LH717 First Class HND-FRA
Picking up right where we left off, following my flight on Thai Airways up from Bangkok I elected to stay overnight at the First Cabin Haneda – essentially an upscale version of a Japanese capsule hotel located landside at Haneda's domestic terminal. Given my delayed arrival on Thai, this turned out to be a good choice as opposed to heading into Tokyo for the short layover.
While the convenience factor was very high, the sleep quality wasn’t the best (“cabins” are only separated by a sliding fabric screen – which made blocking the surrounding noise difficult, even with the complimentary ear plugs). I awoke to the television in my “cabin” automatically turning on at 5:55am to display the weather report, complete with a weatherman and his giant pointing stick (what decade are we in?).
I was able to get a few more hours of sleep and checked out around 9:30am to head back over to the international terminal, via shuttle bus. When I arrived, I was greeted to a ruckus of screams, squeals, and camera flashes. Apparently a Kpop boy band had just landed and at least 200 young Japanese women were there to greet them. Why can’t I get a greeting like that?
It was pure mayhem, for a second I actually thought the airport was under attack. The photo doesn’t even begin to do it justice:
There was no wait at check-in, although the business and economy lines were full of mainly Munich-bound passengers. ANA’s station manager at Haneda insisted on escorting me to security, which I thought was I nice touch. I recognized him from when AA used to fly out of Haneda, as he was their station manager until last year.
ANA Suites Lounge Tokyo Haneda
I quickly found my way into the ANA Suites lounge. This was my first time in this lounge, but it was very similar to its Narita counterparts. Upon walking in I was greeted, escorted to a seat, and then offered a drink of choice. Like most Japanese lounges, it could easily double as a sauna. Seriously, the temperature had to be approaching 80 degrees! Why is every Japanese airport lounge the same in this regard?
I headed over to the dining area of the lounge to order a bowl of udon noodles and enjoy a late breakfast while catching up on some work from back home. The croissant was absolutely delicious and tasting like it just came fresh out of the oven of an award-winning Parisian bakery.
Following breakfast I headed out of the lounge to do some shopping. The Japanese Whisky isn’t going to buy itself, you know? I was just in time to see the arrival of Lufthansa 747-400 that would carry me across the Asian continent to Germany in just a few hours.
Back in the lounge I read through the Wall Street Journal and enjoyed a relaxing shower before heading down to the gate. The shower room was a modern design and, not surprisingly, featured Sisheido amenities.
Lufthansa 717
Tokyo Haneda - Frankfurt
B747-400
August 25, 2014
2:05P-6:45P (sked)
2:05P-6:54P (actual)
Flight Time: 11hr22min
First Class
Seat 83C
I arrived at the gate just as boarding was commencing. There was no wait in the premium line and I was soon on board and climbing the staircase to the upper deck. Despite having been around for a while, this was my first time flying on Lufthansa’s retrofitted 747-400. Sadly, given United’s recent award changes, it might also be the last time. I believe it’s the only commercial first class product to offer both a seat and a separate bed, and I also think it’s the best of all Lufthansa’s current F offerings. With a maximum of 8 passengers on the upper deck, it’s a really intimate environment. Today’s flight would have a load of 5 F passengers, but even with a full load of 8 F passengers it’s hard to imagine this cabin would feel any different given the large amount of personal space afforded each seat.
Pajamas and a new style (non-Rimowa) amenity kit were handed out while on the ground.
Oftentimes you can immediately tell when a crew will be amazing or awful. Well, on today’s flight I got the initial impression that the crew would simply be good. Perhaps it was having just come off four amazing flights on Asian carriers, but I was just slightly underwhelmed by the initial pre-departure service. Nothing terrible by any means, and still far better than any other US-flagged carrier, but the FAs just came off as a bit cold which isn’t my usual experience when flying first class on Lufthansa.
Nonetheless, I was offered a very much appreciated glass of 2005 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose which hinted at the excellent inflight catering and wines that would soon follow. I love that Lufthansa features two fantastic Champagne selections that seem to vary frequently but are almost always thoroughly enjoyable. Don't ask my why (probably my deep-seated anal retentive tendencies) but I really enjoy how Lufthansa has napkins (and butter) that say "First Class" on them.
We departed with German precision, pushing back from the gate exactly on schedule. There was not much traffic this afternoon at Haneda and we were airborne within 20 minutes. The left side of the aircraft featured excellent views of downtown Tokyo. I was also hoping to spot Fuji-san in the distance but the overcast weather proved uncooperative.
About 10 minutes after takeoff we were presented with our menus. Here’s a look (apologies for the poor quality, but LH's menus are very large in size):
Next up was the canapé and some more Champagne. At this point I noticed there were 3 FAs working in the F cabin – one mainly performing galley duties and two serving in the cabin itself. The service was efficient and polite but not over-the-top by any standard. The German FA serving the cabin seemed completely consumed flirting with the passenger seated in 82H to the detriment of the rest of the cabin. On several occasions during the meal service she would spend more than 5 minutes with him looking through German tabloid magazines, leaving a Japanese FA to serve the remaining 4 passengers. Occasionally the galley FA would also assist with serving courses. Again, the service wasn’t terrible by any stretch – but I’d say it was slightly below what I’m used to on Lufthansa.
As we crossed Russia’s remote Far East coast after tracking nearly due north from Tokyo the table was prepared for lunch. Here's a photo just before we reached the coastline:
First up was the caviar – and Lufthansa still offers some of the best quality caviar in the skies, in my opinion.
I decided to go with the Japanese meal, which was plated on Lufthansa’s beautiful Japanese servingware. This was my first time flying Lufthansa to/from Japan, but I always enjoy how most airlines have special servingware reserved for their Japan flights.
Here's the zensai (fresh fish appetizer course). The sea snail (horned turban shell) was a first for me:
Along the way we crossed the mighty river Amur River not too far from Khabarovsk and the Chinese boarder. I’ve always wanted to travel around this region, so the good views from above made me a little bit jealous.
I switched to chilled sake – the “Momo no Shizuku” Junmai Daiginjo which was very nice with a full body and lingering finish.
The eel was definitely the highlight of the meal, and perhaps the best main entrée of my entire trip report! Eel is such a great dish for in-flight dining as it seems to tolerate reheating very well while maintaining moisture and texture. It’s still relatively rare to find on in-flight menus, but I always order it when offered. Today’s eel did not disappoint.
I finished the meal with some Japanese red bean and a plate of fresh fruit. The cheese cart was making its way around the cabin (all but one other passenger – including both Japanese passengers – opted for the Western option), but I was really too full to partake. The lighter Japanese dessert option was the perfect complement for my meal.
As an aside, I'm always surprised how so many of the Japanese passengers on my flights to/from Japan (usually on Japanese carriers) never seem to actually order the Japanese meal. Has anyone else noticed this?
Following the green tea it was time for a nap! The entire meal service took about 3 hours from takeoff until the conclusion of dessert, which represents a perfect pace in my opinion for an early afternoon lunch service in first class.
The bed was very comfortable and it’s a real luxury to be able to hop between seat and bed without having to wait for the seat to be reconfigured into bed-mode. After about a 4hr nap I woke up, with just under 4 hours of flight time remaining. We were flying over the White Sea not too far from the Kola Peninsula. This flight really gives one an appreciation for the size of Russia; besides briefly overflying far northeastern China for less than 30 minutes (really just hugging the Chinese/Russian border), this flight was over Russia for nearly 9 hours!
The dinner service began about 2 hours prior to landing. Again, I chose the Japanese option. The sea bass portion was a bit small, but when coupled with the rest of the meal everything was filling enough to satisfy.
I finished with a glass of the dessert wine (2009 Robert Weil Kiedricher Gragenberg Riesling Auslese) while enjoying one of Lufthansa’s wonderfully scented hot towels. I wish I had tried the wine earlier in this flight – it was excellent with dense honeyed layers and a wonderful long finish.
We touched down in Frankfurt about ten minutes behind schedule, despite our on-time and expeditious departure from Haneda.
Overall, a solid Lufthansa flight. The service was slightly underwhelming but the excellent food, wine, and the unique F seating configuration on the 747-400 upper deck more than compensated. There was no wait at immigration and bags were out about 20 minutes after gate arrival, although there didn’t appear to be any priority for first class or priority-tagged bags.