So the day had finally arrived. After work (a special thank you to my boss who allowed me to leave work at 3pm on a Friday afternoon!) I headed to DFW Airport Terminal D to catch the first flight of this new adventure. I believe this was my first time ever not flying AA in/out of DFW. It’s nice trying new things once in a while isn’t it? Lufthansa has dedicated check in counters for its lone flight out of Dallas. Separate economy, business and first class (with red carpet included – see picture below) desks are available. An agent quickly helped me checking my bag in and asked me whether I needed to be escorted all the way to the lounge. I declined the offer and I proceeded through security.
Lufthansa uses a lounge than is a mini lounge within a bigger lounge (each airline has a mini lounge). The lounge was crowded and rather basic, but for 15 minutes it was alright. I had a glass of a rather cheap Cabernet Sauvignon and it was already time to go. I managed to take a nice picture of AA’s new 77W though, as the lounge enjoys a nice view over the tarmac.
The lounge attendant came in inviting guests to proceed to the gate. The lounge is between gates 21 and 22, while the flight was departing from gate D10. Once arrived at the gate, a long line was orderly waiting to board. The same attendant from the check in desk made sure that all the first class passengers board first – as the first class line included Star Alliance Gold passengers as well. We were indeed put in front of the line.
Flight LH439 DFW-FRA
Aug 9th, 2013 4:10pm – 9:05+1am
Airbus 330-300
First Class, Seat 1A
After a few minutes we boarded, and today I had seat 1A. The cabin was 6/8 full. LH uses an old-configuration A330-300 out of DFW. I was somewhat curious to try LH “old” first class, especially because I wanted to compare it with AA’s old First. I must say that I was impressed.
Don’t get me wrong, the seat does look old, especially when compared to all those fancy first class seats out there these days. But then, it was very good. The upholstery was in great conditions, and the cabin overall showed some age but it wasn’t that bad at all.
My seat, 1A
After seating down, the purser and a younger flight attendant came by to greet me and to offer me the first of a long series of glasses of champagne. Salted almonds accompanied the beverage – a nice upgrade from AA’s mixed warm nuts.
[IMG]http://airwaysandtravels.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/dsc_0112.jpg?w=595&h=395[/IMG
We left on time, and the captain announced a flight time of 8h50m, setting our arrival time at 8:25am – about 40 minutes ahead of schedule. About 25 minutes after take-off the flight attendant – a young, attractive German woman – appeared to take my dinner order from the menu that the purser had previously handed me. The menu for July and August has been crafted in conjunction with the Burma-born Toni Robertson, head chef of the Mandarin Oriental New York. A sure recipe for success.
The menu read as follows:
MENU
Caviar from Service Cart
Caviar with the traditional Garnishes
Choice of Appetizers
Tuna Carpaccio
Teriyaki glazed Beef Brochette with Sesame Seeds
Tian of Tomato with Mozzarella, Arugula and Pine Nuts
Seasonal Salad with Cherry Tomato and shaved Parmesan presented with delicious Dressing
Choice of Main Course
Tenderloin of Beef, with Sweet Potato Hash a d Ginger Plum Chutney
Seared Cod with Bacon and smoked Corn Chowder, Fingerling Potatoes and Snow Peas
Sesame Soba Noodles with Cashew Nuts, mixed Asian Vegetables and Ponzu Sauce
Slow-roasted Duck with Kailan, Jasmine Rice and Curry Kaffir Sauce
Selection of Cheese and Dessert
Huboldt Fog, Camembert, Vella Dry Jack, Manchego and Gorgonzola Cheese garnished with Grapes
Green Tea Layer Cake
Banana Bread Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream
BREAKFAST
Cold and hot Specialties
Fresh Orange Juice
Fresh Fruit
Muesli
Yogurt with dried Cherry, dried Apricot and Blueberry, Corn Flakes with Milk
Smoked Salmon,
Turkey Pastrami, Roast Beef,
grilled Chicken Breast,
Emmental, Cheddar and Brie
Hot Egg Dish
I started playing with the antiquated IFE of my seat – the real weak spot of this product. The TV is just oh-so-small! And I mean economy class small. The selection of movie was rather poor as well, which is surprising. Perhaps Lufthansa understands that people don’t watch that many movies after all.
After a while – I would say 90 minutes after take-off – my table was set and shortly after the appetizers cart appeared. Before that, an amuse bouche had been delivered (tasty, but nothing memorable).
I like the table setup – the white tablecloth and the salt and pepper grinders gave it that extra touch that made the whole meal feel more like a restaurant meal than an airplane fare. The FA provided me with the signature “First Class” Lufthansa butter (although no first class logo was printed on them) and poured some extra-virgin olive oil on a little bowl. Now, I was impressed by the oil – this was no cheap stuff. They served the kind of tangy, almost spicy olive oil that is made from Sicilian olives and that is best consumed raw, with salads and bread. Well done.
Dinner setup
From the cart, I asked for caviar (but of course!) with all the garnishes, and the trio of appetizers. I will go in order.
Too many appetizers served at once! LH take note...
The caviar service was – overall – not on par with Cathay Pacific or ANA. Don’t get me wrong: the roes tasted great, better than ANA’s. But the service wasn’t proper. First of all, caviar and appetizers were all put on my table at the same time, crowding the space a bit too much. Second, the garnishes (crème freche, onions, and eggs) didn’t come until I was 1/3 through my caviar (and I was taking my time).
Last but not least, the toasted bread that should go with the caviar never materialized, which meant that I had my caviar with – horror – pretzel bread. Now, the young flight attendant was very apologetic and from the way she was doing things I had the impression that she was fairly new to the First Class service World. Plus, I tend to be rather forgiving to people that at least try their best, and she was definitely trying hard to provide me as good a service as it can be. Hence, it was not big deal, especially because – like I said earlier – the caviar itself was really good: right consistency, right flavor, right amount, perfect with champagne. I felt spoiled.
