The tuna carpaccio was excellent, mostly because the fish was clearly very fresh. The cut and consistency were just right, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.



The mozzarella and tomato tian was – well – a salad that helped clean my palate from the fish while switching to the meat part of the meal, which started with the third appetizer, the beef skewers. Let me tell you this: I generally do not like sesame oil: I found the taste of it overpowering and generally shadowing every other component of the dish. This skewer though had just the right amount of it to perfectly complement the chill beef and to make this appetizer very enjoyable. Again, well done Lufthansa.





After some time that allowed the appetizers to sink in, my super attentive flight attendant brought my main in. Oh my… this duck was unbelievably good. Fine restaurant quality good. The meat was tender and easy to break; fatty (as duck should be) skin perfectly balanced by lean meat. The kailan (Chinese broccoli) accompanying it were tender and crisp at the same time, and the curry sauce was just right. The only negative note of the dish was the steamed rice. For some reason – and exactly like on my AA flight from ORD to LHR in May – they served the dish not with a jasmine-like type of rice (long grain, great steamed, think fried rice type of rice) but with a more bulky variety which – while great in a risotto – didn’t taste great steamed. Overall, a very good dish that would have been excellent had the rice been right. For whomever might be interested, I had this dish with the Austrian Merlot on offer – a good red but hardly memorable.





Dessert came after.



At this point – just to be clear – I was really full. Now I know how a duck stuffed for making foie gras must feel like. It’s not nice. But what the heck, how could I turn down cheese? Lufthansa has indeed a good selection of my favorite dairy. I had some Gorgonzola and some Humboldt Fog with crackers, all accompanied by a good glass of port wine. Also, while I didn’t plan on having dessert, the FA showed me the English-style banana bread pudding with vanilla ice cream on offer… and I simply couldn’t say no to it (it was excellent). At this point, I was sweating. I am not sure this is common, but every time I over-eat I start sweating around my eyes. That’s the sign that I have over-indulged. As any good Italian would do, I took advantage of the Nespresso machine on board and ordered an espresso and a glass of Brannerei before asking for the bed to be made.











I would like to talk a little about how good the crew was. Like I mentioned earlier, the FA assigned to me was very attentive and really trying hard to make my experience on board as enjoyable as possible. It’s the details and the attitude that matter after all – and she got both of them right. Also, the purser was outstanding in her service. She volunteered to take pictures of me, and she even went to the cockpit to take a photo of it with my camera. She totally understood I am an airline geek and she did her best to make me happy. Things like these matter. Also, I want to briefly mention the amenity kit and the pajama. The Bogner kit was nice (I liked the case); while it didn’t have fancy products inside, it was nonetheless fine for the flight (in the restrooms shaving kits, lotions, and packaged refreshing wet towels perfectly complemented the kit). The pajama – while not a Shanghai Tang – was definitely of a very good quality and allowed me for a comfortable flight.






View from the lavatory

Back to the bed. The seat becomes totally flat, and the turndown service was great. A very comfortable pad is added on top of the seat, and a very nice duvet tops the pad making a really, really nice bed. I wish I could compare it to AA’s on the old first class – the problem is that I was never offered turndown service on that flight. Pity.





I indeed managed to get 4 hours of sleep which – on a trans-Atlantic flight – is as good as it gets. I felt a bit hot after a couple of hours, but removing the duvet did the trick. I would say that it was a nice rest.

About hour and a half before landing breakfast was served.


Breakfast

As you can imagine, I was still feeling very full, so I just had some muesli with a cappuccino and some orange juice. As you would expect from a German airline, he muesli was very good – I usually have it a bit creamy, but this one was very thick, if that matters to you. I would have better muesli in the German region of South Australia, but this was better than anything I had tasted in the US before.


Muesli


Cappuccino

fter breakfast I asked the FA for my clothes (which she hanged for me when I changed into my pajama), changed, had the bed removed (I had to ask for it; while other customers were taken care of while in the restroom, mine wasn’t taken care of for a good amount of time, until I pushed the button and I summoned the FA), and prepared for landing. Weather over Frankfurt was nice, sunny with 23C. We landed ahead of schedule and we de-boarded from the front door: I was in Germany!

Overall, I was very pleased with this flight. First of all, the fact that the seat – albeit old looking – was very comfortable left me very happy: I can attest that sleeping in the old first class cabin isn’t a problem. Also, I like how the front of the cabin is set up before take-off and during meals with wine and other beverages from which the flight attendants serve you. The white cloth they use makes a big stylistic difference.

Secondly, the service was great. I had yet to experience such an attentive service on a “Western airline” – although, to be fair, the only other Western First Class I had flown was American Airlines’. Again, details were sometimes lacking (no toasted bread with the caviar? Really?), but the attitude of the flight attendants was always positive and willing to anticipate my needs. This was no NH, nor CX; but it was excellent overall.

This flight set off me well for the remaining of the day…