Honeymoon to Bali/Maldives in Star Alliance First: Lufthansa, Thai, Singapore & ANA
Jun 17, 2014, 11:14 am
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CHS
Programs: DL Diamond, WN A-List, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 685
Looks like you had a terrific honeymoon.
I'm surprised that UA allowed this routing, but maybe I don't understand the routing rules well enough. I guess the mini-RTW is permitted if you treat it as two one-way (TATL one way, TPAC the other), but I didn't think you could backtrack (SIN-MLE-SIN) unless MLE is the destination. With the open-jaw, isn't CGK/DPS the destination? Somebody please help unconfuse me.
I'm surprised that UA allowed this routing, but maybe I don't understand the routing rules well enough. I guess the mini-RTW is permitted if you treat it as two one-way (TATL one way, TPAC the other), but I didn't think you could backtrack (SIN-MLE-SIN) unless MLE is the destination. With the open-jaw, isn't CGK/DPS the destination? Somebody please help unconfuse me.
So we were scheduled to fly Jakarta-CGK --> Singapore-SIN --> Male-MLE and then return home using Male-MLE --> Istanbul-IST etc... The routing changed, however, when United royally screwed up the flights midway through our trip and were very reluctant to help us fix it. I will have more details on this debacle in a future post on the trip report. This is what allowed us to fly Male-MLE --> Singapore-SIN --> Tokyo-NRT --> Newark-EWR.
Jun 17, 2014, 12:53 pm
#17
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: IAD
Posts: 319
Jun 19, 2014, 11:32 am
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CHS
Programs: DL Diamond, WN A-List, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 685
Finagling our way into Lufthansa First Class with VERY last minute changes
We booked our United MileagePlus award ticket appx 6 months in advance so, to say the very least, we were VERY eager and ready to take our trip. So, we originally had 2 flights on Air Canada booked, both of which were very carefully picked and planned:
So, when I got a call just a few hours before our departure from Charleston-CHS to New York-JFK that our flight for the next day from LGA –> YUL had already been canceled (nearly 24 hours in advance), I knew we had a problem. A winter storm was bearing down on the New York area and the first wave of preemptive cancellations had already taken place, which is typically a harbinger for huge amounts of cancelations.
When I called the Air Canada rep back (based in Florida?), he said he found us a flight from New York-LGA –> Ottawa-YOW at the same time on Saturday and then would put us on an Air Canada flight from Ottawa-YOW –> Frankfurt-FRA. At the time, this sounded great: we could skip the hassle of the Paris-CDG –> Frankfurt-FRA leg. But then, remembering that I had picked our flights very specifically to get the newest cabins, I asked if the aircraft was the same as the original Montreal-YUL –> Paris-CDG route and he sort of brushed away the question and said, “sure, they’re both Exec First cabins.” After I agreed to the change, I check SeatGuru.com to find that the Ottawa-YOW –> Frankfurt-FRA flight was on a Boeing 767, an older plane with an older, non-renovated Executive First cabin. This was disappointing because, again, I picked the Air Canada flights based on being in a newly renovated Boeing 777-300ER Executive First cabin. And, to top it off, how could we be sure that the LGA-YOW flight wouldn’t be canceled? It seemed smarter and better to just avoid NYC all together on Saturday.
Because we had a separate, paid flight booked on Delta for later that day from Charleston-CHS to New York-JFK from 4:30pm to 6:30pm, I jumped on FlightAware to search same-day routes from JFK-FRA. There are many flights from JFK-FRA but, because we booked with United miles, I had to narrow down to Star Alliance partners and found a departure around 9pm on a Lufthansa Boeing 747 non-stop to FRA–this might be our answer!
Star Alliance from New York-JFK to Frankfurt-FRA actually has a surprising large number of options, including one of Singapore Airlines’ Fifth Freedom routes on an A380
I’ll go ahead and point out that booking flights in Lufthansa First Class with United miles is very difficult. And, as such, is one of the most coveted award redemptions out there. When you catch a glimpse of their First Class cabin (complete with it’s own standalone bed), you’ll see why everyone wants to fly in Lufthansa First:
Lufthansa releases very few award seats in its business class cabin and even fewer in first class. For example, looking for a sample booking 5-7 months out shows absolutely 0 seats available in business or first:
However, if I check for flights departing within 4-48 hours, I find much better availability:
This clearly makes it hard to plan for; most people are not able to book their travel plans for same-day or next-day departures but instead plan many months in advance. So, if you’re looking to book flights in Lufthansa First Class, the trick here becomes to book your award trip like normal but so that the Lufthansa flights are easily able to be swapped in. For example, if you’re traveling to Frankfurt-FRA in a few months, you could book one of the many United flights from Newark-EWR to secure your seats in the premium cabin. Then, a few days before departure, start checking the United website to see if any of the flights from JFK-FRA on Lufthansa opened up. If you see seats available, you can attempt to call United to change them. They’ll be much more likely to help and waive the fee if there has been a schedule change, which, over the course of a few months, is pretty much inevitable. But, just call them and explain your situation and see what they can do.
I called United, realizing my chances to change the flights this dramatically might be tough. After 15 mins on hold and a few reps, I found a person that could actually get things done! I explained that our flights from New York to Montreal had been canceled and that we thought it best to leave a day early because of the storm, and she said, “sure, we can do that!” Then she said, “before we ticket, let me make sure we can’t do any better for you,” and did research with me on hold for about 30 mins. She checked in periodically to ask questions, but, after exploring a few different options, it was decided that the JFK-FRA route would be best and she ticketed it. At this point, I had spent the past 2+ hours on the phone trying to get flights changed and was borderline going to be late for our flight. I hung up and spent about 10 minutes to finish packing before speeding to the airport.
Green: Our original, circuitous itinerary: LGA-YUL-CDG-FRA. Red: Our newly improved direct route from JFK-FRA
In a bittersweet moment, I had to call Hyatt to cancel our reservation for the night at the Andaz 5th Avenue since we wouldn’t be visiting New York anymore. But, I also had to jump on Hyatt and Starwood to see where I could book an award night in Frankfurt, Germany! We would now have a full 24-hours to explore the German city. Again, it was somewhat disappointing to not be able to visit New York, but the fact that we’d be able to explore a new city and also fly on a Lufthansa Boeing 747 in First Class seemed like a win-win trade. Not to mention that this would be a much better shot at actually arriving to Bali on time because we’d avoid the bad weather in NYC.
Next stop: our Lufthansa flight out of New York.
We booked our United MileagePlus award ticket appx 6 months in advance so, to say the very least, we were VERY eager and ready to take our trip. So, we originally had 2 flights on Air Canada booked, both of which were very carefully picked and planned:
- New York, LaGuardia-LGA to Montreal-YUL — nothing special here
- Montreal-YUL to Paris-CDG — made sure this was a newly renovated Boeing 777-300ER Executive First Class cabin
So, when I got a call just a few hours before our departure from Charleston-CHS to New York-JFK that our flight for the next day from LGA –> YUL had already been canceled (nearly 24 hours in advance), I knew we had a problem. A winter storm was bearing down on the New York area and the first wave of preemptive cancellations had already taken place, which is typically a harbinger for huge amounts of cancelations.
When I called the Air Canada rep back (based in Florida?), he said he found us a flight from New York-LGA –> Ottawa-YOW at the same time on Saturday and then would put us on an Air Canada flight from Ottawa-YOW –> Frankfurt-FRA. At the time, this sounded great: we could skip the hassle of the Paris-CDG –> Frankfurt-FRA leg. But then, remembering that I had picked our flights very specifically to get the newest cabins, I asked if the aircraft was the same as the original Montreal-YUL –> Paris-CDG route and he sort of brushed away the question and said, “sure, they’re both Exec First cabins.” After I agreed to the change, I check SeatGuru.com to find that the Ottawa-YOW –> Frankfurt-FRA flight was on a Boeing 767, an older plane with an older, non-renovated Executive First cabin. This was disappointing because, again, I picked the Air Canada flights based on being in a newly renovated Boeing 777-300ER Executive First cabin. And, to top it off, how could we be sure that the LGA-YOW flight wouldn’t be canceled? It seemed smarter and better to just avoid NYC all together on Saturday.
Because we had a separate, paid flight booked on Delta for later that day from Charleston-CHS to New York-JFK from 4:30pm to 6:30pm, I jumped on FlightAware to search same-day routes from JFK-FRA. There are many flights from JFK-FRA but, because we booked with United miles, I had to narrow down to Star Alliance partners and found a departure around 9pm on a Lufthansa Boeing 747 non-stop to FRA–this might be our answer!
Star Alliance from New York-JFK to Frankfurt-FRA actually has a surprising large number of options, including one of Singapore Airlines’ Fifth Freedom routes on an A380
I’ll go ahead and point out that booking flights in Lufthansa First Class with United miles is very difficult. And, as such, is one of the most coveted award redemptions out there. When you catch a glimpse of their First Class cabin (complete with it’s own standalone bed), you’ll see why everyone wants to fly in Lufthansa First:
Lufthansa releases very few award seats in its business class cabin and even fewer in first class. For example, looking for a sample booking 5-7 months out shows absolutely 0 seats available in business or first:
However, if I check for flights departing within 4-48 hours, I find much better availability:
This clearly makes it hard to plan for; most people are not able to book their travel plans for same-day or next-day departures but instead plan many months in advance. So, if you’re looking to book flights in Lufthansa First Class, the trick here becomes to book your award trip like normal but so that the Lufthansa flights are easily able to be swapped in. For example, if you’re traveling to Frankfurt-FRA in a few months, you could book one of the many United flights from Newark-EWR to secure your seats in the premium cabin. Then, a few days before departure, start checking the United website to see if any of the flights from JFK-FRA on Lufthansa opened up. If you see seats available, you can attempt to call United to change them. They’ll be much more likely to help and waive the fee if there has been a schedule change, which, over the course of a few months, is pretty much inevitable. But, just call them and explain your situation and see what they can do.
I called United, realizing my chances to change the flights this dramatically might be tough. After 15 mins on hold and a few reps, I found a person that could actually get things done! I explained that our flights from New York to Montreal had been canceled and that we thought it best to leave a day early because of the storm, and she said, “sure, we can do that!” Then she said, “before we ticket, let me make sure we can’t do any better for you,” and did research with me on hold for about 30 mins. She checked in periodically to ask questions, but, after exploring a few different options, it was decided that the JFK-FRA route would be best and she ticketed it. At this point, I had spent the past 2+ hours on the phone trying to get flights changed and was borderline going to be late for our flight. I hung up and spent about 10 minutes to finish packing before speeding to the airport.
Green: Our original, circuitous itinerary: LGA-YUL-CDG-FRA. Red: Our newly improved direct route from JFK-FRA
In a bittersweet moment, I had to call Hyatt to cancel our reservation for the night at the Andaz 5th Avenue since we wouldn’t be visiting New York anymore. But, I also had to jump on Hyatt and Starwood to see where I could book an award night in Frankfurt, Germany! We would now have a full 24-hours to explore the German city. Again, it was somewhat disappointing to not be able to visit New York, but the fact that we’d be able to explore a new city and also fly on a Lufthansa Boeing 747 in First Class seemed like a win-win trade. Not to mention that this would be a much better shot at actually arriving to Bali on time because we’d avoid the bad weather in NYC.
Next stop: our Lufthansa flight out of New York.
and great trip report!
Jun 22, 2014, 6:26 pm
#22
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CHS
Programs: DL Diamond, WN A-List, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 685
Jun 22, 2014, 6:35 pm
#23
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CHS
Programs: DL Diamond, WN A-List, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 685
Lufthansa Terminal 1 First Class Lounge - New York-JFK
After our heads were left spinning as we realized we a) had narrowly missed getting stuck in the winter storm taking over New York and b) now were leaving a day early for our honeymoon AND flying Lufthansa AND somehow had gotten Lufthansa First Class Award seats (Jeffrey tells me this almost never happens–Check out: Finagling our way into Lufthansa First Class with VERY last minute changes), we found ourselves walking towards the Lufthansa Lounge at JFK.
When we walked in, the front desk attendants were expecting us (“the honeymoon couple”) and seemed genuinely excited to see us. The Lufthansa Lounge is broken up into three levels: the Business Class area of the Lounge is downstairs, right past the check in desk. On the second level, they have the Senator Lounge, which is for Star Gold Members and First Class passengers. Then, the third level is the dining area for First Class passengers only. The friendly front desk attendants whisked us right past the first two levels and escorted us onto the nearby elevator and dropped us off upstairs on the third level, where the spread of serve-yourself-food was tantalizing. Jackpot. And our heads were still spinning.
Business Class area (Level 1)
Level 1
Level 1 food options
Senator Lounge (Level 2)
See the windows upstairs overlooking Business Class? That’s First Class!
Level 2
Level 2 food options
Picture any typical airport lounge and then multiply your expectations by 100. At least. First of all, we were the only people in the First Class area of the lounge, a semi-private dining area with seats for about 20 people. Then, we were seated at a table with a white tablecloth and quickly learned that, at 10pm, we better be ready for a five course meal… to then prepare for our five course meal onboard our flight a few short hours later. Our very own waiter was so friendly and very eager to please. He, too, caught wind that it was our honeymoon and immediately brought us rose champagne to celebrate! #fancy And, the A+++ service continued throughout our entire meal.
Welcome to the First Class area!
Once seated, our waiter came to take our drink orders and offered us a menu. Besides what they offered at the well-stocked buffet, you could also order a small-portion, à la carte dishes by request. Although we weren’t very hungry, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try everything on the buffet and something off the menu, too. It’s probably about this point in the evening that they could tell we were on award tickets and not actually paying for the rest and relaxation that comes with a paid First Class ticket. The good news is that, now, we can tell you that everything, whether you choose the buffet or à la carte or both, is top caliber and certainly does not fit into any description of airport food.
Page 1 of the Menu
Page 2 of the Menu (the a la carte section was ordered directly from the kitchen)
Jeffrey ordered the ROASTED MARINATED PORK LOIN, which came with a goat cheese-rosemary bread pudding. It was excellent and the goat cheese and rosemary paired with the bread pudding texture was exquisite. No disappointments yet.
Pork Loin with Bread Pudding
I went with the WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO with roasted cauliflower, basil and mascarpone – because I can never pass up a mushroom risotto. Although the mushroom flavor was milder than other mushroom risottos I’ve tasted, I really enjoyed it but had to resist filling up on it because I just had to try so many other things!
Wild Mushroom Risotto
Now, for the buffet…
Salad Bar
Meats and freshly cooked vegetables – that’s salmon in mini-frying pans on the far right!
Fresh fruits, New York state cheeses, cold vegetables and cold meats
Dessert Bar
Dessert Bar: the basil dessert (front left) was weird but tasty… You’re eating pesto flavored cake…?
And then the drinks…
THEN… As if that weren’t enough food to literally feed an army, AND if you just didn’t feel quite satisfied with the dessert options on the buffet, you could order a dessert off of the menu. So, when in Rome, right?
A variety of sorbets ordered from the menu
BOTTOM LINE: If there’s any possible way that you can find your way into this lounge, it is far and away the very best lounge we’ve ever visited. The exquisite service is matched only by the way-above-average “airport” food.
--------------------------------------------------
If you're interested in seeing the full post with proper formatting, full gallery etc... you can view it here: Weekend Blitz - Lufthansa First Class Lounge – New York-JFK Airport.
After our heads were left spinning as we realized we a) had narrowly missed getting stuck in the winter storm taking over New York and b) now were leaving a day early for our honeymoon AND flying Lufthansa AND somehow had gotten Lufthansa First Class Award seats (Jeffrey tells me this almost never happens–Check out: Finagling our way into Lufthansa First Class with VERY last minute changes), we found ourselves walking towards the Lufthansa Lounge at JFK.
When we walked in, the front desk attendants were expecting us (“the honeymoon couple”) and seemed genuinely excited to see us. The Lufthansa Lounge is broken up into three levels: the Business Class area of the Lounge is downstairs, right past the check in desk. On the second level, they have the Senator Lounge, which is for Star Gold Members and First Class passengers. Then, the third level is the dining area for First Class passengers only. The friendly front desk attendants whisked us right past the first two levels and escorted us onto the nearby elevator and dropped us off upstairs on the third level, where the spread of serve-yourself-food was tantalizing. Jackpot. And our heads were still spinning.
Business Class area (Level 1)
Level 1
Level 1 food options
Senator Lounge (Level 2)
See the windows upstairs overlooking Business Class? That’s First Class!
Level 2
Level 2 food options
Picture any typical airport lounge and then multiply your expectations by 100. At least. First of all, we were the only people in the First Class area of the lounge, a semi-private dining area with seats for about 20 people. Then, we were seated at a table with a white tablecloth and quickly learned that, at 10pm, we better be ready for a five course meal… to then prepare for our five course meal onboard our flight a few short hours later. Our very own waiter was so friendly and very eager to please. He, too, caught wind that it was our honeymoon and immediately brought us rose champagne to celebrate! #fancy And, the A+++ service continued throughout our entire meal.
Welcome to the First Class area!
Once seated, our waiter came to take our drink orders and offered us a menu. Besides what they offered at the well-stocked buffet, you could also order a small-portion, à la carte dishes by request. Although we weren’t very hungry, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try everything on the buffet and something off the menu, too. It’s probably about this point in the evening that they could tell we were on award tickets and not actually paying for the rest and relaxation that comes with a paid First Class ticket. The good news is that, now, we can tell you that everything, whether you choose the buffet or à la carte or both, is top caliber and certainly does not fit into any description of airport food.
Page 1 of the Menu
Page 2 of the Menu (the a la carte section was ordered directly from the kitchen)
Jeffrey ordered the ROASTED MARINATED PORK LOIN, which came with a goat cheese-rosemary bread pudding. It was excellent and the goat cheese and rosemary paired with the bread pudding texture was exquisite. No disappointments yet.
Pork Loin with Bread Pudding
I went with the WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO with roasted cauliflower, basil and mascarpone – because I can never pass up a mushroom risotto. Although the mushroom flavor was milder than other mushroom risottos I’ve tasted, I really enjoyed it but had to resist filling up on it because I just had to try so many other things!
Wild Mushroom Risotto
Now, for the buffet…
Salad Bar
Meats and freshly cooked vegetables – that’s salmon in mini-frying pans on the far right!
Fresh fruits, New York state cheeses, cold vegetables and cold meats
Dessert Bar
Dessert Bar: the basil dessert (front left) was weird but tasty… You’re eating pesto flavored cake…?
And then the drinks…
THEN… As if that weren’t enough food to literally feed an army, AND if you just didn’t feel quite satisfied with the dessert options on the buffet, you could order a dessert off of the menu. So, when in Rome, right?
A variety of sorbets ordered from the menu
BOTTOM LINE: If there’s any possible way that you can find your way into this lounge, it is far and away the very best lounge we’ve ever visited. The exquisite service is matched only by the way-above-average “airport” food.
--------------------------------------------------
If you're interested in seeing the full post with proper formatting, full gallery etc... you can view it here: Weekend Blitz - Lufthansa First Class Lounge – New York-JFK Airport.
Jun 27, 2014, 7:44 am
#25
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CHS
Programs: DL Diamond, WN A-List, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 685
Lufthansa Boeing 747 First Class – New York JFK to Frankfurt FRA (LH 405)
With our new itinerary and Lufthansa tickets in hand, we sped off to the Charleston-CHS airport. Our flight was scheduled for 4:30pm and landing at JFK at 6:30pm, which gave us plenty of breathing room for our 10:20pm departure on Lufthansa. But, the fact that we would need time to collect our bags in the Delta terminal then recheck them at the Lufthansa terminal still made it a “tight” connection.
When we got to the Delta check-in counter, I said we were flying to JFK and the agent asked me if that was our final destination, I sort of paused ehh, well…. yes, yes it is. “Well, actually it’s Frankfurt, but we’re connecting onto Lufthansa, so I doubt we’d be able to check all the way to Frankfurt.” He seemed very optimistic that it could be done, while I remained skeptical. Why would Delta (a SkyTeam member) have an interline baggage agreement with Lufthansa (a Star Alliance member)? After a minute or 2 of searching on the computer, he confirmed that he was printing our baggage tickets all the way to Frankfurt, perfect! This made our lives much easier and worry of connection time and hassle all but vanished.
Fortunately, upon arriving JFK, we were only 1 terminal over–a short 5-10 minute walk.
CHECK-IN
We sped up to the Lufthansa check-in areas, which, at this point, were all virtually. Nonetheless, we scurried up to the First Class check-in area, red carpets and all!
We handed the friendly agent our passports and she got to work and then handed me my boarding pass (First Class) and hesitated while handing McCown hers, clearly marked Business Class, immediately sensing there was a problem. I told her that this was all a very last minute change from just a few hours ago that United had arranged and both tickets were supposed to be First Class. She tried and tried and, once she appeared stumped, went to talk to her supervisor. Her supervisor called us around to her counter and explained that United had booked one of the tickets in First and the other in Business. She pulled up the computer to show that there were no more award inventory seats in First Class. We were both shocked and frustrated but knew that it wasn’t her fault. She called United phone support to ask for someone to explain to me what had happened and how and to further relay that Lufthansa didn’t do this. Completely dejected, realizing we had hit a final wall, we left the counter with the promise that she “would continue to check into it” and at some point I muttered to McCown something about “sorry for the bad start to the honeymoon” and the Lufthansa agent’s ears perked up a bit as we walked off.
After clearing security, we headed into the Lufthansa First Class lounge: Lufthansa First Class Lounge – New York-JFK Airport
We were immediately hit with a wave of reassuring news: upon check-in to the lounge, the front desk agent said, “oh you guys must be the honeymoon couple.” This implied that the lady we spoke with pre-security had a reason to call and talk about us. She said she needed to hold our boarding passes while she worked on them and sent us on our way to the First Class lounge level on the third floor.
About mid-way into our meal she met us upstairs to deliver 2, count ‘em TWO, First Class boarding passes! We couldn’t believe it!
BOARDING
Trying to enjoy the First Class lounge a little too long, we scurried up to the boarding gate as some of the last First and Business class passengers.
Eww….Economy Class passengers
“First Class Boarding,” now that’s more like it!
Our aircraft for the ~7 hours trip was a Lufthansa Boeing 747-400. Lufthansa operates a huge number of B747s, exactly 32 to be exact (19 B747-400s and 13 B747-8Is). On the 747, the First Class is nestled in the nose of the top deck, with Business and Economy on the main level. We had seats 84 H & C and, to put it into perspective, the value of the tickets, if purchased appx 5 hours before takeoff = $11k one-way…!
Quick glimpse of the Business Class cabin as we made our way to the upper deck stairs
Geez, they make you take the stairs to get up here? How about an elevator next time, Lufthansa
THE SEAT – LUFTHANSA FIRST CLASS
Found it! Seat (and bed!) 84C
There’s a huge seat with leather arms, recliner and foot raise. Large TV and a very nice-sized bed next to the chair.
A staggering statistic is that Lufthansa operates the upper deck of the Boeing 747s with just 8 seats total, one of the fewest of the worldwide airline industry. Most carriers operate a Business Class cabin with at least 16 seats, but some have configured their 747s with economy up top. To put this all into perspective, Air France has Economy 60 seats in their upper deck vs 8 seats for Lufthansa–this means that, in just the space McCown and I are taking up, they could fit 15 Economy seats!
Soon, we were presented with a rose in the flower holder and offered a glass of champagne and cashews.
Not having done any research for the flight (remember, we booked it just hours before takeoff), I still couldn’t get over the fact that we had a seat and a bed! Compared to United, Air France or Thai Airways premium cabins, Lufthansa was very elegant, sleek, minimalist feeling and also quite classy. Additionally, the cabin and seat looked and felt very new; I suspect that it had been recently updated.
While rummaging though every nook and cranny of the seat, a few things struck me: there seemed to be an infinite number of compartments to store things and this was the 1st premium cabin I have been in to offer authentic Bose noise-canceling headphones.
Real life Bose noise-canceling headphones, take that Dr. Dre!
Still getting settled in, the lead chef/sommelier came back with both flight attendants that were dedicated to our cabin to present the menus and wine list. So, yes, we essentially had 3 full-time attendants between 8 people.
At this point, the captain came on over the PA system around 10:30pm (our scheduled departure was 10:20pm) to announce that 2 extra bags had been checked onto the plane and their owners had decided not to board the flight. So, for safety reasons, the ground crew would be forced to remove all bags, check for the perpetrators and load them back on, “it will take at least 10-15 mins”.
All I heard? “Yada, yada, yada enjoy an extra 15+ mins of sipping champagne in First Class.”
By 10:53pm, the operation was complete, all doors were secured and we pushed back from the gate. There was a bit of wait as we taxied to the runway and waited our turn in the queue but had a wheels-up time of 11:13pm–appx 1 hour after our scheduled departure.
ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
The good: Bose noise-canceling headphones: amazing touch! Large LCD screens (maybe 15″?)
The bad: Movie/TV selection is pathetic, there were ~7 categories of movies with ~10 selections each and ALL are horrible…Sleepy Hollow, really? That’s one of Johnny Depp’s worst…! The appx 15” LCD screen (the old 4:3 format, not widescreen) was controlled by a seat remote, not touch, and the quality was far from HD.
MEAL SERVICE
Within 30 minutes, we had reached a safe altitude and the meal service began. The FA came around and asked for our initial order, “cocktail 1st.” I asked for a beer and she suggested a “Maibock” and returned with the Braufactum Darkon, a quite light and refreshing black beer.
At this time, we were also served a light appetizer: cucumber with smoked salmon and caviar.
At 11:57pm, we put in our main course orders and were told that, if we wanted breakfast, to let her know so that she could wake us appx 1 hr 20 mins before arrival.
12:06am: our tables were set.
Set table with selection of bread, salt/pep grinder, butter and EVOO. Again, all very elegant/sleek
At 12:19am, the cart with starters came around, you could order as many as you wished.
I ordered the “Caviar with the traditional garnishes” and the “Seared beef tataki with papaya salad and roasted peanuts.“
Similarly, McCown also chose the caviar for the first appetizer and then the “Citrus cured scallops.“
I asked for all for the garnishes with the caviar including egg whites, egg yolks, sour cream, onions and lime. It was all great tasting. The beef was also great, served chilled and cooked perfectly rare.
About 20 minutes later, it was “dinner time,” despite having eaten dinner at numerous times previously in the night. Upon ordering the “Butter poached Lobster with Butternut Squash and Fingerling Potato,” I confirmed with the FA that I was getting an authentic German meal, she laughed and replied, “Of course, Germany is especially known for it’s lobster.”
The lobster was tough but at least that much I had expected. Despite this, it was a good dish and was cooked in a Thai sauce that was surprisingly spicy with mushrooms, potatoes, cabbage and carrots. I’d give it a B+.
McCown went with the “Pumpkin Stew with Ginger Chicken.” The broth was clear with chunks of pumpkin, chicken and brussel sprouts. It was good and warm, nothing exceptional and not really worth finishing since we’d already had plenty to eat.
We had to skip dessert due to being completely stuffed and I was still clinging to the hope that I might be able to catch a few hours of sleep despite being completely overwhelmed with things to play with, take pictures of, etc… By about 1 a.m. (7 a.m. Frankfurt time!), our tables were cleared and stowed and it was finally time to turn in to bed:
Must. Not. Stay. Awake. Watching. Movies. All. Night.
Finally somewhere around 1:30am (7:30am Frankfurt), I was out for the “night”.
A very short 3 hours later, at 4:23am (10:23am Frankfurt) I was awakened by a tap on the feet, putting an abrupt end to the best sleep I’ve ever had on an airplane. But, alas, I refuse to turn down a meal in a First Class cabin.
Mysteriously hungry, I ordered the “American Breakfast“: Coffee or Tea, Orange Juice, Fresh Fruit and Farmer’s Frittata and, within 20 mins of the screeching halt of my glorious slumber, breakfast was served:
The result? Airplane bacon might be the best thing invented since, well, bacon. It was shockingly good, maybe even better at 30,000 feet. The Farmer’s Frittata was also good, it was just too much food, too soon after dinner.
The best part of breakfast (and one of the most impressive parts of the whole flight) was the quality of the cappuccino. An actual real life cappuccino, not instant coffee– I guess they have an espresso machine in the gallery (or maybe just a Nespresso machine?). Either way, it was just what the doctor ordered after too little sleep.
And then, as all good things tend to do, our over zealous pilots had to up and land the plane in Frankfurt, immediately bringing our awesome experience to an end. We touched down at 5:42am EST (11:42am Frankfurt time). Despite our late departure, we had managed to touch down appx 20 minutes in advance of our scheduled arrival time.
GROUND SERVICE
Upon landing, we didn’t taxi to a gate but instead just a remote deplaning location on the tarmac. The pilots came over the PA mentioning something about there being a risk for ice at the airport and that the larger aircraft were prohibited from taxiing further due to risk of skidding and crashing into the terminal.
Nasty weather out there at Frankfurt-FRA
Thai Airways Airbus A380, the same flight we’ll be taking the very next day!
We gathered our belongings and took a few last pictures before deplaning:
At the bottom of the stairs we discovered two Mercedes vans waiting for the First Class cabin– this is the “Limousine service” that Lufthansa offers as a ground service at their German hubs.
We were quickly whisked away to customs and were pleasantly surprised to find exactly 0 people in line ahead of us. This speed and efficiency was futile, however, because we had to wait for over an hour for our bags to be delivered to the carousel, presumably a delay that can be blamed on the abnormal deplaning location. The Frankfurt ground crew had a much greater distance to transport the baggage than normal.
SERVICE
The service was impeccable–a rose was placed at each chair & we were served champagne immediately. And, this was possibly the best first class cabin we’ve experienced (but was it because we weren’t expecting it?).
----------------------------------------
Full post with proper formatting and full photo gallery can be viewed here: Weekend Blitz - Lufthansa Boeing 747 First Class – New York JFK to Frankfurt FRA (LH 405)
With our new itinerary and Lufthansa tickets in hand, we sped off to the Charleston-CHS airport. Our flight was scheduled for 4:30pm and landing at JFK at 6:30pm, which gave us plenty of breathing room for our 10:20pm departure on Lufthansa. But, the fact that we would need time to collect our bags in the Delta terminal then recheck them at the Lufthansa terminal still made it a “tight” connection.
When we got to the Delta check-in counter, I said we were flying to JFK and the agent asked me if that was our final destination, I sort of paused ehh, well…. yes, yes it is. “Well, actually it’s Frankfurt, but we’re connecting onto Lufthansa, so I doubt we’d be able to check all the way to Frankfurt.” He seemed very optimistic that it could be done, while I remained skeptical. Why would Delta (a SkyTeam member) have an interline baggage agreement with Lufthansa (a Star Alliance member)? After a minute or 2 of searching on the computer, he confirmed that he was printing our baggage tickets all the way to Frankfurt, perfect! This made our lives much easier and worry of connection time and hassle all but vanished.
Fortunately, upon arriving JFK, we were only 1 terminal over–a short 5-10 minute walk.
CHECK-IN
We sped up to the Lufthansa check-in areas, which, at this point, were all virtually. Nonetheless, we scurried up to the First Class check-in area, red carpets and all!
We handed the friendly agent our passports and she got to work and then handed me my boarding pass (First Class) and hesitated while handing McCown hers, clearly marked Business Class, immediately sensing there was a problem. I told her that this was all a very last minute change from just a few hours ago that United had arranged and both tickets were supposed to be First Class. She tried and tried and, once she appeared stumped, went to talk to her supervisor. Her supervisor called us around to her counter and explained that United had booked one of the tickets in First and the other in Business. She pulled up the computer to show that there were no more award inventory seats in First Class. We were both shocked and frustrated but knew that it wasn’t her fault. She called United phone support to ask for someone to explain to me what had happened and how and to further relay that Lufthansa didn’t do this. Completely dejected, realizing we had hit a final wall, we left the counter with the promise that she “would continue to check into it” and at some point I muttered to McCown something about “sorry for the bad start to the honeymoon” and the Lufthansa agent’s ears perked up a bit as we walked off.
After clearing security, we headed into the Lufthansa First Class lounge: Lufthansa First Class Lounge – New York-JFK Airport
We were immediately hit with a wave of reassuring news: upon check-in to the lounge, the front desk agent said, “oh you guys must be the honeymoon couple.” This implied that the lady we spoke with pre-security had a reason to call and talk about us. She said she needed to hold our boarding passes while she worked on them and sent us on our way to the First Class lounge level on the third floor.
About mid-way into our meal she met us upstairs to deliver 2, count ‘em TWO, First Class boarding passes! We couldn’t believe it!
BOARDING
Trying to enjoy the First Class lounge a little too long, we scurried up to the boarding gate as some of the last First and Business class passengers.
Eww….Economy Class passengers
“First Class Boarding,” now that’s more like it!
Our aircraft for the ~7 hours trip was a Lufthansa Boeing 747-400. Lufthansa operates a huge number of B747s, exactly 32 to be exact (19 B747-400s and 13 B747-8Is). On the 747, the First Class is nestled in the nose of the top deck, with Business and Economy on the main level. We had seats 84 H & C and, to put it into perspective, the value of the tickets, if purchased appx 5 hours before takeoff = $11k one-way…!
Quick glimpse of the Business Class cabin as we made our way to the upper deck stairs
THE SEAT – LUFTHANSA FIRST CLASS
Found it! Seat (and bed!) 84C
There’s a huge seat with leather arms, recliner and foot raise. Large TV and a very nice-sized bed next to the chair.
A staggering statistic is that Lufthansa operates the upper deck of the Boeing 747s with just 8 seats total, one of the fewest of the worldwide airline industry. Most carriers operate a Business Class cabin with at least 16 seats, but some have configured their 747s with economy up top. To put this all into perspective, Air France has Economy 60 seats in their upper deck vs 8 seats for Lufthansa–this means that, in just the space McCown and I are taking up, they could fit 15 Economy seats!
Soon, we were presented with a rose in the flower holder and offered a glass of champagne and cashews.
Not having done any research for the flight (remember, we booked it just hours before takeoff), I still couldn’t get over the fact that we had a seat and a bed! Compared to United, Air France or Thai Airways premium cabins, Lufthansa was very elegant, sleek, minimalist feeling and also quite classy. Additionally, the cabin and seat looked and felt very new; I suspect that it had been recently updated.
While rummaging though every nook and cranny of the seat, a few things struck me: there seemed to be an infinite number of compartments to store things and this was the 1st premium cabin I have been in to offer authentic Bose noise-canceling headphones.
Real life Bose noise-canceling headphones, take that Dr. Dre!
Still getting settled in, the lead chef/sommelier came back with both flight attendants that were dedicated to our cabin to present the menus and wine list. So, yes, we essentially had 3 full-time attendants between 8 people.
At this point, the captain came on over the PA system around 10:30pm (our scheduled departure was 10:20pm) to announce that 2 extra bags had been checked onto the plane and their owners had decided not to board the flight. So, for safety reasons, the ground crew would be forced to remove all bags, check for the perpetrators and load them back on, “it will take at least 10-15 mins”.
All I heard? “Yada, yada, yada enjoy an extra 15+ mins of sipping champagne in First Class.”
By 10:53pm, the operation was complete, all doors were secured and we pushed back from the gate. There was a bit of wait as we taxied to the runway and waited our turn in the queue but had a wheels-up time of 11:13pm–appx 1 hour after our scheduled departure.
ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
The good: Bose noise-canceling headphones: amazing touch! Large LCD screens (maybe 15″?)
The bad: Movie/TV selection is pathetic, there were ~7 categories of movies with ~10 selections each and ALL are horrible…Sleepy Hollow, really? That’s one of Johnny Depp’s worst…! The appx 15” LCD screen (the old 4:3 format, not widescreen) was controlled by a seat remote, not touch, and the quality was far from HD.
MEAL SERVICE
Within 30 minutes, we had reached a safe altitude and the meal service began. The FA came around and asked for our initial order, “cocktail 1st.” I asked for a beer and she suggested a “Maibock” and returned with the Braufactum Darkon, a quite light and refreshing black beer.
At this time, we were also served a light appetizer: cucumber with smoked salmon and caviar.
At 11:57pm, we put in our main course orders and were told that, if we wanted breakfast, to let her know so that she could wake us appx 1 hr 20 mins before arrival.
12:06am: our tables were set.
Set table with selection of bread, salt/pep grinder, butter and EVOO. Again, all very elegant/sleek
At 12:19am, the cart with starters came around, you could order as many as you wished.
I ordered the “Caviar with the traditional garnishes” and the “Seared beef tataki with papaya salad and roasted peanuts.“
Similarly, McCown also chose the caviar for the first appetizer and then the “Citrus cured scallops.“
I asked for all for the garnishes with the caviar including egg whites, egg yolks, sour cream, onions and lime. It was all great tasting. The beef was also great, served chilled and cooked perfectly rare.
About 20 minutes later, it was “dinner time,” despite having eaten dinner at numerous times previously in the night. Upon ordering the “Butter poached Lobster with Butternut Squash and Fingerling Potato,” I confirmed with the FA that I was getting an authentic German meal, she laughed and replied, “Of course, Germany is especially known for it’s lobster.”
The lobster was tough but at least that much I had expected. Despite this, it was a good dish and was cooked in a Thai sauce that was surprisingly spicy with mushrooms, potatoes, cabbage and carrots. I’d give it a B+.
McCown went with the “Pumpkin Stew with Ginger Chicken.” The broth was clear with chunks of pumpkin, chicken and brussel sprouts. It was good and warm, nothing exceptional and not really worth finishing since we’d already had plenty to eat.
We had to skip dessert due to being completely stuffed and I was still clinging to the hope that I might be able to catch a few hours of sleep despite being completely overwhelmed with things to play with, take pictures of, etc… By about 1 a.m. (7 a.m. Frankfurt time!), our tables were cleared and stowed and it was finally time to turn in to bed:
Must. Not. Stay. Awake. Watching. Movies. All. Night.
Finally somewhere around 1:30am (7:30am Frankfurt), I was out for the “night”.
A very short 3 hours later, at 4:23am (10:23am Frankfurt) I was awakened by a tap on the feet, putting an abrupt end to the best sleep I’ve ever had on an airplane. But, alas, I refuse to turn down a meal in a First Class cabin.
Mysteriously hungry, I ordered the “American Breakfast“: Coffee or Tea, Orange Juice, Fresh Fruit and Farmer’s Frittata and, within 20 mins of the screeching halt of my glorious slumber, breakfast was served:
The result? Airplane bacon might be the best thing invented since, well, bacon. It was shockingly good, maybe even better at 30,000 feet. The Farmer’s Frittata was also good, it was just too much food, too soon after dinner.
The best part of breakfast (and one of the most impressive parts of the whole flight) was the quality of the cappuccino. An actual real life cappuccino, not instant coffee– I guess they have an espresso machine in the gallery (or maybe just a Nespresso machine?). Either way, it was just what the doctor ordered after too little sleep.
And then, as all good things tend to do, our over zealous pilots had to up and land the plane in Frankfurt, immediately bringing our awesome experience to an end. We touched down at 5:42am EST (11:42am Frankfurt time). Despite our late departure, we had managed to touch down appx 20 minutes in advance of our scheduled arrival time.
GROUND SERVICE
Upon landing, we didn’t taxi to a gate but instead just a remote deplaning location on the tarmac. The pilots came over the PA mentioning something about there being a risk for ice at the airport and that the larger aircraft were prohibited from taxiing further due to risk of skidding and crashing into the terminal.
Nasty weather out there at Frankfurt-FRA
Thai Airways Airbus A380, the same flight we’ll be taking the very next day!
We gathered our belongings and took a few last pictures before deplaning:
At the bottom of the stairs we discovered two Mercedes vans waiting for the First Class cabin– this is the “Limousine service” that Lufthansa offers as a ground service at their German hubs.
We were quickly whisked away to customs and were pleasantly surprised to find exactly 0 people in line ahead of us. This speed and efficiency was futile, however, because we had to wait for over an hour for our bags to be delivered to the carousel, presumably a delay that can be blamed on the abnormal deplaning location. The Frankfurt ground crew had a much greater distance to transport the baggage than normal.
SERVICE
The service was impeccable–a rose was placed at each chair & we were served champagne immediately. And, this was possibly the best first class cabin we’ve experienced (but was it because we weren’t expecting it?).
----------------------------------------
Full post with proper formatting and full photo gallery can be viewed here: Weekend Blitz - Lufthansa Boeing 747 First Class – New York JFK to Frankfurt FRA (LH 405)
Jun 27, 2014, 9:08 pm
#28
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: SFO
Posts: 506
I just want to double check if I'm understanding this correctly. You booked all those flights in business/first class for only 280k miles for TWO people?
Sorry i'm new and looking to try to find the best way to redeem my United Miles as well.
Sorry i'm new and looking to try to find the best way to redeem my United Miles as well.
Jun 27, 2014, 9:37 pm
#29
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CHS
Programs: DL Diamond, WN A-List, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 685
Before planning our honeymoon, I strategically signed up for 2x Chase cards a few months prior to booking that yielded me 100,000 bonus points so, those points (combined with the other points we had been patiently earning and hoarding over the last few years) came out to just enough for two round-trip tickets in First Class using United MileagePlus miles. The total points we used to book were 280,000 miles, 140k each. As a side note, United has massively devalued their currency and now the same trip would cost 260k miles each, 520k miles total.
Jun 29, 2014, 8:12 am
#30
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CHS
Programs: DL Diamond, WN A-List, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 685
