oneworld82

Just a few months ago, I had the chance (and luck) to fly Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, and Qantas First Class(es) on my way to and from Australia. It was a blast, and - as you all can imagine - I was looking forward to repeat the feat.

As I planned to spend my Christmas holidays at home with my family (and to introduce my girlfriend - Keiko - to them), I thought I would go to Europe the classy way so to impress her (hehe) and to spoil myself.

I had (months ago) booked an all business class ticket on US Airways miles (LX C and UA C), but business class didn't seem enough. Again, I wanted to impress Keiko With some research (and luck), I landed two tickets on Lufthansa First Class from DFW to FRA (and then on to MUC and TLS) and two BA First Class tickets LUX-LHR-LAX, continuing home on AA First. I crafted the trip carefully so that:

- my Special One could meet some close friends in Toulouse;
- we could spend Xmas with my family in Italy;
- we could visit the French Riviera (including Monaco);
- we could visit Brussels and Luxembourg;
- we could spend New Year's Eve in London.

All this craziness in 10, tight days. We survived, and now I am ready to tell you all this tale.

This report features the following chapters:

I - DFW Lufthansa First Class Lounge and LH New First Class DFW-FRA
II - First Class Lounge in FRA and Frankfurt's Christmas Market
III - FRA-MUC on LH Business Class
IV - Gaillac, France
V - Ventimiglia, Eze-Village, Monaco, and Nice
VI - A European Capital: Brussels
VII - An unexpected surprise: Luxembourg Ville
VIII - LUX - LHR on BA Club Europe + Luxair Lounge @ LUX and some London
X - BA Concorde Room
XI - LHR-LAX on BA New First Class
XII - American Airlines Flagship Lounge @ LAX + LAX-OKC on AA First (CR7)



vs.



Ready to go? I certainly am!

stu1985

Excellent! Can't wait for the report, especially to see how your BA F experience was!

oneworld82

FULL REPORT ON MY BLOG

We arrived at DFW Airport Terminal D about one hour prior our scheduled departure time. Interesting fact: to get to the airport we used Uber – our very first time – and we liked the product/concept a lot.







Our flight was 50 minutes late due to strong headwinds, and the agent who checked us in informed us that the new boading time would now be 4:40pm; not a big problem, as that would allow us to have dinner at a more appropriate time. The check-in counters looked rather busy today, and we weren’t offered an escort to the lounge (contrarily to what happened in August to me). The agent made sure we were seating together on each segment and asked us whether we’d like to pick up our suitcases in Munich or in Toulouse.

We proceeded to a not-to-busy security line and in a breeze we were at the contracted Lufthansa Lounge. The business class side was pretty busy, so we decided to go to the more secluded First Class part. This room is smaller, quitter, has better food and the lounge staff comes by every 5 minutes or so to make sure everything is alright. Lufthansa clearly knows what it’s doing!

















After a beer and some light snacks, a Lufthansa lady came to pick us up and to escort us to our plane. I like details, and LH certainly takes good care of them. The attendant made sure we entered the priority line for First Class passengers to board first. After 5 minutes, boarding started, and we took our seats in the new A330 First Class cabin.

oneworld82

DFW-FRA
LH First Class, Seat 2D
4:20p-9:10a+1

Having tried the new first class on the 747-400, I knew what to expect. And I liked what I saw. Granted, there is no bed on this plane – which detracts the “wow” factor a bit; but everthing else is just as nice and as impressive.













Take the seat, for example: wide, comfortable, adjustable. Both my girlfriend and I had no trouble in finding a configuration that fitted our preferences. Or take the front cabin beverages display: neat, ordered, stylish. Because – once again – Lufthansa seems to take particular care of details, living the Teutonic stereotype to the letter. The rose adorning each seat is a simple yet delicate touch that makes everything feel just special.


New trip, new bag. I love Bally!

After sitting down, the flight attendant and purser serving the cabin came to greet us and take our coats away. They both were well-seasoned and provided us with impeccable service. A first round of drinks was provided, and we toasted with some Krug and the usual, tasty macadamias. Before taking off, I ended up having three glasses – a great kick off to our vacation.





The captain announced that the flight would land on time in spite of the initial delay and that some turbulence could be experienced due to the same strong winds that caused the inbound flight delay. We took off smoothly and – sure enough – the first hour or so of the flight was rather choppy. Nevertheless, the service was flawless and uninterrupted most of the time.



The new first class seat is very nice. While not necessarily as private as other suites, it allows to travel next to a companion and it allows for a good privacy given all the retractable dividers it has. The remote controls are on each side of the seat (really comfortable indeed): on your right you have the tv remote (with pad-like functionalities for an easy, fast use) and on the left side you have the seat controls pad (easy to use as well, very intuitive). On the right hand side you have a quick-access pad as well where you cn easily stop/start your tv, control lighting, summon a flight attendant: a very handy tool. I really like Lufthansa’s new first class, it feels stylish and luxurious without being pretentious. The TV is big, of sharp definition.

oneworld82

Shortly after taking off, meal orders were taken from the menu, which read as follows:

Caviar from Service Cart

Caviar with the traditional Garnishes

Choice of Appetizers

Citrus cured Scallops

Seared Beef Tataki with Papaya Salad and roasted Peanuts

Beet Ravioli with Balsamic Glaze

Fresh Salad with yellow roasted Tomatoes presented with delicious Dressing

Choice of Main Courses

Tenderloin of Beef with Plum Chutney, roasted Yukon and Leek

Butter poached Lobster with Butternut Squash and Fingerling Potato

Stir-fried Egg Noodles with Eggplant

Roasted Chicken Breast with Sesame Glaze and Bok Choy, Quinoa

Pumpkin Stew with Ginger Chicken

Selection of Cheese and Dessert

Sage Derby, Parmesan, Gruyčre, Cambozola, Humboldt Fog garnished with Grapes

Warm Chocolate Cake

Crčme Caramel Flan with Orange Segments

Tonight I opted for the fillet of beef, while my girlfriend went for the lobster. I asked for a Campari & soda as aperitif, which was served with a cucumber, salmon, and roes amuse bouche. Not bad at all.


Campari & Soda + Amuse Bouche



Shortly after, the table was set and a basket of bread (from which I chose some good pretzel bread) was passed around.



After some choppiness cleared, the proper meal started with caviar, served from the cart. This stuff never ceases to amaze me for its deliciousness. The generous serving was well presented and accompanied by all the works required by the situation. I really need to try Beluga someday (when I can afford it!). The caviar was served with vodka – I missed the brand but it was certainly decent quality stuff (smooth to the palate, gentle to the throat).





After the caviar, another cart with appetizers came along. Today’s menu featured Tony […] of the Mandarin Oriental New York, creating another eclectic mixture of Asian-influenced, Western cuisine.

I went for all three dishes for the sake of reviewing them (of course!). I started with the scallop, presented cold. The texture and flavor were both good, the complementing sauce matched the seafood very well. Overall, a good appetizer.



The second appetizer was the beet ravioli. Let me say this straight: I was very skeptical of it. I am usually skeptical of anything involving the word beet to begin with; but Lufthansa proved my fears unfounded. The “ravioli” actually consisted of two thin slices of beet that enclosed a filling of thick cheese and herbs; the dish was delicate yet flavorful at once. A true surprise and a delight for the palate.



But the real winner among the three appetizers was the beef tataki. I am not entirely sure what a “tataki” is – it seemed to be some sort of rare-cooked, thinly-sliced beef; what made it very tasty was the balsamic glaze on top. I really can’t exactly describe the taste and the flavors of the dish, but if you take my word for it, the beef was delicious.



Not too long after finishing with the appetizers (and after the table was properly cleared), the mains were served. I went for the beef fillet, while my girlfriend opted for the lobster.



Now, I have had many steaks aboard planes – on AA, on EY, on QF for instance; this fillet beat them all – hands down.

I do not know how they did it, but the meat was incredibly soft, tender, cooked medium (I prefer medium-rare, but I can’t complain). It was a really flavorful piece of meat served with potatoes and complemented by a thick, flavorful sauce. A true winner. I had the steak with Maximiamo […], a Chilean red with medium body and rich notes of berries.

My girlfriend’s lobster was not bad – although the meat was too dry to be considered a great dish. The boiled potatoes and leeks accompanying it gave a distinct German flavor to the dish, which was overall good.



All this incredible amount of food was followed by cheese and dessert. I opted to try all the different cheeses on offer – and I was not disappointed. For dessert, I went for the flan; while I had had better ones in my life, this one was certainly most edible. All of this was accompanied by some good vintage Port wine, followed by a cappuccino and some chocolates.













Overall, the meal was a winner – well executed, well presented, tasty, original. I would say it was better than the meal I had in August, and overall of excellent quality. Well done, Lufthansa.

oneworld82

Right after the meal I changed into my pajamas and while the flight attendant saw me doing so, she offered to make up my bed. I got a size L this time which worked great (I am 5’11″ tall). The bed was promptly prepared, and it was just as comfortable as I remembered. I capped my night with a glass of Blue Label, and while watching an interesting Japanese movie I fell asleep (BOSE noise-cancelling headphones helped indeed!)









I slept solidly for 3/4 hours before the flight attendant came by to wake me up. It was a peaceful and restful sleep, and Keiko thought the same as well. As you can imagine, we weren’t much hungry at that point, and we both opted for something light (muesli). The set up and the food were both good, as expected.







We landed right on time despite our late departure in a rainy Frankfurt. Luck wanted that we parked at a remote stand, meaning that we got a special Mercedes van pickup. A classy way to get to the terminal indeed







Overall, this was another excellent Lufthansa flight. Both hard and soft products were excellent, and the airline managed to meet my (high) expectations once again. Well done, Lufthansa. I look forward to flying you again!

BigEyedFish

Nice - I love your trip reports.....can't wait for the food orgy - sounds interesting!

roastpuff

Looks like a terrific way to travel - I'd love to be able to treat my girlfriend to the same trip, I hope Keiko appreciated it (and was impressed! )

Did you book this as an award routing? How hard was it to find?

time2go1st

oneworld82, something tells me this will be a TR for the ages, at least so long as these carriers are still flying in their current F configurations; and in my very biased view there is far, far too little coverage of Italy here, so yours is verrrrry welcome.

On the contest between BA/LH, something tells me that LH will come out the winner for BOTH glamour and efficiency, but I guess I must wait a bit for your definitive answer to that... Anyhow forge ahead, it's brilliant already, thank you.

oneworld82

Lol, Italians eat a lot.

She was impressed. Especially by the caviar haha. It was all on miles. It took some patience, but eventually all the flights I needed opened up.

Thanks, time2go1st!
Both were excellent products. You will find out soon enough what I thought of them

oneworld82

FULL POST ON MY BLOG

We proceeded (swiftly) through immigration and we then proceeded to the First Class lounge inside the main airport terminal. As we planned a very long layover, we would skip the First Class Terminal (which I tried in August) and use the First Class Lounge instead. This would allow us to have some good breakfast, freshen up, store our hand luggage, and go to the city.

Getting to the lounge is pretty straightforward (you just go towards connections and then through immigration). The lounge is upstairs in the main area of the terminal; it has exactly the same flavor, furniture, and décor of the FCT, and probably because it was the Sunday before Christmas it was fairly empty. Once we arrived one of the front desk attendants checked us in and showed us around. We then booked a Jacuzzi room; the tub is definitely spacious enough for two people, well-appointed, with Ethro amenities. We spent a good half a hour soaked into warm water, before heading to the restaurant area for some lunch/breakfast (it was already 11am by now).











The buffet spread was just as good in quality and variety as I remembered it. I just picked stuff up from there, without ordering anything a-la-carte. We got some Voss water from the extensive menu and some freshly-squeezed orange juice. The food quality was excellent – just like it was in August.








Brunch



After eating and having some espresso I wondered around the lounge a bit more while Keiko was on the phone. Again, the lounge is perfectly fine and – honestly – I do not see the absolute need to try the First Class Terminal. The bar, too, is exactly the same. One small overall complain, though, is that the service seemed to be spotty at times, with the staff not as present and ready to help as in the FCT. That, for instance, prevented me from enjoying a cigar later on at night or to have some whiskey, as the bar was completely unstaffed after 6pm.



We stored our stuff in the locker room and we then proceeded to the train station, conveniently located in the basement of the airport. Trains to the city center are frequent and pretty cheap (you can buy a day ticket that gives you unlimited urban rides for les than 10EUR per person). The comfortable ride took us minutes away from the Christmas Market – that while isn’t the best in Germany was the first one I got the chance to visit in this trip.

The market lived up to our expectations. It was packed with shoppers and tourists, everyone was drinking mulled wine, and the stalls sold traditional artisanal items. We spent a good two hours roaming around buying souvenirs for family – including some traditional German sweet breads that reminded me of Genoan Pan Forte. Mulled wine was good (albeit I had better one elsewhere), and the festive atmosphere all but filled our heart with warmth and joy.


It's Xmas time everybody! Let's be happy!
















The real Waffle House










Paulsplatz


Roemer








Soon-to-be Fries

While there we got to take a look at the Main river; from the pedestrian bridge just off Paulsplatz the view reveals a city of contrasts – traditional architecture hands in hands with modern skyscrapers. I am not sure I liked it – and I quite understand now why Frankfurt is not enumerated among Germany’s highlights.

Anyways, the Roemer – the former city council so to speak – is a beauty spared by the War, and this time of the year it housed an interested art expo. The cathedral is majestic and the Nativity inside is an attraction in itself. Overall, Frankfurt is not a destination per se, but it deserves a long layover indeed.





We also tried to do some shopping, but as you might know Sunday means (almost) all stores were closed; yes, even two days before Christmas. We just strolled around a bit longer before deciding to head back to the airport – jetlag was kicking in.

Once back at the lounge we booked a cabana to get some sleep. The attendant told us that she would prepare it for us and that she would call us up once ready. We got to the main lounge area then and grabbed a drink – kambucha for Keiko and Irish Coffee for me. Now, kambucha is a somewhat new-to-the-scene, sparkling, fruity drink that’s becoming increasingly popular. I am not too familiar with it yet – I just know that it tastes alright.

The cabana was definitely a surprise. It is simple, but very comfortable for two people. It comes provided with water, a tv that can play music, and a bed (not very comfortable, but good enough for a nap). One annoying thing was that two lights in the room wouldn’t go off, leaving the space rather bright. As we were very tired we fell asleep right away anyways, but I wonder whether those lights are always on like that (and, if so, why).



[IMG]http://airwaysandtravels.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/dsc_01311.jpg?w=595&h=893[/IMG
Irish Coffee




Pre-nap snack

After resting, we proceeded to the dining area for some dinner. The buffet was being changed from an “afternoon snack” presentation to a “dinner” one. I picked some cheese and meats from it and ordered a wiener schnitzel, while Keiko ordered a tom ka gai soup. The fried pork cutlet was just as good as I remembered it! Perfectly cook, tender, generous size. Simply: a pleasure. I had my meal with a glass of Ruinart champagne, which went quite well with my meal.


Wiener Schnitzel





At this point there were only 3-4 people left in the lounge, as the majority of the people appeared to have left already. Unfortunately, even the staff was nowhere to be seen. First, no one came around to ask whether we wanted anything else to drink. So, we left without having any coffee. Then, no one was to be found at the bar, so that I could not ask for a cigar (probably better for my health) and so that I had to go to the cigar lounge to pour myself a glass of grappa Nonino (highly recommended). This was the only disappointing part of the lounge, which overall provided a great experience.

Once again, well done, Lufthansa.

themapelligroup

Bravo oneworld82!
The trip report is amazing and your writing skills are excellent. I'm happy you decided to show your girlfriend how we Italians celebrate Christmas (and how much we eat!! ). I recently did a car tour of Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland and found it breathtaking, good old Europe never betrays.
Congratulazioni ancora!!

yerffej201

did you book lhf with usdm?

oneworld82

Nope, United!

frudd38

Was it just luck that you got the new F on this route dfw-fra?