JamesBond_ppk

Index

Introduction
OSL-MUC: LH / A321 / M
Mövenpick Hotel MUC Airport
Lufthansa's First Class lounge MUC
MUC-DXB: LH / 343 / F - Part 1 / Part 2
The Emirates First Class lounge DXB
DXB-MEL: EK / A388 / F - Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4
Radisson Flagstaff Gardens Melbourne
Australia - Melbourne to Adelaide via Great Ocean Road and Kangaroo Island
Qantas Club MEL
MEL-SYD: QF / 763 / C - Part 1 / Part 2
Radisson Hotel & Suites Sydney
Australia - Last days of 2012 in SYD
Koru Club SYD
SYD-AKL: NZ / 763 / C - Part 1 / Part 2
Novotel Auckland Airport
New Zealand - A small view of North Island
Domestic Koru Club AKL
AKL-ZQN: NZ / A320 / M
Sofitel Queenstown
ZQN-MFN-ZQN: Air Fiordland / BN-2 / M
New Zealand - South Island in Queenstown & Milford sound
ZQN-CHC: NZ / 733 / M
CHC-AKL: NZ / A320D / M
Koru Club AKL
AKL-NAN: NZ / 773 / C - Part 1 / Part 2
Radisson Blu Resort Fiji Denarau Island
Octopus Resort, Waya island
Fiji - Beautiful islands
NAN-AKL: NZ / 763 / C - Part 1 / Part 2
AKL-SYD: NZ / A320 / M
Lounging in SYD - SilverKris lounge
SYD-BKK: TG / 74R / F - Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
Royal First lounge BKK
Royal Orchid Spa BKK
BKK-FRA: TG / 77J / F - Part 1 / Part 2
New Senator lounge FRA
FRA-OSL: LH / A319 / C
Awards and Conclusion

Previous trip report:
Easter trip to Asia with LX,LH,MU(F) and SK,OZ,TG,CA,LH(C) and Korean KTX(Y)

JamesBond_ppk

Introduction

Here we are. For my second trip report here on FT, I chose a First Class trip to Oceania. Based in Oslo, I can tell you that in the middle of December, when it's cold, dark and the skiing season has not quite started yet, there is nothing better than a trip to the south (as people say over here)... And this time I meant very very far south, all the way around the globe indeed!

So after having packed up some Dividend Miles and Avios, over the last year, we booked this rather complicated plan:



With the following rather complicated details:
US Airways reservation 1 (Dividend Miles):
OSL-MUC: LH / A319 / M (No C was available at time of booking)
MUC-BKK: TG / 74R / F
BKK-SYD: TG / 74R / F
Stopover
Qantas reservation (Cash):
SYD-MEL: QF / 763 / M
British Airways reservation (Avios):
MEL-SYD:.QF / 763 / C
US Airways reservation 1 (Dividend Miles):
SYD-AKL: NZ / 763 / C
Destination 1
Air New Zealand reservation (Cash):
AKL-ZQN: NZ / A320 / M
Air Fiorland Scenic Flight (Cash):
ZQN-MFN-ZQN: Air Fiordland / BN-2 / M
US Airways reservation 2 (Dividend Miles):
ZQN-CHC-AKL: NZ / 737 / M
Layover
AKL-NAN: NZ / 773 / C
Destination 2
NAN-AKL: NZ / 763 / C
Layover
US Airways reservation 1 (Dividend Miles):
AKL-SYD: NZ / A320 / M
SYD-BKK: TG / 74R / F
BKK-FRA: TG / 77J / F
FRA-OSL: LH / A320 / C

Yeah... Quite a trip right?!

The most familiar people with DM on this forum will have recognized a routing that is not 100% according to the book, as in reservation 1, SYD was our lucky stopover and AKL our destination. Reservation 2 was booked as an "Open Jaw" since Stopovers are not allowed within the same zone.

The total cost was 180000 DM, 9000 Avios, approximately 250USD of airfares (excluding Milford Sound Flight) and approximately 350USD of taxes and fees. Per person that is.

However because of poor weather conditions in MUC we missed our connection to BKK and were rebooked directly to MEL. Long story short, we ended up with a better product than our actual reservation, thanks to Lufthansa. Details are to follow below.

In the end our trip looked like this, and this is what will be reported over here. I have made specific installment for some lounges, but for the most common ones, they will be documented with the actual flight. I have also made specific installments for the some of the hotels we stayed at:



US Airways reservation 1 (Dividend Miles):
OSL-MUC: LH / A321 / M (No C was available at time of booking)
Unforeseen layover in Mövenpick Hotel MUC Airport
MUC-DXB: LH / 343 / F
DXB-MEL: EK / A388 / F
Stopover and open jaw
Radisson Flagstaff Gardens.Melbourne
British Airways reservation (Avios):
MEL-SYD:.QF / 763 / C
Radisson Hotel & Suites Sydney
US Airways reservation 1 (Dividend Miles):
SYD-AKL: NZ / 763 / C
Destination 1
Novotel Auckland Airport
Air New Zealand reservation (Cash):
AKL-ZQN: NZ / A320 / M
Sofitel Queenstown
Air Fiorland Scenic Flight (Cash):
ZQN-MFN-ZQN:.Air Fiordland / BN-2 / M
US Airways reservation 2 (Dividend Miles):
ZQN-CHC-AKL: NZ / 737 & A320 / M
Layover
AKL-NAN: NZ / 773 / C
Destination 2
Radisson Blu Resort Fiji Denarau Island
Octopus Resort, Waya island
NAN-AKL: NZ / 763 / C
Layover
US Airways reservation 1 (Dividend Miles):
AKL-SYD: NZ / A320 / M
SYD-BKK: TG / 74P / F
BKK-FRA: TG / 773 / F
FRA-OSL: LH / A319 / C

Happy reading everyone! I hope you enjoy this, and please do not hesitate to comment.

JamesBond_ppk

LH2455
OSL-MUC
Duration: 2:10 (1:46)
A321 (swapped from A319): D-AIDB
M class (No C available at time of booking despite only 3 seats taken out of 30...), about 40% load.
Seats 11D & 11E

Check in at SAS Eurobonus Gold / First Class counter went smoothly. I actually noticed that SAS is now writing First Class on their newly designed overhead screen, even though they do not offer that class of service.
The agent found both our reservations and proceeded to check that we were seated together, something I had requested by email to TG for our two next segments but not for LH as I could only pre-reserve my seat (SEN card). Our luggages were checked in all the way, and I politely reminded the agent to attach Priority tags, as she was about to send them without.

At time of booking C class was not available, so at check in I politely requested an upgrade, referring to our trip being in F, and to the wide availability of C seats. The agent sadly could not upgrade us and told us to ask at the gate or in the lounge.

We then went through Fast Track security control thanks to my SEN card where the queue was quite long. Still it was shorter than at the normal control which was packed.

We headed for Sushis at YoSushi and then for the Scandinavian lounge. To be honest, I usually eat before entering the Scandinavian lounge in OSL, as the food choices there are very limited, and the quality quite poor. On that particular night they had bread, salmon, pork cold cuts, and soup. Upon entering I once again requested an upgrade, explaining C was not available when we booked but that it was now. The nice agent then sent a request for an upgrade which would be addressed at the gate.

YoSushi!


Sushi bar


After finding a seat and trying to relax, we started waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Several announcements later, our flight was expected with 1:50 delay when we only had 1:15.connection time in MUC. The delay was due to snow weather in MUC and was announced as affecting most of the flights. It was however clear to me we were not going to make our connection even though we might have had a slight chance if TG was also delayed..

Waiting in the lounge, with an F boarding card in hand. Nice feeling!


Agents in the Lounge were unwilling to help with finding an alternative, and one of them was being down right rude and blaming LH for all the world's misery. After a while another agent, nicer, informed us that LH wanted all passengers to be sent to MUC and that everything would be sorted out there. I wasn't thrilled with the idea as there were still several connections possible out of OSL, either via CPH on SK or via FRA on LH. In any case the agents said they were not allowed to rebook us and that LH would do that in MUC if necessary. Thinking of it, that was probably not correct with regards to passenger rights, but as we were on an award booking, we went with the flow...

At the gate we inquired politely about our upgrade request, but the gate manager said he never heard of such a thing. He was stressed due to late incoming aircraft so we did not insist. Boarding happened without priority line for *G as usual in OSL, despite the fact that there are two distinct boarding queues at every gate...

Nice and modern Airbus cabin, note the curtain is closed. SK take notes!


Emergency exit row


View from my seat


We were in the air 2:15 after scheduled departure time... The flight went ok, being placed on emergency exit, the leg room was excellent. Some food was served. I write "some" because it smelled and looked revolting. It was oily white sausage balls, and a small Ciabata bread. Did not want to eat that, and besides I was still full from the Sushis.

During the flight I enquired the purser about our situation. Was our TG flight delayed? Which gate would we arrive at, and what gate was TG departing from? Basics... If there was still a chance to make it, we might as well make a run for it. My main concern at the time was for us to be rebooked in M to SYD. That might be an unpopular fact but as I understand it is the normal process when rebooking passenger on an award ticket... And it did not sound good one bit.

15 minutes before landing, the purser came to us and informed us that she had not received any information whatsoever about our flight to BKK and that she really was sorry. Honestly I was quite disappointed by that answer, which really was not one... She did not even knew which gate we would be arriving at... Looking back, she was probably lying and most certainly knew what was our situation. Anyway we actually moved further to the front of the cabin to try and make a run for it. Right before reaching our parking gate I switched on my mobile phone (I am aware that is not normally allowed, I was bad on this one), and checked our flight status. It had departed.

At this time there was nothing else to do than stand in line at the Service Center. However, the queue there was freakishly huge so we went to try our luck in the Senator lounge. The queue was much shorter there and after about 10 minutes we ended up talking to a very tired but efficient agent who managed to save our day. So far the delay from LH had been accompanied by bad news and unwilling staff. That lounge agent was the complete opposite. She was nice, had a good sense of humor, and went out of her way to help us. She was simply perfect. ^

The queue at the service centre


And boy did we get lucky with our re-booking! For starters, and despite being rebooked with a 24h delay, we were rebooked in the same class, then to our final destination, and finally on an A388 for the longest leg. And as if that was not enough, we were rebooked in a paying class, which allows point earnings. As explained, I understand that LH really did not had any obligation to do all of that. But that lounge agent, amazing as she was, did nothing wrong as she double checked everything with her manager, to make sure the whole process was correct.

Our new boarding cards, an even better feeling! I love the Silver paper case!


Looking back, that agent checked several routings for us, some with QR, and others with EK, but she wanted to make sure we had an A388 experience. Just so that it's said, she made sure we would get that, without us requesting it. I was surprised though she did not try to book with SQ, which never came up in our conversation. I was also surprised she did not rebook us on TG the day after since the LH flight she picked for us was departing at exactly the same time...

Anyway, she really was great! She even tried to book a room at the Kempinski for us, which sadly was full. So after about 20 minutes we had new tickets to MEL with LH and EK in F, a hotel coupon, a taxi voucher and 2 diner vouchers.

Of course we were sad to "loose" 1 day of holiday, but at this stage we were not ready to complain at all... The perspective of flying M all the way had vanished and the new highlight of the trip for me then switched to the A380 experience which despite me being a relative frequent flyer, I've yet to fly on. Scandinavian carriers are too small for the whale...

A nice beer to decompress after an eventful evening


Conclusion:
Flight delayed, bad service and information from LH compensated by 1 individual who did her job and went out of her way to make up for the bad start of our holidays.
Onboard experience was decent, with a nice hard product, but catering was disgusting.

Thunderroad

Nice introduction to your TR and very nice to hear that the flights got sorted out despite the potential for the start of this dream vacation turning into a nightmare.

FWIW, my own personal preference in TRs includes photos and commentary on seats, cabins, lounges and service, rather than the oodles of menus and meals some folks focus on (not that you've done so yet). But I realize we each have our own preferences and that this is no right or wrong. Regardless, looking forward to the rest of your posts!

JamesBond_ppk

Mövenpick Hotel MUC airport
King room, unknown price

+
Nice design, with fresh colours
Good amenities
-
Far from the actual airport, despite the shuttle bus (normally 8 Euros per person per ride). It was a nice stay but I would rather book the Kempinski or the Novotel if I was on a short layover.

Check in process went smoothly, without waiting time. Seemed plenty of passengers had been affected by the weather that day and the clerk was therefore working hard, preparing all room keys.

Our King room was very well appointed with nice colours and plenty of space to move around. The bathroom was also very nice. They even had a Ducky

King bed


TV & Working area


Curtain separating the sleeping area from the entrance. Nice touch!


Bathroom entrance


Bathroom


Helloooo Ducky! (I did not take it!)


Breakfast was quite good, with plenty of choices. Exactly what one would expect from a decent hotel, nothing less, nothing more.

View form the elevator in the morning


My breakfast


Breakfast view


The view from the restaurant in this lovely December morning


After a late check out we headed back to the airport. We had thought about heading down town, but mind you, we were on our way to the south, and with the freezing weather outside (-6) and very light clothing, we thought it'd be better to stick to the small Christmas market at the airport.

Christmas market in MUC, cold very cosy!


Christmas market stand


Besides my girlfriend needed an emergency dentist appointment, and there is a medical center at the airport.

Waiting lounge at the dentist... Not very comfortable!


That out of the way, we headed for the First Class lounge..

JamesBond_ppk

Lufthansa's First Class lounge MUC

Even though we had gotten our boarding passes the day before, I wanted to drop by the First Class check in to check a few things. Most important of all was "where are our luggages"? Indeed we had checked in a total of 3 pieces and did not get them back the night before. That was no problem as we had pretty much all we needed with us. But I just wanted to make sure our luggages would follow us to MEL. And it was good that we asked, since apparently they had no idea where our luggages were. We were told to check again the Lounge in an hour, as they would search for them in the mean time. While we were at check in I also took the opportunity to change our seats to 1A and 2A. Usually our favourite seats as we wanted to make sure we had a view upon landing. On a side note, the First Class check in in MUC is excellent. Located just nearby security control, to which it has a direct access, it has a few waiting chairs, and of course service was excellent.

At the lounge we were unfortunately told there would be no limousine service that night as our A343 had gotten a Terminal gate. That is the second time out of 2 LH F experiences that this happens to us. No limousine for us

Anyway, upon arrival in the Lounge we were directed to a quiet seating area with a nice Bang & Olufsen TV. The attendant asked us what we wanted to drink, to which we replied to give us a few minutes to settle in first.

Lounge view


Our seating area


B&O TV


A few minutes in, we decided to have dinner, as we had about 5 hours of waiting ahead of us before boarding.

We were promptly seated at the restaurant and I ordered immediately a glass of Champagne rose. It was a Janisson & Fils, unknow to me before, but in Champagne the smallest wine makers are the bests. It was very nice indeed. My girlfriend chose a glass of apple juice first and then a glass of Les Jalets Blancs, Croze Hermitage.

The menu, presented in a nice cover reads as so:

Welcome page (Not sure the LSG partnership needs to be advertised...)


Starters


Mains


Wine list


From which we ordered the following:

Tom Kha Goong from the menu. Note the fresh chilies on the side


Various starters from the buffet for me. Fresh and lovely


Boar ragout as main course for the two of us. Very nice indeed


Finally dessert, only fruits this time even though the spread was quite large and appetizing. Note the impeccable strawberries


The nice lounge attendants made sure our glasses were full at all times. There were very little waiting time for the food, despite the many passengers being seating at the restaurant. All in all it was an excellent pre-flight dinner!

Upon leaving our dining table, I was informed that our bags were found and were retagged to MEL.

That out of the way I started writing this report while my girlfriend went outside the lounge for a manicure. Our original seats, by the TV were taken by an indian family so I took our bags and moved somewhere else.

Relaxing chair


A bit later that evening, a party started in the cigar lounge (couple of guys enjoying themselves with drinks, smokes and loud music). As we sat nearby in the very comfy chairs, one of the lounge clerk came to ask us if we were disturbed by the noise, to which we responded that, no it was nice to have a bit of life in the lounge. He smiled, and said to warn him if at any point the party became annoying.

Finally about 1,5 hour before boarding we went for a pre-flight shower and got a beautiful white Ducky . As experienced in my previous TR, the shower facilities are excellent in this lounge with very good amenities.

Large bathroom


Amenities


The second ducky of my collection (amateur I know!)


We left the lounge, unaccompanied, about 40 minutes before our scheduled departure time and headed for our gate, H44. For those familiar with MUC, you'll understand that's a fair distance from the lounge, about 10 minutes walk. And that is actually the only thing that could have been better with our experience of Lufthansa's First Class ground services, a small drive in a cart would have been appreciated. The rest was perfect!

stu1985

Excellent start to your report - can't wait for the rest!

daniellam

Good to hear that LH did such a good job in your INVOL rebooking.

As far as I know, in IRROPS (Irregular Operations) situations, award tickets are treated the same as paid tickets.

You are to be rebooked into the same cabin (eg. First Class in your case) as per your original booking (as long as there is space available, even if it means having to put you onto another carrier) even if the original inventory ("O" class for award First Class in your case) is not available.

[Note: For IRROPs, it is best to have the carrier whose flight caused the delay/cancellation/misconnect to handle the rebooking at the airport (the agents at the airports seem to have more authority when it comes to IRROPs situations). Had you called US Dividend Miles instead, you would have probably got a far worse outcome as US Dividend Miles probably would have insisted that they reroute you on whatever itinerary has award booking inventory (which could be days, weeks, or months if you want to fly in "First Class") or give you a refund of mileage before trying to help you find a more acceptable solution.]

Perhaps TG F the next day might have already been fully booked (maybe to accommodate other passengers in a situation similar to yours) so LH put you on LH/EK instead? I have a feeling that LH might be trying to minimize the "damage" to themselves by putting on their own flight for at least part of the way before putting you onto another carrier.

The only carrier that seems to have a problem with IRROPs is UA where the agents by default rebook everyone into full fare "Y" class (since nobody in the USA actually buys first class tickets) on the "next available flight" unless you remind them that you are on a first class ticket where they would book you into full fare "F" instead.

[Also Note: It is a good thing that your IRROPs situation occurred while you are still on the same ticket. I've noticed that you have been using a series of separate award/paid tickets for your trip. Had the IRROPs occured when you are switching from one ticket to another, you would have probably been out of luck.]

JohnRain

Promising start and great itinerary!
Nice to see a few shots of the FCL in MUC for a change, with all the posts about the FCL & FCT in FRA on FT, one can almost forget that MUC is a great airport for F transfers as well.

JamesBond_ppk

Thanks! There will be content for all, both on the cabin & seats but as well on the catering. I will also make comments on the service, which to me is the most important!

Thanks! Coming up as soon as I am back from VNO.

Thanks for your comments and clarifications!

Yes I ultimatley agree that it is normaly easier to let the carrier responsible for the mishap handling the situation. In that case the message from LH to SK was clear; send everyone to MUC.

I am not sure it was the cheapest for them though, as in that particular case we could have been rebooked via Frankfurt in C or M and then to BKK in F with LH, as there were available seats.

In anycase you are right about being rebooked on the faulty carrier. The lounge agent insisted that our first leg be on LH. Which to be honest was absolutely fine with me!

And I did not even think about calling US!

You are absolutely right. MUC is a great airport for transfers in general, regardless of the travel class. I'd choose it anyday over FRA. The only reason why I'd chose FRA in the future if flying LH F, would be to try the FCT. Other than that, the FCL in MUC is very good indeed, and the airport itself is really nice. The nicest of all being much shorter walking distances than in FRA.

JamesBond_ppk

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...

divjan

Did they offer an escort by a PA in DXB upon arrival? Lufthansa started this service in January 2013 for Frist class pax also, it was available to HON members only until Jan2013

JamesBond_ppk

Sadly they did not. There were no one waiting for us upon disembarking, neither for the other in F. The trip was in December 2012.

oliverckhaas

Fantastic start and thanks for sharing. Good to know how to deal with a rebooking situation on an award ticket.

I look forward to the future instalments

JamesBond_ppk

LH638
MUC-DXB

Part 2

After this beautiful and excellent dinner, my seat was converted to a bed while I went to the restrooms. I must admit that I really like Lufthansa's F cabin and seat. The colours are fancy but not too posh, the seat is comfortable in both seat and bed mode. It offers good privacy with the screen up and the madras they use is thick, so the bed is very comfy. I managed to sleep about 3 hours before being waken up 30 minute before landing that came with a 45 min delay.

IFE screen


My bed. With the madras the sleep comfort is excellent!


There was no second service obvisouly on this very short flight. So we were awaken at the very last minute in order to sleep as much as possible.

Arrival view


Dubai view


Emirates Terminal in DXB


Conclusion
That was another great First Class experience with Lufthansa who manages to deliver a consistent, high end, exclusive product on all levels. The only room for improvement on that flight was the amenity kit. .The lack of escort to and from the plane is a separate issue and of course, arriving on time would have been nice if I was traveling for Business... Besides that, this was a perfect flight.

The First Class lounge in MUC is the first step into a very exclusive club and it contributes to a very high end experience..The hard product on board is very nice, functional but also well designed and with a really nice colour scheme. The service that night was nothing short of excellent, with everyone putting the extra effort to offer a personalized service. I expected nothing less.