Trying out 8 different brands of champagne! To, from and within Asia on *A in First
Feb 12, 2011, 11:44 pm
#91
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: In the skies of the world
Programs: SAS Gold, FB Gold, BA Gold, EY Silver
Posts: 3,167
Thanks a lot for the comments! 
Indeed I saved the best to last, but worth waiting for. ANA First is easily one of the best products out there...
I fully agree! It was very disappointing. Just Ballantine's, Jack Daniels and the Japanese Suntory.
What happened to the nice single malts and the nice blended ones?
Both Thai and Lufhansa had Johnnie Walker Blue for example.
Working on the remaining instalments now...
What happened to the nice single malts and the nice blended ones?
Both Thai and Lufhansa had Johnnie Walker Blue for example.
Working on the remaining instalments now...
Feb 13, 2011, 3:01 am
#92
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: In the skies of the world
Programs: SAS Gold, FB Gold, BA Gold, EY Silver
Posts: 3,167
NRT-MUC on All Nippon Airways in F - Part 3, the seat, IFE and getting some rest
The seat
The first class seat onboard was the old first class seat, which has been around for 4-5 years now I think.
Unfortunately I did not manage to include a flight with the new ANA First Square as it is only available on a few selected routes.
However I do think the old seat is still quite nice and comfortable. The design is maybe showing its age compared to some newer products, but it definitely had all the functions and features I needed for a comfortable flight.
ANA also does an excellent job with its aircraft maintenance. The cabin was absolutely spotless and other than the seat design not being the most recent there was not a trace onboard showing the cabin had been in service for a few years.
The first class seat can be reclined to a fully flat horizontal bed if you wish to get some sleep/rest onboard.
The seat pitch in first class is 77”, slightly less than the Lufthansa A346 (85”) and the Jet Airways suite on the B77W (90”), but still more than enough space.
The different in seat pitch between ANA and Jet Airways was mostly apparent when the seat was reclined to a bed as the Jet Airways bed felt quite a bit longer (and also slightly wider).
There is a seat control on the seat panel with buttons to control most seat functions including recline, lumbar and even some of the lights.
The seat also has a power socket and a socket where it says LAN, whatever it is used for onboard.
There are eight seats on the Boeing 777-300ER, two rows with a 1-2-1 configuration.
The cabin felt very spacious and the seat itself, although lacking proper doors, felt reasonably private.
Two lavatories were available for first class passengers next to the first class galley, a larger one preferably to use if you wanted to get changed, and a smaller one.
With only six passengers onboard it meant a ratio of 1:3, so highly unlikely you would have to wait if you needed to go urgently.
The inflight entertainment system
ANA has full AVOD onboard through the Skymaster inflight entertainment system.
The system is enjoyed on a rather nice 15” LCD monitor with a good resolution.
Before departure nice Sony noise-cancelling headphones were handed out.
According to the ANA webpage ANA was the first airline in the world to provide the Sony MDR-NC500D to its first class passenger.
The model has an automatic background noise reduction which selects the most suitable noise reduction setting which should reduce approximately 99% of all surrounding background noise.
The sound quality through the system was indeed really excellent and the external noise virtually non-existent when I used the headphones.
The selection of movies, TV-series and documentaries through the Skymaster IFE was pretty good with around 160 different channels.
Perhaps not comparable to SQ KrisWorld, but still quite decent and better than some other airlines I have used.
There were also some audio tracks, a rather extensive selection of games, and some info about ANA, its fleet, service and destinations available through the IFE. And naturally also a flight map.
I found plenty of interesting documentaries to watch, the only problem was that most documentaries were either in Japanese without English subtitles, or in English without Japanese subtitles.
Very few were available in both languages, either through audio or subtitles.
And of course almost all great documentaries I wanted to watch were available in Japanese, without any translation whatsoever in English.
There was for example one called “A journey to the best liquors in around the world”, and another fun travel documentary about some Japanese tourists visiting Germany, finding all (to them) strange things about the country. Hilarious!
Eventually I was so annoyed that I started watching these anyway, even though I only understood like 2% of what they were saying.
There were some nice pictures to enjoy at least.
I also watched some of the by now rather old movie Mr and Mrs Smith and found a 30 minutes episode of Pingu, I used to love this program when I was a child.
A quick snack
After watching some documentaries, some TV-episodes and getting a bit of rest I felt it was time to get something more to eat.
Time to reach for the menu and once again enjoy the “eat whatever you want, whenever you want”-service onboard, which they really lived up to.
As I made a quick visit to the lavatory the FA noticed I was up and was waiting with a hot towel as I returned to my seat.
She asked me if she could get me anything to eat or drink and after a quick look in the “light dishes” part of the menu I ordered a bowl of Japanese udon noodles and a glass of orange juice.
My table was once again prepared with a white table cloth and the bowl of Japanese noodles arrived within a few minutes.
The FA also provided a Chinese spoon, even though, as she put it, is not part of the Japanese way of eating.
Although I have no problems using chopsticks, it did make things slightly easier.
After finishing the noodles the FA passed my seat again to check if I wanted something else.
I asked if it would be possible to get some ice cream and fresh fruits, to which she replied “certainly, Sir”.
Every request I made during the flight, or every time I asked if something was possible to do, the reply from the crew was always “certainly, Sir”, or “certainly, Mr Jacob_m”, with a big smile.
What a wonderful wonderful attitude! ^ ^
No request was too much trouble and no question was too stupid to ask, they went out of their way every single time. If it was a major inconvenience to them at least they never showed it to the passengers.
If I would have liked to mix two different dishes I am sure they would have done that as well without a comment.
Also they never seemed to run out of food onboard, despite having so many options that potentially every single passenger in the cabin could have ordered. Nothing I ever asked for during the flight was unavailable.
The person who did the galley optimisation for ANA First should get a medal!
The fruits and ice cream arrived in a minute, together with another glass of orange juice.
A perfect way to round up a nice mid-flight snack!
Getting some rest
After the snack I decided to chance into the pyjamas provided to get a bit more comfortable onboard.
The pyjamas in ANA F were quite comfortable and fitted me perfectly, although I never bothered using the pyjamas top, I just used a t-shirt instead.
A woollen sweater was also provided in first class, I guess to passengers who would feel cold during the flight.
As I got out from the lavatory the FA was waiting with a hanger, ready to take my regular clothes and hang them in the closet
In the meantime she had pro-actively prepared a bed for me, with a mattress and a duvet.
As seat 02G next to me was empty during the flight she had made that seat into a bed for me, so I could use my regular seat 02K in case I wanted to eat something more, or watch another movie.
Really great initiative and suggestion! ^
As I said earlier, the best thing in ANA F is to do...nothing.
The bed was very comfortable and seat when fully reclined felt reasonably private. I didn’t feel bothered by the crew or the other passengers when I tried to get some sleep (well it’s not like there was a lot of traffic in the F-cabin anyway).
The mattress and the duvet provided were also very comfortable, although the mattress could have been slightly wider.
I got a nice and well-needed rest for a couple of hours.
It felt a bit strange to sleep at this time of the day, but as the flight departed at noon and arrived in Europe in the late afternoon, with a flight time of over 12 hours in-between, it was inevitable to get some rest onboard, otherwise I would not have coped with the rest of my travels.
Personally I think it is much better and easier to travel from eastern Asia to Europe on a night flight as it’s more natural to go to bed and easier adjust to the new time zone upon arrival.
Even during the flight, between the meals, the crew kept a good look on the cabin.
As I woke up and made a quick visit to the lavatory the FA immediately went inside the cabin to make my bed, so it would look nice and inviting when I returned.
Amazing! ^
The first class seat onboard was the old first class seat, which has been around for 4-5 years now I think.
Unfortunately I did not manage to include a flight with the new ANA First Square as it is only available on a few selected routes.
However I do think the old seat is still quite nice and comfortable. The design is maybe showing its age compared to some newer products, but it definitely had all the functions and features I needed for a comfortable flight.
ANA also does an excellent job with its aircraft maintenance. The cabin was absolutely spotless and other than the seat design not being the most recent there was not a trace onboard showing the cabin had been in service for a few years.
The first class seat can be reclined to a fully flat horizontal bed if you wish to get some sleep/rest onboard.
The seat pitch in first class is 77”, slightly less than the Lufthansa A346 (85”) and the Jet Airways suite on the B77W (90”), but still more than enough space.
The different in seat pitch between ANA and Jet Airways was mostly apparent when the seat was reclined to a bed as the Jet Airways bed felt quite a bit longer (and also slightly wider).
There is a seat control on the seat panel with buttons to control most seat functions including recline, lumbar and even some of the lights.
The seat also has a power socket and a socket where it says LAN, whatever it is used for onboard.
There are eight seats on the Boeing 777-300ER, two rows with a 1-2-1 configuration.
The cabin felt very spacious and the seat itself, although lacking proper doors, felt reasonably private.
Two lavatories were available for first class passengers next to the first class galley, a larger one preferably to use if you wanted to get changed, and a smaller one.
With only six passengers onboard it meant a ratio of 1:3, so highly unlikely you would have to wait if you needed to go urgently.
The inflight entertainment system
ANA has full AVOD onboard through the Skymaster inflight entertainment system.
The system is enjoyed on a rather nice 15” LCD monitor with a good resolution.
Before departure nice Sony noise-cancelling headphones were handed out.
According to the ANA webpage ANA was the first airline in the world to provide the Sony MDR-NC500D to its first class passenger.
The model has an automatic background noise reduction which selects the most suitable noise reduction setting which should reduce approximately 99% of all surrounding background noise.
The sound quality through the system was indeed really excellent and the external noise virtually non-existent when I used the headphones.
The selection of movies, TV-series and documentaries through the Skymaster IFE was pretty good with around 160 different channels.
Perhaps not comparable to SQ KrisWorld, but still quite decent and better than some other airlines I have used.
There were also some audio tracks, a rather extensive selection of games, and some info about ANA, its fleet, service and destinations available through the IFE. And naturally also a flight map.
I found plenty of interesting documentaries to watch, the only problem was that most documentaries were either in Japanese without English subtitles, or in English without Japanese subtitles.
Very few were available in both languages, either through audio or subtitles.
And of course almost all great documentaries I wanted to watch were available in Japanese, without any translation whatsoever in English.
There was for example one called “A journey to the best liquors in around the world”, and another fun travel documentary about some Japanese tourists visiting Germany, finding all (to them) strange things about the country. Hilarious!
Eventually I was so annoyed that I started watching these anyway, even though I only understood like 2% of what they were saying.
There were some nice pictures to enjoy at least.
I also watched some of the by now rather old movie Mr and Mrs Smith and found a 30 minutes episode of Pingu, I used to love this program when I was a child.
A quick snack
After watching some documentaries, some TV-episodes and getting a bit of rest I felt it was time to get something more to eat.
Time to reach for the menu and once again enjoy the “eat whatever you want, whenever you want”-service onboard, which they really lived up to.
As I made a quick visit to the lavatory the FA noticed I was up and was waiting with a hot towel as I returned to my seat.
She asked me if she could get me anything to eat or drink and after a quick look in the “light dishes” part of the menu I ordered a bowl of Japanese udon noodles and a glass of orange juice.
My table was once again prepared with a white table cloth and the bowl of Japanese noodles arrived within a few minutes.
The FA also provided a Chinese spoon, even though, as she put it, is not part of the Japanese way of eating.
Although I have no problems using chopsticks, it did make things slightly easier.
After finishing the noodles the FA passed my seat again to check if I wanted something else.
I asked if it would be possible to get some ice cream and fresh fruits, to which she replied “certainly, Sir”.
Every request I made during the flight, or every time I asked if something was possible to do, the reply from the crew was always “certainly, Sir”, or “certainly, Mr Jacob_m”, with a big smile.
What a wonderful wonderful attitude! ^ ^
No request was too much trouble and no question was too stupid to ask, they went out of their way every single time. If it was a major inconvenience to them at least they never showed it to the passengers.
If I would have liked to mix two different dishes I am sure they would have done that as well without a comment.
Also they never seemed to run out of food onboard, despite having so many options that potentially every single passenger in the cabin could have ordered. Nothing I ever asked for during the flight was unavailable.
The person who did the galley optimisation for ANA First should get a medal!
The fruits and ice cream arrived in a minute, together with another glass of orange juice.
A perfect way to round up a nice mid-flight snack!
Getting some rest
After the snack I decided to chance into the pyjamas provided to get a bit more comfortable onboard.
The pyjamas in ANA F were quite comfortable and fitted me perfectly, although I never bothered using the pyjamas top, I just used a t-shirt instead.
A woollen sweater was also provided in first class, I guess to passengers who would feel cold during the flight.
As I got out from the lavatory the FA was waiting with a hanger, ready to take my regular clothes and hang them in the closet
In the meantime she had pro-actively prepared a bed for me, with a mattress and a duvet.
As seat 02G next to me was empty during the flight she had made that seat into a bed for me, so I could use my regular seat 02K in case I wanted to eat something more, or watch another movie.
Really great initiative and suggestion! ^
As I said earlier, the best thing in ANA F is to do...nothing.
The bed was very comfortable and seat when fully reclined felt reasonably private. I didn’t feel bothered by the crew or the other passengers when I tried to get some sleep (well it’s not like there was a lot of traffic in the F-cabin anyway).
The mattress and the duvet provided were also very comfortable, although the mattress could have been slightly wider.
I got a nice and well-needed rest for a couple of hours.
It felt a bit strange to sleep at this time of the day, but as the flight departed at noon and arrived in Europe in the late afternoon, with a flight time of over 12 hours in-between, it was inevitable to get some rest onboard, otherwise I would not have coped with the rest of my travels.
Personally I think it is much better and easier to travel from eastern Asia to Europe on a night flight as it’s more natural to go to bed and easier adjust to the new time zone upon arrival.
Even during the flight, between the meals, the crew kept a good look on the cabin.
As I woke up and made a quick visit to the lavatory the FA immediately went inside the cabin to make my bed, so it would look nice and inviting when I returned.
Amazing! ^
Feb 13, 2011, 9:35 am
#93
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: In the skies of the world
Programs: SAS Gold, FB Gold, BA Gold, EY Silver
Posts: 3,167
NRT-MUC on All Nippon Airways in F - Part 4, last meal service and arrival in Europe
More food onboard
After a nice and highly needed rest I woke up again around 2 pm CET, about 2½ hours before scheduled landing in Munich.
As I got up and moved back to my original seat the FA noticed I was up again and arrived with a hot towel so I could freshen up.
She asked me if I got a nice rest and also if I was planning to eat something more before landing.
I told her that was indeed my intention, although I had not yet decided what to order.
She said that was not a problem, she just wanted to inform me that they were expecting some turbulence over central Europe so they wanted all passengers to have finished their meals around an hour before landing.
That was not a problem as I was starting to feel rather hungry, I asked the FA to come back in a few minutes, giving me some time to have a look through the menu first.
Still so much food left to try! I could easily have created another full 6-courses meal, with completely new dishes I really wanted to try. But that would probably have been a bit exaggerated...
I really wanted to try some Japanese food this time, so as the FA was back I ordered the petite Japanese course.
The course included a choice between creamy rice porridge and steamed rice as well as choice of four different condiments.
I went for the rice followed by Natto (nice soybeans) and tangy sansho peppers as condiments.
It took a bit of time for the crew to prepare the dish, in the meantime my table was once again prepared with a white table cloth and I received a glass of orange juice.
Eventually the FA was back and presented me the petite Japanese course on a rather nicely decorated tray.
I also got a bowl with miso soup and she offered to prepare some Japanese green tea for me.
The whole meal was excellent, very filling, although the peppers were perhaps a bit too strong for my taste.
The mackerel, the main dish of the set meal, was really nice although the piece I got was very large. It was almost too large to grab with the chopsticks without also using the hands or something else, so I am not sure if I should have done something differently.
As I was pretty much finished the FA was back at my seat to ask if everything was satisfactory, no reason to say otherwise.
I had a quick look in the menu again and continued the meal with some fresh fruits followed by a dessert. Having tried the tarte tatin during the main meal service I now went for the savarin with custard cream.
The fruit plate arrived in less than a minute. I think they had a plate ready in the galley, if not for me than they probably figured someone else in the cabin would order some fresh fruits.
The FA especially told me to try the Japanese melon on the plate which was supposed to be very good.
There was also a citrus fruit on the plate, a nectarine I believe. When I saw it on the plate I was seriously wondering how I should manage to eat it without using my hands or without making a mess of fruit juice all over the white table cloth.
But they had thought about this as well and had already cut the nectarine in slices, although you didn’t see it at first sight. Very easy to eat!
Finally the dessert arrived, the nice savarin, which was served with some kind of pineapple sauce. The custard cream, as written on the menu, was actually inside. Really yummy!
I also ordered a cup of black coffee, the Blue Mountains bean this time as well.
During this last meal service I watched a few episodes of Heroes on the personal screen, they had nearly the entire first season available through the inflight entertainment system.
By now most passengers had woken up and had ordered at least something to eat.
The lights in the cabin were turned on and the window shades were raised again to get some daylight.
Most of the FAs had also returned to assist with the last meal service and to make necessary arrangements before landing, such as removing bed clothes in first class for example.
On the photo above you can see the wonderful FA who mostly served me during the flight. During the main meal services she generally took care of the service in the right aisle (where I was sitting) whereas her colleague served in the left aisle.
She was the FA who meticulously followed everything in the protocol, stopping a meter from my seat to bow every time during the 12 hour flight she approached my seat, and never failing to address me properly.
She had full control of everything going on, spoke perfect English (even able to discuss the exact ingredients of the food in English without a problem) and never forgot an order or a request.
She was a brilliant example of Japanese hospitality and why I think ANA First is one of the finest inflight products available.
As I had finished my dessert I asked for another cup of well-needed black coffee and then my table was cleared.
Preparations for landing
Soon the flight was coming to an end. Although I had a lovely time onboard a day-time flight above 12 hours eventually gets rather tiring and it was nice to know we would soon be on the ground again.
The next time the FA passed my seat I asked if it would be possible to change back to my regular clothes.
The question was answered with the standard “certainly, Mr jacob_m” and she told me she would prepare the lavatory and let me know when it was ready.
A few moments later she was back at my seat and asked me to follow her to the larger lavatory (with quite a bit more space) where my clothes were already hanging.
I tried to freshen up a bit and was actually feeling in a reasonably good shape when I got out.
Not sure if the pyjamas are supposed to be returned to the crew before landing, but nobody asked for them and they eventually ended up in my bag, together with the woollen sweater, as souvenirs from the flight.
Well they were pretty comfortable anyway.
As we started our descent towards Munich each and every member of the crew passed the seat to say good bye and thank us for flying with ANA.
The incredibly polite FA who had mostly served me and my aisle even went down on her knees to bow when she passed to say thank you and good bye to me and the Japanese couple in front.
The politeness and the respect towards the customers were really extreme.
I spoke a bit longer with one of the other FAs who I had spoken to earlier during the flight.
She asked about my nationality and apparently thought I was American, so that’s the second incorrect guess of my origin onboard (during boarding they thought I was German).
I had told her earlier I had been to Thailand to visit a friend, not particularly hard to notice considering my very visible tan, and eventually she could not stop herself from asking if there really aren’t any direct flights between Thailand and Scandinavia, if it’s really necessary to fly via Japan each time. Haha!
Well I told her the flight on ANA was actually one reason for the detour, as well as Japan being one of my favourite countries in the world.
I asked her how long they were going to stay in Europe and apparently they were only staying two days.
She said she was not really looking forward to it as one of the days was a Sunday when lots of shops and sights are closed in Europe. Fair enough!
Arrival in Munich
We started our approach around 4 pm local time.
The weather outside was actually very nice and there was absolutely no turbulence, as had been announced by the crew earlier.
The crew worked very hard until the very end securing the cabin for landing, clearing glasses and other items, and collecting headphones as well as used bed clothes and blankets.
We finally landed at 4.28 pm on runway 08L on Munich Franz Joseph Strauss international airport. 15 minutes ahead of timetable.
The weather was quite nice, just below freezing point, and the sun was just about to set.
Some really nice views were provided through the window during the final minutes of the flight.
A landing announcement was made, just like the previous times in three languages: English, Japanese and German.
As we were safely parked at the gate at terminal 2 two FAs immediately rushed inside the cabin to close the curtains between first and business class. The forward door 1L was only to be used by first class passengers.
I ended up waiting in the galley and had a last quick chat with the FA who had mostly been serving me and gave her my full compliments for a wonderful flight.
She seemed very happy hearing that!
I was the very first passenger to get off the aircraft. A bit sad to realise the experience was over, a flight I had been waiting for a very long time, but it was also a relief to be on the ground again after having spent over 13 hours in total on the aircraft (including boarding, taxiing etc).
Well hopefully this was not the last time I boarded a flight in ANA First...
Verdict
As you have probably already realised this was a fabulous experience, from start to finish.
I had very high expectations when I boarded the aircraft, very much based on my previous experience flying ANA First, but I was not to be disappointed, in fact this was an even better experience than last time.
I honestly think ANA has the best food and inflight service that can be had for money in the sky.
Having tried about ten different airlines in first class and about 15 different first class products I will still rank ANA at the very top.
I am not going to say that every part of the experience was flawless and top of the line. For example the lounge in Narita was rather underwhelming compared to the Lufthansa first class facilities in FRA and MUC, and the seat was way below airlines like Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines (on the B77W, and probably the A380 suite as well).
But at the end what really makes or breaks a flight is the service, and that’s where ANA really excelled.
The service was absolutely flawless, but best of all, it was genuine, with lots of pride in actually doing every part of it right.
I still get a smile on my lips when thinking about the FA who dropped the hot towel due to the aircraft shaking, and got so embarrassed that she had to apologise before rushing back to the galley to get a new hot towel and start all over again.
It may sound a bit stupid, I mean it didn’t fall to the floor, just onto the tray she was carrying. How many other airlines would even bother about such a thing?
But it was really moving to see them taking it so seriously, because that’s what they did, that’s the pride they took in doing their job to the very best of their ability.
She really wanted to show me she could present a hot towel in a nice manner, so she started all over.
The food and drinks onboard were also amazing, some of the best inflight meals I have ever had, with an impeccable presentation.
And easily the most extensive menu available on any airline. I can’t think of any other airline with such a long menu allowing passengers to mix and match dishes and order anything at any point during a 12-hour flight, and really living up to it without the slightest comment.
To anyone who has not tried ANA First yet I can warmly recommend it, because I for sure will do my outmost to get onboard some other time again in the future....
Well done ANA! :-: :-: :-: :-: :-:
After a nice and highly needed rest I woke up again around 2 pm CET, about 2½ hours before scheduled landing in Munich.
As I got up and moved back to my original seat the FA noticed I was up again and arrived with a hot towel so I could freshen up.
She asked me if I got a nice rest and also if I was planning to eat something more before landing.
I told her that was indeed my intention, although I had not yet decided what to order.
She said that was not a problem, she just wanted to inform me that they were expecting some turbulence over central Europe so they wanted all passengers to have finished their meals around an hour before landing.
That was not a problem as I was starting to feel rather hungry, I asked the FA to come back in a few minutes, giving me some time to have a look through the menu first.
Still so much food left to try! I could easily have created another full 6-courses meal, with completely new dishes I really wanted to try. But that would probably have been a bit exaggerated...
I really wanted to try some Japanese food this time, so as the FA was back I ordered the petite Japanese course.
The course included a choice between creamy rice porridge and steamed rice as well as choice of four different condiments.
I went for the rice followed by Natto (nice soybeans) and tangy sansho peppers as condiments.
It took a bit of time for the crew to prepare the dish, in the meantime my table was once again prepared with a white table cloth and I received a glass of orange juice.
Eventually the FA was back and presented me the petite Japanese course on a rather nicely decorated tray.
I also got a bowl with miso soup and she offered to prepare some Japanese green tea for me.
The whole meal was excellent, very filling, although the peppers were perhaps a bit too strong for my taste.
The mackerel, the main dish of the set meal, was really nice although the piece I got was very large. It was almost too large to grab with the chopsticks without also using the hands or something else, so I am not sure if I should have done something differently.
As I was pretty much finished the FA was back at my seat to ask if everything was satisfactory, no reason to say otherwise.
I had a quick look in the menu again and continued the meal with some fresh fruits followed by a dessert. Having tried the tarte tatin during the main meal service I now went for the savarin with custard cream.
The fruit plate arrived in less than a minute. I think they had a plate ready in the galley, if not for me than they probably figured someone else in the cabin would order some fresh fruits.
The FA especially told me to try the Japanese melon on the plate which was supposed to be very good.
There was also a citrus fruit on the plate, a nectarine I believe. When I saw it on the plate I was seriously wondering how I should manage to eat it without using my hands or without making a mess of fruit juice all over the white table cloth.
But they had thought about this as well and had already cut the nectarine in slices, although you didn’t see it at first sight. Very easy to eat!
Finally the dessert arrived, the nice savarin, which was served with some kind of pineapple sauce. The custard cream, as written on the menu, was actually inside. Really yummy!
I also ordered a cup of black coffee, the Blue Mountains bean this time as well.
During this last meal service I watched a few episodes of Heroes on the personal screen, they had nearly the entire first season available through the inflight entertainment system.
By now most passengers had woken up and had ordered at least something to eat.
The lights in the cabin were turned on and the window shades were raised again to get some daylight.
Most of the FAs had also returned to assist with the last meal service and to make necessary arrangements before landing, such as removing bed clothes in first class for example.
On the photo above you can see the wonderful FA who mostly served me during the flight. During the main meal services she generally took care of the service in the right aisle (where I was sitting) whereas her colleague served in the left aisle.
She was the FA who meticulously followed everything in the protocol, stopping a meter from my seat to bow every time during the 12 hour flight she approached my seat, and never failing to address me properly.
She had full control of everything going on, spoke perfect English (even able to discuss the exact ingredients of the food in English without a problem) and never forgot an order or a request.
She was a brilliant example of Japanese hospitality and why I think ANA First is one of the finest inflight products available.
As I had finished my dessert I asked for another cup of well-needed black coffee and then my table was cleared.
Preparations for landing
Soon the flight was coming to an end. Although I had a lovely time onboard a day-time flight above 12 hours eventually gets rather tiring and it was nice to know we would soon be on the ground again.
The next time the FA passed my seat I asked if it would be possible to change back to my regular clothes.
The question was answered with the standard “certainly, Mr jacob_m” and she told me she would prepare the lavatory and let me know when it was ready.
A few moments later she was back at my seat and asked me to follow her to the larger lavatory (with quite a bit more space) where my clothes were already hanging.
I tried to freshen up a bit and was actually feeling in a reasonably good shape when I got out.
Not sure if the pyjamas are supposed to be returned to the crew before landing, but nobody asked for them and they eventually ended up in my bag, together with the woollen sweater, as souvenirs from the flight.
Well they were pretty comfortable anyway.
As we started our descent towards Munich each and every member of the crew passed the seat to say good bye and thank us for flying with ANA.
The incredibly polite FA who had mostly served me and my aisle even went down on her knees to bow when she passed to say thank you and good bye to me and the Japanese couple in front.
The politeness and the respect towards the customers were really extreme.
I spoke a bit longer with one of the other FAs who I had spoken to earlier during the flight.
She asked about my nationality and apparently thought I was American, so that’s the second incorrect guess of my origin onboard (during boarding they thought I was German).
I had told her earlier I had been to Thailand to visit a friend, not particularly hard to notice considering my very visible tan, and eventually she could not stop herself from asking if there really aren’t any direct flights between Thailand and Scandinavia, if it’s really necessary to fly via Japan each time. Haha!
Well I told her the flight on ANA was actually one reason for the detour, as well as Japan being one of my favourite countries in the world.
I asked her how long they were going to stay in Europe and apparently they were only staying two days.
She said she was not really looking forward to it as one of the days was a Sunday when lots of shops and sights are closed in Europe. Fair enough!
Arrival in Munich
We started our approach around 4 pm local time.
The weather outside was actually very nice and there was absolutely no turbulence, as had been announced by the crew earlier.
The crew worked very hard until the very end securing the cabin for landing, clearing glasses and other items, and collecting headphones as well as used bed clothes and blankets.
We finally landed at 4.28 pm on runway 08L on Munich Franz Joseph Strauss international airport. 15 minutes ahead of timetable.
The weather was quite nice, just below freezing point, and the sun was just about to set.
Some really nice views were provided through the window during the final minutes of the flight.
A landing announcement was made, just like the previous times in three languages: English, Japanese and German.
As we were safely parked at the gate at terminal 2 two FAs immediately rushed inside the cabin to close the curtains between first and business class. The forward door 1L was only to be used by first class passengers.
I ended up waiting in the galley and had a last quick chat with the FA who had mostly been serving me and gave her my full compliments for a wonderful flight.
She seemed very happy hearing that!
I was the very first passenger to get off the aircraft. A bit sad to realise the experience was over, a flight I had been waiting for a very long time, but it was also a relief to be on the ground again after having spent over 13 hours in total on the aircraft (including boarding, taxiing etc).
Well hopefully this was not the last time I boarded a flight in ANA First...
Verdict
As you have probably already realised this was a fabulous experience, from start to finish.
I had very high expectations when I boarded the aircraft, very much based on my previous experience flying ANA First, but I was not to be disappointed, in fact this was an even better experience than last time.
I honestly think ANA has the best food and inflight service that can be had for money in the sky.
Having tried about ten different airlines in first class and about 15 different first class products I will still rank ANA at the very top.
I am not going to say that every part of the experience was flawless and top of the line. For example the lounge in Narita was rather underwhelming compared to the Lufthansa first class facilities in FRA and MUC, and the seat was way below airlines like Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines (on the B77W, and probably the A380 suite as well).
But at the end what really makes or breaks a flight is the service, and that’s where ANA really excelled.
The service was absolutely flawless, but best of all, it was genuine, with lots of pride in actually doing every part of it right.
I still get a smile on my lips when thinking about the FA who dropped the hot towel due to the aircraft shaking, and got so embarrassed that she had to apologise before rushing back to the galley to get a new hot towel and start all over again.
It may sound a bit stupid, I mean it didn’t fall to the floor, just onto the tray she was carrying. How many other airlines would even bother about such a thing?
But it was really moving to see them taking it so seriously, because that’s what they did, that’s the pride they took in doing their job to the very best of their ability.
She really wanted to show me she could present a hot towel in a nice manner, so she started all over.
The food and drinks onboard were also amazing, some of the best inflight meals I have ever had, with an impeccable presentation.
And easily the most extensive menu available on any airline. I can’t think of any other airline with such a long menu allowing passengers to mix and match dishes and order anything at any point during a 12-hour flight, and really living up to it without the slightest comment.
To anyone who has not tried ANA First yet I can warmly recommend it, because I for sure will do my outmost to get onboard some other time again in the future....
Well done ANA! :-: :-: :-: :-: :-:
Feb 15, 2011, 3:16 pm
#94
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: In the skies of the world
Programs: SAS Gold, FB Gold, BA Gold, EY Silver
Posts: 3,167
Lounge hopping in Munich
Very relieved to finally get off the aircraft in Munich.
No matter how nice seats, food, drinks and service you get onboard, a long daytime flight above 12 hours eventually gets rather exhausting, especially if you were travelling the day before as well.
Some landside shopping
Due to the slightly early arrival in Munich I had over three hours to kill until my connecting flight.
As I had a long layover and would have to pass both passport control and security check no matter what I decided to go landside to do a bit of shopping and stretch my legs a bit (trying to wake up a little bit as well).
In Tokyo the local time had just turned 1 am, but as for myself I would not see a bed for several more hours.
Upon disembarkation from the Tokyo flight there were two friendly women standing at the gate helping passengers with transfer info, they were holding a paper with all booked connections from the ANA flight with flight and gate info. Good service!
I took the opportunity to check the flight details and there had indeed been a gate change since I checked in 16 hours earlier.
Being the very first person off the plane I arrived at a deserted immigration and was standing in the landside arrivals hall in no time.
There is a rather good and really well-stocked Edeka supermarket on the arrivals level in terminal 2, on the immediate right after passing customs.
I have been there several times before and almost always find some nice food or chocolates to bring home as gifts, and it’s generally cheaper than inside the tax-free area.
So that’s where I headed this time as well, to make my hand luggage even heavier...
This was followed by a quick visit to the Lufthansa World Shop in the departures hall with quite a lot of travel goods and Lufthansa merchandise.
Not exactly a bargain place, but they do have some nice stuff in there.
I eventually bought a large towel, a Lufthansa Airbus A380 towel...
Getting back airside was quick using the Star Alliance Gold and First Class check-in lobby with an adjacent fast track security control.
Two empty checkpoints with not a single person in line for either one.
The staff seemed incredibly bored and tired, just like me, and we both actually failed to notice a small bottle of water I had accidently forgot in one of my bags.
I was really too tired to do any more shopping and just decided to crash in one of the lounges.
There are in fact two Lufthansa Senator/Star Gold lounges in the Schengen area, actually three including the Senator Cafe, but it is only open on weekdays.
Although there is not a massive difference between them, it is possible to do a little bit of lounge hopping, at least to change environment if you have a long layover.
Unfortunately arriving in ANA first class does not give access to the proper Lufthansa first class lounge, in contrast to if I had arrived from Tokyo in Lufthansa first class.
But at this stage I actually did not care that much.
Lufthansa Senator Lounge, Munich, Schengen area opposite gate G19
Interestingly all people seem to head for the old lounge opposite gate G28, whereas the lounge opposite gate G19 was almost completely empty.
Of course not a bad thing for me this time, there was more than enough space in the lounge.
I am not sure when this lounge opened, but it hasn’t been around for a very long time, which you can easily notice when looking at the interior and design.
The young woman at the entrance had very little to do and looked rather bored and the two women at the service desk right behind had even less.
The lounge itself is rather stylish with a modern and spotless interior. It felt very airy and spacious.
The self-service buffet contained the standard food and drinks available in most Lufthansa Senator lounges, but there were also some nice sandwiches as well as some proper hot food (and not just German meatloaf, some other proper dishes as well). Nice! ^
In contrast to the older Schengen Senator lounge this lounge also has a real bar where it is possible to order drinks as well as freshly-brewed coffee.
I had another well-needed cup of coffee, a salami sandwich, and of course being in Bavaria, also a German beer.
Unfortunately there is no free WIFI in the Lufthansa lounges and the charge for an hour of access felt quite inflated, nothing I was prepared to pay.
There was one internet computer in the lounge, with free internet, but it was occupied by an elderly woman who just never seemed to get finished.
Lufthansa Senator Lounge, Munich, Schengen area opposite gate G28
Before heading to the gate I made a quick visit to the second Senator lounge, the older and original one located opposite gate G28, to the right after the security control.
This lounge was far more crowded, I think most people simply don’t know there is a second Senator lounge to use in the Schengen area and head here no matter how crowded it is.
This lounge has been open ever since terminal 2 opened a few years ago and is also better signposted in the terminal, which is probably one reason.
A little bit tricky to find an empty seat, but eventually I found an armchair just in front of one of the TVs.
Right behind I also spotted the Japanese couple who sat right in front of me on the ANA flight. They were apparently also waiting for a connecting flight within Europe.
The selection of food was actually more limited in this lounge, some of the hot food was lacking, however the selection of drinks was about the same with wine, beer, German Sekt (sparkling wine), spirits and soft drinks.
They also have the Highland Park for self-service in the Senator lounges which is one of my favourite whisky brands.
No matter how nice seats, food, drinks and service you get onboard, a long daytime flight above 12 hours eventually gets rather exhausting, especially if you were travelling the day before as well.
Some landside shopping
Due to the slightly early arrival in Munich I had over three hours to kill until my connecting flight.
As I had a long layover and would have to pass both passport control and security check no matter what I decided to go landside to do a bit of shopping and stretch my legs a bit (trying to wake up a little bit as well).
In Tokyo the local time had just turned 1 am, but as for myself I would not see a bed for several more hours.
Upon disembarkation from the Tokyo flight there were two friendly women standing at the gate helping passengers with transfer info, they were holding a paper with all booked connections from the ANA flight with flight and gate info. Good service!
I took the opportunity to check the flight details and there had indeed been a gate change since I checked in 16 hours earlier.
Being the very first person off the plane I arrived at a deserted immigration and was standing in the landside arrivals hall in no time.
There is a rather good and really well-stocked Edeka supermarket on the arrivals level in terminal 2, on the immediate right after passing customs.
I have been there several times before and almost always find some nice food or chocolates to bring home as gifts, and it’s generally cheaper than inside the tax-free area.
So that’s where I headed this time as well, to make my hand luggage even heavier...
This was followed by a quick visit to the Lufthansa World Shop in the departures hall with quite a lot of travel goods and Lufthansa merchandise.
Not exactly a bargain place, but they do have some nice stuff in there.
I eventually bought a large towel, a Lufthansa Airbus A380 towel...
Getting back airside was quick using the Star Alliance Gold and First Class check-in lobby with an adjacent fast track security control.
Two empty checkpoints with not a single person in line for either one.
The staff seemed incredibly bored and tired, just like me, and we both actually failed to notice a small bottle of water I had accidently forgot in one of my bags.
I was really too tired to do any more shopping and just decided to crash in one of the lounges.
There are in fact two Lufthansa Senator/Star Gold lounges in the Schengen area, actually three including the Senator Cafe, but it is only open on weekdays.
Although there is not a massive difference between them, it is possible to do a little bit of lounge hopping, at least to change environment if you have a long layover.
Unfortunately arriving in ANA first class does not give access to the proper Lufthansa first class lounge, in contrast to if I had arrived from Tokyo in Lufthansa first class.
But at this stage I actually did not care that much.
Lufthansa Senator Lounge, Munich, Schengen area opposite gate G19
Interestingly all people seem to head for the old lounge opposite gate G28, whereas the lounge opposite gate G19 was almost completely empty.
Of course not a bad thing for me this time, there was more than enough space in the lounge.
I am not sure when this lounge opened, but it hasn’t been around for a very long time, which you can easily notice when looking at the interior and design.
The young woman at the entrance had very little to do and looked rather bored and the two women at the service desk right behind had even less.
The lounge itself is rather stylish with a modern and spotless interior. It felt very airy and spacious.
The self-service buffet contained the standard food and drinks available in most Lufthansa Senator lounges, but there were also some nice sandwiches as well as some proper hot food (and not just German meatloaf, some other proper dishes as well). Nice! ^
In contrast to the older Schengen Senator lounge this lounge also has a real bar where it is possible to order drinks as well as freshly-brewed coffee.
I had another well-needed cup of coffee, a salami sandwich, and of course being in Bavaria, also a German beer.
Unfortunately there is no free WIFI in the Lufthansa lounges and the charge for an hour of access felt quite inflated, nothing I was prepared to pay.
There was one internet computer in the lounge, with free internet, but it was occupied by an elderly woman who just never seemed to get finished.
Lufthansa Senator Lounge, Munich, Schengen area opposite gate G28
Before heading to the gate I made a quick visit to the second Senator lounge, the older and original one located opposite gate G28, to the right after the security control.
This lounge was far more crowded, I think most people simply don’t know there is a second Senator lounge to use in the Schengen area and head here no matter how crowded it is.
This lounge has been open ever since terminal 2 opened a few years ago and is also better signposted in the terminal, which is probably one reason.
A little bit tricky to find an empty seat, but eventually I found an armchair just in front of one of the TVs.
Right behind I also spotted the Japanese couple who sat right in front of me on the ANA flight. They were apparently also waiting for a connecting flight within Europe.
The selection of food was actually more limited in this lounge, some of the hot food was lacking, however the selection of drinks was about the same with wine, beer, German Sekt (sparkling wine), spirits and soft drinks.
They also have the Highland Park for self-service in the Senator lounges which is one of my favourite whisky brands.
Last edited by jacob_m; Feb 26, 2011 at 11:55 am
Feb 15, 2011, 3:17 pm
#95
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: In the skies of the world
Programs: SAS Gold, FB Gold, BA Gold, EY Silver
Posts: 3,167
MUC-ARN on Lufthansa in C
Boarding
The flight to Stockholm was to depart from gate G40 and the gate was reasonably crowded when I arrived there around half an hour before departure.
Boarding started at 7.10 pm, 25 minutes before departure.
Passengers holding boarding passes with barcodes (which most passengers do nowadays) can make use of the automated speed boarding gates which usually make the boarding process a bit quicker (assuming the people in front really know what to do, which is not always the case).
Swedish, English and German newspapers were available for self-service inside the passenger bridge before boarding the aircraft.
The aircraft used for the evening flight to Stockholm was an Airbus A320.
As on most Lufthansa intra-Europe flights the partition between economy class and business class varies depending on demand.
On this flight there were three rows of business class in a 2-2 configuration. The middle seats in business class are kept empty and have been replaced by a small drinks table.
There were five passengers in business class in total.
I had initially pre-booked seat 02F for the flight (same seat as always) but eventually switched to seat 03A the day before departure to get an empty row and more space.
Economy class on the other hand seemed very full.
Munich-Stockholm/Arlanda, flight LH 2420 operated by Lufthansa
Departure: 19:35
Arrival: 21:45
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Class: Business Class
Seat: 03A
Pushback slightly ahead of timetable at 7.30 pm.
After a quick safety demonstration in English and German, followed by a quick pre-recorded message in Swedish (which sounds just stupid in my opinion), the captain also welcomed us onboard and announced a flight time of 1 hour and 55 minutes.
Quite a nice evening in Munich and I managed to get some nice shots of terminal 2 before departure.
We finally took off at 7.45 pm from runway 08L.
Haven’t I seen this aircraft before?
Nice evening view of terminal 2 with lots of Lufty aircrafts
The meal service
The evening flight to Stockholm included another good example of the very improved inflight service in business class on intra-Europe flights (especially longer ones).
Nowadays a proper meal is served with an appetiser, a hot dish and a dessert.
Rather small portions, but a million times better than the cold plates they used to serve until the end of last year, the new service concept was introduced in November 2010 I believe.
On the tray there is also a small menu describing the contents of the meal and here is the menu for the dinner service.
The meal was actually really tasty and although the portions were on the smaller side I found the whole meal to be quite filling.
But then admittedly I was not very hungry after all the food onboard ANA First and in the lounges in Munich.
I had a glass of red wine to drink with the meal and finished off with a last whisky.
The service onboard was OK but unremarkable, the crew did what they were supposed to do, no more no less. A far cry from the wonderful first class flight on Lufthansa to Tokyo in the beginning of the trip.
During the last hour of the flight no one passed through the cabin to offer any more drinks and the two young female FAs spent most of their time in the galley chatting.
Arrival in Stockholm
I was starting to feel seriously tired after the meal service realising it was well after midnight in eastern Asia, the time zone my body was adjusted to.
I rather involuntarily dozed off for the remainder of the flight and woke up again just as we were starting the descent.
The descent provided some very nice views through the window of the Swedish capital, not a single cloud this evening.
On the photo above you can see the western part of Stockholm and right in the middle of it Bromma airport, the city airport of Stockholm with over two million passengers per year.
However this was a Saturday evening when aircrafts are not allowed to take-off and land due to noise restrictions, so the runway is just a black spot on the photo.
The terminal and apron area are easily identifiable though, extremely well-lit, right in the middle of the photo.
After a rather bumpy final approach we landed on runway 26 at Arlanda airport at 9.40 pm, as scheduled.
I was one of the first persons to get off and the very first person to arrive at the dead quiet baggage reclaim. This place is usually packed with people in the evenings around 9 pm.
And believe it or not, the priority tag actually worked! My suitcase was the third to appear on the belt, after two other priority-tagged bags. Amazing! ^
Considering the ground staff at ARN are absolutely worthless when it comes to priority baggage handling this was a major surprise! However I think most of the credit should be given to the baggage handlers in Munich who loaded the aircraft properly.
Technically my first class tagged bag should probably have come out first, as it would have done in Asia, but that would probably be too high of a standard at ARN.
Very happy to be met at the airport with a car waiting outside to take me home.
Over 23 hours had passed since I got up at the Mercure hotel in Narita and I was seriously feeling the effects of the long day and could not wait to see a proper bed again.
Verdict
A rather unremarkable flight in Lufthansa business class.
I like the new service concept onboard, it is vastly better than what they had in the past, in some cases just a simple Caesar salad which was completely inadequate for a business class flight of two hours in length.
The service onboard was not up to par though. I have taken a fair number of intra-Europe flights in Lufthansa business during the past months and they can do so much better than this.
And finally, to finish off the report, my purchase from the Lufthansa shop in Munich.
A very suitable purchase after this trip, I presume it’s Lufthansa’s latest A380 “Tokyo” pictured...
I am part of it!
The flight to Stockholm was to depart from gate G40 and the gate was reasonably crowded when I arrived there around half an hour before departure.
Boarding started at 7.10 pm, 25 minutes before departure.
Passengers holding boarding passes with barcodes (which most passengers do nowadays) can make use of the automated speed boarding gates which usually make the boarding process a bit quicker (assuming the people in front really know what to do, which is not always the case).
Swedish, English and German newspapers were available for self-service inside the passenger bridge before boarding the aircraft.
The aircraft used for the evening flight to Stockholm was an Airbus A320.
As on most Lufthansa intra-Europe flights the partition between economy class and business class varies depending on demand.
On this flight there were three rows of business class in a 2-2 configuration. The middle seats in business class are kept empty and have been replaced by a small drinks table.
There were five passengers in business class in total.
I had initially pre-booked seat 02F for the flight (same seat as always) but eventually switched to seat 03A the day before departure to get an empty row and more space.
Economy class on the other hand seemed very full.
Munich-Stockholm/Arlanda, flight LH 2420 operated by Lufthansa
Departure: 19:35
Arrival: 21:45
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Class: Business Class
Seat: 03A
Pushback slightly ahead of timetable at 7.30 pm.
After a quick safety demonstration in English and German, followed by a quick pre-recorded message in Swedish (which sounds just stupid in my opinion), the captain also welcomed us onboard and announced a flight time of 1 hour and 55 minutes.
Quite a nice evening in Munich and I managed to get some nice shots of terminal 2 before departure.
We finally took off at 7.45 pm from runway 08L.
Haven’t I seen this aircraft before?
Nice evening view of terminal 2 with lots of Lufty aircrafts
The meal service
The evening flight to Stockholm included another good example of the very improved inflight service in business class on intra-Europe flights (especially longer ones).
Nowadays a proper meal is served with an appetiser, a hot dish and a dessert.
Rather small portions, but a million times better than the cold plates they used to serve until the end of last year, the new service concept was introduced in November 2010 I believe.
On the tray there is also a small menu describing the contents of the meal and here is the menu for the dinner service.
Menu Munich-Stockholm
Cajun breast of Guinea fowl, sweet potato salad with macadamia oil and mango/ginger chutney
Tilapia with shell fish tarragon sauce
Mascarpone crème with two fruit sauces and macadamia cookie
Cajun breast of Guinea fowl, sweet potato salad with macadamia oil and mango/ginger chutney
Tilapia with shell fish tarragon sauce
Mascarpone crème with two fruit sauces and macadamia cookie
The meal was actually really tasty and although the portions were on the smaller side I found the whole meal to be quite filling.
But then admittedly I was not very hungry after all the food onboard ANA First and in the lounges in Munich.
I had a glass of red wine to drink with the meal and finished off with a last whisky.
The service onboard was OK but unremarkable, the crew did what they were supposed to do, no more no less. A far cry from the wonderful first class flight on Lufthansa to Tokyo in the beginning of the trip.
During the last hour of the flight no one passed through the cabin to offer any more drinks and the two young female FAs spent most of their time in the galley chatting.
Arrival in Stockholm
I was starting to feel seriously tired after the meal service realising it was well after midnight in eastern Asia, the time zone my body was adjusted to.
I rather involuntarily dozed off for the remainder of the flight and woke up again just as we were starting the descent.
The descent provided some very nice views through the window of the Swedish capital, not a single cloud this evening.
On the photo above you can see the western part of Stockholm and right in the middle of it Bromma airport, the city airport of Stockholm with over two million passengers per year.
However this was a Saturday evening when aircrafts are not allowed to take-off and land due to noise restrictions, so the runway is just a black spot on the photo.
The terminal and apron area are easily identifiable though, extremely well-lit, right in the middle of the photo.
After a rather bumpy final approach we landed on runway 26 at Arlanda airport at 9.40 pm, as scheduled.
I was one of the first persons to get off and the very first person to arrive at the dead quiet baggage reclaim. This place is usually packed with people in the evenings around 9 pm.
And believe it or not, the priority tag actually worked! My suitcase was the third to appear on the belt, after two other priority-tagged bags. Amazing! ^
Considering the ground staff at ARN are absolutely worthless when it comes to priority baggage handling this was a major surprise! However I think most of the credit should be given to the baggage handlers in Munich who loaded the aircraft properly.
Technically my first class tagged bag should probably have come out first, as it would have done in Asia, but that would probably be too high of a standard at ARN.
Very happy to be met at the airport with a car waiting outside to take me home.
Over 23 hours had passed since I got up at the Mercure hotel in Narita and I was seriously feeling the effects of the long day and could not wait to see a proper bed again.
Verdict
A rather unremarkable flight in Lufthansa business class.
I like the new service concept onboard, it is vastly better than what they had in the past, in some cases just a simple Caesar salad which was completely inadequate for a business class flight of two hours in length.
The service onboard was not up to par though. I have taken a fair number of intra-Europe flights in Lufthansa business during the past months and they can do so much better than this.
And finally, to finish off the report, my purchase from the Lufthansa shop in Munich.
A very suitable purchase after this trip, I presume it’s Lufthansa’s latest A380 “Tokyo” pictured...
I am part of it!
Last edited by jacob_m; Feb 23, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Feb 16, 2011, 12:43 am
#96
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: In the skies of the world
Programs: SAS Gold, FB Gold, BA Gold, EY Silver
Posts: 3,167
And finally, the 8 brands of champagne...
Eventually...here is the complete list of the brands consumed:
1: Mandois Blanc-de-Blanc (Lufthansa First Class Terminal, Frankfurt)
2: Taittinger (Lufthansa First Class Terminal, Frankfurt)
3: Bourgeois (Lufthansa First Class Lounge, Munich)
4: Piper Heidsieck "Rare" (Lufthansa First Class)
5: Dom Pérignon 2002 Vintage (Thai Airways First Class)
6: Möet & Chandon (Thai Airways First Class Lounge, Bangkok)
7: Unknown brand, forgot to write it down, feel free to enlight me (United Airlines Lounge, Tokyo/Narita)
8: Krug Grand Cuvée (All Nippon Airways First Class)
And my favourite...?
Incredibly difficult question to answer, but possibly I would say Krug.
1: Mandois Blanc-de-Blanc (Lufthansa First Class Terminal, Frankfurt)
2: Taittinger (Lufthansa First Class Terminal, Frankfurt)
3: Bourgeois (Lufthansa First Class Lounge, Munich)
4: Piper Heidsieck "Rare" (Lufthansa First Class)
5: Dom Pérignon 2002 Vintage (Thai Airways First Class)
6: Möet & Chandon (Thai Airways First Class Lounge, Bangkok)
7: Unknown brand, forgot to write it down, feel free to enlight me (United Airlines Lounge, Tokyo/Narita)
8: Krug Grand Cuvée (All Nippon Airways First Class)
And my favourite...?
Incredibly difficult question to answer, but possibly I would say Krug.
Feb 16, 2011, 12:46 am
#97
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: In the skies of the world
Programs: SAS Gold, FB Gold, BA Gold, EY Silver
Posts: 3,167
Summary
Summary
Airlines: All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, Thai Airways
Aircrafts: A300, A320, A321, A340-600, B747-400, B777-300ER
Time spent in the air: About 46 hours (of which 37 hours in First)
Distance flown: 20021 miles
And here is a map of the routing!
Airlines: All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, Thai Airways
Aircrafts: A300, A320, A321, A340-600, B747-400, B777-300ER
Time spent in the air: About 46 hours (of which 37 hours in First)
Distance flown: 20021 miles
And here is a map of the routing!
Feb 16, 2011, 3:27 am
#98
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: CPH (Swedish side)
Programs: PC Platinum, Club Carlson Gold, GHA Black, A-Club Platinum, Hilton Silver, SPG Gold, Rica Gold, EBB
Posts: 194
Thanks for once again a great report.
This report together with the previous is something I can always go back to when I´ve got some time to kill and read again (and again).
Feels great to get some insight into your crazy trips
This report together with the previous is something I can always go back to when I´ve got some time to kill and read again (and again).
Feels great to get some insight into your crazy trips
Feb 16, 2011, 2:22 pm
#102
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: GRZ, ZRH
Programs: LH FTL, Marriott Plat
Posts: 411
I have to thank you again for a very entertaining read! I enjoyed every single chapter of your report!
Hope you have a chance to travel again very soon so that we can see another classic report!
-Tom
Hope you have a chance to travel again very soon so that we can see another classic report!
-Tom
Feb 16, 2011, 8:44 pm
#104
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: WAS/TYO
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP (3MM), DL PM, BONVOY TITANIUM, HYATT GLOBALIST, HILTON DIAMOND, IHG DIAMOND AMB, et al
Posts: 5,913
From a Champagne aficionado, thanks for writing such an the excellent trip report! It's a great balance between text and photos and obviously the result of much work. ^
Did you actually get to try the Suntory Hibiki 21yr? It's actually a phenomenal whiskey that's (in my opinion) on the level of any top blend (and I acutally prefer it to JW Blue label). I really wouldn't consider it an inferior offering.
-FlyerBeek
-FlyerBeek
Feb 17, 2011, 4:48 am
#105
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: In the skies of the world
Programs: SAS Gold, FB Gold, BA Gold, EY Silver
Posts: 3,167
Many thanks for the positive feedback! ^ The report took countless hours to complete, so glad you're enjoying it.
Wonderful to hear!
As it looks now there won't be much time for any travels during the spring, but we'll see about the summer!
Actually some initial thoughts are already in the pipeline...
Really? Too bad I didn't order it then.
The comment about the rather poor whisky selection in ANA F was mostly related to western whiskies, I have to admit I know too little about the Japanese ones.
I actually tried a Suntory brand once (a younger one though), but I don't remember it as being anything special.
Actually some initial thoughts are already in the pipeline...
The comment about the rather poor whisky selection in ANA F was mostly related to western whiskies, I have to admit I know too little about the Japanese ones.
I actually tried a Suntory brand once (a younger one though), but I don't remember it as being anything special.