Thunderroad

Last month my wife and I flew on LH in F on the above route. Overall, it was great. Some quick observations:

The SAA F lounge that LH uses in Joburg is not bad though nothing special in terms of seats, roominess or lay-out. But it is excellent in terms of nice, light, delicious pre-departure suppers you can order from waiters at your table, decent champagne, and a good, friendly service desk.

While if I were flying alone I would much prefer the newer F suites that many other airlines offer these days (and still would have preferred them on the flights we took), the deficiencies of the old style F seats LH uses on its 747s were decreased by the fact that they are set up well for couples sitting side by side.

Decent AVOD, though far less choice and somewhat less sophistication than many competitors these days.

Lots of nice touches, such as the travel pajamas and flowers in the seats. We were quite satisfied with the food as well.

Great service from Frankfurt to SFO, mediocre from Joburg to Frankfurt. The main Joburg-Frankfurt FA we had seemed to be someone in training--though that strikes me as impossible for someone working F. Only responded to our three or four requests for service maybe 15-20 minutes after we lit the call light each time. Other FAs and the purser seemed much more professional.

Given the AVOD at each seat, I was a bit surprised to see that the screen at the front of the cabin was on, tracking our flight if IIRC. Since we sat in the first row I found this a bit distracting. On the flight to SF I asked the purser if she could turn it off, which she very promptly and politely did. No big deal in any event.

As many have remarked the Frankfurt FCT is great--from the personal greeting and help upon arrival there to the private Mercedes to the flight, it really made us feel special. (Not sure if the private car is guaranteed any longer, since the LH employeed processing us upon arrival mentioned that we might be taken to the departing plane in a van. But I asked if a Mercedes was possible and she kindly obliged.) During our four hour layover in Frankfurt, my wife enjoyed a great bubble bath and I enjoy some very nice cappacino and, despite the early hour, some sips of a few fine Scotches.

One disappointment along the way was that LH twice told us that our check-in bags were on board our flights, but my wife's was missing when we arrived in SFO. (It was stuck in Joburg, where we'd connected to LH from an SAA flight from Cape Town.) Still, LH partly compensated for this by paging us at SFO baggage as the flight's bags were arriving, rather than making us wait for ours not to arrive and then having to contact them. And when I called the next day to make sure that it finally was on its way to our home (as LH had promised), I promptly reached someone who had my information at hand and assured me to expect it that afternoon/early evening. It was delivered, untouched and undamaged, as promised.

flysurfer

Nothing is impossible in LH F.
A 20 minutes wait after pressing the call button? Why didn't you complain to the purser, who you said was quite professonial?

DownUnderFlyer

Nice report. I am glad you had a great experience. On those long flights you really have a chance to enjoy what F and the FCT has to offer. Most probably one of the best F routings you can find.

Thunderroad

Good question. At least a couple of times we were watching movies and didn't want further interruptions. But basically it didn't occur to me. Upon reflection, I should have at least mentioned it to the purser on the way out, so as to perhaps benefit future passengers.

Torsten71

Hmm, if I remember right, when you are changing flights from domestic to international you have to get your luggage on arrival in Joburg and re-check it in the international terminal. At least that was what it was like last year... So I am not surprised that your luggage didn't make it on its own.

Cheers,
Torsten

IsleSeat

How are the amenity kits these days in long haul F? I noticed that the ones in C have changed quite a bit in recent years. Once LH had nice Pfeilring kits in F and they were a real keeper. What do they have now?

ckc123

Not true, the two times I've gone to Cape Town through JNB and back I was able to check bags through to IAD.

Thunderroad

One of the two bags we checked did make it, and both SA and LH told us that it was fine to check the bags all the way through. Maybe for some domestic-intl connections you have to pick up bags in Joburg, but not for SA-LH. Or maybe it used to be that way for SA-LH, but with the integration of SA into *A it's now possible to check the bags all the way throug. Whether they make it or not is another matter.

Thunderroad

My wife liked them a lot, but I just don't notice amenity kits that much so can't really offer any details. Sorry I can't tell you more.