Hello everyone and welcome to this report on my journey from Bangalore to Austin. I flew economy class, and my itinerary was Bangalore-Mumbai on Vistara and Mumbai-Frankfurt-Austin on Lufthansa. I was excited about this trip because it was my first time flying Lufthansa in many years, and a Boeing 747-400 was assigned to the Mumbai-Frankfurt flight. The airline has a special place in my heart because I flew it often as a child on family trips to India, and many of those flights were on 747-400s.
My flight to Mumbai departed from Terminal 2 at Bangalore's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The terminal only opened last year. I was informed at check-in that my checked bag would go to Austin but that I'd need to clear immigration in Mumbai. I proceeded to the domestic departures area. Walking past the vegetation and numerous shops and restaurants, I contemplated the enormous difference between this airport and the old one, which is known as the HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) airport and closed to passenger flights in 2008. My memory isn't too good, but I recall it being awfully congested, especially late at night when many international flights used to depart. Truth be told, I kind of miss the HAL airport. KIA is so large and fancy that everything feels too orderly and boring. People who more clearly remember the old airport probably think I'm crazy for saying that! But that's the nostalgia talking.
Flight #1: Vistara Flight 840
Date: 5 June 2024
Origin: Bangalore (BLR), 22:16
Destination: Mumbai (BOM), 23:30
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Duration: 1h 14m
This was my first time flying Vistara. I chose a window seat on this flight due to its short duration. Normally on long-haul trips, I prefer sitting by the aisle so I can get up whenever I want without disturbing others, but on short flights like this one I opt for the window seat. I was delighted to find an inflight magazine in the seatback pocket. Several airlines stopped publishing theirs during the pandemic. I know it's better for the environment not to print magazines every month, and I figure most people nowadays use the seatback screen or their own device for entertainment onboard. Still, I have always enjoyed flipping through the magazine. Well, I should be honest: the main part I read is the last section about the airline, particularly its route map.
I was unsure what sort of service would be provided on this flight. I've taken a few other domestic flights in India and recall receiving a hot meal on some of them. This flight was scheduled to be just 1 hour and 45 minutes long, so I didn't expect a meal. Sure enough, the flight attendants started coming down the aisle with dinner, and there were even two options, vegetarian or non-vegetarian! When they were a row or two ahead of me, the captain announced that our descent would commence in 3-4 minutes. The FAs hurriedly handed out meals but still took the time to ask everyone's meal preference. I chose the vegetarian option, which consisted of a black chickpea and potato curry with cumin rice. I scarfed down the curry and sampled the other items. There was a packet of tea powder that I saved for home. Remarkably, the crew was able to collect everyone's trays before the captain asked them to be seated for landing!
The service on this flight was incredibly different from nearly all domestic flights in the US. While I was appreciative of the hot meal, I don't think it was necessary. The FAs had to scramble to distribute them and then pick up our trays in time, and people probably didn't have time to eat everything, creating more waste. It was also rather late at night. I believe a beverage service and maybe a snack would've been sufficient.
I was looking forward to my first visit to the Mumbai airport. The views on approach were really nice, with lots of tall buildings, busy roads, and hills. Before leaving my seat I was sure to tuck a copy of the magazine into my backpack for my collection.
At the end of the jet bridge, there was an agent calling out for passengers connecting to London or Frankfurt. She asked me to wait with her, and it turned out I was the only person connecting to either city. She then escorted me all the way to the gate! I was not expecting this at all. I assume this service is offered because the airline or airport think the process of transferring from a domestic to an international flight is confusing and they want to ensure people make their connections. I easily could've followed the signs and done it myself, but I had a long layover and felt like going with the flow.
We reached the check-in hall of Terminal 2. Even though it was the middle of the night, the terminal was packed with people, including lots of Hajj pilgrims cloaked in white. The agent spent quite some time attending to an older couple traveling to Heathrow on a British Airways flight; they may have been on my Vistara flight and taken by wheelchair directly to the BA counters. I didn't mind waiting; it was fun being in that beehive of activity. I was also glad to see Terminal 2's unique white pillars in person.
Eventually the agent left the couple in the care of the BA staff, and we continued on to the international departures checkpoint. She met up with me again after I passed through security and immigration. We then went to the gate, which was occupied by a Swiss Air International flight at the time. She advised me to show my documents to the Lufthansa agents for verification when they arrived, and I thanked her for helping me navigate the terminal. In retrospect, I think I should've told her that I knew where to go, so that she could attend to passengers who truly required assistance or just take a break. Especially since there was still some time until boarding and I decided to walk back the way we'd come to do some plane spotting and explore the terminal.
A few seconds after I took the photo below of the Swiss A330, the Lufthansa 747 touched down on the runway behind it. I was happy enough to have the chance to fly on a 747-400, but the cherry on top was that this aircraft still wore Lufthansa's old livery. I'm not a fan of their current livery and miss the yellow on the tail.
It was nice and cool inside the terminal, an oasis in an exceedingly hot and humid city. Flight announcements were made in three languages: Marathi, Hindi, and English. Interestingly, the voice of the English announcements belonged to the same lady you hear at Heathrow. The lights hanging from the ceiling were pretty.
As I was walking back to the gate, I noticed the 747 was pulling in. Such a graceful bird.
I continued to walk around the terminal. I was curious to check out the gate for the Saudia charter flight carrying Hajj pilgrims to Jeddah. Everywhere I looked there were people in white garments walking about, sitting at the gate, or visiting the prayer room. There were also agents whom I think were announcing in Urdu that boarding had commenced. All of this activity at 1 am was energizing.
I also spotted an Air India 777-200LR bound for New York JFK.
Flight #2: Lufthansa Flight 757
Date: 6 June 2024
Origin: Mumbai (BOM), 03:17
Destination: Frankfurt (FRA), 08:06
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Duration: 8h 19m
Cabin: Economy
One of the flight attendants at the door greeted passengers by saying "Namaskar" and putting his hands together, which was very kind. I headed to my window seat in row 40. Though this was an 8.5 hour flight, I was keen to sit by the window on this 747, and I wanted to be a bit toward the back so I'd have a good view of both the mighty wing and the ground below. The flight seemed to be packed.
Lufthansa's safety video is quite drab; it features animated people and ends bluntly with something like "You are required to follow all crewmember instructions". How exciting. I do like simple safety videos that get to the point since they feel more professional, but this one was just too boring! The old video (youtube.com/watch?v=zsDtQdJyXQU) at least included an introduction with real FAs welcoming passengers in different languages. Though I just found out that Lufthansa has released a new safety video.
We took off to the west over the Arabian Sea. I spotted a fair number of boats below, which appeared like bright orange spots in a black sea. It was certainly an odd time to have a meal, but I stayed awake because I wanted to eat all the food that my ticket price included! The FAs distributed wraps; I believe there were veg and non-veg options, and I went with the veg one. It was filled with peas, carrots, potatoes, and corn. You could say it was a bland samosa in the form of a wrap, though the ketchup added some sweetness. I was actually hungry, so I ate it up.
Flight information:
My attempt at taking a picture of the starry sky with my phone's Night Sight feature:
Until now I hadn't slept, so I was able to doze off for a few hours. With 2.5 hours to go, I got up to use the bathroom and walk around a bit. It was bright outside, and the crew was preparing breakfast in the galley. There I was able to look outside through the exit door window without bothering other passengers with the light. I loved looking at the wing of this plane.
I selected the veg meal. It consisted of aloo paratha (bread stuffed with potatoes), something spongy with peas, and a well-spiced potato and corn cutlet. I was glad to see some fruit on the tray. A nice touch was that the meal was served with silverware engraved with small Lufthansa cranes. There was also a small packet of a mouth freshener called mukhwas. The FAs later came by with tea and coffee.
The view outside:
As we approached the end of the flight, I unexpectedly became emotional as I reminisced about the many Lufthansa flights on 747-400s that I had taken in the past with my family. It felt like this was my last time aboard one of these aircraft, as I don't know if I'll have another chance to fly on one before they are retired. For a little history, Lufthansa launched the Frankfurt-Bangalore route in September 2001 using A340-300s. It was the first direct flight from Bangalore to Europe. I think I flew on the A340 a few times, but I only remember flying on the 747. Actually as a child I was not very fond of Lufthansa; there were only overhead monitors, and I was annoyed that the airline did not assign one of its planes equipped with seatback screens to the Bangalore flight! But those were precious experiences. It was really on those Lufthansa trips to India that I became fascinated by aviation. I remember marveling at the view out the window, picking up a few German words like "Sicherheit" and "Toiletten", touching down at the old Bangalore airport… Though I was certainly jetlagged from the two-stop, 24-hour journey, nothing could stop me from running up to embrace my relatives who would come to pick us up in the middle of the night. Aboard this 747 I felt intimately connected to all of those memories.
I took a few pictures of the aircraft interior. I believe Lufthansa has now installed seatback screens in coach on all of its 747-400s. Ironically nowadays I don't care much about the screens and long for the inflight magazine! Lufthansa discontinued theirs during the pandemic.
The overhead monitor feels like a vestige of the past now. It was only used to show the safety briefing. How things have changed from the days of plugging your headphones into the armrest and craning your neck to watch the same film as everyone else on a distant screen.
Chocolates were distributed as we prepared for arrival.
It had been a while since I'd chosen a window seat on a long-haul flight, and I was thoroughly enjoying the experience. There were nice views of the green countryside. We flew by the airport and then made a U-turn.
Look at those massive flaps!
To my pleasant surprise, we parked next to another 747-400.
What a lovely experience it was traveling on this Lufthansa 747-400 from Mumbai to Frankfurt. While onboard I felt like I had the chance to relive those childhood memories for a brief period, and now I was leaving them behind as I deplaned. Though the airline still has eight of these planes in its fleet, and of course the memories will stay with me! After exiting the jet bridge I ascended to another floor, from which I had a great view of the aircraft. Farewell, D-ABTK.
The Frankfurt airport signage with its German text captivated me when I was a kid. This was indeed how I learned the word "Toiletten"! I also remember that there were split-flap flight information boards around 15 years ago; sadly I didn't spot one this time, and I'm not sure if the airport still has any.
Before reaching my next gate, I had to go through a security checkpoint and have my documents verified. I passed by the gate for the Lufthansa flight to Raleigh/Durham and noticed some signs, one of which said "First flight". There was nothing going on at the gate, so I assumed the inaugural flight was a few days ago and that the signs were just left there. I didn't look the flight up on the internet either. Well while writing this report, I found out that Lufthansa's maiden flight to Raleigh/Durham was indeed that day! If only I had checked and stuck around a little longer to watch the festivities.
It turned out that the gate for the Austin service was directly above the one at which my previous flight had arrived. D-ABTK was towed away after some time, but the 787-9 scheduled to operate my next flight didn't show. When boarding began and the aircraft had still not appeared, I knew that meant we would be taking a bus to a parking stand! I love having the opportunity to get some fresh air and see the aircraft in all its glory from the tarmac. There was a small number of passengers sitting at the gate, and I wondered if more were going to show up…
Flight #3: Lufthansa Flight 468
Date: 6 June 2024
Origin: Frankfurt (FRA), 10:24
Destination: Austin (AUS), 13:32
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
Duration: 10h 8m
Cabin: Economy
Austin acquired its first transatlantic flight in 2014, when British Airways began service to Heathrow. The city now has three direct flights to Europe: the BA service, Lufthansa to Frankfurt, and KLM to Amsterdam.
I chose an aisle seat on this flight since it was on the longer side, 10.5 hours, and I wanted to go back to the convenience of getting up whenever I wanted. My seatmates hadn't arrived yet when I reached my seat, so I quickly moved over to the window to check out the wing and take a picture.
I waited for some time, and then to my utter surprise, the FA announced that boarding was complete! I estimated that economy class was just 10-20% occupied. I had never been on a long-haul flight like this before. I just thought to myself, how lucky could I be; I was able to sit by the window once again. The wing was obstructing much of the view, but since the seat-belt sign was on and we would be pushing back soon, I opted to stay in this seat for now.
Approaching the runway:
Shortly after take-off we banked to the west and had a wonderful view of the Frankfurt skyline and the Main river. After the seat-belt sign was turned off, I moved to a seat in the rearmost cabin. No one else was sitting in my or neighboring rows. It was a treat to be able to recline my seat fully without feeling guilty about the person behind me! The FAs partly dimmed all the windows not long after take-off, but thankfully I could still adjust the brightness myself. I prefer standard window blinds; it seemed like there was a yellowish tinge to the window even on the highest brightness level.
I selected the chicken dish for lunch, which came with silverware. The chicken was accompanied by something that resembled mashed potatoes but had a more airy texture. I really enjoyed this meal. The chickpea and carrot salad tasted fresh and tangy, and the chicken and potatoes were comforting. The strawberry cake was light and not overly sweet; it was a delectable conclusion to the meal. My only complaint was that the bread was rather hard.
I experimented with lying flat, but it wasn't too comfortable as I was unable to stretch my legs completely. I was honestly content to recline the seat fully and stretch out. I closed my eyes, though I don't think I slept much. I checked the flight information periodically.
I noticed we would be passing over the southern tip of Greenland. As though I were a tourist on a sightseeing flight, I walked over to the other side of the plane to get a better view! It was remarkable to see so many glaciers.
With five hours remaining, the crew passed out chocolate-hazelnut wafer cookies. I saved mine to eat at home and it was delightful. The FAs also came by three times with water bottles. I think I drank more water (and used the bathroom) more times than ever before on a flight! But it was good to get up and walk around often.
Eventually we were flying over Canada:
After one of my many trips to the loo, I returned to my seat just in time to catch a glimpse of Chicago. O'Hare was almost directly beneath us, and I was able to make out Terminal 5 and the widebodies parked there. The second meal service, which the crew called dinner, began with a hot towel. It was a chickpea and pumpkin curry with basmati rice. The rice was cooked to perfection, and I was happy to see some more fruit. Wooden utensils were provided this time. Afterward the FAs offered German sparkling wine and chocolates.
The empty rows beside me:
And then it was time to land in Austin, which was blanketed in some sort of haze. We parked at one end of the main terminal, which is named after the politician Barbara Jordan.
Unfortunately there were no windows to see the 787 parked at the gate after I disembarked. I walked down a passageway over the departure hall and then descended one floor to the customs checkpoint. After retrieving my bag from the single carousel, I went through immigration and exited the terminal into the 100 °F (38 °C) heat. It wasn't until I was driving away from the airport that I caught sight of the 787's dark blue tail.
I had a nice time flying Vistara and Lufthansa from Bangalore to Austin. Vistara spoils its passengers with a full meal on a 1.5-hour domestic flight, which in all honesty is beyond what's necessary. I was fortunate to fly once more on a Lufthansa 747-400, and I got lucky again on the nearly empty flight to Austin. I was surprised by how good the experience was in economy class on Lufthansa and appreciated the extra touches like silverware, hot towels, and chocolates at the end of each flight. Thank you for reading my report.