October 14, 2013
Emirates Airlines Dubai – Frankfurt 825a – 115p 777-300 First Class
Vueling Airways Frankfurt – Barcelona 555p – 750p A320-200 Economy Class
Once again, the load was light in the forward cabin with just three of us having the good fortune to enjoy Emirates’ award winning First Class service over to Frankfurt this morning. And what award was that, might you ask? No less prestigious an accolade than the highly coveted ‘World’s Best Airline’ award presented by Skytrax as part of its 2013 World Airline Awards. This is no travel and holiday magazine award voted on solely by people who travel only three or four times a year. The Skytrax World Airline Awards polls over 18 million business and leisure air travelers from more than 160 countries, and its awards are widely regarded as the industry’s benchmark for excellence.
My personal Flight Attendant today was a nice young guy from France named Laurent. Aside from being a very personable and dedicated FA, he would also prove to be a fine oenophile offering many excellent suggestions and insights on the many wines Emirates had available on this flight.
Emirates currently operate a fleet of 90 777-300ERs making it far and away the largest operator of this type in the world. Indeed, Emirates is the largest operator of 777s of all types in the world with a total fleet size of over 130 and growing. The aircraft operating my flight today may have been one of the older ones in the fleet as evidenced by the ancient pull down window shades. Then again, it was equipped with wireless internet which yesterday’s apparently newer airplane was not.
Route of Flight DXB-FRA
Laurent and his pal Robert moved smoothly through the multitude of pre-flight services. I passed on the early morning Champagne and instead accepted another cup of coffee – hold the dates, please. Hot scented towels were dispensed and newspapers offered as we pushed back from the gate and fired up those twin GE90-115B turbofans. The Captain came on over the PA with a cheerful Irish accented welcome and advised us of a six hour and nine minute flight time over to Frankfurt. Despite the annoying tailwind that would once again diminish my time in the lap of airborne luxury, I was otherwise comfortably sat and more than content with my lot in life. All is well in the world. Let’s go to Frankfurt!
Soon we were positioned at the head of the runway poised and ready to begin our thunderous assault against the laws of gravity. The engines powered up, the brakes were released and 35 seconds later we broke those surly bonds and soared into the sunny blue skies above Dubai.
Service commenced about ten minutes into the flight with presentation of the Wine List and Menu. With only three people up front, there was plenty of time for a relaxed and personable service, so Laurent and I got to talking about his experiences traveling around America. He particularly enjoyed his travels through the American West and confided that his dream was to purchase a large, older model Cadillac to drive around the country with. Well buddy, when it comes to driving around America – particularly the west – you’ve come to the right guy!
I’ve driven through every county in the west – and that’s just in my recently retired Mazda pick-up. Laurent had never been to Utah or Colorado so I shared a few pictures with him before we finally settled down to the business of Emirates’ inflight service. Let’s have a look at the menu:
MENU
Dubai to Frankfurt
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
Fruit Juices
Refreshing choice of freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice, or enjoy the healthy option of our special detox drink combining beetroot and orange, or a mango and lime smoothie
Breakfast Fruits
A palette of ripe tropical and seasonal fresh cut fruits
Yoghurt
Natural or flavored with fruit
Assorted Cereals
Choice of crunchy Cornflakes or nutritious muesli
Breakfast Bread Basket
A variety of soft and crusty fresh baked breads, butter croissants and freshly baked breakfast pastries,
Served with butter and preserves
Delicatessen’s Cold Meats and Cheese
Offering a gourmet selection of Italian taleggio and English country mature cheddar cheese, wafer thin air-dried beef and aromatic smoked turkey, dressed with an array of garnishes
* * * ------------------------------------- * * *
LUNCHEON
Canapés
A selection of hot and cold savories including Asian style beef cake, spiced tender chicken tikka skewer, light flaky mushroom vol au vent, marinated buffalo mozzarella cheese, baby bell pepper filled with cheese, jumbo olives with sundried tomato and marinated Kalamata olives
APPETIZERS
Caviar
Perfectly prepared chilled caviar presented with a traditional selection of finely chopped onion, chopped boiled egg, sour cream and lemon, served with crisp melba toast and soft blini pancakes
Traditional Local Arabic Mezze
The flavors of our home, presented as a generous spread of traditional Arabic savory dishes including artichoke and mushroom salad, creamy hommous, loubieh bil zeit, tabouleh, baba ghannouj, seafood salad with red pepper, stuffed vine leaves with warm potato kibbeh, beef and cheese fatayer, complemented with local garnishes and bread
Air-Dried Beef
Finely sliced beef bresaola, served with marinated grilled vegetables, Italian buffalo mozzarella and roasted basil cherry tomatoes
Smoked Salmon
Premium smoked salmon slice, accompanied by marinated celeriac, garnished with fresh dill sprig and topped with pecan nuts
MAIN COURSES
Veal Ragôut with Wild Mushrooms
Delicately flavored veal stew with woodland mushrooms, served with steamed seasonal vegetables and creamy mashed potato with garlic and shallots
Stuffed Chicken Breast
Succulent chicken breast gently filled with cheese, served with cherry tomato stew, sautéed vegetables and over roasted potatoes
Prawn Biryani
Prawns marinated in aromatic spices and slow cooked with rice, garnished with fried cashew nuts, raisins and onions
Leek and Mushroom Ravioli
Fresh pasta cases filled with leek and woodland mushrooms, served with wild mushroom and parmesan velouté, topped with freshly shaved parmesan cheese
Grilled Hammour
Firm fresh fillet of hammour, lightly grilled and dressed with sweet pepper and parsley sauce, served with sautéed leaf spinach, courgettes and pulao rice
A la Carte Vegetables
Our chefs have paired each meal with their ideal accompaniments, but we offer a variety of alternative vegetables to your taste, including vegetable ratatouille, mashed potatoes, steamed basmati rice, broccoli, asparagus and squash
Bread Basket
Choose soft, crusty, granary, garlic or Arabic from our variety of freshly baked rolls and breads
LIGHT BITES
Seasonal Salad
Crisp fresh garden salad leaves, topped with your choice of yellow and red cherry tomatoes, marinated feta cubes with pesto, celery moons and roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds tossed in your preferred dressing
Mushroom and Potato Soup
A creamy farmhouse woodland mushroom and potato soup, served with a golden cheese straw twist
Beef Consommé
Clear rich beef bouillon, served with finely diced mixed vegetables
SWEET DELIGHTS
Blackcurrant and Apricot Pudding
Delicious fruit pudding, served with passion fruit custard sauce
Yoghurt Terrine Mousse
Creamy whipped dessert, topped and garnished with chocolate
Selection of Fruit
A seasonal assortment of the finest fresh cut fruits
International Cheese Selection
A carefully chosen assortment of the finest boutique cheeses from around the world, served with a selection of crudités, crackers, dried fruit and nuts
Vintage Reserve Cheddar Cheese
Capricorn Somerset Goat’s Cheese
Simon Weaver Organic Cotswold Blue Veined Cheese
Chaumes
Yarra Valley Persian Feta Cheese
HOT BEVERAGES
Tea
Black and herbal teas from around the world, featuring Ceylon, China, Earl Grey and Chamomile
Coffee
Brewed to order, your choice of decaffeinated, espresso and cappuccino finale
Chocolates
A luxurious rich chocolate selection provides the perfect finale
Although I’d already had a good sized breakfast just three and a half hours beforehand, I wanted to at least sample something from the Continental Breakfast offerings. After all, we’re talking about First Class international air travel of the highest standard – a rare and cherished treat of which one of the highlights is the meal service. I want to enjoy every bit of the service and since I only get to enjoy this style of travel every few months (or years) rather than weeks, my approach is “Live it up, baby!” Have some Champagne, enjoy the food options and be sure to save some room for dessert!
Laurent assured me that the fruit plate wasn’t too large so I requested that along with a cup of coffee. My table was set with all the usual plates, cutlery and glassware required to enjoy a proper fruit plate including a large selection of breakfast breads. I selected a single small croissant and, as with this morning in the lounge dining room, hoped that once served all that uneaten bread wouldn’t go to waste. The fruit was delivered nicely chilled and colorfully arranged - a flavorful and refreshing start to the flight.
First Class Fruit Plate
Having climbed away from the heat and haze of Dubai, we entered the beautiful blue world of the troposphere. We’d adapted a northwesterly heading taking us right over the middle of the Persian Gulf, shimmering blue and silver beneath us in the morning sunlight. I watched with interest as we flew past Qatar and Bahrain off our port side. This was my first time ever having seen this part of the world from any perspective much less 37000’ above it and I found it quite entertaining.
Cruising High Above The Gulf
That said, Emirates has garnered rave reviews for its ICE inflight entertainment system. Indeed, it’s been voted by Skytrax as the best inflight entertainment system in the world for nine straight years. ICE is an acronym for Information, Communication and Entertainment. The possibilities breakdown as follows:
Information: Follow the progress of your flight, or take in the view from the aircraft’s external cameras. Keep in touch with live business, news and sport headlines from BBC News, and read up on Dubai and Emirates.
Communications: Phone, SMS or email the world below direct from your seat or call friends and family seated elsewhere on the aircraft.
Entertainment: Over 600 channels of premium entertainment to keep you busy during the flight. The latest and best movies, television, audio and games from around the world.
To be honest, I’ve never gotten all that excited about any airlines’ inflight entertainment systems. Between magazines, newspapers, books, my laptop and MP3 player – not to mention the view out my window - I’ve got all the entertainment I normally require. That’s not to say I never watch movies or television shows on airplanes but I’m usually inclined to wait until I can enjoy them from the comfort of my recliner on a much larger screen back home. More often than not, I find myself turning to the flight map and onboard cameras for entertainment. After all, it’s not every day I get to take a scenic air cruise over exotic regions of the planet.
When I was younger, I recall that during the day most everybody used to keep their window shades (or curtains if you were on a DC-8!) up, assumedly to enjoy the view but perhaps even just to enjoy the ambience of natural daylight during those times when the sun was up. These days it seems one of the first things many people do regardless of the time of day is lower their window shades. Perhaps this is due to the abundance of seatback screens or personal devices such as laptops. I usually close my shades as well if only not to be a bother but I don’t like it. Whether I’m on the ground or in the air I simply don’t like sitting in a dark room when it’s broad daylight outside.
One of the nice things about these enclosed suites is that when the doors are closed you can have one or all of your windows open with little if any impact on the rest of the cabin. As such I enjoyed watching as – amongst other things - we flew over Baghdad and passed over a very impressive mountain range in eastern Turkey.
We were about two hours out of Frankfurt cruising high over Timisoara, Romania when Laurent stopped by to see if I’d care for a cocktail or a glass of wine before lunch. Hmm… let’s have a look at those beverage options:
BAR SERVICE
Aperitifs
Campari Bitter
Martini Vermouth – Dry/Sweet
Beers
A selection of international beers including Heineken, Budweiser and Amstel Light
Cocktails
Black Russian, Bloody Mary, Bucks Fizz, Champagne Cocktail, Cosmopolitan (US routes), Fantasy Island, Kir Royal, Manhattan, Martini Cocktail Classic, Screwdriver, Vodka Martini
Mocktails
Jumeirah Delight
Spirits
Premium Scotch Whisky - Chivas Regal Royal Salute 21 Years Old, Johnnie Walker Blue Label
Single Malt Whisky - Glenfiddich 21 Years Old
Bourbon - Woodford Reserve
Cognac - Hennessy Paradis
Vodka - Grey Goose, Imperia Russian
Gin - Bombay Sapphire
Rum - Bacardi Superior
Liqueurs
Baileys Irish Cream
Tia Maria
Drambuie
Cointreau
WINE LIST
Champagne
Cuvée Dom Perignon 2003
White Wines
Ermitage Blanc, Cuvée de l’Orée, Michel Chapoutier 2011 Rhone
Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frederic Emile 2006 Alsace
Dr, Von Bassermann Gewachs 2011 Forest, Pfalz
Meursault, Marc Rougeot-Dupin 2011 Burgundy
Dreissgacker Bechtheimer Riesling Trocken 2012 Rheinhessen
Red Wines
Château Palmer 2001
Paul Jaboulet Ainé Hermmitage La Chapelle 2006 Rhone
Château La Tour du Pin Figeac 2005 St. Emilion
Pintia 2007 Toro
It’s been over a year and a half since I last enjoyed a glass of Johnny Walker Blue Label, that coming aboard a Cathay Pacific 747 speeding across the vast reaches of the Pacific Ocean. What better place to rekindle that tasty relationship than when sitting here aboard an Emirates 777 on a beautiful autumn afternoon, cruising high above Romania?
JWB Cocktail Hour Aboard Emirates
My drink was delivered with a small plate of mixed nuts and a selection of hot canapés. Cocktail hour just doesn’t get much better than this at 37000’! Earlier in the flight I had discussed my luncheon choices with Laurent and we had decided that I would start with a portion of caviar followed by an appetizer of the air-dried beef. Laurent had assured me that it was not a large serving, which would leave me plenty of room for a bowl of the potato mushroom soup followed by the stuffed chicken breast as my main course.
With the arrival of the caviar, I traded out my JWB for a glass of wine. At this point Laurent’s interest and skills as an oenophile came into play as he discuss and recommend a couple of delicious white wines. It’s worth noting here that Emirates recently won the Business Traveller Magazine Cellars in the Sky award for First Class White Wine. Emirates was also shortlisted for its sparkling wine in First Class, its fortified wine in both First Class and Business Class and its red wine in Business Class. We began with a glass of the Ermitage Blanc, Cuvee l’Oree, Michel Chapoutier 2011. It complimented the caviar’s salty flavor wonderfully.
Caviar Service
Air Dried Beef Appetizer
With the air-dried beef I switched to the Dreissigacker Bechtheimer Riesling Trocken 2012. Although Rieslings are typically described as dry white wines, I didn’t find this particular Riesling to be quite as dry as I would have liked. No problem! We replaced it with a glass of the Dr. Von Basserman Gewachs 2011 and that’s what I stayed with through the remainder of the meal. Delicious!
Mushroom and Potato Soup
Stuffed Chicken Breast
As for the food, the soup was every bit as delicious as one might have expected from a combination of potatoes and mushrooms. Unfortunately, the chicken breast was a bit light on the cheese stuffing and unfortunately a bit drier than any of the wines I’d tasted. Well, when it comes to airline food I’m a reasonably forgiving guy though I would like to acknowledge – for anyone out there who claims that it’s impossible to properly cook white meat such as chicken breast or rabbit in an airplane oven – that I’ve been served more than a few examples that came out as moist and flavorful as if they’d been served in a land based restaurant. We’ll try again on another flight.
Cheese and Port
Dessert was a serving of blue cheese that was as flavorful as it was surprisingly smooth and creamy. I accompanied it with another glass of the 39 year old port. By the time the last of my plates had been cleared, I had just enough time to take a quick post-luncheon lap around the aircraft before we’d commence our descent. The cabin of a 777 measures out at 194 feet long, so an expedition to the rear of the aircraft and back is a good little walk complete with a variety of obstacles to be negotiated such as passenger feet and arms, the curtains between cabins and the occasional inquisitive flight attendant. I must say that while Business Class looked reasonably comfortable, Economy looked anything but. Where most airlines go with a 9 across configuration on their 777s in Economy, Emirates manages to squeeze in 10 seats. It doesn’t look at all comfortable back there.
From a First Class perspective however, flying really doesn’t get any better. With their amazing suites and lavish service, all of the world’s great airlines are capable of delivering a great flight up in First Class. It’s the little things, really, that often contribute most to a memorable flight. A beautiful day, an interesting chat with your flight attendant, a turbulence free flight, a nicely chilled glass of a new and flavorful wine, a productive couple hours of work… As is so often the case on the “memorable” flights, this one passed too quickly.
Time flies when you’re having fun!
FRANKFURT AIRPORT
When I booked these reservations on Emirates through Alaska’s Mileage Plan, my desired destination had been London or Glasgow with the primary purpose of this trip being to head out to northwestern Scotland to ride the famous West Highland Line between Glasgow, Fort William and Mallaig. As anyone knows who’s tried to book First Class award reservations aboard an airline of Emirates’ stature, those seats can be hard to come by. Additionally, unless you desire a layover in the hub city, you’ve got to coordinate your inbound flight with an available outbound flight. This is where we ran into difficulty. While we’d managed to find a seat out of Seattle into Dubai, there were no connecting flights available to any destinations in the U.K. We then proceeded to check the surrounding region and finally found an available seat into Frankfurt. I’ll take it!
Now then, how do I get from Frankfurt over to Scotland? I had nine days total in Europe so there was no need to rush. Nonetheless, I started by looking at nonstops from Frankfurt into Edinburgh or Glasgow. Whoa! No discounts there! Oh well, I could always take a train to Cologne or Dusseldorf or Prague and get a good fare out of any of those cities. As I got to looking at the flight schedules of these various discount carriers, it occurred to me that I had an excellent opportunity to add a few new airlines to the collection of one hundred and sixty that I’d already flown.
Well now, this approach changed things considerably. Over the next week or so I looked into dozens of possibilities, all of them fueled more by a desire to fly a particular airline than to visit any particular city. Munich, Madrid, Bucharest – it really didn’t matter. Ultimately I came up with the following itinerary:
October 14: Frankfurt to Barcelona on Vueling Airlines
October 15: Barcelona to Lisbon via Oporto on TAP with the BCE-OPO flight a codeshare operated by Portugalia
October 15: Train from Lisbon to Faro
October 18: Faro to Manchester on Monarch
October 18: Train from Manchester to Glasgow
I count three new airlines and two full days in southern Portugal while enroute from Frankfurt to Glasgow. I like it!
* * * * * * * * * * *
This was my first ever flight into Frankfurt. We parked at Terminal 2 and I must say it is quite a big spread out place! I couldn’t help but muse that frequent fliers based out of here must all be quite fit given the amount of walking between the terminal check-in area and the outlying gates.
Faced with a four and a half hour layover, I thought I might spend a bit of time lounging airside before heading landside to check-in for my connecting flight. A quick check of my Priority Pass directory indicated that there was a lounge just about a mile away, down by D-8. Right, then. Off we go. Uh oh – not so fast! A little further down the lounge information section was the notice that this lounge was only available to those with valid boarding passes for a departing flight.
Well dang! Alright then, off we go to the far end of the terminal and out into Baggage Claim. Thankfully the signage throughout the airport is excellent and I had no problem finding my way. Unfortunately, I arrived at the Vueling ticket counter only to find that check-in wouldn’t commence until a couple of hours before departure time. Fair enough. That allows less time for the possibility of my bag getting misplaced in this huge airport. Now – where can I get a beer around here?
Upstairs. Two levels. Just follow the signs to the food court.
Three hours later I’d checked in, made my way through security and was standing at my departure gate D-24. You would think that D-8 (where the Sky Lounge was located) would be just sixteen gates down the way but the layout of this terminal was so convoluted with labyrinthine corridors and hallways leading off to God knows where that I finally decided to just hang out in the gate area. Like most everybody else. Besides, wherever gate D-8 was, it appeared to be a long enough distance from my gate that my time there would be limited anyway.
A small kiosk next to the gate sold bottled water for €3.10. A machine just seventy feet away sold the same bottle for €2.50. Unfortunately it seemed to be broken as it would not accept either coins or paper currency. I handed the man €3.10 for my bottle of water.
It’s just as well I stayed in the gate area because despite the presence of a jet bridge, our airplane ended up being remotely parked. As such, boarding began about 40 minutes out. As our bus departed the gate, a TAROM 737 pulled in. How come they rate a jet bridge and we don’t? Oh well. One of the positives of riding a bus out to your plane is that you get some really great close up views of aircraft taxiing by on the tarmac. Today’s highlight was a giant Air Namibia A330. It was raining lightly as we pulled up next to our waiting A320 but with only a thirty foot walk from the bus to the covered mobile stairway at the front of the plane, nobody got too wet.
Although Vueling began operations in 2004 as an independent company, it later merged with the Spanish discount carrier Clickair and has since been bought by IAG (International Airlines Group), the same company that owns Iberia and British Airways. Vueling is currently the second largest airline in Spain.
Like a lot of discount carriers, Vueling has very strict regulations regarding carry-on luggage. There are size and weight limitations and bags that don’t meet those restrictions will be charged €35.00 at the gate. You don’t see everyone lugging those big bulky roll-a-boards like they do in the U.S. and the result is that boarding and deplaning are accomplished a lot more quickly.
Vueling packs 180 seats into its A320-200s. The result is a seat pitch that’s said to be 30” but really felt like less. I’m just under than six feet tall and my knees were right up against the seat in front of me. Interestingly, Vueling also offers what they call an “Excellence Seat”. It’s located in row 1 and aside from the extra legroom, people sat there are also guaranteed an empty middle seat. To my American way of thinking, if they’re going to guarantee that empty middle seat – effectively creating four across seating in that row – why not just put in a couple of proper 2-2 Business Class seats and really make it nice?
In any event, Vueling’s Economy Class seat may well be the tightest seat I’ve ever sat in. The width was fine. It was the pitch and subsequent limited recline that wasn’t. Welcome to the world of European style discount air travel. We Americans have been spoiled with “Low Cost” carriers such as Southwest and Jet Blue, both of which offer considerably more comfortable seating and service than most of the European discount airlines. The European model has arrived in America, though. It’s called Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air. Mind you I’m comparing more than complaining here. I’m thankful for a good fare down to Barcelona and my back and knees can certainly survive this seating configuration for the hour and forty minutes it’ll take us to fly down to Barcelona.
Service on this flight consisted of a pass with the food and beverage cart. A menu in the back of each seat pocket described a surprising variety of reasonably priced sandwiches, snacks and drinks – none of them complimentary. I decided to hold off until we arrived in Barcelona. An hour and forty minutes later, we did just that.
Unlike many of you, I don’t have any hotel credit cards or points that’ll get me into some big fancy place with a nice lobby. The only way I get into a Starwood or Marriott is via Priceline or Hotwire. Still, there are plenty of other good, affordable accommodations out there. I only need a quiet room to get some sleep for the night and a shower in the morning. I just don’t see any reason to pay $120.00 or more for that.
A bit of research before this trip revealed a fair number of affordably priced properties and a Google map search revealed good local transport options that would get me from the airport to within easy walking distance. I booked a hotel, mapped it out and then followed my pre-printed instructions downstairs to the transit area where a bus serving route L77 was just minutes from departure. Fifty minutes later I was dropped off almost directly across the street from my hotel. At €49.00 for the hotel plus €2.00 for the bus, I got a good night’s sleep in a spacious, quiet room for a decent price.