worldtraveller73

Lufthansa
MAD - FRA (Madrid Barajas Terminal 2 – Frankfurt Flughafen – Terminal 1)
LH 1113 – Business Class (J)
12:30 PM – 3:15 PM
May 27, 2012
Booked: Airbus 320
Flown: Airbus 320-200

We settled in on board our Airbus 320-200 which offered Lufthansa’s new Comfort seating. The seats have recently been replaced with composite plastics which has made them thinner. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it has also made them less comfortable. I don’t know what the rationale is for the middle blocked seat in business, versus American or Asian business class seats but I’d take a real recliner business seat any day over these seats. I made a note to myself not to book any flights over 2 hours in these seats for my body’s comfort!!







There was no pre-departure drink service today, but we did get a menu!



Our flight took us over the beaches of South West France. Despite being in the middle of densely populated Europe, they appeared beautiful and isolated. Of course, there were also cities to look at as well. This was likely the northern coast of Spain here.



Our server was exceptionally personable. I was called by name for the first time on the entire First Class Round the World Experience. IT was surprising that this happened in regional business class that it would happen. Perhaps it was because it was our first flight on Lufthansa. . .

With the lunch service underway, I opted for the pork tenderloin. It was difficult to eat since it was mushy and sauce was going everywhere. A choice of warmed breads (brown / white) wine and water offered at the same time. Seeking that Cava experience that I had missed in the lounge, I chose the sparkling from the menu and was told that it was not as the menu had loaded it today, but that it was an Italian Prosecco.





We landed without incident A36 and into the mess that is Frankfurt Airport. Personal opinion here (also a RANT) – I do find that the Frankfurt airport itself is a bit of a disaster. It has a long way to go to catch up to the great airports of the world. It’s improved over the years, especially with the smoking sections finally being segregated. I don’t understand why the moving sidewalks aren’t sunk into the ground. And, because the sidewalks are not sunk into the ground, they have to put luggage cart blockers in front of the entrances of the moving side walks which slow everything down. In addition, the criss cross of pedestrian traffic and the limited gate holding areas make for a lot of congestion and consequently, a less than smooth travel experience.





Rants aside, we walked through the terminal. Our bags beat us to the conveyer belts, which I had never been to since I’d always connected through here. Indeed, many others experienced the same thing since there were only about ten bags on the belt when we arrived.

We descended into the Frankfurt Flughafen Regional train station in the basement to hop on a train to Mainz Hautbahnhof. Having a train station in the basement of the airport is one of the best things about Frankfurt airport. You can even connect to international trains to Brussels Midi from the basement of the airport. Two thumbs up. ^^

worldtraveller73

Mainz, Germany
20 hour stopover.

I had been wanting to visit Mainz on a 24hr stopover since I was less than inspired by my Frankfurt City visit the last time I was through this part of the world. Our ticket afforded us 22 hours in Germany, so we had decided on Mainz as our destination. As you will see, Mainz is a lovely stopover with very few international tourists and conveniently close to Frankfurt Airport.

We took the S8 train to Mainz HBF. In the mid afternoon, the S8 train arrives every 30 minutes and is a 30 minute ride with several stops on the way. After a 3:15 PM arrival at FRA, I was in my hotel room and showered within 90 minutes.

We opted for a taxi up to our hotel from the Mainz HBF. The fare was 7.10 € on a circuitous route up the hill since the streets are one way. It was just out of walking distance with the baggage, due to the uphill slope.

Novotel Mainz
King room.
59€ Advance Purchase, Non Refundable Rate.

We stayed at the Novotel Mainz on a 59€ advance purchase rate. It was a three star affair. It was a great rate, but the hotel was past it’s prime. On arrival to the room, there was a musty antiseptic cleaning type odor that greeted us. There were soap stains on the shower screen and the carpeting had some wear. With only one night’s stay, to us it was not worth complaining about to the management (Hey - we had a town to see!), but nothing to inspire us to stay here again. The other offerings in town (Hyatt and a Hilton) were in the 100€ range, so we were being economical.





Advantages:

We received a terrific rate for a hotel in Europe.
The room was as promised, and in a quiet area of Mainz.
A short 10 minute walk down some stairs to the Alstat (center of town)

Disadvantages:

The hotel was showing some signs of wear. Light carpets, dark water mark stains.
The place didn't have a terrific feel to it. The brochures in the lobby were messy, the staff seemed a bit ambivalent- the sorts of things that separate a good place from just an average one.

Overall:

It was value for money received but we'd likely try somewhere else next time.
This was the least favourite hotel on our entire RTW trip, which says quite a bit given we were through some less richly endowed economies of the world.



Mainz Alstat

From the hotel it was a 10 minute walk to the Alstat and a lovely village. There were a few German tourists on business but not many international tourists by any means.







We enjoyed a great dinner at a Schnitzel Restaurant in town, followed by a relaxing walk along the Rhine River. Being Sunday, many of the commercial stores (but not restaurants) were closed. There were still lots of people wandering around the Alstat so it was not totally deserted.





In addition, Mainz is on the Rhine river as well, making it a pleasant place to walk.



Mainz Overall:

This was a fantastic stopover for us and we'd definitely return on another stopover. It was worth taking the extra 20 minutes from the airport to get to Mainz to get a bit of authentic Germany. Okay - so Frankfurt Am Main (city) is also Germany - but it's full of skyscrapers and business centers that make it seem less like Germany and more like another anonymous city near you. Mainz was Germany as you would imagine it, with convenience to the airport as well. Make it a stopover on your next journey.



The next morning we arose early for our Lufthansa First experience. It was about 4:40 AM when we sprung out of bed for our last First Class experience.

We rolled down the hill towards the train station. It was pretty easy for once, as the sidewalks made for good rolling, which is not always the case in Europe. The journey took about seven minutes.

We had a great sunrise on our walk. I have to offer props to Ms World Traveller 73 for getting up this early too.





Interpreting the train schedule, we made it aboard the 6:02 AM train back to Frankfurth Flughafen Regional HBF, sharing the train with several uniformed flight attendants who were off to work this morning.







We arrived at the Frankfurt Airport and took the escalators up into the main terminal. I couldn’t help but take a photo of the FRA flight information board. I’m a fan of this board, since it is one of the few remaining flight information boards in the airports that I pass through that is actually on the old flip style system. It always reminded me of travel with my mom through South East Asia in the eighties. Seeing those numbers and letters flip around always made me excited - still does in some ways even to this day.



I was leading the charge with our bags in tow, but I had neglected to inform the other half that the First Class Terminal was a short walk from the main terminal.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m sure the entrance is right over here… …somewhere…”

amolkold

WT73, this is an absolute cracker of a report! I love the amount of detail you've gone into. A lot of parts of your itinerary match with what I've done in recent trips and it's great to relive them through your eyes. I totally agree on Mainz --- much better than Frankfurt city!

worldtraveller73

Thanks Amolkold.

It takes a bit to try to differentiate these reports from every other on the board. I hope my fascination with the food and beverage makes up for it!!

worldtraveller73

Lufthansa First Class Terminal
Frankfurt Airport

With Newbie Runner’s excellent directions in mind, we made it over to the entrance of the First Class Terminal.

We were so early, that the sun had hardly risen for the morning.







We walked in on the ground floor and rode the elevator up to reception. An army of staff manning three separate check-in desks met us at the elevator. We were immediately introduced to our personal assistant and with a very quick check of our reservation in the computer, we were directed into the private screening area. No one else was present other than the usual laptop inspector, the monitor watching the X rays and the designated male and female personal screeners. Unlike Thai Airways, I noticed that our Personal Assistant also was security screened as well as she escorted us through (Thai ground staff walked around a white screen, apparently unchecked to the secure side). I did notice that she was given a cellular phone with the number “#10” on it by the front-end staff. We left our bags behind and the last time I saw them, they were being placed on a hotel style trolley with a bellhop looking type person taking care of them.

After the screening, we were led towards two frosted glass doors. As our assistant led us toward them, the glass doors slid open, into a world of exclusivity.







We were given a quick orientation explanation of the lounge and explained that they would hang onto our passports until we were ready to leave. We found our way over to some tables by the restaurant. We were offered a coffee and were also brought a Voss Norwegian water bottle and an amuse bouche consisting of cubed fruit. I zipped off for a quick look around while coffees were being prepared and ended up with some of the secret amenity rubber duckies as we perused the breakfast menu, settling into the surroundings.







After a much needed coffee, we headed over to the restaurant and enjoyed a breakfast. The catering here was simply over the top. There was every possible combination of breakfast foods on offer, including an Asian breakfast which was offered. In addition, a chef was available for made to order items. I ordered some fried eggs and helped myself to a Western breakfast. The DO & CO Catering did not disappoint. Ms WorldTraveller73 proclaimed that her omelet was: “The best omelet I’ve had all trip”.



















There was a candy display in the middle of the lounge that would make any child cry for mercy.



I couldn’t resist taking a photograph of this funny comment in the guest book.

worldtraveller73

Magazines of every possible kind and variety, separated in to men and women’s sections. .



We settled in to the relax chairs and enjoyed a few more glasses of Bollinger Champagne. “I’ll bring it over for you” said the bar man who was serving us with a spry smile. There was an exceptional variety of champagnes on offer.



In addition, there were some good, but not outrageously over the top selections of wines.









By this point, the trip no longer felt like a Timeshare Presentation. It had become a truly inviting experience. With curiosity of what was around every corner, there was interest in seeing what was next. Not withstanding the fabulous city experiences we had, the travel experience in First Class was truly the highlight of the trip. In all, the Lufthansa First Class terminal offered a much more refined experience than the Thai Airways Royal Orchid lounge in Bangkok. It was understated elegance instead of over the top service. There was staff available and at your needs, but not in your face. It was so quiet at the start of our visit, you could almost hear a pin drop. There were significantly less people that the Thai lounge. And significantly lower volume than the Thai lounge. Super quiet and empty were my initial impressions for a Monday morning visit before 9 AM.





Several hours too soon, our Personal Assistant came to get us, with a smile:

“I’ll be waiting by the elevator” she said, as our time in the lounge drew to a close.

We gathered up our things and she led us into the elevator, while she took the nearby stairs down. On our walk over, the bar man who had been serving us wished us a pleasant journey.

We arrived downstairs and were in the motor pool with 4 beautiful cars and one somewhat beautiful Mercedes van. I had noticed that the van door was open and also the trunk. I saw 3 other people standing there and I recalled that from checking the LH website earlier, that our flight did have 5 seats booked. We were directed over to the Polizei immigration counter with our boarding cards and with a resounding thunk of a passport, our time in the lounge had come to an end.

Our Personal Assistant introduced us to our driver who was to drive us to the aircraft. Led us out the revolving doors and took us around to “the first car” just past the van (phew – a close call!!). We boarded a beautiful silver S350 Mercedes Bluetec with a matte black interior for our ride to the aircraft.





We had a very quick three min ride over to Gate A16 where we parked along side our ride to Seattle today. For those that have not had the opportunity to get underneath planes, the ride offers a great experience to see things from the ground level.





Once parked, we were led to a secure elevator and using a magnetic pass card, led up to the second floor where boarding was underway. We crossed the economy boarding stream of passengers that was underway, led by our driver and over to the first and business class bridge. Our driver ended his escort for us with a large smile and asked us to enjoy our flight.

worldtraveller73

Lufthansa
FRA-SEA (Frankfurt Flughafen – Terminal 1 – Seattle SeaTac Airport – South Satellite)
LH 490 – First Class (F)
09:50 AM – 11:15 AM
May 28, 2012
Booked: Airbus 330
Flown: Airbus 330-300

Settling in on board, we were welcomed into the blue alien pod seats. An older design but I personally found it neat looking, despite being at the end of its life cycle. At booking, we opted for the center seats at the back of first so that we could sit together. The load today was eight / eight. At least 5 of the seats were taken within 3 weeks of the flight date.





We were immediately offered a drink before take off. Ms World Traveller 73 asked for “sparkling wine”. This must have been a mental slip on her part. Perhaps it was because we were back in the land of asking women for their choices first, instead of the traditional men being asked first as throughout all of Asia.

“Err, Champagne, you mean?” was the reply.

“Ohh yes that would be lovely”

With that, a bowl of macadamia nuts was delivered and glass of the Laurient Perrier 2000.



We were passed out the shirt and the male / female Bogner amenity kits, along with in flight slippers. The FA’s had set up a lovely bar at the start of the flight complete with glass wear and all sorts of drinks.

His and her amenity kits (the patterned is the female kit). The female kit was suitably fashioned to keep Ms WT73 pleased.



We were 10 minutes late off push back waiting for a few other passengers. To help pass the time, a refill of champagne offered. When it was time to get underway, our flight attendant collected our glasses,

“Were about to take off… Don’t worry, I will bring you another on immediately once we are in the air.”

Once we were airborne, a towel service was offered, complete with a rose petal. The towels were lightly scented with a fragrance, compared to all the other towels that we had on the trip.

The menus and wine list passed out. I had previously read about the wonderful food that LH offered. I should note there that Ms WorldTraveller73 has a much more, err, mainstream taste when it comes to food. When she cracked the menu, I couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction:

“Oh my word”!!” (in complete astonishment and part shock)



The emphasis on the food was indeed noticeable. The choices of mains were outstanding for a foodie like miyself. Essentially, I was in airline heaven. There was a choice of venison, scallops, guinea fowl or a vegetarian option of asparagus awaited us. I was super excited. I provided the calm re-assurances that she would not go hungry, even if she had to have 4 tabbuleh appetizers instead of a main course or a dish from business if needed.

We opted to eat a bit later than everyone else. Indeed, our flight attendant serving us confirmed that “we were the masters of time. “ The dinner order was taken with the question on whether we were to wake up for the last service 2.5 hrs before landing. I notice that the order sheet had a plan layout of the entire F cabin, including the surnames of each passenger and their food preferences.

I decided to get comfortable by changing into the “shirt”. Lufthansa has decided to only provide a shirt instead of a full pyjama for the “day” flights. Although the flight time is during the day, the FA’s close the windows and shades for a good portion of the flight, meaning that you exist in the darkness. It’s a low rent touch if you ask me. The flight attendant taking care of us offered to take our photo on several occasions, which was a nice, personal touch.

With the dinner service, I opted for the etagiere. The appetizers included. The tabulleh with cheese was the best airline food serving I had over the course of this whole trip. The caviar was also enjoyable. I enjoyed a glass of white burgundy to go with this.

Stamped butter:



Caviar with the traditional garnishes (and Smirnoff Red ):



Essence of Lemon Grass, cilantro, line and ginger served with coconut flavored Pike Quenelle:



Appetizer Etagiere, in order from the top:

Oriental Tabbouleh with Ewe's Cheese and crunchy sails,
Medium Rare Saddle of Beef, Fig Confit and Cashnew Nuts,
Sylt Matie Herring on Rye Bread with Green Bean Jelly and Beetroot Mousse



Tabbelueh and cheese is not a combination that I would normally pair, but the taste was simply sensational.





Stemware water glasses and wine glasses.



Bar out and placed on the center console for all to enjoy.





Rose service.



Ms World Traveller 73 enjoyed her dinner a la carte, She also enjoyed the starter tabbuloeh.

I enjoyed the Guinea Fowl for the main with a glass of the red Grand Cru Classee. The Guinea Fowl was nicely executed for airline food and easy to approach.



The cheese cart was brought around and the cheese had terrific flags on it, to identify what kind of cheese was on offer. The servings were generous and the cheese, ohh so tasty. I enjoyed another glass of champagne to finish it all off.



Blue de Gex, Brie, Appenzell, ashed Goat Cheese, and Le Coutances with Fig and Walnut Chuntey, Grapes, Cucumber and Carrot.



And to close: Apple and Cilantro Sorbet on Sake Jelly, served with Champagne upon your request.

worldtraveller73

In all, the supper service took about two hours to complete. The service was super attentive and we did not need to ask for refills of water or wine.

Our server, was an aspiring pilot. I encouraged him to go see the Boeing Factory and Tour on his stopover in Seattle.



After the dinner service, I took a walk through business and economy. The old Lufthansa business class slide did not look super spacious but I guess it would do if nothing else was available. The in flight entertainment in the back did look much better than the small IFE up front.

Business:



Economy:



Shortly after I returned to the front, the cabin was dimmed to dark. This is when the supplied shirt is a low rent touch, if you are going to call it a day flight and cheap out by not providing the pyjama bottoms then the don’t dim the cabin!! My humble opinion.

USA Immigration arrival cards were left out at the bar at the front. The bar was stocked with water through the night.

After eating all that food, I took a nap. The tiny IFE did not look very interesting so I finished the champagne and snoozed for about two hours. Our flight attendant taking care of us dropped us off an individual bottle of Elizabethen Pure water for our use.

The second service started about two hours before landing. The menu was strictly European.



Shrimp Salad and herring.





Pike with browned butter sauce.



Tate for dessert.



Refill of wines – including Italian red.

I found the food in the second service pleasant, but I was looking at it from a foodie’s perspective. Ms Worldtraveller 73 did not find the second service it very approachable or enjoyable. It was a bit too regional for her liking, although I think she would have been satisfied with a pretzel.

Before we knew it, the minutes on our F flight ticked away. While on the final approach to Seatlle, the flight attendant that gave us such exceptional service came by to visit us and wish us well in his journey. We indicated that he served exceptionally well and confessed to us that it was his first time serving in first class. The experience was exceptionally close to flying private, except with much better catering!

The End:



Our bird on arrival at Seattle.



After arriving to the gate and proceeding down from la - la land into the arrivals hall that was “The Port of Seattle”. After walking through a thin corridor with a series of lefts and rights, we headed down an narrow escalator. The roof of the escalator area had silver temporary tarping with black paper Acco fasters keeping it in place. I couldn’t help but think how quickly we had fallen from Lufthansa’s classy grace.

Approaching US immigration, I used the GE Kiosk and was through without any difficulty.

While waiting for our bags on the belt, I was intercepted by US Customs and Border Protection who asked to see my passport and blue declaration card. Of course, the fact that I answered honestly to the question “Countries visited on this trip before arrival in US” with a listing of such drug transshipment places such as Thailand, China, Spain, Germany, combined with an otherwise empty international arrivals hall likely amounted to the perfect opportunity for CBP.

Our bags were the first ones off the belt with the HON tags on them destined for Vancouver via Seattle. This is the closest I will ever get to having HONor Circle Status.



I was allowed to collect my bag and head toward the exit. I was overtly “followed” to the exit check point where several, kind, uniformed officers made sure that I ended up in the secondary area.

Thankfully, the inspection did not include a body cavity search, but rather a generic pat down of most of my checked baggage (why didn’t ya just x ray them?) it was off to attempt to get home on my last leg of the race.

Advantages:

The Lufthansa First Class Terminal was an exceptionally pleasant way to spend time before a flight.
It was very similar to flying private, except with fantastic catering.
Like other German products such as Braun and BMW, Lufthansa has succeeded in providing a refined, dignifited flight experience.

Disadvantages:

There is hardly any availability anymore for these reward seats without juggling your entire trip two weeks before. While you can juggle to get seats 14 days before departure, its not for everyone.

Overall:

A fantastic experience that everyone should try at least once.

worldtraveller73

Seattle SeaTac International Airport
United Club “B” Gates – Near Gate B11
United Club “North Sattelite” (basement – North Sattelite)

“The land of no”

When we booked this ticket, AC was being stingy with frequent flyer reward availability on their flights. I understand that an airline has to manage revenue, but at the same time, I find that the restrictions and limitations are ridiculous. With a ticket that was booked exactly 300 days out, with 5 flights a day from Seattle to Vancouver, I was only able to find 2 reward seats available on the second last flight of the day, some 6 hours away from our arriving LH flight. Arriving at 11:30 AM, then became my intent to standby for an earlier flight since we had a first class reward ticket, and Air Canada had scheduled departures at 12:30 PM, 2:30 PM, 3:45 PM, and our scheduled flight at 5:30PM. It made no sense for us to wait around in SEA for 5 hours for the second last flight of the day, especially after arriving from a Trans Atlantic flight.

Leaving CBP secondary, having had all these wonderful travel experiences across the globe with people waiting all over you hand and foot, we walked up to an empty, unmanned connections desk in the South Satellite and found no one at the United / Asiana desk. With no one around, we headed into the public side and over to the Air Canada check in desk.

We rolled our bags out on to the people mover train, took the train from the south sattelite. We walked through the maze of narrow and dark Sea-Tac departures from one end to the other to find the AC desk at the very other end.

I was saddened to see how far down the Star Alliance chain we had come when we arrived to find one Air Canada Check in Agent (operated by United Ground Staff), with a line of five travelers in wait, with no business or Star Alliance Priority line. Without any options, we entered the line.



We waited a long 25 minutes in line – indeed the longest wait for a ticket agent that I have experienced in 7 years. Having had Star Gold status for several years now, when you get accustomed to such instant service with expedited treatment, it was a startling shock to be behind those first time flyers that we all started out as being. Listening to why this line was taking so long, I observed the gate agent ask a senior citizen ahead of me, who seemed to be headed on a cruise, to remove 4 lbs worth of clothing from his 54 lb bag. I was not expecting great treatment after that. I reached for my AC Elite card, at the ready.

While waiting in line missed the 1230 PM departure- as did some others who arrived late and were waiting to check in. When we got to the front, I asked to check in to the 5:35 PM flight, but that we’d like to stand by for the next available earlier flight.

“I don’t know if you’re allowed to do that. I’ll have to call AC.” UA Ground Staff Agent says.

A few clicks of the keyboard. I stand there. Unmoved.

“Did you want me to call?” UA Ground Staff asks?

“Yep !! “ I reply.

I could have driven home faster in a rental car in two hours, if I didn’t have to worry about a drop fee. We still had 4.5 hours left on our connection.

Our rep picked up the phone and with several long fingernails clicking away on a push button phone, called Air Canada. Surprisingly, she got the same experience that many other Air Canada Customers, waiting on hold for about 10 minutes with no answer. In the meantime, I took off our FRA tagged bags and kept the HON tags as a souvenir. While she waited on hold, she picked up her radio to attempt to arrange us seats on the 2:30 PM departure. She mentioned to her colleague that there were seven seats open for this departure, as her colleagues attempted to accommodate some earlier flyers that were denied boarding.

I stood there, in a jet lagged fog while watching the world of Sea Tac move past us, from our end of the terminal. Suddenly, a though crashes through my mind.

“Here – try calling these numbers” I said, handing her my Elite Card and pointing to the priority contact numbers on the back.

The UA Ground Staff agent hung up without thinking twice and dialed the Elite Priority contact numbers on the back of the Aeroplan card. An Aeroplan agent at the other end of the phone line had answered within about 60 seconds. After conferring with her Aeroplan colleages, AC told her that they would not allow a ticket change unless a $75 fee was paid by each of us. Since we’d already taken the day off work, and by this time we’d missed the 1230 departure, I didn’t think that $150 for the two of us was worth getting home 3 hrs early. I found this was very cheap on the part of Air Canada, not to allow same day standby for free, on a business reward ticket. I was pretty sure that this was a feature of the business reward ticket, but of course when it came to reading the reward ticket fine print, it read simply that standby was permitted “based on availability”.

We decided not to “pay” the fee and our bags were re-tagged back to Vancouver. New baggage tags were re-printed with the same flights as from Frankfurt. While this was taking place, an over zealous baggage handler assistant who had a striking resemblance to Bubbles from the television show “Trailer Park Boys” decided to tear off all my luggage tag barcodes from 3 years of travel. Groggy from the flight, and not feeling too confrontational, I said “You really don’t have to do that” [tear off the tags] to which he replied “Ghost tags! Can’t have the bag coming back around!” as he piled up about 11 old sticker tags onto his forearm arm. I doubted that anyone would think that my bag was destined to Sharm el Sheikh on Egypt Air direct from the confines of the Seattle basement, or to Nassau, Bahamas but apparently he knew better. So disappointing!

Instead, we proceeded to exact revenge on Air Canada by lounge hopping across the Seattle Airport and consuming stacks of free alcohol. Well that’s not exactly true, we were pretty wiped, but in my opinion, it didn’t make sense for AC to accommodate us in lounges for 5 hours when we could have flown home in otherwise empty seats. Over the next 4.5 hours, Ms World Traveller73, our FCT ducks and I visited the B Gate United Club (windows, no washrooms) where we enjoyed the last of our Gin and Tonics.





We later migrated slowly to the United Club in North Satellite (no windows, with washrooms), where we were pretty much sacked out for several hours. This place is pretty soulless and unfortunately, it’s the least bright star in the United Club system. Rumor amongst staff here is that UA will soon be relocating to the Sea Tac A Gates sometime next year, which will likely mean one new / refurbished United Club, and no more train rides to the North Satellite. You'll note MsWT73 crying (not really) seeing how far down the lounge chain that we've come.



After 5 hours of stagnant sitting, sipping G+T’s and eating Tillimook Pepperjack cheese like it was candy, I did introduce the LH duckies to the UA competitor lounge but I didn’t get any replies back on what they thought. It was apparent that the travel craziness was starting to get to me.

worldtraveller73

Air Canada Express (Jazz)
SEA-YVR (Seattle SeaTac Airport – North Satellite – Vancouver International Airport – Main)
AC8120 – Economy Class (Y)
5:30 PM – 6:08 PM
May 28, 2012
Booked: De Havilland Dash 8
Flown: De Havilland Dash 8

Heading up to gate N13, we underwent a last document check, gaining a red DOCS OK stamp across our boarding pass. Before we knew it, after an eternity, we finally stepped out in to the cool Seattle air to walk towards our ride home.





Airborne, it was a quick flight at 12,000 feet back to Canadian airspace. With a tiny cabin, they offered soley a water service on this flight. I think this was because they had run out of orange juice (having been served a choice of water, orange or apple juice on this segment previously).





As we touched down in Vancouver on the north runaway 32R, I could see the familiar mountains that mark this city as my home. As we taxied to International arrivals, I remarked on our experience. We had just flown 24,400 miles in the past three weeks, and aside from today, it was as smooth as silk. Heaven in the skies. We were instantly hooked on First Class Travel, seeking to soon repeat the experience and the adventures.



Overall and advice and personal reflection booth for those planning trips:

The Timeshare Presentation started out as a trip that neither of us were super keen on completing. We viewed it as an opportunity to burn miles at a cheaper rate. In the end, we ended up being addicted to First Class treatment, and the comfort and enjoyment that it preferred. I doubt, like others, there will be any going back to Business Class. We were pampered and ruined for the rest of our travelling days.

We booked a traditional 2 stop, plus one point of turnaround trip. We also planned side trips within each of our stopovers, with a 22 day travel duration.

It was a bit rushed to take it all in, but flying in First Class is like being seated in your own living room. You really don’t feel it at all, except for the time zone changes. It really is a pleasant way to fly. Next time, I’d likely stick to limiting the side trips.

For those attempting to do this with younger kids, I'd avoid the side trips and focus on some cities that are of interest for longer periods than 3-5 days.

We avoided connecting to our final destination in Europe, which was a wonderful time saver. I don’t think I would have enjoyed traveling BKK-FRA-MAD, BKK-IST-MAD or similar.

The Thai Ground Service ws clearly the best of the trip for us. I enjoyed the Lufthansa flight the most, due to the food and the refined service. I enjoyed the Asiana flight for the service aspect and for the wow factor- I couldn’t believe the wine list.

Since someone asked earlier, MsWT73 reports that the best duty free in Canada or the US always seems to be the cheapest for Lancombe, Estee Lauder, Clinique. Europe had no deals. All hard liquor was cheaper in the Americas than it was internationally. No real deals either on clothes / accessories.

Happy Contrails and best of luck for those trying to find award space.

Now, I just need to figure out how to top this for my honeymoon…

morphius909

WOW A+++++ for this!
Much appreciated for all the photos, insight and tips. I am glad you had a terrific time and recognized some of the experiences and locations just being back from Madrid/Frankfurt/France/Swiss recently.

Can't wait for your next trip and report!!

AA_EXP09

Nice!

saltytheseagull

Great report! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I'll be interested to hear what you end up doing for you honeymoon.

deasine

Amazing trip with an amazing report that matched it. I hope MsWT73 is feeling a bit better about the lounge experience: I too would cry going from the First Class Terminal to a stinking Club

worldtraveller73

Thanks Morphius909! These RTW Trips were classic aeroplan trips and I think they may be fading into the sunset a bit with the increase in points.

Having said that, the First Class experience was completely addicting. I find myself looking back onto these memories whenever I take a flight now.

Thanks AA_EXP09.

Thanks Saltytheseagull. It's going to be hard to top it. Likely we're doing a paid flight since status miles have to come from somewhere. We'll keep you posted.

Yes Deasine- The Maple Leaf Lounges, something I was thought were beyond this world have lost a little bit of their lustre. Perhaps ignorance was bliss?