Ground services for first
 

Was just having a read of a review of LH ground services for first passengers on the excellent one mile at a time blog (actually a gripe on that particular experience) but that generally it is a fantastic experience akin to what EK offers to I/o only ie car transfers to or from remote stands/assistance with boarding / through security etc.

I appreciate that EK has a large first offering that is full of revenue customers but feel that they could offer a more premium experience for example, assistance through security when transitting (luckily for me being based in Dxb I don't do this very often) and perhaps more assistance with boarding or getting to the gates.

I like the lounges in Dxb but having the above touches would make the overall ground experience better. Don't even get me started on some of the other experiences on the ground in the region Cairo for instance!!!

Anyone know the volume of proper F traffic on LH in FRA?

I really wonder whether it's even feasible to have something like car transfers for F pax in DXB. A majority of EK flights offer 3 classes with a minimum of 8 F seats. I'm sure someone less lazy than me can give the math a try.

I too would love some of these F touches others provide but you can't just provide these (let alone with consistency) once you reach a certain scale. This is one of the challenges of becoming very large (#1 int'l carrier) and operating out of one hub only (DXB).

Chauffeur drive in DXB, for example, is a pretty huge operation (that few others do, and to this scale), and that's only ~20-30% of the J/F traffic as most of the remainder are connecting.

Depends whether they end up using it as an excuse to bump up fares too!

I'd be all for it, but not at any price - and considering I think EK F is pretty good value (DXB originating pax, sorry...!) but not spectacular on the level of QR's 1.4k EUR J fares ex-AMS.

A fleet of F buggies to take people to the central transit security area that pops up by the lounge would be nice though :)

Not far off, I was recently flying in J when we parked at a remote stand and I 'accidentally' made it on to the F bus. They dropped us at a door which had the First carpet leading straight to a single security checkpoint followed by an escalator directly to the Duty Free.

I did a LH MAN-FRA-DXB F to one of the Dubai Dos (used up some CO points I had). It's the best experience I've ever had flying wise.

As I got off the plane at FRA, there was a black Merc at the steps. I assumed there was a VIP on board, so I was looking round trying to see who it was. I then noticed my name on the card the driver was holding :D So, as everyone else was piling onto a bus, I was whisked away to the First Class terminal. Quickly through the private security, and the 3 hours in probably the best lounge I've been in (the food and drink was great).

About 15 minutes before the flight was due to go, I still hadn't been taken to the DXB plane. I stood up, and immediately one of the staff came over and said "Don't worry Mr K, we haven't forgotten about you. We'll be taking you shortly".

A few minutes later I was in a car heading to the 747. I soon as I was on, the door was closed, and we were off. Perfect.

There's a tip for all the maximisers out there - if you love the tarmac transfer at FRA by car, take a FRA-ZRH trip as a HON member (or onwards ZRH-XXX in F) because the drive to the remote stand from the FCT is rather long!

I agree, LH F ground service at FRA is one of the best flying experiences out there. AF now does a similar thing at CDG for F pax.

I personally feel the ground services provided by EK to their F pax are nowhere near the level they should be. But then I could say the same about many other carriers I have used over the years. I don't have any recent experience of the LH First product, but based on comments above it sounds as though they do make an effort to deliver something different & more personal.

Even though I am prepared to pay for F & J travel for medium and long-haul with Emirates (whose network/routings/schedules just happen to suit me best) rather than endure the less pleasant parts of the aircraft, I do not truly consider my expenditure as "value for money". And I guess for as long as people like me continue to hand over cash, there is no great incentive to step things up in terms of ground service. Competitive forces do help of course, and that's exactly how the CD facility was launched (initially by Virgin IIRC ....?) and subsequently copied.

In very general terms I have long felt that the very large differences in ticket prices between the premium cabin and economy classes are not mirrored as starkly as they should be by the differences in service standards on the ground. There are times when I feel the same about onboard standards too - although I would say this is more about the 'quality' of a particular crew on any given flight rather than the hard product itself.