HKG1111

I came through Frankfurt this morning but didn‘t have enough time for the FCT. Instead I used the FCL A which also changed the catering company. You can clearly see that the service crew is still new (I did not recognize anyone from the old team) and trying to get organized. This comes with the effect that they are not very proactive observant. The breakfast buffet was ok but nothing special as in „wow“ when you be in a FCL lounge. I have asked for fresh plain scramble eggs which they made and it was good. The decoration of the buffet has nothing of an „extra mile“ food selection in each category (muesli, cheese, etc.) very standard. The table decoration is plain incl. the menu card style like in a pizza place and certainly personal style dependent if you like that style or not. Overall nothing really which stays in your memory when you leave the lounge. A pity and I hope this is not the new product innovation standard Mr Spohr and his team is aiming for when talking about improving their premium product.

worldclubber

Everything seems to be a bit moire basic and "standard" now, as you said. Maybe the rumors are true that Kaefer was just cheaper than Do&Co.

chris63

They do a lot of talking at LH, delivery is where they fall down

worldclubber

They once even got five stars for talking about a future cabin update.

NYC1

This is all about money and reducing expenses. If you give a semi decent catering company a good budget, you’ll get good results. I have no doubt that LH told Kafer what the budget was and that it was significantly lower than in the past. Kafer agreed, probably promised LH the world, and now the pax are paying the price. There’s no magic to this stuff. You get what you pay for, except for the pax who pay for F/A and get subpar service.

worldclubber

That's exactly what bothers me: inflated flight prices, very limited A availability, one week minimum stay etc., and still airlines do not provide service at a pre-pandemic level despite the high ticket prices.

thbe

F service onboard has improved during the recent weeks.

The FCT is already better than a few days ago. For everyone, who was ever responsible for something in his life, it‘s not surprising, that there are serious problems during a transition without any closure of the FCT.

You are right about inflated flight prices, very limited A availability and one week minimum stay.

SMK77

Yet another unqualified armchair-CEO comment.

Care to explain what actually transitioned? Because staff and interior stayed the same. They had to take some bottles off the shelve and that was pretty much it.

thbe

You are wrong again. The staff is not the same and if you had been there often enough to talk about it, you would have known that.

Seems like there is something as an armchair-doorman level as well.

SMK77

I was there on 30 April in the evening.

thbe

You don‘t even know, that the change officially took place on May 1?

I‘ve been four times at the FCT in the recent two weeks. A few staff members have worked for Do&Co, but the clear majority is new. All logistic and management processes are new.

worldclubber

At FRA, the FCL in B is also my favorite lounge, very roomy and good views (which makes it better than the FCT for me).

Just slightly unhappy that the restaurant is separated from the views, but since one can eat anywhere, it doesn’t bother me too much.

thbe

Ask other passengers, who have been at the FCT since May 1, if the staff didn’t change. It’s far too obvious, that the clear majority of staff is new. And if you have been there since May 1, then don’t talk about your visit on April 30.

haapalainen

I visited the FCL A in Frankfurt recently for the first time after the catering change. I've had very positive experiences with Käfer in some other events but unfortunately the lounge experience fell short.

The a la carte food menu is still alright but wines and champagne were disappointing. Filtered water instead of bottled water and it didn't taste great. The buffet has also been reduced but to be fair I if I didn't know it was better before I would not be complaining.

Anyway, by far the biggest change is the service which was unfortunately far from first class. I remember service in the past being very polite and sophisticated but that was just a memory now. The waitress serving me was trying hard but she was clearly not familiar with a first class environment. Her English skills were poor and for the first four times she started speaking German to me even though I always replied in English. And she had no understanding of the menu. I had to show from the wine list what rose champagne was, I was brought the wrong starter after she had already earlier come back to my table to double check the order, and I even heard another guest being asked if he meant champagne when he ordered another glass of the same chardonnay he was having. The professionalism was totally gone and it made the whole experience almost tragicomic. We were just a couple of guests in the whole lounge but all of us were at times exchanging glances and shaking our heads.



FCLA new champagne glasses and a very stingy pour.

FCLA cold buffet. The asparagus was delicious.

FCLA hot buffet. No idea what foods were served as there were no signs or menu.

FLCA combined dessert and bread buffet. I tried the cheesecake which wasn't great.

I ordered the swordfish starter but got the beef carpaccio from the quick lunch section instead.

Beef fillet main course with tomato risotto. Not very memorable or good.

Homemade vanilla ice cream was very nice. Took 20 minutes for this small portion to arrive though.

brokenwindow

Currently in MUC FCL after flying my return to NYC. What a huuuuuge difference to FRA FCT just a few days ago. Sad that the experience varies so much in their hubs. Great delivery from the MUC staff and great food and service.