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This report covers the flights from my recent two week vacation in Europe; it’s quite lengthy but has a variety of airlines and classes of service… I had hoped to embed pictures, but even with resizing them to low pixels, Picasa has been acting strange and the links mostly end up broken. So..I took the easy way out and included pictures in a Snapfish album for you to follow along with and enjoy as you read the report:

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailsh...50/t_=98455150


United 940 - Chicago to Frankfurt, 747-400, Business
Adria 113 – Frankfurt to Ljubljana, CRJ, Economy
Adria 176 – Ljubljana to Vienna, CRJ, Economy
Austrian 821 – Vienna to Istanbul, A319, Economy
Lufthansa 3353 – Istanbul to Munich, A320, Business
Lufthansa 434 – Munich to Chicago, A340, First (really long but recommended!!)

United 940 - Chicago to Frankfurt, 747-400, Business
Scheduled: 6:22pm to 9:55am +1
Actual: 7:25pm to 10:30am +1

I arrived at O’Hare around 4:30pm; the rain had caused several delays and cancellations so the airport was fairly chaotic. As usual in the evening peak, the line for United Business (which also doubles as the Premier/Premex/1K line for domestic) was fairly long, and the line I was initially directed to was the kiosk line – but I moved under the barricade to join the agent line because I had a paper ticket for this RTW (yes, I know, very old school). Some people were steaming mad to have stood in the kiosk line, get rejected by the kiosk, and then stand in the agent line, but that was the flow that was set up. After about 25 minutes, I was quickly checked in and was through the premium security line within 10 minutes. I guess the moral of the story is – if checking bags, arrive early! I’m glad I did.

I then headed over to the C concourse RCC near C16, where N107UA to Frankfurt was boarding. I was given my drink chits with no hassles, and there was a decent spread of food out – graham crackers, pears, apples, vegetables/dip, crackers, cheese, raisins, and grapes. The RCC was fairly crowded but I managed to find a free seat to relax in. At the adjacent gate was N121UA headed to SFO – it was really cool to see two huge birds (both in old colors) side by side.

The flight had a delay posted of 6:50pm, but I headed out of the RCC around 6:15pm and “Final boarding” was being called. I headed upstairs to my exit row seat (15H), and was greeted by the crew and offered the standard selection of water, sparkling wine, and orange juice.

I asked for a newspaper but was told they were all handed out already. Even though the flight was fully booked, the cabin was still not full, because a lot of connecting flights were delayed due to weather. I think because of heavy loads on transatlantic flights making re-accommodation difficult, UA decided to hold our flight to accommodate connecting passengers. We finally pushed back around 7:25pm, with a full load in the upstairs cabin, and since the rain had eased up, we had a quick taxi and were airborne by 7:40pm.

Tonight’s routing took us northeast over Michigan and Canada, flying underneath the tip of Greenland, the coast of Northern Island, Belfast, Isle of Man, and then beginning out descent near Amsterdam.

Service began with hot nuts and beverages, served from the cart, followed by drink and nut refills, and then tables were set for dinner.


Here is tonight’s menu:

To begin

Shrimp, prosciutto ham, St. Andre Triple Crème cheese and vegetable crudite
Tahini lime sauce

Fresh seasonal greens
Classic Caesar or roasted garlic red wine vinaigrette

Main Course

Pan-seared filet mignon with béarnaise sauce
Potato leek cake and zucchini with basil

Horseradish-crusted salmon with dill cream sauce
Egg and scallion friend rice with carrots and sugar snap peas

Pasta trio
Three cheese filled pastas with pine nut pesto, Alfredo, and marinara sauces

Express Dine
Today’s Express Dine features an appetizer, a fresh entrée salad topped with a hot horseradish crusted salmon fillet and served with ranch dressing and Eli’s Belgian Chocolate cheesecake for dessert.

Dessert

International cheese selection
Jarlsberg, Reny Picot Fontina

Ice cream

Champagne

Billecart Salmon Brut NV Champagne
Drappier Carte d’Or Brut NV Champagne

White Wine

Bouchard Pere Macon Lugny St. Pierre 2005 (Chardonnay)
Laboure-Roi Chablis 2005 Le Beaunois (Chardonnay)
Estancia Pinnacles Chardonnay 2004 Monterey

Red Wine

Chateau Sonissan 2004 Haut-Medoc (Bordeaux Blend)
Delas Freres St. Edprit 2005 Cotes-du-Rhone (Grenache Blend)
Fabre-Montmayou Malbec 2004 Mendoza


As you can see, the appetizer was fairly large and nicely presented; the portions were more generous than the appetizers I’ve been accustomed to on the SFO-SYD route and everything was high quality. The salad also contained a variety of vegetables (yellow peppers, jicama)…maybe my expectations were low, but I was impressed. A variety of bread rolls (sourdough, wheat, focaccia, rye) were offered as well. One minor complaint is that the butter (which was served in a ramekin, not a foil packet) was rock solid as usual… I had the Malbec with the appetizer and thought it was good enough to stick with through the main meal.

I ordered the filet for my main dish, because I know on UA it will always be moist and tasty – my main complaint with the dish (echoed by other FTers on the UA menu thread) is that the potato leek cake isn’t good at all. It is light and fluffy, but really dry, and seemed like it was made with instant dried potatoes. Throughout the meal, the crew was diligent at topping up water and wine…my last few upgrades were on main deck Business and I think even with a higher F/A to Pax ratio downstairs, the service is so much better coordinated upstairs.


Dessert was a choice of cheese and fruit or ice cream. Unlike on some other flights, the cheese was plated from a large tray on the service trolley, but I just went with the ice cream, which was chocolate and strawberry. As expected, no sundae toppings were offered, but I like my ice cream plain anyway…

The one poor experience I had on board related to the amenity kit. I couldn’t find one at my seat and asked the crew after take off if they’d been handed out. I was told that one was placed on each seat, so I offered to look for it. I couldn’t find it, and while the F/A was incredibly apologetic, I was a bit surprised there were NO extra amenity kits on the plane for situations like this, especially given all I wanted was the eyeshades. If the F/A took the effort to check downstairs for extras it would have been appreciated…but not a big deal!

After dinner, I snoozed for about 4 hours, until it was time for breakfast. Breakfast service began about 1:15 prior to landing (with no hot towels); the service was delayed in order for the F/As to secure the cockpit as the flight deck used the lavs. Here is today’s simple breakfast menu –

Continental breakfast featuring a fruit appetizer, yogurt, breakfast bread and fruit preserves


The fruit (a variety of melons and generous bunch of grapes) was really good, but as usual, UA’s single choice of breakfast bread (aka the rubber croissant) was predictably awful. After a bite, I decided to pass on the croissant and eat a proper bread roll in the lounge. Juice and coffee/tea were offered with the breakfast, and two refills were offered. Unlike some of the transpacific crews I’ve had, this crew was diligent about not clearing cups before offering a refill! (It’s amazing when you have low expectations how much you appreciate basic service.) We touched down around 10:25am and were at the gate by 10:30am, so we made up some time enroute.

Overall, an above average United Business flight – since I was upgrading with an SWU it was definitely worth having a confirmed upgrade vs. a standby upgrade for LH’s better Business product.

I headed off to the Senator Lounge (remembering my current 1K card – because LH does not recognize status printed on your boarding pass), and had a quick shower and bite to eat before my connection to Ljubljana. There was a nice spread of lunch food (bread, pate, soup, salads), but I wasn’t particularly hungry, so just munched on a large pretzel.



Adria 113 – Frankfurt to Ljubljana - CRJ, Economy
Scheduled: 12:05pm to 1:20pm
Actual: 1:00pm to 2:10pm

For those of you wondering, Ljubljana is in Slovenia and Adria is Slovenia’s national airline. Further, Adria is a member of Star Alliance which meant I could fly it as part of my RTW ticket. I headed down to gate B50, which is a “bus gate”; boarding began at 11:50am, and we were bussed out to our fully loaded CRJ.


Upon boarding, we were informed that due to ATC delays we had a “wheels up” time of 1pm. While waiting out a ground stop in a CRJ isn’t too comfortable, at least I was in the exit row, and I even managed to catch some shuteye because I was tired from my overnight flight. F/As prohibited underseat stowage of carry-ons in the exit rows.

We took off shortly after 1pm; today’s service in Economy was a packaged chocolate chip muffin and a full beverage service. The muffin was fairly good for a packaged muffin, but seemed inappropriate for the time of day. Adria operates their CRJ in a 2 class configuration (same seat, with the rows blocked by a curtain) and two F/As, but I didn’t see what the Business cabin was served. We landed almost an hour late in Ljubljana, but being a small airport, baggage claim and customs were quick!

I met family and we toured around Slovenia, Italy, and Austria… no time to include details in this report, but I highly recommend visiting Slovenia! We somewhat regretted not spending more time there. My next stop was Istanbul, my first visit to Turkey.

Adria 176 – Ljubljana to Vienna – CRJ, Economy
Scheduled: 11:15am to 12:05pm
Actual: 11:30am to 12:15pm

We arrived at Ljubljana at around 8:30am because other family members had earlier flights. At LJU, check-in opens only 1.5 to 2 hours before departure time, but there are some pleasant outdoor cafes to pass the time right outside the terminal building (yes, it’s a small airport).

After seeing off the rest of my family on their flight to CDG, I headed into the Business Lounge. This lounge seemed more like a room, and it was fairly loud listening to cell phone conversations… but there was a nice plate of fruit and pastries, as well as an espresso machine (think: vending machine that dispenses a cup, just doesn’t take money) and a variety of alcoholic beverages. It was funny to see the red wine in what looked like a large beer bottle (sorry, I didn’t try any)! There was also a free internet kiosk (you need to pay for wi-fi), small television, and newspapers.

LJU is going through major terminal renovations that include jetbridges, but as of now, all passengers are bussed to the plane. Today’s quick flight to Vienna was only about two-thirds full, and I was lucky enough to score an empty seat next to me. I thought it was a bit interesting to see the Audi ads on the headrests, and as you can see we had a very colorful livery on our plane. I also spotted one of Adria’s new CRJ-900s heading out to Moscow…as well as a line up of 3 CRJs including one in Star Alliance livery

In the States, I’m not sure we’d expect any service at all on such a quick hop, but after takeoff, one of the F/As served Business (not sure what they had), and another dashed through Economy handing out boxes with a sunflower roll (buttered, with a piece of lettuce in the middle – no meat or cheese) and a box of 50% Orange Juice.

While I appreciated the thought of a snack, I didn’t really like what was served. I also thought it was weird that we got a savory snack of LJU-VIE vs. the sweet snack on FRA-LJU. After landing in Vienna, we were bussed to the gate.

Austrian 821 – Vienna to Istanbul – A319, Economy
Scheduled: 1:15pm to 4:30pm
Actual: 1:20pm to 4:35pm

I reached the Austrian lounge around 12:30pm, and was glad to see a fairly complete lunch buffet – stewed veal, basmati rice, cole slaw, bread, and cream of asparagus soup. There was also a variety of beverages, cookies, etc. Given the IST flight departed from the A gates (where I believe the long haul flights leave from), I was surprised the lounge was so small. I was able to find a table, but would expect the lounge gets really crowded during peak long haul flight banks.

After my quick snack, I headed to the gate for boarding. The picture below caused me to get interrogated by the security officer at the gate – “Can I see the picture you just took? I just need to make sure I’m not in it.” Whatever….it seems like he was in it but he declined my offer to delete it!

I was seated today in 22C, which is the second to last row on the A319, and today’s flight to Istanbul looked to be 100% full. As usual for Austrian, the interior is very colorful – bright green seats and bright red F/As – the females even wear red pantyhose (sorry, no picture for either).

After takeoff, headsets were distributed for the audio and video entertainment (ceiling LCDs) and then a hot lunch was served. There was a single choice, which was some sliced meat (I think pork) with a potato cake, spinach, and carrots. It was served in a cardboard box by itself, and bread rolls were offered separately. The drink cart trailed the meal cart by several rows at the back of the plane, and there was no separate pass after the meal for hot drinks or extra water. While I can’t complain about food on a 2 hour flight, I thought the F/As could have been a bit friendlier.

It was a clear day and we had a good view landing in Istanbul. The immigration process is fairly inconvenient, because most foreigners need to get in line for an “on arrival visa” (seems like a scheme for the Turkish government to raise cash), before entering the immigration line. I knew this, but I saw many travelers getting sent away from the immigration.

Lufthansa 3353 – Istanbul to Munich – A320, Business
Scheduled: 4:35pm to 6:10pm
Actual: 4:25pm to 5:50pm

Concerned about unexpected traffic, I arrived a bit early at the airport, at around 1:40pm. I had booked an overnight stay in Munich, because Z fare availability was tight over the Atlantic around my travel dates, and it wasn’t possible to connect from IST to LH’s 9:05am MUC-ORD on the same day. I also feel it’s a waste of a Z-fare ticket to fly UA metal (sorry!!).

Unfortunately, Lufthansa’s check-in counter didn’t reopen until 2:15pm so I was stuck walking around the airport for a half hour. I used the kiosk to print my boarding pass, but I needed to stand in line to check my bag. Given 18 people were waiting in line by the time the check in counters opened just reinforces that LH should open the counters earlier. Instead of opening up the counter with 6 people as LH did, why not start with 1 person and gradually add staff?

While waiting I wandered up to the LH ticketing desk to inquire about getting waitlisted for a C to F upgrade for the next day’s MUC-ORD flight using a printed UA SWU. I was told that I’d need to request the upgrade in MUC, because it was a standby upgrade. This is contrary to advice I’ve received on FT, to list for the upgrade at the originating city to ensure there is sufficient catering, but since I had a 14.5 hour layover in Munich, I figured it could wait.

I then headed through immigration to the Millennium Lounge. Certainly this lounge is not worth getting to the airport early for. It’s a large room with a central buffet and full service bar. The spread was fairly disappointing, with some breads, pastries, packaged sandwiches, and hot food (when I arrived it was sliced hot dogs and French fries, when I left it was a fairly passable tomato bean soup). The lounge got a bit smoky because the smoking area wasn’t segregated, but since the ceiling was high it wasn’t too bad. I even tried some raki – which traditional Turkish 45 proof hard liquor – needless to say I just had a sip before being satisfied with “just a taste”….

I then headed to the gate to board the A320. As most of you know, intra Europe Business class service is in coach seats converted from 3-3 to 2-2, so that the size of the Business cabin can be changed based on demand. I think we had 5 to 6 rows of Business seats, but only 9 passengers in Business, with Economy looking to be about two-thirds full. No pre-departure beverages were offered, but I was glad to have an empty seat next to me. After a fairly lengthy taxi, we took off around 4:50pm; it was a nice clear day so there was an excellent view of what might be the Bosphorous turning into the Black Sea.

Service began with beverages from a cart; feeling a bit dehydrated from the raki I ordered a water and orange juice, which surprisingly were served in plastic cups. Soon enough the F/A noticed her omission and brought me the drinks in wine glasses. She also offered me a refill before she headed back to serve beverages to Economy. Soon after, the purser brought around the cart with dinner; no menu was presented, but the choices were lamb with potatoes or chicken with rice (he actually made them sound a bit better than that!). Unlike my one other Intra-Europe Biz experience, the purser did not “show” the passengers what the mains looked like. The meal was served all at once on one tray, with the hot dish still covered in foil, to keep it warm while eating the appetizer. Whole wheat bread rolls (one choice) were offered, along with wine (the red selection was a South Australian Shiraz). I think the logic behind the single tray service is to accommodate a large Business cabin on a short flight, so it’s not a big deal. Interestingly there was no tablecloth and the napkin was paper.

The appetizer was a fairly tasty salad topped with smoked salmon, accompanied by hummus and horseradish sauce.

I went with the lamb for the main dish (sorry for the poor photography) – the presentation wasn’t great and the vegetables (sweet potato balls and beans) were a bit overdone, but the meat was fairly tasty.

The dessert was a pastry-like ball topped in chocolate sauce, which was nicely presented. Hot drinks were offered at the end of the meal service.

Overall the meal service was well paced and the service good, but after clearing the trays, the F/As disappeared and no further service was offered in the remaining 45 minutes or so of flight. We arrived Munich around 20 minutes early and parked at the terminal (luckily no bus) – I then headed to the Senator lounge to inquire about my upgrade for the next day (and of course check out the food spread).

The airport was fairly deserted, but the lounge was fairly bustling for some evening long haul departures to Asia. But one the agents cheerfully assisted me with listing me for an upgrade for the next day’s MUC-ORD from C to F using a printed UA SWU. LH is very generous to allow Z fares (discounted Business; these run around $2600-$3000 round trip) to use SWUs to upgrade to F. I was told that I would find out my status the next morning at the gate. I then headed into the lounge to find a fairly impressive spread (salads, minestrone soup, bread), as well as a “themed” table with strawberries, strawberry cake, cheese with strawberries, and champagne. As I was munching some food, I was paged to the reception desk and was told my upgrade had cleared. Horray!

I spent the night at the Kempinski Airport Hotel – this property is located just steps away from the terminal. It normally is very expensive but because it was a weekend night I paid around $150 USD, which was well worth it given my early transatlantic crossing the next day! I thought the hotel was really sleek and modern and the service was excellent – for example, they even had a cell phone charger for me to borrow.

Lufthansa 434 –Munich to Chicago– A340-600, First
Scheduled: 9:05am to 11:40am
Actual: 9:20am to 11:50am

By odd coincidence, I seem to be a “regular” on LH 434; over the past year I have taken this flight three times, each time on a different aircraft (A330-300, A340-300, and today the A340-600). This flight has never disappointed me, and as it turns out, today was no exception. (See my previous trip reports that include this flight at: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=595039
& http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=648593 )

Having checked my bag through to ORD in IST, I didn’t even need to stop at the First Class counter, but just for fun, I headed directly through the exclusive F check-in area to the priority security line.

I then headed to the temporary First Class Lounge, which interestingly has been labeled “First Class Area”. It’s a fairly small facility, but it has an excellent food spread, with a variety of yogurts, breads, cereals, and open-face sandwiches. There was also an excellent fruit salad, full of fresh berries, melons, mango, and grapes. I settled for some bircher muesli, a cup of berries, and some fruit salad, to ensure I saved an appetite for the feast that awaited me on board!

You can also order larger dishes off a menu, and while there are pitchers of juice and smoothies, attendants roam around to serve other drinks. Classy plates of figs and prunes and glasses of snacks and candy are on each table. I like this lounge because you get high touch service (drinks, menu items), but still have a self service buffet. I don’t like some of the First Class lounges in Asia where servers are over attentive and insist on bringing you food from the buffet.

Anyway, I left the lounge around 8am, because it is prior to passport control, plus I wanted (for good measure) to check out the food spread in the Senator Lounge. There is a First Class lounge under construction past passport control… guess I’ll need to do another F trip from MUC to experience it. :-)

The food spread in the Senator lounge looked fairly pathetic in comparison, and certainly not as lavish as the night before. I did, however, notice the slumberette rooms – something to remember for next time I have a long layover.

Next stop was gate H2, the same gate LH 434 has departed from each time I’ve flown it, and while there is a priority lane for document check and boarding, there was no priority lane for security, but lines were fairly light (when this flight operated at 11am, the area would be a madhouse – but seems like LH has retimed this flight to space out their transatlantic departures).

I boarded and settled into seat 1K; the cabin has 8 seats with a 1-2-1 configuration. Today 6 seats would be filled, with the center section in row 2 empty. While I am normally not fond of bulkhead seats, the row 1 seats have ample legroom. There is no underseat stowage in any of the F seats, but there is a generous amount of stowage for books, newspapers, etc. in the armrest. Pre-departure beverages (everything’s available) were offered in real glassware, along with a dish of macadamia nuts.

The “boarding complete” announcement was made at 9am, and I think the jetbridges were retracted, but we didn’t push back til 9:20am. While previous times I took this flight we sat at the gate waiting for late connections, today I think our delay was due to finalizing the cargo loading. While waiting for pushback, I noticed the Privatair 737 (due to operated MUC-EWR) being towed to the terminal.

As is customary in LH F, the captain came around the F cabin saying “guten tag” (On UA, I’ve had a captain say hello to me just once). After we pushed back, we had a quick taxi and took off into the clear sky.

Following take off, the purser came around to introduce herself and to explain the menu. Firstly, she apologized that in spite of the early departure, breakfast wasn’t being offered and hoped I wasn’t disappointed (I was actually happy – breakfast is too boring to be the main F meal). She then started explaining each wine on the list (after confirming I was indeed interested), highlighting the sommelier’s recommendations, and then took my initial drink order. As is customary in LH F, the purser introduces the service and then supervises the activities in the other cabins for the remainder of the flight.

Shortly thereafter, the galley F/A presents the pre-meal “chef’s selection” – it’s not on the menu and she apologizes for not being sure what it is, but it’s some kind of cold fish tart with yellow pepper, fennel, and dill. Even better than the goat cheese tart I had last time on this flight, and I really liked the plate too.

Next, tables were set for lunch, with tablecloth, salt and pepper shakers, butter, bread knife, and napkin/silverware bundle. Quite similar to Intl F on UA, except on UA they set the silverware separately. I started off with the White Burgundy (2005 Merdsult A.C., Roux Pere & Fils) which was crisp and refreshing. A full bread basket was offered – I think there must have been at least 6 types, I tried a seeded roll (excellent) and some rye bread (a bit dry).

Next up was the appetizer cart, which is tastefully presented “buffet style” on a trolley, with the F/A plating your selections at your seat. Sorry, I tried to sneak a photo of the trolley while the F/A was in the galley but didn’t have any luck!

Hors d’oeuvre from the Appetizer Cart

Caviar with the traditional garnishes

Dover Sole and Lobster Roll, Belgian Endive Salad with Oranges and Chervil, and Saffron Sauce with Lime

Terrine of Quail, Apple Celery Salad and Fig Chutney with Walnuts

Cured Red Tuna, Pata Negra Ham and Strawberry Tomato Chutney

Porcini Mushroom Tart with Celery, Parmesan and Balsamic Hazelnut Oil Vinaigrette

Basil Pesto

This all sounded so tasty that I told the F/A that I’d like a little bit of everything. She told me “no problem” and suggested I start with a plate of the seafood items. The caviar was served with the traditional accompaniments (egg yolks, egg whites, cream) as well as onions, and I was even given a lemon in cheesecloth to add flavor. The pesto on the side (based on the texture it seemed to be made from scratch) also went well with the cured ham and lobster roll. Everything was full of flavor and generously portioned. Other passengers had already moved on to the salad course by the time I finished my first plate, but unlike on an unnamed airline, the F/As didn’t offer me my second appetizer plate until they had cleared the first one.

Next, I tried the terrine of quail and mushroom tart, with some asparagus and pesto on the side, along with another generous helping of caviar. The F/A even refreshed the caviar accompaniments! I almost cry looking at the picture because the food tasted as good as it looked.

I transitioned over to red wine, starting with the “Monthly proposal” from the sommelier, which is a Chilean 2002 Maipo Valley Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, “Edicion Limitada”, Vina Morande, Chile. This wine had a “concentrated boquet” as the wine list stated and had just the right amount of tannins… I’m by no means a wine connoisseur, but this was the wine I enjoyed the most.

Next up was the soup and salad course –

Beef Consomme with Pancake Strips
Or
Garden Greens with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Button Mushrooms and Chives
Wild Garlic Dressing

I went with the salad and it was nicely presented with high quality greens; the dressing was a bit too vinegary for my tastes, but then again I am not a big fan of dressing in general. BTW, it goes without saying that wine and water top ups, as well as more bread, came with every course, and the F/As didn’t blink an eye when myself or other pax opted to try different wines. A small tasting portion of wine was also offered before pouring a full glass.

Next up was the main dish entrée:

White Asparagus served with Sauce Hollandaise, a selection of Ham and New Potatoes

Monkfish in Olive Crust, accompanied by Fennel Fond, Lemon Risotto, and Green Bean Kernels

Veal Fricassee with Lovage, Capers, and Champignon Mushrooms served on pearl barley

Pan-seared breast of Guinea Hen and Morel Mushroom Madeira Sauce, complemented by Celery Mousseline and caramelized apples

This is probably the phase of the meal I was least impressed with, mainly because I felt the presentation of the monkfish wasn’t especially impressive. (Especially when you compare it to the halibut I had last time on this flight in F: ) I really like it in Lufthansa Business how the entrees are shown to you before selecting, but I fully understand the complexity of plating the F entrees makes this impossible.

The monkfish itself tasted fairly good as was the lemon risotto, but I couldn’t taste any fennel in the sauce and the green bean kernels (aren’t these lima beans?) tasted just as bland as they looked. I think this dish would be made a lot better by choosing a different vegetable to go with it. I’m sure the halibut picture in my previous LH F report is more indicative of what a LH F main dish looks like.

As mentioned, I was eating slower than the rest of the cabin, but the cheese and dessert cart didn’t appear at my seat until the main meal was cleared:

International Cheese
Bavaria blu, Crottin de Chavignol, Comte, Le Coutances and Pont l’Eveque, garnished with grapes and walnuts.

Milk Chocolate Tart with Strawberries and Lime

Sorbet and Soup of Coconut with Pineapple

Specialty Dessert Wines

Even though I was getting stuffed, I asked for the full spread of cheese (I love European cheeses…) and the chocolate tart. Again, the classy F/A suggested I take the cheese first and that she’d be sure to save a chocolate tart for me. I know this kind of service should be expected, but in an unnamed airline’s International First, I’m so used to my tray table filling up with strawberries, melted ice cream, and cheese, because the F/As are in such a mad rush to put the cart away.

The cheese was all tasty, washed down with a glass of 2001 Indian Wells, Columbia Valley Merlot, Chateau Ste Michelle, USA – I especially liked the intense flavor of the Pont l’Eveque.

Next up was the chocolate tart, which was light and fluffy, a perfect ending to an amazing meal. Perfectly satiated from my wine tasting, I declined dessert wine and apertifs that the F/A tried to tempt me with, in favor of a pot of rooibos tea.

But the meal wasn’t over yet! The F/A came around with a box of pralines and I couldn’t resist asking to try the dark ones and the white ones, so in spite of my best intentions to be on good behavior, I had 5 pieces of chocolate sitting in front of me! Let’s just say they were all yummy, but that I did hit the gym when I got home.

Individual water bottles were handed out, and extra ones were placed on the credenza. I then reclined the seat and caught a few hours of shuteye. I woke up with about an hour before the pre-arrival meal was offered, and played around a bit with the IFE. Personally, I am not impressed with LH’s IFE because there aren’t too many movies or audio to choose from and I couldn’t find anything interesting, so I stuck with Airshow. That said, LH does have proper laptop plug ins, so bringing your laptop and DVD of choice overcomes the small screen and limited of content.

About 1.5 hours prior to landing in Chicago, separate menus were presented for the pre-arrival “Salad Buffet”:

Cold and Hot Specialties from the Service Cart

Young Leaves of Lollo Rosso and Bionda, Roman, Mizuna, Chicory, Beet and Spinach

With Ranch, creamy Herb Dressng, or Balsamic Vinaigrette

Graved Halibut, smoked Salmon and Lime

Marinated Gambas

White and Green Asparagus

Cocktail Tomatoes

Parmesan Shavings
Pine Nuts

Wiener Schnitzel garnished with Lemon, Anchovy, Capers and Parsley


After tables were set, the service cart came around, with bowls of all the above. Surprise, surprise, I asked for everything (except the dressing), and the F/A got concerned my salad would be too dry. I appreciated her concern, but assured her that all these dishes were much tastier than my personal cooking and that my salad would be excellent. She said she could come back later with some Wiener Schnitzel, to avoid crowing my table. To complete my tasting of the reds, I enjoyed the 2001 Chateau Pedesclaux, Cru Classe, Pauillac Bordeaux, and of course some more bread! All the salad accompaniments tasted as good as they looked!

Unlike on my previous flight, the service cart made another round for second helpings. After presenting me with my Wiener Schnitzel, I was offered more salad, but instead asked for more cocktail tomatoes and asparagus salad, with parmesan.

Next up was dessert – given I was stuffed, I went with the fruit bowl, which was a bit small and disappointing, but I definitely enjoyed another pot of rooibos tea.

Dessert

Key Lime Pie

Fresh Fruit
Pineapple, Kiwi, Strawberries and Papaya

All good things must come to an end, and by this time we had begun our descent into Chicago, touching down a few minutes late around 11:50am.

I thanked the F/As for their excellent service and handed out Starbucks cards to reinforce my thanks for a job well done! I’m going to be writing a letter to Lufthansa to compliment the first rate crew on this flight. Immigration was quick, but as usual for ORD international arrivals, priority tags don’t mean much and I needed to wait 20+ minutes for my bag – but not as bad as the 40 minute wait I had last time.

In conclusion, this flight was FANTASTIC and is a great reason why you should find a way to try Lufthansa F for yourself. There are many ways to do so without paying full fare (using miles, using a SWU to upgrade a Z-fare, buying a FRTW). Prior to landing I took a picture of the 2 empty F seats on the plane… thinking it could be YOU in those seats.

I’ve done F on NH, SQ, and LH (sorry, OZ F and UA F aren’t even finalists), and in my opinion Lufthansa comes out on top. SQ has a slight edge for service and has better IFE, and NH has an edge with its huge mid flight snack menu and really creative Japanese cuisine, but I really feel that LH gives you the best all around experience – mainly because the food presentation and trolley service is so classy. I also felt the F/As on this flight were on top of their game – acting genuine, yet classy.

Thanks for reading this report or portions of it. It’s my pleasure to contribute given how much I have enjoyed the trip reports other FTers have put together over the years.

Next trip report will be in September… it will include a Business segment on the SQ 77W TPE-LAX. Stay tuned and happy flying!

hairpeace

Marvellous reading!

lucky9876coins

Fantastic trip report, das!^

Sounds like you really had a fantastic flight in LH F, which is great to hear.

A few notes:

-I had no clue that LH had F on the A346! I have always wanted to fly this plane, so that may just be a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

-You have obviously had much better experiences on LH than I have. The service I have received has never been stellar. I have never had the captain come around to each F passenger and welcome them aboard, which is a classy touch though. The service has been mediocre at best, IME, but it sounds like I have been unlucky. The fact that you say it's better than SQ F all around really must mean something!

-Agree about the food on LH. It is fantastic, and I love the wide selection, especially the appetizers.

Again, fantastic report and look forward to your next one on the SQ77W. I just flew it for the first time and have a report coming up on it, so I look forward to comparing notes.

das

In all fairness, I didn't notice any difference between the F cabin on the A340-600 and the A330-300, except because the A340-600 is so long I think the takeoff roll was a bit longer and felt a little different. SeatGuru isn't up to date for LH's configurations. I was tempted to venture back to Y to check out the lower deck lavatories, but didn't get a chance to!

I definitely look forward to reading your SQ 77W report to help build my anticipation!

gvdIAD

Nice read, das!

As a regular habitue on Adria flights (my brother lives outside Ljubljana), I appreciated your comment about the onboard snack service. Until a couple of years ago, there were sandwiches (usually with proscuitto and cheese) on lunchtime flights, but Adria seems to have followed everyone else in trimming service on the short hops.

Whenever possible, I try to fly one of Adria's A320's, which mostly fly between FRA and LJU, but given that the bulk of Adria's fleet is CRJs (indeed, I believe they have a CRJ repair facility and handle work for a number of European carriers), that's what I usually end up on as well.

The lounge at LJU is small, but at least they do a good job keeping food and beverages available. And because of JP's status as a Regional Member of the Star Alliance, it's available to *Golds. It beats the main waiting area, which though it has plenty of seating, can get cold in the winter and hot in the summer as the doors to the bus gates are opened and closed.

SMART51

Great report,enjoyed reading it.But i must be doing something wrong as unable to open the picture file.

mijugo

Fantastic report! Thanks for your work!

One of the main down´s in LH continental C is the inconsistent service-level. I´ve had great flights with the meal courses all served seperatly, good wine-tastings and a crew wich came near to international F. But if the C cabin has more than ~5-6 pax, the flight is sold out, or the crew is simply not motivated, the service usually becomes more rushed. In general, flights to/from MUC are better than to/from FRA.

Once again: thanks for sharing your trip!