, cranberry, and walnut cookies “
Excited about seeing real main courses and still being full from the buffet, hell froze over and I passed on the appetizer course opting for just a main and dessert.
Despite the odd appearance of the sea bass skin up, the taste was very good and the potatoes/peppers/sauce made a great side. Very happy with the meal.
The pie was a fairly standard little tart, but nice enough.
Had some scotch again to wind down. They were out of the Glenlivet 15, so I settled for the Johnnie Walker Black. The horror.
Somehow I managed to cope. Despite being satisfied from my multiple meals, I couldn’t pass up a walk down the stairs to the lower deck to check out the Club Kitchen. Nice feature, really. Cookies, candy bars, chips. Even a refrigerator with more substantive items like sandwiches. I had a crispy type of Cadbury bar and called it a night.
PTV: Acceptable selection of titles, but the screen itself is not up to par. Not necessarily just the size, but I found the resolution of the content to be generally pretty terrible for a somewhat new product. The airshow was quirky for some reason. After functioning normally for 2 hours, it decided to revert the destination to Chicago- initially alarming me- and then remained this way all the way across the Atlantic, rendering all time information useless.
Crew: Friendly -and young- so it may have been a mixed fleet cabin crew (or whatever they call it). Pleasant and prompt, very nice experience.
It’s always a positive sign when you say a flight is too short, and at a brisk 6:30, this flight was surely too short. After dinner, a maximum of 4 hours sleep is possible. Then you watch some TV. Now it’s less. Then I feel pressure to fall asleep promptly if it’s going to be any significant quantity. No matter the cabin, I’ve never been known to consistently sleep well on airplanes and this flight was no different. Oh well. It was more of a comfortable rest than any kind of legitimate sleep, but the CW seat made a very comfortable flat bed. I imagine the spaciousness felt on the upper deck could feel night an day to the middle section of the lower deck.
The seat
The seat was great as a bed, but I found it only average for other uses. It’s not the greatest for reclining and relaxing with the static footrest, and finding a good position for dining wasn’t easy. Maybe I didn’t have enough time to figure everything out. It was always comfortable, but I prefer a moving footrest. Headphones were nothing special.
Breakfast: Earlier in the flight, we were given room service-esque menus to fill out.
-Various drinks/smoothies
-Fruit or Museli bar
Hot item
Niman Ranch bacon with Gruyere sandwich
or
Granny smith apple and Cheddar panini
-Croissant/Danish tray
I was expecting a more traditional bacon roll, but the sandwich turned out interesting. It appeared to have been toasted on board. Not sure how this was done, but it was nice.
The ‘energising drink’ was a type of boosted smoothie and lived up to the billing which gave me a bit of a jolt as we descended to Heathrow.
Would I have preferred more substantive hot options for breakfast? Yeah, I guess, but it was fine for this flight. Of course BA also has great lounge options for breakfast, but we weren’t going to go through the hassle of entering the UK just for the better breakfast in the arrivals lounge.
Naturally, we had a brief holding pattern and ridiculously complex approach before touching down on 27L. I was amazed at the braking ability of the 747.
After what felt like too brief of an encounter, it was time to say “cheers” to the upper deck. We parked at B42 (I think), which meant using one of those crazy long jetway labyrinths. It was a very nice and sunny day in the UK, and despite the crisp temperature, the sun had heated the long walkway up to sauna levels!
After bursting into sweat, we made it to the terminal and then down to the train. After arriving in the main building, we completed the rest of the transfer maze and security and headed to the north Galleries lounge.
Didn’t try any of the alcohol in the lounge. At this point it would have just put me to sleep. Needed to make it to Normandy today. Wasn’t very hungry so just got some bitter orange drink and headed to the ‘outside’ area of the lounge. It was warmer out there, but plenty of seating and couches made for a nice spot to relax, and even view departures on the north runway. Being a cricket fan, I was all excited for the breaking news of the hour- the latest chapter in the Kevin Pietersen saga had just taken place- being left off the roster for the India tour (at the time). This was dominating the Sky Sports News which was on the large TV. Wifi worked well. Being in Britain, we then watched a few episodes of “The Inbetweeners”, which is highly recommended to anyone not familiar and still retains their juvenile sense of humor.
Nice view from lounge
Especially of underpowered aircraft takeoffs!
Last edited by jpetekYXMD80; Oct 15, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Oct 14, 2012, 10:38 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,129
British Airways 334
London LHR - Paris ORY
D: 12:35
A: 14:55
Airbus A320
After resting just the right amount, it was time to head down to the gate for Orly, which was just beneath the lounge. Boarding began on time, and we took our seats on the A320. I’m not too familiar with the different configurations of the BA narrowbody fleet, but this looked like a single class airplane with the middle seats blocked off for the Club cabin. Nothing much to complain about with the short flight, but not something i’d pay much extra for.
We pushed back more or less on time and joined a moderate queue for 27R. Takeoff was steep on this beautiful day, and I spotted Windsor Castle and other nice sights on the hop across the English channel.
A light meal of breaded chicken with potato salad and watercress was served. It was nice, and really hit the spot.
We entered France above Le Havre and swung around Paris to approach ORY from the south.
Really like the new Corsair livery, will look nice on 747
After far too much joking about Orly airport and its namesake O RLY owl, the travel came to an anticlimactic ending when the arrivals hall had neither a cage of snow owls nor a statue or Orly Taitz.
Oh well... someday. Picked up car at Hertz and headed off to Normandy.
One week later we flew EasyJet from Paris ORY - Pisa PSA. I won’t give a full report, but it was a typically decent EasyJet experience which got us there on time in relative comfort.
Approach to PSA
The Return
After a nice time in Tuscany, it was time to head back from FLR. First off, the infrastructure and signage around Peretola airport is abysmal. Returning the rental car turned into a 45 minute odyssey during the morning rush hour. Think of it this way: we had 3 options to get it right, and it took 3 tries, many roundabouts, freeways and obstacles to figure it out. A royal c-f.
So running late, we just grabbed a cab from the rental car return to the terminal. Naturally, this .5 km distance must entail a 3.5 km drive. It’s nuts.
But there was still time. No lines to check bags or security, and we got to the gate area with time to spare. FLR is a strange, tiny airport, and all of the gates require busing. The ATR was late arriving, which resulted in a 20-30 minute delay for our flight. If we’d known this, we would’ve checked out the pre-security lounge. Instead, it was duty free for a way overpriced Sienese panforte to bring home.
FLR waiting area
Air Dolomiti 1885
Florence FLR - Munich MUC
D: 10:55
A: 12:35
ATR 72
Finally, boarding (and subsequent waiting on bus) was called. I was excited for this flight. First time on the ATR. First time on Air Dolomiti/LH group. I know many things have changed for EN and their transition to LH feed, but it was nice to fly this once-unique airline, and their lovely livery.
Hello there.
Nice view
Bye, Florence!
Stylish cabin and stylish cabin crew
Flight time was about 1:20 with some great scenery over the Alps. Service was good with multiple drink runs and wine on offer. Fairly large sandwiches were given, and mine (salami) brought me back to my grade school lunches. In a good way.
Salami sandwich
Beautiful Alps..
Final approach to Munich
We parked at a bus gate somewhere, and LH had even sent a special bus for several close connections which I thought was nice. Usually i’m pretty interested in airport layouts and such. I had no idea how MUC worked when I got there, and i have no idea how it works when I left. We parked on the T1 side (I think) and took a bus to T2, which is all LH and has a Schengen level and non-Schengen level. Then there are some island gates, and I have no idea whats up with them. So that’s about the extent of my knowledge. Basically it was a nice airport to transfer at, with easy to follow signs, but it makes me feel stupid. Can anyone explain MUC better to me?
I’d jumped at the chance to connect in Munich during Oktoberfest. Lufthansa even has a makeshift ‘biergarten’ in one of their lounges. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the Schengen lounge we stopped at, but were then directed to the other lounge on the upper level and past passport control. If I had known this, i’d have tried harder. The biergarten is probably a gimmicky novelty, but still, sounds pretty good to me! Luckily, the other business lounge did come supplied with ample pretzels and beer on tap. It also had a decent spread of food (bavarian meatloaf, potato salad, etc) and desserts/beverages of all kinds. Lufthansa staff throughout the airport were wearing special Oktoberfest outfits. Wifi was crap and never got it to work on any device.
This is a popular time for USA departures and the lounge really began to fill up.
I guess you could say it was like a zoo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0PIdWdw15U
(not sure what was up with this Siegfried and Roy disciple. at least there was no codpiece..)
I’m sure we can all agree that this certainly doesn’t qualify as ‘attending’ Oktoberfest. Fine, but its really really close, right!? Anyway, this made for a pretty cool layover I had been looking forward to.
Notice the LH colors on my shirt? Sadly, that wasn’t an accident. Nerd.
London LHR - Paris ORY
D: 12:35
A: 14:55
Airbus A320
After resting just the right amount, it was time to head down to the gate for Orly, which was just beneath the lounge. Boarding began on time, and we took our seats on the A320. I’m not too familiar with the different configurations of the BA narrowbody fleet, but this looked like a single class airplane with the middle seats blocked off for the Club cabin. Nothing much to complain about with the short flight, but not something i’d pay much extra for.
We pushed back more or less on time and joined a moderate queue for 27R. Takeoff was steep on this beautiful day, and I spotted Windsor Castle and other nice sights on the hop across the English channel.
A light meal of breaded chicken with potato salad and watercress was served. It was nice, and really hit the spot.
We entered France above Le Havre and swung around Paris to approach ORY from the south.
Really like the new Corsair livery, will look nice on 747
After far too much joking about Orly airport and its namesake O RLY owl, the travel came to an anticlimactic ending when the arrivals hall had neither a cage of snow owls nor a statue or Orly Taitz.
Oh well... someday. Picked up car at Hertz and headed off to Normandy. One week later we flew EasyJet from Paris ORY - Pisa PSA. I won’t give a full report, but it was a typically decent EasyJet experience which got us there on time in relative comfort.
Approach to PSA
The Return
After a nice time in Tuscany, it was time to head back from FLR. First off, the infrastructure and signage around Peretola airport is abysmal. Returning the rental car turned into a 45 minute odyssey during the morning rush hour. Think of it this way: we had 3 options to get it right, and it took 3 tries, many roundabouts, freeways and obstacles to figure it out. A royal c-f.
So running late, we just grabbed a cab from the rental car return to the terminal. Naturally, this .5 km distance must entail a 3.5 km drive. It’s nuts.
But there was still time. No lines to check bags or security, and we got to the gate area with time to spare. FLR is a strange, tiny airport, and all of the gates require busing. The ATR was late arriving, which resulted in a 20-30 minute delay for our flight. If we’d known this, we would’ve checked out the pre-security lounge. Instead, it was duty free for a way overpriced Sienese panforte to bring home.
FLR waiting area
Air Dolomiti 1885
Florence FLR - Munich MUC
D: 10:55
A: 12:35
ATR 72
Finally, boarding (and subsequent waiting on bus) was called. I was excited for this flight. First time on the ATR. First time on Air Dolomiti/LH group. I know many things have changed for EN and their transition to LH feed, but it was nice to fly this once-unique airline, and their lovely livery.
Hello there.
Nice view
Bye, Florence!
Stylish cabin and stylish cabin crew
Flight time was about 1:20 with some great scenery over the Alps. Service was good with multiple drink runs and wine on offer. Fairly large sandwiches were given, and mine (salami) brought me back to my grade school lunches. In a good way.
Salami sandwich
Beautiful Alps..
Final approach to Munich
We parked at a bus gate somewhere, and LH had even sent a special bus for several close connections which I thought was nice. Usually i’m pretty interested in airport layouts and such. I had no idea how MUC worked when I got there, and i have no idea how it works when I left. We parked on the T1 side (I think) and took a bus to T2, which is all LH and has a Schengen level and non-Schengen level. Then there are some island gates, and I have no idea whats up with them. So that’s about the extent of my knowledge. Basically it was a nice airport to transfer at, with easy to follow signs, but it makes me feel stupid. Can anyone explain MUC better to me?
I’d jumped at the chance to connect in Munich during Oktoberfest. Lufthansa even has a makeshift ‘biergarten’ in one of their lounges. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the Schengen lounge we stopped at, but were then directed to the other lounge on the upper level and past passport control. If I had known this, i’d have tried harder. The biergarten is probably a gimmicky novelty, but still, sounds pretty good to me! Luckily, the other business lounge did come supplied with ample pretzels and beer on tap. It also had a decent spread of food (bavarian meatloaf, potato salad, etc) and desserts/beverages of all kinds. Lufthansa staff throughout the airport were wearing special Oktoberfest outfits. Wifi was crap and never got it to work on any device.
This is a popular time for USA departures and the lounge really began to fill up.
I guess you could say it was like a zoo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0PIdWdw15U
(not sure what was up with this Siegfried and Roy disciple. at least there was no codpiece..)
I’m sure we can all agree that this certainly doesn’t qualify as ‘attending’ Oktoberfest. Fine, but its really really close, right!? Anyway, this made for a pretty cool layover I had been looking forward to.
Notice the LH colors on my shirt? Sadly, that wasn’t an accident. Nerd.
Last edited by jpetekYXMD80; Oct 15, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Oct 14, 2012, 10:39 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,129
Beverage area
With a bit of a walk to make, we budgeted some time to get to through the added security to the gate. It was strange, some people were made to go through a full screening, and some just walked through. They just let us walk through.
Lufthansa 434
Munich MUC - Chicago ORD
D: 15:35
A: 18:20
Airbus A340-600
H48 at the far end of the concourse
First time on 346. Looking good!
A very long airplane
Happy to fly with the crane for the first time 
Settled into 12A
Takeoff. Loving my window seat
Riesling and almonds to begin. The nuts did indeed give compliments and told me I looked really nice today.
“Hors d’oeuvres
Bavarian Wurstsalat, a pork sausage salad with onions and pickles
Hot-smoked trout and trout tartare with creamy cucumber salad
Lamb’s lettuce with red radish and pumpkin seeds served with potato dressing
Entrees
Veal shank and liver dumpling with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes
Char and leaf spinach with parsley potatoes
Mushroom ragout with chive dumplings
Cheese and dessert
Allgau Emmental, Bavaria blu and Obatzda, a creamed cheese Bavarian style
Bavarian Cream with strawberry coulis
Fruit salad”
Went with the Wurstsalat and the Char.
The Wurstsalat was interesting and I was happy to have a some distinctly German food. It seems to me LH in general showcases their German food more than other comparable airlines who tend to have neutral menus. Must... resist... WWII joke...
Missed a salad course a bit.
The Char was a really nice dish. Not overcooked, flavorful sauce. BTW, it seems LH do not do salt and pepper with meals? Didn’t need it, but felt like a strange omission.
Bavarian Cream was awesome, but a little small. The roasted almonds seemed to be an Oktoberfest addition, and they were delicious.
Wurstsalat and pretzel #3 of the day
Char main course
Bavarian cream with special almonds
Todays flight path over Iceland and Greenland
Ventured back into Y to walk to the end of this extremely long airplane.
Back of the ‘Bus
A unique feature of the Lufthansa A346 is the downstairs lavatory pod in economy class
Downstairs LavsIFE: Pretty good. Eclectic selection to say the least. MacGyver? Ok... Watched ‘Moonrise Kingdom’. And like most of Wes Anderson that will have to stew awhile before I decide if I liked or hated it. Oh, and watched ‘Too cute: Puppies’ during dinner. Disappointingly no David Hasselhoff was found.
Crew: Excellent. Nice. Attentive. Professional. Constant drink runs throughout the flight. No complaints whatsoever.
Seat: I know i’m in the minority, but I do like this style seat by Recaro. Very similar to the AA J seat i’m familiar with. Lie flat has never meant much to my sleep, so the angle isn’t that bothersome. I do like the versatile positions of the seat for relaxing and lounging while watching TV. And I do like a standard configuration like this for talking with a seat-mate. This gets rarer and rarer. That was perfect for a daytime westbound transatlantic flight. Overnight may be different. Certainly not cutting edge or industry leading, but still made for a very comfortable flight. Either way, their new J product looks like a tangible improvement over these, and i’d like to try it someday (on the 747-8!). Practical storage space as well. Headphones weren’t very good.
Second meal service began shortly before descent.
“Snack
Singapore
Tuna on wasabi mash
Duck salad with pineapple chutney
Vanilla and lime leaf creme with pomelo
Austria
Breaded fried chicken with potato salad and lingonberries
Tomato and cream cheese tartare with pumpkin seeds
Linzer tart with whippped cream”
Ok, so here i’m going to relish and savor putting on the cap of demanding and entitled business class revenue passenger that I can wear ever so rarely. This ‘meal’/‘snack’/whatever was kind of ridiculous. The chicken was about the size of McNugget. It looks small in the picture, and the picture made it look enormous to reality. And the cream cheese? What am i supposed to do with that? Spread it on something? Just eat it? (Ok, i’ve been known to eat straight cream cheese, but still...) How can cream cheese be ‘tartare’? So many questions.
I’m not too hard to please, but this whole offering just seemed egregiously small for the situation.
Fair or foul?
LH. This is a 9:30 flight. It’s 6 hours after the main meal service. It barely made a dent in my appetite, and I just don’t think you should be fighting the urge to pick up a Big Mac after a long haul Business class flight. Wish I wouldv’e asked for the cheese plate between meals. Actually, maybe I should’ve just chose the Singapore option instead.
It completely paled in comparison to BA’s light meal on LHR-ORY, which was nearly the exact same items. Kind of a disappointing end to a generally positive Lufthansa experience.
Portion size certainly isn’t everything, but overall, i’ve received much, much more food on similar AA flights. Something to consider.
Turning for 14R, fall colors starting to show
Parting shot of the seats
We landed on 14R and parked at M6 or 7 of T5. Thankfully, customs and immigration lines were light at this evening hour.
So, overall, very nice flights on two quality airlines. Going in, I expected to favor Lufthansa. After, I was impressed with BA and give them a slight nod. But you can’t go wrong. MUC and LHR T5 were both pleasant places to transfer. I preferred BA’s great lounges at LHR.
Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!
Last edited by jpetekYXMD80; Oct 15, 2012 at 1:51 pm
Oct 15, 2012, 12:57 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,348
Thanks for a fascinating trip report!
Lufthansa business class foods look good but I agree that the pre-arrival meal on your last flight looks a bit underwhelming. However the pre-arrival meal service on most LH J flights is indeed always too small. I flew MUC to HKG in J... the breakfast service at the end of the 11 hours flight is similar sized.
Thanks,
Carfield
Lufthansa business class foods look good but I agree that the pre-arrival meal on your last flight looks a bit underwhelming. However the pre-arrival meal service on most LH J flights is indeed always too small. I flew MUC to HKG in J... the breakfast service at the end of the 11 hours flight is similar sized.
Thanks,
Carfield
Oct 15, 2012, 7:31 pm
#5
Suspended
Join Date: May 2009
Location: DFW
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, Hilton HHonors Gold
Posts: 2,863
Good report - LH J is a bit hard to find on FT!
I must say BA J product looks much better - I am not a huge fan of not fully-flat beds. But I will try it next year on DFW-FRA-AUH and I am excited already!!
I must say BA J product looks much better - I am not a huge fan of not fully-flat beds. But I will try it next year on DFW-FRA-AUH and I am excited already!!
Oct 25, 2012, 6:38 pm
#7
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 949
It looks like BA has made some solid enhancements
- Room service Breakfast (like QF!)
- Improved presentation and options for Breakfast and Dinner
Catering is one area where BA lagged, so this looks like a great improvement! Thanks for reporting this.
- Room service Breakfast (like QF!)
- Improved presentation and options for Breakfast and Dinner
Catering is one area where BA lagged, so this looks like a great improvement! Thanks for reporting this.
Oct 25, 2012, 7:19 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,129
Oct 25, 2012, 10:47 pm
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Home: East Mids UK - Work (Base): Accra, Ghana.
Programs: BAEC: Silver - Marriott: Titanium
Posts: 12,086
These changes are not firmly in place yet. ORD (along with NRT and DXB) are trial routes and the results of customer and crew feedback will be taken into account before any permanent changes are made.
Oct 27, 2012, 1:51 am
#11
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SFO, LON
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, Bonvoy Tit, Hilton Dia etc etc
Posts: 2,354
MUC connections on *A are super easy. Now that I'm on AA/BA I miss them, and dislike the whole "clear security again" at LHR.
The biggest downside is indeed that pretty much all flights on "regional" jets (Avros, Embraers and the prop planes) leave from remote stands so you get bussed there, and back. You're dropped at one of two entries into the terminal, which allow you to either head for the exit, or take an escalator to the Schengen level (G gates, middle level). No passport or security clearance needed, and much like in the US (but not the UK) arriving and departing pax intermingle at the gates.
The airport is very open plan, which is the current style, yet much smaller than T5 at LHR, say. Gates are all lined up on one side, with shops and lounges scattered through the middle and on the opposite side to the gates. Some gates (for bussing) are in specific areas at the ground level (so you take an escalator down to access them), although it is quite common to be boarded at a "main" G gate, only to find yourself boarding a bus; this is clear once you realize the G/H deal.
If you leave for a non-Schengen destination, you head for the H gates, which involves going one level further up, clearing passport control and finding yourself in a replica floor plan upstairs. Note that H gates are co-located with G gates (it's all the same bridge, one floor up or down); this explains why you may be boarded from a main (not a ground floor) G gate, but onto a bus. It's because your trip to Prague is not going to be on that UA 777 that is at the gate you are boarding from
Then there's the smokers' dens, which may seem a barbaric institution to you, but is at least somewhat better than Prague, where any bar in the main terminal allows people to smoke there in full and open setting...
That's MUC in a nutshell, minus an essay on the lounges, to which there are plenty of references scattered through the forum.
Thanks for the trip report, glad you enjoyed Florence.
The biggest downside is indeed that pretty much all flights on "regional" jets (Avros, Embraers and the prop planes) leave from remote stands so you get bussed there, and back. You're dropped at one of two entries into the terminal, which allow you to either head for the exit, or take an escalator to the Schengen level (G gates, middle level). No passport or security clearance needed, and much like in the US (but not the UK) arriving and departing pax intermingle at the gates.
The airport is very open plan, which is the current style, yet much smaller than T5 at LHR, say. Gates are all lined up on one side, with shops and lounges scattered through the middle and on the opposite side to the gates. Some gates (for bussing) are in specific areas at the ground level (so you take an escalator down to access them), although it is quite common to be boarded at a "main" G gate, only to find yourself boarding a bus; this is clear once you realize the G/H deal.
If you leave for a non-Schengen destination, you head for the H gates, which involves going one level further up, clearing passport control and finding yourself in a replica floor plan upstairs. Note that H gates are co-located with G gates (it's all the same bridge, one floor up or down); this explains why you may be boarded from a main (not a ground floor) G gate, but onto a bus. It's because your trip to Prague is not going to be on that UA 777 that is at the gate you are boarding from
Then there's the smokers' dens, which may seem a barbaric institution to you, but is at least somewhat better than Prague, where any bar in the main terminal allows people to smoke there in full and open setting...
That's MUC in a nutshell, minus an essay on the lounges, to which there are plenty of references scattered through the forum.
Thanks for the trip report, glad you enjoyed Florence.
Oct 27, 2012, 6:03 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,129
Thanks for the explanation! Only other question I have is about the other side of the airport- T1. There were several LH 340s parked in the midfield area and connected to jet bridges. Is that complex in the middle of the apron used purely for prepping the aircraft, or do they serve as islands of remote stands for heavies that they bus passengers out to (like LAX)?