Trip report from the inaugural 748i flight FRA-IAD
Jun 3, 2012, 6:41 am
#31
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: The sky is my home
Programs: Concorde Mach 2 -UAMM- First to Fly A380/B787/B747-8i/FlyingHonu
Posts: 3,029
Agreed that there was nothing "special" for the Y folks, though the cake did eventually make it back there. That said, the vast majority of the Y passengers were on the flight because it was the 9:50am FRA-IAD, not because it was the inaugural 747-8i. I can sortof understand the rationale there, though I still was a bit surprised.
Great meeting you, too CDG1.
Great meeting you, too CDG1.
I noticed the whY cabin passengers lack of interest for the new airplane. A great most of them even left their inaugural booklets and some even their little gift boxes with the fridge magnets
inside the seat pockets. They did not care taking them home with them.It was even more so on the return LH flight 419 from IAD to FRA. More like people wanting to get from point A to point B the cheapest possible -- no matter what plane or airline -- I got to pick up a few more items that were left in the seat pockets before leaving the aircraft at FRA airport.
Jun 3, 2012, 2:52 pm
#32
Senior Moderator, Moderator: Community Buzz and Ambassador: Miles & More (Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and other partners)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: 150km from MAN
Programs: LH SEN** HH Diamond
Posts: 29,514
No, according to Lufthansa the A380 is the people's plane and the 747-8i will fly on more premium routes because it has a higher percentage of premium seats compared to the A380. 
I don't think FRAport organised the party or at least they didn't pay for it. ANA must have paid for the event in FRA.
ANA is still No.2 airline in Japan despite operating more aircraft than JAL since its international network is not as extensive. I've seen a video of passengers in some US airports being asked if they knew which country's airline ANA was and most of them didn't know. ANA management was shocked by this and decided to promote ANA more internationally. I can understand why they wanted to publicise as much as possible that they were the first airline to fly the 787 and that FRA was its first longhaul destination.
I don't mind a card signed by the captain or my name on a menu card (neither of which I have received so far) but cute handwritten cards aren't my taste I'm afraid and I can't imagine LH FAs making them for passengers. 
When I think of what Frankfurt Airport (FRAport) had organized at the gate at FRA with the first inaugural 787 Dreamliner flight with ANA... That monster gate party at gate B42 that day with amazing food and gifts for all 787 inaugural participants.
Little ANA (compared to Big Lufthansa) gave us a nice bag filled with some really nice quality keepsakes and flight memorabilia after the red-ribbon cutting ceremony at the boarding gate at Haneda when we boarded the flight.
The stewardesses on board made us personalized little drawings with little airplane stickers and cute texts and spoiled us during the flight!
