weero

The great oeuvre i poetry aside, this statement does not just hold true, it somehow accelerate itself on the spiral of current elite cutting back so many carriers are undergoing these days.

While I sympathise with the OP in the sense that LH really uses borerline false advertisement to promote its F and HON products. The issue is much more universal than vans2FTCs and catering.

The positive side of these events is that it makes flying a lot easier. As I do not get seat blocking and elite treatment on QF, I can as well fly them as they - by doing so - literally match my SEN status with Lufthansa.

Oh well yes, there are the lounges. They will stay accessible until AI joins past which date it is entirely irrelevant who is entitled to use the lounge as the criterion will be swapped for "who still fits into the lounge".

Let's see how OneWorld and SkyTeam are doing ...

NickP 1K

Is it reasonable for LH to state, FCT use is only for longhaul via HON Circle Members?... As long as Fraport supports a proper HON / exclusive security channel in the main Terminal One check in area. (not the pooled HON/SEN/*G security line). I sympathize with the HON members who use FCT to avoid the Fraport lines.

It's actually quite nuts how a lot of the shuttle rides I've seen are to short haul destinations by HON members. No slight on HON members here, but it seems FCT is biting off more than it can chew. Still keep it open to HON, but NOT on EU flights?

Something has to give, either a "real downturn" lowering FCT users or HON guests scaled back to long haul only

Thoughts?

sentom

as suggested here many times before, people on connections need to start using the FCLs more, then the problem will sort itself out. but since a lot of the FCT threads here are about, how one can get in as cheap as possible, stay as long as possible and how to "maximize" the FCT experience, i dont see that happening anytime soon...

CommittedLurker

Won't the new FCL (Term B) in FRA take quite a bit of pressure off of the FCT ?

hch

Only by beeing me or sentom unfortunately. Individual low-rider bicycle service on the apron is only available for the cool gang.

everywhere

And when do longhaul flights normally board?

andre1970

Given the expansion frenzy of the EU, this will soon lead to a severe devaluation of HON . In a little while, even long-haul flights will be excluded.
You mean a "survival of the fittest or the fattest" kinda problem?

HombreDeLasNubes

No. The earlier version of the service still gave you a choice. They asked you if you were ok to share a car. Now no questions, eat or ... well not really die, but anyway...

This is what Antinori referred to as an "improvement" of the HON Circle services in his letter taking away the 50% bonus.

But hey: Some seem to think we should be happy to be driven to the plane in the first place. We should be content with whatever LH defines as personal service... No place to sit, no PA. Bus instead of Limo... Just like sheep. Baa

SmilingBoy

Why should there be a difference between long-haul and short-haul flights? The hassle at the main terminal is the same for both types of flights.

pokeshot

For me, then can keep it this way. I only connect through FRA, and frankly cannot understand how somebody who connects in FRA would schlepp themselves over to the FCT, when they could rather use "HON's best kept secret": The A26 FCL. The only inconvenience is the treck from your arrival gate to A26, but for TATL flights (yes I know there are other ones) it's simple the best: From the lounge to the plane in 5 mins.
Plus: Always quite empty (I was alone in there once), friendly staff (at least no as snobby/grumpy as a lot of the FCT types), and (exaggerating a little) less self important DYKWIAs and F-Award-Thru-WAMS-subscription guys.

I'm happy with the current situation

SleepOverGreenland

Okay, different view point. I still disagree and would argue, that both topics can't be compared. But everybody has a different focus. If one focuses mainly on that 5 minute ego-trip from the FCT to the plane, fine.

Like many other countries even in Germany we have some rules about security (What a surprise). Mainly caused a good 7 years ago and introduced in order to allow us to still fly to the land of the free. One may not like it, but this ritual is easier to accept IMHO than for example this shoes off ritual in another country.

Stupid, because THIS is the main benefit a FRA based HON has. I would really care less about the longhaul flights. When 10+ hours in the air the extra hour at an airport doesn't matter IMHO. But flying once or twice a week shorthaul makes the real difference.

Yes.

I'm usually picked up 30 minutes before scheduled departure time (if flight is on time).

I can't remember that Antinori was specific about the car choice in his "improvement" letter. And I can't remember that the choice was available anytime this year. And I'm still confused what is wrong with the Van ride. More space, than in the Porsche IMHO.

hch

Yeah, mostly. I just want proper showers and a sleeping room in the B area, which the new B FCL will bring, and a quicker way from the B FCL to the B non-Schengen gates which the new EU security rules bring. I should be happy next year unless to many self important people switch to the new B FCL.

martona

Sorry to nitpick on this, but...

I think a real time-saver would be to give the driver his own wand that he can use to check himself after entering the bridge. Or, if that sounds ridiculous, how about giving the pax a wand to check the driver upon entry?

It'd save some time and would serve "security" just as well as the current song and dance does.

Yes I'm being sarcastic - how can anyone think this serves security? They check the driver but assume that the pax is clean because the pax has gone through a different security check in a different place an hour ago. They apparently think it's inconceivable that the driver handed something to the pax, to mention the most obvious problem with their logic.

SleepOverGreenland

But whom do you blame for this?

And is their additional security with many of these other ridiculous screening methods, such as the shoe off mania?

martona

Kip Hawley I guess, and his masters, probably all the way up to (the) Dick in Observatory Circle 1.

But the Germans are pretty sensible people, and I find it strange that they'd introduce such non-measures where it's obvious to even the most casual observer that it's just about paying lip service to some rules passed on down from who-knows-where.

In any case, security is handled very well in the FCT (as in: not much of an inconvenience) and it's one of the reasons they're having problems with overcrowding. Not that it matters to me much: FRA is usually a transit airport for me, and not even a frequent one at that as I vastly prefer MUC or even ZRH for that purpose. And I'll gladly take the walk from the MUC FCL to the gates any day over the limo ride from the FCT. (Unless it's a bus gate in which case I'd prefer to be driven in comfort, but fortunately MUC does that very well too.)