Basanez

Have a long layover at FRA in a week USA-FRA-Schengen F->J. Are day beds available/any good at the FCL/A? Trying to figure out if I should get a room at the Hilton to rest for a few hours or if the day beds at the lounge are decent for a few hours rest. I don’t feel like heading into town. Thanks!

Traveller121

Day beds are available in the FCL/A, I think there's only 2 though. Room is very small, basically just a bed, and that's it. It does the job and it's convenient as you have everything you need outside the room as showers and gourmet dining. Don't expect a hotel room with TV etc. I also remember they had a small LED light turned on somewhere in the room which couldn't be turned off for some reason but with an eye mask it should be fine. I used the room 2 years ago.

chris63

FCL A which is the only one open has 2 sleeper rooms, with a single bed in each, they are fine to get a few hours sleep, since there are only 2 it’s first come first served.

chris63

Yes, that light is very annoying, they state it’s for safety reasons..... at MUC you can switch all the lights off, go figure....

MUC beds are super comfortable & FRA just ok, LX sleeper rooms at ZRH are fabulous but not open currently....

Basanez

Thank you all.

NYC1

Minus “gourmet” dining.

Traveller121

+ gourmet dining.

I was there 2 days ago and had 2 dishes, 1 from their breakfast menu and 1 from the lunch menu. They were delicious. Now, of course, this is somewhat of a subjective topic but I do think their kitchen (at least on the handful of occasions I've visited), the food has been excellent. Sure, it's no Michelin star restaurant, but I don't think anyone is expecting that either.

chris63

Fair point, in over 10 years of eating at FRA FCL/ FCT I have never had anything below a good meal., ingredients are usually top quality & I have had some stunning meals when they have ‘special menus’

NYC1

I agree with the “good meal” reference and agree with “top quality” ingredients, and I have enjoyed the catering over the years at the FCT/FCLs. Compared to most food options at most airports around the world, it’s great, but it’s a far cry from “gourmet” (if one actually uses that word correctly—check out that picture of the salmon carpaccio with a pile of sauce on it; it may taste good but it’s 180 degrees from “gourmet”—which is OK).

In terms of expectations, if you read some of the posts here, some do have misguided Michelin expectations or impressions, but that’s another story.

NYC1

Yes, I agree it can be “delicious” and “excellent”—but that doesn’t necessarily mean “gourmet” (and in this case, it’s not).

chris63

I do agree with you, it’s airport catering at it’s best, well second best..... CDG takes the prize....

However LH have had their moments of Michelin * excellence & they do deserve some praise for trying, at times

MichielR

When I hear gourmet I have to think of cat food.

FCL and FCT food is good restaurant quality. Excellent for lounge meals but nothing exquisite.

vantage03

I don’t know why there’s such obsession on this forum with needing a 3 Michelin Star meal in an airport lounge… foam of this and vapour of that sitting in my tummy before a long haul flight? No thanks.

The LH/LX FCLs are more focused on very regular travelers (HONs) to eat good, yummy food, quickly. They’re about convenience. Even if I have 20min in the lounge between flights they’re able to whip me up something before I head out again. That’s the highlight for me.

They just aren’t designed for maximisers who get to the airport 8 hours early before their points flight in F expecting silver service degustation. They never will be this either, so best to get used to it now.

The AF F lounge *is* tailored exclusively to F travelers, who are usually paying top dollar for their flight. Personally, I would expect more of that lounge at their home airport. Their Ulti members cannot use that lounge when not flying F. There’s a significant difference here.. and I think we (HONs) are getting the better deal.

The biggest issue for me regarding the lounge reopening is the need for ground services to resume for them to actually give that “convenience” and ease of travel that LH premium services are famous for. I’m looking forward to seeing how the limousine service resumes in September.

Traveller121

Okay, I see what you mean. Granted, it's not gourmet in the traditional sense of the word (being closer to a Michelin stared restaurant experience). I was however trying to convey to the questioner that just outside his dayroom in the FCL facility he will have the benefit of having an excellent cuisine right outside his door as opposed to going to some hotel in town.

sophialite

This is exactly right.

1) I landed from Italy connecting to LHR a few days ago. We took an apron spot near C even though our gate was in B and we had to take a bus to A and then make our way to B.

oh did I mention we landed as our connecting flight was boarding?

No HON support whatsoever. And replace the connecting flight with a longhaul in F, it wouldn’t have been any different.

Absolutely unacceptable.

2) I was connecting from LHR to LX38 a few days ago as well. We ended up landing about 20 mins before boarding. I skipped the lounge at LHR and inflight food because I thought I would eat breakfast at FCL A. Luckily, I was the only one going through passport control, although the officer was confused why id enter Switzerland just to use the lounge.

Made it to the lounge with just 15 mins to catch my shuttle. I could’ve taken the shuttle 10 mins later to E where I could then walk to my gate. But was also told that there would be an additional document check so that might take time.

I asked the bartender if the chef could whip me up some eggs and bacon quickly as i have the shuttle to catch. I was also starving and needed to use the bathroom.

the food came out and I was able to use the bathroom while it was being cooked. Food was excellent and exactly what I needed. And I made it to the shuttle meeting point on time, only to have to wait another 5 mins because a family and another passenger ran late. I could’ve used that time!

I arrive at E with an extra document check for even F and J passengers queuing all the way two gates down. Thankfully I asked the gate agent with ignorance if I really needed to do this, and she got up and got me stamped immediately and boarded.

plus marks for getting me food on time. Minus marks for:

1) This is an $8k ticket, should I really be rushing to connect to my gate?
2) could any of this be averted with opening FCL E?
3) as an HON, Should I really be rushing to make a connection. Why am I not just flying direct then?

and what makes this really bad is that travel volumes seem to be, not necessarily the levels they were pre-Covid, but definitely at far more normal levels:
1) my flights to LHR and from Italy we’re 100% full. Yet these supplemental document checks add so much time to the boarding process, how can you expect to stay in the lounge when you have to endure this? Couldn’t they do something for F pax in the lounge? My flight to LHR and flight to SFO were delayed by an hour because of this.

2) my flight to SFO was almost completely full, despite the US travel ban.

3) within the airports, pax levels are basically back to what I’ve previously seen. FCL A, on both occasions when I went through it, was about as busy to me as it was pre-pandemic.

It feels like arbitrage that LHG are doing on us. How much longer can they pass this off as F/HON service before we give up? I don’t know.

and yet people are losing their minds over a potential 3 Michelin star meal… in an airport. I love airplanes and even I would like to spend as little time possible in a lounge, at an airport, and on a plane.