GmK

Be aware: I am neither a native English speaker, nor do I want to repeat many of the detailed facts others have already written about. The following is simply a collection of my experiences flying in 3 F cabins. You won't find a report of exotic destinations, their culture and people here. If such is more your thing, please head over to one of the many excellent other trip reports that are here. Oh, and my humor might not suit everyone. I warned you


Sometimes you just got to break out

Contents

1. Introduction + a visit to the FCL MUC (this post)
2.a "Passengers like you make me enjoy my job even more" - An LH F experience (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)
2.b A quick layover in ICN
3. Some things work surprisingly well…others don't. - A short hop on OZ F as well as: The fun one can have…or not have…with PAs - NRT, oh my beloved NRT
5. "So this is why people like this place!" - Conrad Tokyo
6. An attempt at greatness - NH F


Part 1 - Introduction + a visit to the FCL MUC

The anxiety and restlessness, there it was again. It's quite silly actually, to see how the addiction to spend hours in a metal tube - with bad air, bad food, back aches, leg aches, head aches (mostly due to alcohol consumption to lessen before mentioned pains) - simply does not cease to exist. For some of us it's the fascination of all the technical aspects of flying, for others it's the silence before the (holiday-)storm, and for some others pure masochism. And many reasons more.

But the one thing, that connects us all is, that we want to have some kind of experience. And it was my turn again to have one.

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Late February 2013. The new year began with a huge workload, that I did not anticipate at New Years Eve. Not that I was able to anticipate a lot during New Years due to…happenings…but that is a different story. Yes, much intra-Europe flying was done on business trips, and I learned yet again that some of the Star-Alliance partners are actually able to devise good *G lounges (Copenhagen, Istanbul) while others…not so much. So yes, flying was done, but it did not hide the fact that I was simply fleeing from one place to the next, from meeting to meeting, from deadline to deadline.

One evening, near to a nervous breakdown (well probably not, I love my job, but it was a *bit* taxing at that time) my better half placed herself in front of me, held up one finger (that's always a sign that either great things, or much rather bad things are just about to happen the next few seconds) and said "GmK, this cannot go on. You are wearing yourself out. You take some days off NOW and fly somewhere, ANYWHERE, on your own, as far away as possible. That DOES relax you usually, doesn't it?" I must have looked slightly stumped, as she gave me that look of "What did I say this time". The fact is, after all these years she finally understood me. Unbelievable.

The other explanation might be, that she was plain sick of me complaining every day, and just wanted to get rid of me. Oh well.

With such a legitimation from the highest court, something sparked within me. I turned on the trusted "Get-Me-The-Hell-Outta-Here Machine" (generally called Personal Computer) and began with the dance of the availabilites. Most of you know this dance very well, and through different stages of intoxication I surveyed all my amassed points and other amassed things (bills, why do they even multiply so much?) and looked at the world being an oyster and yadda yadda, you know the drill. I think that I won't be able to use the words ANA, KVS, FCL, EF, etc., any time soon anymore.

But, you know, in the end some things just magically fit together, so I present you…the routing (da-da-daaaaaaaa)

1. HAM - MUC, LH C, A321
2. MUC - ICN, LH F, A343
3. ICN - NRT, OZ F, B747-400 Combi
// 24h Tokyo, Conrad
4. NRT - MUC, NH F, B777-300
5. MUC - HAM, LH C, A320

So, yes, there are many many more creative routings out there. Like - MUCH more creative. But, I wanted to experience LH, OZ and NH in F for the first time. And exactly on the three days I was able to get some time off, those three had availability in the routing mentioned above.

Oh, and, I f***** love Tokyo. Lived there for 6 years, can't get enough of it. Those who have been know: A city with an extreme pull, gripping you and not letting go (I am sure everyone has such a city, mine is Tokyo). So if I am somewhere for only 24hrs, so please a city I know and love, and can spend the time very well in. I picked the Conrad and used 50k HHonors points - as to experience it before it turns into a new category 10 hotel for 95k points / night (!) - and because I wanted to check it out, having heard many good things.

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Some of you might have a very urgent feeling of Deja-Vu right at this moment, thinking "Wait a second, this seems all too familiar!". And yes, I can only agree: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...x-f-tokyo.html I did the exact same routing (more or less), even the same flight numbers on the outbound, but this time in F instead of C. And the trip back in NH F instead of LX F. So I had a nice comparison of C products and their F counterparts, as well as fill my list of *A F cabins.

Oh beauty of the mileage world

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Let's get started. Like the last time: Many pictures and the attempt at commentary - uncut and direct thoughts, no making things nicer than they are, or were, or ever will be.





It was early. Very early. Around 5am when I arrived at the airport. As usually I managed to consume a few wines the evening before, making the whole getting up part more difficult than I planned it to be. It seems that the lady working the (totally useless) LH F check in had a similar evening as I did, as her enthusiasm was beneath any standards I dared to expect at this time of day.

If you wonder what I am actually doing at a check-in desk, when I only fly for 3 days and only have cabin luggage, the answer is simple: I wanted to be all fancy and get myself a limo transfer to the FCL in Munich. Usually that happens automatically when arriving at an apron position. Alas, I was booked on separate tickets, and in that case they do not do a limo pickup - except if you request it at the check-in desk. They telefax Munich, and everything gets organized. At least that's what I was told by LH representatives here on FT.

Problem was, my tired check-in lady did either not know how to use her machinery, bestowed upon her by Lufthansa, or simply wasn't in the mood to help me, but sent me to ask in the Lounge. So through the security I went, and quickly towards the LH SEN lounge. I asked my favorite attendant working the counter there (she's simply awesome) and her reply "Let me quickly call Munich, we'll get this organized!"




Some of the HUGE breakfast offering they have there. wink wink, nudge nudge.

A few minutes later I was informed that Munich was informed and that everyone was informed and things were informed to other parties - basically: If I'd arrive apron side, I'd get picked up. Personally I couldn't care less, my feet are very capable of walking by themselves, but *if* I fly F for a change, I want the whole experience.





My plane was somewhere in the fog, hiding from us passengers. Short burst of fear that we might get lost on the way in all this fog, but immediate relief: They have computers and other navigation instruments on board, they will manage! One notices: I wasn't fully awake yet.




Same mistake as last time: Forgot that LH caters an incredible (wink wink, nudge nudge) breakfast, in this case: Frozen bread with a mix of cheese and cured meat (they were trying to combine themselves into some new form of food) and the signature Müsli stuff. Oh well, second breakfast - check.

The flight was surprisingly very unspectacular, and it came as was to be expected: No apron position but just a boring gate. Oh the irony! I was very depressed by that, and walked into the SEN lounge first, only realizing a moment later, that I was actually allowed into the FCL. Silly boy me, soon I'll walk into the Lh C cabin, forgetting I am actually sitting in F!



MUCs FCL is a little sweet darling. Small, relaxed, stylish. I like the integrated passport control when going Schengen - Non Schengen, I like the openness, the layout (some more privacy separators would be all right), and in general the flair. It has no view though, the one letdown.




First order of business: Acquiring a FCL rubber duck. And freshen up. Unfortunately, no duck was in the bathroom assigned to me. Panic! Did I wait for a room with bathtub in vain? Upon leaving I asked the lady responsible for the bathrooms if all the ducks are gone, and tried to look like the saddest little puppy imaginable. It seems that this worked - she disappeared for a moment (almost in a cloud of smoke, but not quite) and reappeared with a ducky. Wheeee. Do I have any use for the duck? None at all. But by going with an argument about sense, a whole trip to Tokyo for 24hrs is totally useless...




Careful - obvious picture description #1: Breakfast! (the third)



So many choices, help!



Well, these are choices more of my liking. The drinks menu of the FCL is impressive. Much kudos to the people planning the menu and choosing the options, especially focussing on the huge selection of "Brände" (brandys? Might not be the proper translation) from Germany and Austria. Very good, consider me impressed. FRAs FCT/FCL Whisky offering is silly compared to this, and way too generic in my opinion. For a peek at the drinks menu, here is an older copy: http://www.vielfliegertreff.de/airpo...tml#post901203 (sorry for linking to the German counterpart of FT)



The chef tried to present me an Egg Benedict, which was not on the menu. I'd call it an interpretation of what an Egg Benedict might look like, if the person making it only heard about it, has never seen a recipe, and generally only knows "Poached Egg on bread, or so". But - it was very yummy nonetheless. Who can fault poached eggs and bacon to cause some happiness?





Time to finally get myself into the proper flying mood. There are three champagnes on offer, I tried all three, didn't like them, was irritated by that, ordered some more, and thought "Better any champagne than no champagne". Or something like that.




Soon the proceedings were bound to start. Suddenly I was filled by the excitement of a man that has nothing to lose and everything to win. Flying - when done on leisure, and especially in a Premium cabin - soothes and relaxes me and can make me giggle like a little girl on the first day of school, when everything is still new and shiny and the sweets are there in masses. Luckily I was able to subdue my squealing, and was simply all smiles when I left the FCL.

*Of course* we were leaving from a Gate again, so no limo. One of these days I'll manage, and it'll be the best day of my life. At least for those 10 minutes. Luxury can be completely useless indeed sometimes.

Thank you MUC FCL for a very good lounge product. Not at the top of the best lounges - but certainly very very good, refined, and with a service that I did not experience so far in any other LH lounge, not even the FCT in FRA. Yes, I can be made happy easily, as flying First still is and will be special for me, but even then, everything clicked and went right that day. I do want to experience it during lunch / dinner tike though, to taste and test the 'normal' food offerings.



LH718, D-AIFE, ready to board.




Gangways made of glass are great, but they still don't really enable you to see the plane properly.

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And that's how it was bound to begin - a flight experience that proved that LH, despite all (often justified) criticism, still has one of the best F products on the market.

Ah yes, only having an occupancy of 2 (/8) would help with that as well. But all this in the next installment!

Far Siren

Wonderful start!! Look forward to reading the rest. ^

lx343

What a pleasure to read, thank you very much...Cant wait for the rest

fly747first

^^^^

ual902

MUC - ICN, LH F, A343 New LH F or Old LH F?.

GmK

Thank you all, next installment within the day!

MUC - ICN is 99% new F ( http://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/lh718 ), they only had an equipment change 1-2 times over the last few months.

MUC - NRT directly is only 10-15% new F, which is always suprising, considering that Japan is a high value country in many carriers routings. Or maybe as it gets served by LH with the A380 from FRA, they didn't feel the need to also serve with new F from MUC.

GmK

LH718, F, MUC - ICN, Part 1

The (new) LH F has been documented by enough people by now. But what needs to be said again: The sense of space within the cabin can not be conveyed by any picture. Of most F cabins I have been in, this feels simply "roomy". In short: The LH designers have thought this through and are allowed to be proud of their product. Some impressions to get us all in the proper mood:




Ohhhhhh




Aahhhhhhh




Uuiiiiiii




Schakkalakka!




So let me say: Welcome on board!

After the very enthusiastic and friendly welcome by the Purseress and the young, dynamic FA responsible for the F cabin, I was handed the PJs, the luxurious amenity kit (wink wink, nudge nudge) and heard the magical sentence: "We won't have Op Ups, so it's only two in the cabin today". That it ended up like it was just me alone actually, would show itself later.

A short word about "my" FA: If LH does their training well, and if the required motivation and mood is present, I feel much more relaxed than for example with the certainly polite, but distanced and routined Asian Carrier Crews. So in this case it worked: The mood was perfect on both sides, and after we defined my flight to be purely for leisure, and that flying relaxes me, we both knew how this flight would go. She assured me to give me the most Private Jet feeling she could muster, and stood by her word. In advance, if you ever read this: Thank you!




Off we went, into the clouds, where the champagne is endless…or so it seems at least. Menu + Winelist was handed to me the second the seatbealt signs were turned off - surprisingly late, compared to usually reading them on the ground already. Did I care? No way, I had 10hrs to go, enough time for everything a heart desires.

(on another note - I think I'll never understand why some people dislike the takeoff of an A343. I personally love the slow, long roll and the incredible smooth takeoff, feeling like you don't actually gain height)




The super duper mega star wonder chef of March/April: Mr. Haeberlin.

Drink/Winelist, Extracts:
Page 1
Page 2 (forgot to take a photo of the featured red wine, a Washington State Merlot)
White
Red
Sweet and such
Alcoholbomb of the month




My adoring views of the alps and clouds were interrupted with the arrival of a perfect example of the weird mind of the people working at LSG. I do wonder what kind of things they sometimes take to come up with the kind of catering for First. In this case: Some stuff upon other stuff with stuff. I won't try to translate into English, so in German I'd say: Leberwurscht uffm Teigboden mit Sößle. There you have it.

This was also the moment that I saw the fine sir on 1A not choosing anything from the menu. I asked my lovely FA if I would be the only person hungry, and she told me that he had actually ordered a special meal. The problem there being: He had already flown in on LH F from Montreal the same day (why does one fly from Montreal via Munich to ICN? Oh wait…he might be one of us crazies!), and his special, kosher meal, would have been exactly the same on this flight. So he rather said: No meal at all. Instead he took out some breads from his backpack, and ate those. You don't see BYO catering every day while flying F He then proceeded to fall asleep for the rest of the flight, so from basically one hour after takeoff till landing, I was the only passenger in First. 100% attention on me. That was new!





So, first order of business: Getting all first courses. Now, I have to excuse the next pictures, I am not too keen on arranging things and taking photos, so the nasty shadow will be on the following food pics.

On the right you can see my personal IFE, I always only use my iPad with my own headphones (which are more noise canceling than the Boses will ever be), as I never find suitable things to watch on airline IFE systems.

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So, at this point I was ready to eat. Unfortunately, suddenly, before making my first bite, a smartly dressed man in uniform appears next to me. Mister Pilot himself as it turns out. And he managed to keep me from eating for a whole 20min (!) while we were chatting. He (a Kiwi) and I talked about the LH group, the many current changes due to SCORE, his vitae (from running a company to becoming pilot in his late 30s), the A343, his current company he runs next to piloting (he and his team developed the Blind-Booking technology that e.g. Germanwings uses) and some other things. At the end we exchanged business cards and he went back to the cockpit to do..well whatever the pilots do if they don't currently hinder a passenger from eating

Mrs. FA got visibly nervous all the while in the background, probably because the next courses were already heating up, and she didn't plan this diversion in the timetable of my meal. She said "Sorry" quite a few times afterwards, even though I told her that this was the first time in a very very long time that I got to talk to a Pilot for this long during a flight. After she was assured that my mood was still good, I finally got into the whole eating thing

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Caviar. Plenty. I was not allowed to eat less "As that would be a pity! We have to throw it all away upon arrival in Korea!"

(that was new for me, I hadn't realized before just how much they are legally required to throw away after a flight)




Scallops. Allright, but no highlight.




Carrots, cooked and pressed into a square thingy. Oriental style. You ask why? I can't tell you. Probably noone can.



Korean rolled thing, "like Sushi, but different, and yummy" as I was informed. And let me tell you, that red chili was really darn hot, even for me who is very accustomed to Asian food.




35% of a garlic bread, mingling with a lime that escaped the caviar.

At this point: Anyone dare to explain the food concept? No? Thought so.
Yes, they probably do not intend for you to eat all the stuff together, but still, seriously, where's the connection in-between all this?



At least the rose was nice to look at.

GmK

LH718, Part 2



Soup. I personally feel like soups on a plane (as opposed to snakes on a plane) need some proper bite in order to work properly. Luckily LSG did know that as well. So this soup was a pure highlight. Very very well executed.



Some more drinks? Sure! The list is long. My IFE entertained my with a documentary about the customs agents in FRA. "You are only allowed to bring one large package of cigarettes, but these are 5!" - "Oh, 5 only?" - "Yes, 5 only" - "Oh, me don't know numbers, me never learnt counting" Wonderful!!

As mentioned somewhere (or not), the menu was completely new, as I flew at the beginning of March and they only just changed it. So it was also completely new for my FA, that morning she saw the food stuff for the first time. So when it was time to pick the main course, we were both lost a little. Lamb or Salmon? We couldn't decide which one might be more tasty, so her ingenious solution: We went to the galley and looked at both in their frozen, pure state, as LSG had put them on board. The lamb definitely looked a lot better, so it was decided: Lamb.



Welcome to rustic in-air food!

While we're at it, we also had the problem of picking the proper wine for the lamb. As some of you might know, lamb and wine is a difficult combination (that pesky taste of lamb ruins many wines), and it's even more difficult on a plane. I rooted for the Merlot due to not contrasting as much, she rooted for the Austrian red wine, as she had visited the winery a year ago and knew the wine, and there was also a French wine.

Solution? Winetasting! Three glasses were produced, and while the lamb was getting ready I tried the wines and decided to just keep em all three. Just because, you know. (I do have an official Certificate of Wine, so I know my way around wine, but most things simply don't apply while in a plane. Best is simply to drink and enjoy and not worry too much to analyze, won't work anyways)


The lamb was quite nice, but somehow there wasn't a lot of it, so for some reason I also ended up with the other main course: Salmon.



She had it in the oven for a moment too long, but apart from that it was good. Very refined, I appreciate that.



After a short break, as there is a limit to what even I manage to eat, cheese and a dessert appeared.



"Peche Haeberlin". Really, really, REALLY good. Yes, sweet stuff usually works well in the air, but this worked so perfectly well as you had the tartness/acidity of the pear with a silky, smooth vanilla sauce and a wonderfully melting ice-cream. Together with a beautiful sweet wine this was a winning combination. I had planned on trying the other dessert as well, but decided against it. This one combination had made me very happy.




Don't know when these arrived…



And this thing.


To summarize the experience so far: Due to a wonderful attentive (and attractive, that does help as well) FA, and the fact that only I was eating, and much more - it was a treat up to this point. Yes, I have eaten better while flying (LX F comes to mind), but, seriously, why would I even begin to complain about that, if everything else works so well?




So after this small feast it was time for some relaxing. But, you gotta know, I simply am not a plane sleeper. At all. No matter if trying with pills, alcohol, sleeping songs, teddybears - I usually only doze a little at best. One of the reasons I try to pick day flights if possible. So after trying to sleep a little I usually end up listening to the kind of music that makes me all fuzzy inside, look out of the window and just….am. These are the moments where simply everything fits together and you can relax, without any worries or doubts. Perfect.


(Next installment will cover the end of the LH flight and the short layover in ICN, stay tuned!)

MikeFly

Nice trip report - thank you.

I too am one of those crazies who spends a lot of time on planes for business and it is work. However, when the stress builds up there is nothing better than flying, somewhere far in F, and coming back. Most people find it exhausting, not me it has the opposite effect. (As I have just finished my plans to fly to JFK - DXB for one night at the Grosvenor House)

Zomba

Well, that was certainly a generous portion of caviar!

I'm hoping to fly LH F JFK-FRA-PVG later this month, and reading reports on the F experience never get old (just like CX F reports).

FlyerTalker7654

Great TR! Looking forward to the rest of it!!! How was the Conrad?

AKCuisine

A fun read, GmK. Thanks for bringing us along with you. I'm looking forward to the rest of your TR.

iahkid2014

Entertaining read and some good photos thus far! Really looking forward to reading the rest

GmK

Thank you! And to answer your question: You'll find out in the corresponding post

GmK

The end of LH718 and a short ICN layover

Where were we? Ah yes, somewhere over Sibiria. I was dozing happily, filled to the brim with food (I did get a second cheese plate at some point, but none of the usual in-flight snacks), tea, champagne, wines…and apparently Blue Label, as that appeared on my sideboard suddenly. And also lots of water. Most people underestimate the power of water, especially when you drink 1,5-2liters of it during a flight. It does help. It also does increase the amount of movement, as you get up more often due to biological functions, but that's a different story. In any case, not a lot was able to disturb my moments of bliss. Oh and how much I love the fact that both LH and LX serve tea in a good china teapot, and not only in a cup! Why can't other carriers also give you a nice teapot together with a cup, and insist on serving the 'finished' tea only in a cup to you?




This confused me for a moment, as I never read about it, but it did appear as if LH does indeed have some sort of "Mood-Lighting"? At least they tried to create a morning atmosphere around 1,5hours before arriving (local time: 4:30am). More observations: The divider curtain thing in-between C and F really is darn heavy, I think that's unique to LH (soundproof). I had a hard time getting it to move when I did a little tour of the whole plane. Ah and the toilets in F are, while being smallish (usual problem on the A343), very tasteful.

In any case, it was time for breakfast!



I - understandably maybe - wasn't really hungry. But Mrs. FA put on her best sad look, as she had prepared everything only for me, with much love, that I could not say no.

Quality of breakfast: Ok. The winner was the passionfruit-joghurt-mix, could have bathed in that, it was this awesome.

Yes, that is champagne on the table. Don't judge me!



"Unfortunately we don't have our egg-pan on board, but I hope it does taste nevertheless" (since then, LH has gotten a new supplier again for the egg-pans, so most flight should be able to make fresh eggs again)

Well, and at some point even the best flights come to an end. I love the approach to ICN, especially when flying in from the south-west above all the harbors and bays, they are beautifully lit at nighttime. The landing was as soft as only German perfection can manage (wink wink, nudge nudge) and it seems like I am always lucky at ICN and never experience any long taxiing.

A longer conclusion / summary will be in the very last post, but let me say already: Due to the Private Jet feeling, a very harmonizing soft- and hard- product, LH did manage to impress me on this flight. If I had the chance: Anytime again! But not too often, otherwise it loses the special touch




Taxiing past some of KEs A380s, they're still on my list to fly.



And a short visit to the flight deck, doing some pseudo-technical chit-chat. The crew continues on to Busan (LH flies MUC - ICN - PUS, ICN is only a short stop to offload passengers, they continue to PUS after an hour) and does a 7 day "Shuttle-Service" in-between ICN and PUS. That was an interesting fact in my opinion, as the crew flies around the region first for a while, before they travel back to Europe. In a last small exchange in-between Mrs. FA and me she recommended Busan dearly…one day maybe, one day! And she ended with the wonderful words: "Passengers like you make my job even better!". Thank you, gladly, any time!


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Some words about ICN: Good airport! Never had issues with transfers there, it's very well thought out. This time I had a bit of bad luck, as just minutes before a Holiday-Tourist-Fanplane had landed, which made the transfer security control a bit filled up, and as they don't have any fast lane there (and LH failed to produce their Pas, which they advertise greatly as a service for F passengers in outstations) I spent 20min waiting. Oh the horror! To be honest - after such an awesome flight, waiting 20min somewhere seems so incredibly trivial that I did not bother one bit.



Asiana runs 4 main Lounges: Two *A-Gold / Business Lounges, and two FCLs.



Nicely empty - but it was 6am after all. The atmosphere which some describe as 'boring' is deemed relaxing and soothing by me. Apart from the size and food offering there also isn't a big difference in-between the C lounge next door and the F lounge.




Only lounges I know where they put grand pianos in the middle of them. Up till a few days ago I wondered "Why do they even have them? Do they allow the spoilt kids of rich parents to practice their piano lessons in the lounges?". But a good friend explained to me, that pianos are an important status symbol, so apparently that's the reason for those.





A Chef somewhere in the background to prepare things a-la-carte. Sorry, no picture of the menu, I forgot.



One of those otherwise subpar drinks stands out (I personally don't get the Blue Label hype one bit, there are thousand times better drinks, but well - to each his own)




Now THAT is a product I would love to be able to buy in Europe. It's such a pity that matcha/green tea simply is not picking up properly here. I could eat SO much of these kind of ice creams




My plan was to keep up the tipsy state I was in for as long as humanly possible, only to trick my inner clock into feeling like I was constantly partying and not planning to sleep. So, a combined combination of combination-madness with coffee (boy oh boy, what a bad coffee that was, I'd say we get green-tea ice-cream in Europe, and they get our coffee culture? DEAL!), apple juice with Perrier - and of course Champagne. Put some buffet things into the mix, and you have a wonderful package to…well go mad. But, each his own!




After a short shower and some moments of slumber, it was time to move to the gate, which luckily was only 3min away from the lounge. And there it was, my darling, which was to carry me to Tokyo. People can tell me as often as they want to, that the A380 is the technically superior plane, but I'll never stop loving the 747 more. Don't dare to talk trash about it in my presence, I'll do unspeakable things to you. Like challenging you to a champagne standoff. So as long as your name isn't Macabus, don't dare to do so!

Next installment: The short hop to NRT and my OZ "Personal Assistant" experience!