FRA FCT & FCL catering moves from Do&Co to Käfer [merged feedback]
 

Hello from our beloved FCT. I am flying in F (full fare F that is) from Frankfurt tonight to bid farewell to Do&Co and welcome Käfer as the new caterer.

For context: none of the staff will be fired and everyone has gotten a new contract.

My experience here is a complete and utter disaster:

Service tonight is at its worst ever with no one caring and everyone in a super bad mood. "Didn't you know? We are changing the caterer tonight".

The kitchen closed at 8pm here and there is a limited buffet left. Drinks are only available on a whatever is left basis.

Menus are not handed out - neither food nor drinks. "Didn't you know? We are changing the caterer tonight".

Asked to speak to the supervisor tonight (Mr. V for those who have been here before): Can we at least address the service shortcomings given that everyone will have a job tomorrow? "Didn't you know? We are changing the caterer tonight". And walks away, not addressing anything.

I understand that Carsten Spohr has zero regards for passengers or their well-being but this is so wrong on so many levels - heads should roll for this.

Well it was fantastic last weekend, what a difference a week makes :D

They have needed a catering change there for a long time, far below MUC & ZRH standards & it’s the same airline group :rolleyes:

Does indeed not sound great or professional. At the same time, changeovers are challenging, so sounds as if this was too much of a challenge for LH. Not sure I am surprised. Let‘s hope things go uphill from here, I am there very soon, will report.

I'll be there coming Saturday and hopefully by then the level is finally up to the standard of the FCL E in ZRH.

subject to arriving into FRA on time, let's see what liunch on Thursday is like. Looking forward to it. Haven't bothered to eat at the FCT for years (not that I'm there *that* often) but very much planning to this time.

Hope it will be sorted until tomorrow.
will let you know :rolleyes:

It was fantastic 2 weeks ago with super friendly staff also, full fare F or otherwise.

Wait. Help me make sure I understand correctly…
You’ve paid a full F fare, just to farewell a very average catering company from an airline lounge, which everyone has been complaining about for years?

Never understood the need for “some” to let everyone know that they have paid for F. As if they don’t dare redeem miles to fly F 🙄

Transition completed. There are some changes in terms of the design and food. Everyone seams to be be happy with changes. I see how much work was put into it to make it look fresh and new.
And there is also special Duck :)

Disgusting. After poor service (not just last night) they should count themselves lucky to be taken over by the new contractor. LH should have serious words with Käfer or whatever they’re called about what is expected in future.

Looking forward to reports about the new menu and drink list. Maybe we are all surprised by the effort.

That is all of FlyerTalk in one sentence :D

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d9d126cea.jpeg
Drink menu
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d1b45994d.jpeg
The most important page for most I guess
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d3b284905.jpeg
Breakfast/lunch/dinner. Special section with kids menu as well
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fdf42f661.jpeg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...93db1ce20.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dabe8aba6.jpeg

I was told that they were working whole night to change everything and prepare for today.
I think they did a pretty decent job.
Small touches here and there.

Oh and the most important:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7416539d5.jpeg

Thanks for the information!

Edit: The food (not the wine list!) doesn't look too bad at all, let's see how Kaefer delivers.

Just one major reservation: I have never liked the limitation "real non-breakfast food only after 11" and cannot say I am not disappointed this is still part of the new concept.

I agree, menu looks good, agree also to the limitation which is a bit at odds with the place, catering for travelers coming from/going to all those different time zones.

Also. That wine list… not great

+1 That wine list is so out-of-place in a proper First Class lounge.

a lounge in the center of Germany and not even a single decent German wine… while individual taste may differ, that Riesling is probably at the far end of most preference sheets

It’s not impressing me so far, consider myself better off in ZRH or MUC but time will tell ;)

Very true. Food looks promising, but drink list stingy. Have seen better wines at SEN lounges.

The wine list is terrible — no surprise there, it’s a pure $ point and Kafer can’t do magic when limited by LHG. Not serving main courses before 11 am is annoying (discussed in other threads). Hopefully, the quality of the food and service will be better.

I am nowhere near to be an expert in fine wines/ champagne etc. but my first impression of the wine list was that I could find a similar selection in the cellar section of my local Lidl

there was much more but I didn’t have time to properly look at it. Will do it later this week unless someone else will be earlier

I think the Markowitsch Grüner might be a good choice. His wines usually score 90+ points.

yes, but you shouldn’t have to find the ONE decent wine on a FC wine list ;)

All in the 10-15 EUR retail range, absolutely not worthy of a First Class lounge and a missed opportunity to make an actual improvement.

I appreciate the new caterers have been given a budget but this is definitely not a good first impression.

I hardly ever fly paid F but I'd definitely go for LX or AF.

We love the judgement here! Sometimes, F class is the better (read: more economic) choice over O class:

LH sold Full Fare F tickets from ARN to SYD via FRA and SIN return for 5,500 USD last year. I booked one LH F and three SQ F segments with this ticket. The prorated cost for FRA-SIN is about 1,400 USD. That's less than an award ticket for 111,000 LH miles and 400 USD in taxes.

For Lufthansa, Full Fare F (regardless how revenue management prices it) is the highest fare in the pecking order so it mattered for my FCT visit. I would think that most passenger there as well as on my flight were booked in Full Fare F.

Disappointing is the limitation to one champagne. Do&Co had four. No rose champagne anymore...

I think the FCT has now the worst champagne offering of any First Class Lounge in the world.

Have you visited every first class lounge in the world to compare?

Well you said it yourself - heads will not roll, they all got a new contract :D So why make an effort if they all have a new employer the next day anyway?

Perhaps we should work to compile a list of known first class lounge champagnes, to give an idea of what the references are out there.

Singapore Airlines Private Room: Taittinger Comtes de Champagne
British Airways Concorde Room: Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle
Qatar Airways Al Safwa: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame
Air France First Class Lounge: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame
American Airlines Flagship First: Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle (in Flagship First Dining)
Emirates First Class Lounge: Moet & Chandon

Not sure what Swiss is serving up at the moment, they have been having up to four different Champagnes on offer in addition to other sparking wines.

Add the wonderful Pommery Cuvée Louise in LH's own MUC FCL and you will see that FRA is way behind.

Not to nitpick, but Al Safwa hasn't had La Grande Dame (or an ultra-premium champagne) for a few months now. Mediocre offering.

Would add: Qantas First Lounge Sydney: Taittinger Brut Reserve NV, Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee NV
(i.e. nothing special).

I don't think Champagne is always a great indicator of lounge quality as many people don't drink or, like at the LH FCT, you can get a decent cocktail or fine whisky. It helps but it's not a great measure, IMO. The QF F lounge I cited above is wonderful for its food offerings, views, decor - but has boring champagnes. :)

The champagne wouldn’t worry me too much. It’s the wines that are strange, very basic. Had a few glasses of The Prisoner at a UA Polaris lounge recently, which does not even play in the same league as the FCT.

I think the new menu looks good.

Do you need to visit every lounge in the world in person to know what they are pouring?

Also: "I think..." is different from "I know..." or "I am sure".

Thank you for your contribution and enjoy your next visit to any FCL in the world. Let us know what they pour.

If by Air France First Class Lounge you mean the La Premiere Salon at CDG, they don’t serve La Grande Dame (unless maybe you’re on a special list and that’s the special selection at that time). The wines, including Champagne, at that lounge are embarrassing mediocre considering the environment (France, real first class service, excellent food, commensurate pricing) — they probably took a page from LH’s playbook. At JFK, they used to have LPGS but that was downscaled too.

So I see, only La Grande Dame onboard recently apparently, fares going up and Champagne going down especially the blancs but at least there is a selection:

Air France La Premiere Lounge: Lanson Green Label Bio, Frerejean Freres Premier Cru, Veuve Clicquot Rose, Barons de Rothschild Rose.