Segment 13
Flight: LH797
Route: HKG-FRA
Date: 9/14/16
Equipment: Airbus A380-800
Registration: D-AIME
Cabin: J

After a week of catching up with old friends in Hong Kong, I returned to HKG a little over 12 hours before my scheduled departure time of 11:05pm because I was dropping off my YYZ-bound mom. With time to kill, we did some lounge hopping between the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge, the United Club, and the Thai Royal Orchid Lounge.

Not having been back to HKG much since being based here for a year in 2012/2013, I was curious to see how, if at all, the three Star Alliance lounges at the airport had evolved over time. As it turns out, both the UA and SQ lounges have undergone renovations since my last visit. As they stand now, I would say SQ is the best of the three, on account of its unrivaled privacy, classy decor, refined furnishings, and superior food offering (though some might prefer TG's food selection). The major drawback of the SQ lounge is that it is deep in the bowels of the terminal and has no windows. As such, its atmosphere is rather dark. Both the UA and TG lounges are essentially large elevated balconies sitting in the middle of the terminal atrium. This provides them with fantastic views of the tarmac and a bright, open atmosphere. However, these two lounges tend to be noisier and more crowded.

At 2:30pm, I saw my mom off at the gate of AC16, and ten hours later, I made my way over to gate 212 (my first time at the midfield terminal) for LH797's boarding.

This was my first time flying LH's A380, and after reviewing these threads, I decided to select 24H as my seat. As I made my way through the loooooong business class cabin, I was greeted by a small army of friendly, well-groomed, and (I couldn't help notice for the guys ) rather handsome flight attendants.

Boarding for the massive beast was completed on time, but we pushed back a few minutes late due to late-arriving connecting luggage from a delayed CX flight. Nevertheless, we were airborne by 11:40pm and would make up time along the way thanks to favourable winds.

The dinner menu for this flight read as follows:

Appetizers
Herb marinated prawn with tomato salsa and cucumber garnish;
Parma ham, beef bresaola and rock melon with vanilla dressing; or
Vegetarian couscous salad with grilled zucchini and artichoke

Salad
Mixed green with pumpkin, Gruyère cheese and walnut, presented with delicious dressing

Main Courses
XO duck with bamboo and fried rice;
Pan-fried halibut with lemon butter sauce, fondant potato, braised cabbage and honey-glazed carrot; or
Sautéed asparagus and baked sweet potato with macadamia nut and curry butter

Cheese and Dessert
Brie, Danish blue and double Gloucester cheese;
Duet of white and dark chocolate mousse; or
Fresh fruit

Breakfast featured:

Fresh fruit;

Parma ham and smoked chicken breast, brie and cheddar cheese; and

Stir-fried ramen noodle with chicken, vegetable, and Xiao Long Bao; or
Scrambled egg with gravlax, potato and spinach

And for the wine drinkers among you:

Champagne
Castelnau Brut Réserve, France

White
2015 Schloss Vollrads Riesling Kabinett Trocken, Weingut Schloss Vollrads, Germany
2015 Viognier Réserve Spéciale, Pays d‘Oc, Gérard Bertrand, France

Red
2012 Château Maison Blanche, Cru Bourgeois, Médoc, France
2013 Mendoza Malbec Reserva, Bodegas Norton, Argentina

The flight attendant serving my section of the cabin took dinner orders while on the ground. After take-off, warm towel, beverage and nuts, and dinner service commenced with German efficiency.

I opted for the prawns as a starter and the asparagus and sweet potato for my main. I also asked if I could have a couscous and zucchini salad to go with my main if there were extras left over, and the flight attendant was happy to oblige. Everything tasted quite good for airline food.

I skipped dessert and went to bed after dinner, waking up a little over 90 minutes before landing as breakfast service commenced. Looking forward to another Bircher muesli in the lounge, I passed on breakfast. I was, however, curious to see how well LH could execute Xiao Long Bao at 30,000 feet and was hoping to ask a neighbour for his/her assessment, but unfortunately, everyone around me went with the Western option.

Overall, this was a pleasant flight. We all know LH's hard product in J is far from perfect, but its soft product continues to impress me. Specifically with respect to the A380, the smaller J cabin at the back offers some sense of intimacy that is completely lost in the massive main J cabin. If you're going to be on the A380, I would strongly recommend selecting an aisle seat in rows 21 and beyond.

We landed at 5:05am, some 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Half an hour of taxiing, deplaning, walking, security, and showering later, I was happily enjoying my Bircher muesli, yogurt, and Americano at the Senator Lounge in Concourse Z. I'll be spending the next few hours here before boarding for LH418 to IAD begins at 12:30pm. Say hi if you happen to be around!

Mileage Tally: 42,814/49,313