FRA | Jason Around the World

Washington, Dulles (IAD) to Frankfurt in Lufthansa First

Airports, Flights, Germany, Tajikistan Moscow Serbia and Montenegro No Responses »

Nov 272013

Ok, so I lied. I initially intended to make one long post about the travel all the way to Tajikistan, but since I normally post trip reports so late that I forget the details I’m going to do this entry while it’s still fresh in my mind. By fresh in my mind, I mean Lufthansa’s beverage offerings haven’t completely erased my memory So, live from the Lufthansa B-Terminal First Lounge in Frankfurt…

This is mainly going to be a pictures post. If you’re not interesting in airline food and drink porn, you might want to stop reading now. So, thanks to Mohammad from Über, the trip to Dulles was completely uneventful, despite the heavy rains in Washington. Check-in at the Lufthansa First counter went smoothly, and the upgrade from business to first was confirmed. A very promising start to the trip! Tried to use pre-check, but Lufthansa doesn’t participate, so it was downstairs to security theatre with TSA. Wasn’t feeling like a nice dose of radiation today, so decided to opt out since I’ve never done it before. There appear to be two types of TSA agents: those who get their jollies when they get to do the pat-down, and those who get really uncomfortable with it. Today’s lucky TSA winner was somewhere between 100 and 200 years old, and moved slower than most snails. He changed rubber gloves three times before finding a pair he liked (OCD much?) and then the TSA tug and grope could begin. After reading the speech about what he was going to do, he started telling me his life story. I mean, come on, it’s awkward enough you’re groping me but I don’t need your life story. Just because you’re getting frisky with me doesn’t mean we’re gonna date…

Soon enough it was over, and I was on the way to the United Global First lounge. The Lufthansa Senator lounge is usually way too crowded, so I opted to go hang with United for a few glasses of Veuve. Or so I thought. It appears that the one thing I didn’t think United would dare Jeff Up (champers in the first lounge) they did. The Veuve has disappeared some time in the last month, replaced by Heidseck Monopole Blue Label. Perfectly drinkable, but another example of United doing the cheap. At least the shrimps are still there – for now.

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire to Washington, DC via Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines First Class

Airports, Cote d'Ivoire, Flights, West Africa 2012 No Responses »

Nov 212013

Got to the airport, check-in was nice and easy, and the line for security and passport control were non-existent. So far, this was definitely the most modern and well-kept airport I’d seen in West Africa. It was clean, good facilities, and everything seemed to, for lack of a better word, work. Wandered around for a couple of minutes, before heading to the lounge.

The lounge was a multi-airline lounge, and it looked like my Brussels Airlines flight would be sharing it with Air France tonight. The attendant brought over a small plate of finger snacks, and offered me a drink. It was warm, so I asked for a bottle of water…when she brought it, she asked for my lounge invite and marked it. Seems you only get TWO drinks, and I’d used one of mine on a bottle of water. Eventually she did say you could BUY more drinks if you wanted, but only two were included. Why can’t Brussels and Air France pay for their business class passengers have drinks? Poor image in my book.

There was one other major shortcoming for the lounge – a lack of outlets. I’d arrived early and managed to get one to charge my phone, but many others were wandering looking for them. I think there were a total of maybe 4 or 5 for the whole lounge. Having consumed my water, free glass of wine…and another glass of wine I sweet-talked my way into, I decided to wander the airport for the 45 minutes left before boarding. It grew old pretty quickly, and I decided to sit at a gate cafe and people watch. You can’t really tell well in this picture, but those are discoball-studded silver stillettos. I know that’s what I always wear to fly. Wasn’t going to post this picture, but it also shows a bit how the airport is really rather nice as well.

Another shot of the gate area:

Soon, it was time to board,which was done through a jetway. A rarity in west Africa!

Brussels Airlines flight 231
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (ABJ) to Brussels, Belgium (BRU)
Depart 22:50, Arrive 07:25, Flight Time 6:35
Airbus A330-300, Registration OO-SFU, Manufactured 2000, Seat 5K

On board, and welcomed with a flight of bubbly…and thanks to a friendly flight attendant a second.

DCA to Cotonou, Benin on United, Lufthansa, and Brussels Airlines in First

Airports, Belgium, Germany, hotels, West Africa 2012 No Responses »

Oct 142013

I know there’s been lots of discussion of Lufthansa First on the internet before, so I’m not going to go into painful details here, but lots of folks still like to see meal pics, etc, so I figured I’d do a quick mainly pictures post.

This trip came about thanks to free changes thanks to United premier status, and opening up better and better options up until the day before…when I finally got this routing sorted. The goal was to fly either Lufthansa or Swiss first, and hopefully leave out of DCA which meant a connection or two. Final routing was DCA-ORD-FRA-BRU-COO with ORD-FRA scheduled on the Lufthansa 747-400 hopefully with the new product of flat bed AND seat. Unfortunately 12 hours before the flight, they switched back to the old configuration. Boo hiss – at least I’d have two seats to myself and a great Lufthansa meal.

United operated by Shuttle America flight 3482
Washington, National (DCA) to Chicago, O’Hare (ORD)
Depart 11:37, Arrive 12:30, Flight Time 1:53
Embraer ERJ-170, Registration N649RW, Manufactured 2005, Seat 1A (aisle)

Nothing to say about this flight, it was on time, good crew, and that’s about it. I know some people dislike United Express, but I actually like the ERJ-170s.

Spent a bit over an hour in the United First lounge in Chicago, where I was the only person in it for half the time. As long as they keep serving Veuve I think it’s a decent product. It’s not Lufthansa quality, but perfectly adequate. Especially with the cocktail shrimp!

Lufthansa flight 431
Chicago, O’Hare (ORD) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)
Depart 15:45, Arrive 07:00 next day, Flight Time 8:15
Boeing 747-400, Registration D-ABTF, Manufactured 1991, Seat 83H and K (aisle and window)

I was a bit nervous for this flight. I tend not to like early transatlantic redeyes because they make it really hard to sleep. Even though this was 4:45 pm by my body clock, I had doubts I’d be able to fall asleep by 7p and get enough sleep to be functional and happy the next day. I didn’t have to worry, because in the end I got almost 6 hours of solid, uninterrupted sleep.

Despite being the “old” hard product, Lufthansa first is fantastic as long as the crew keeps the heat down which this one did. A few pre-departure pics:

A rose at my seat…

The service cart parked in front of my seat. They know where to keep the champers!

Two trips to West Africa

Airports, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Flights, Francophone West Africa 2012, Ghana, Niger, Togo No Responses »

Sep 162013

I know, I know…I’ve gotten way behind. A few weeks ago I was in Nigeria (country #137 visited) for a few days with a friend and I owe a trip report for that one which I promise to get done soon. All in all, it was a great trip!

Next trip is coming in just a couple of weeks. It started as a trip to see the same friend while he does work in two more countries (Benin and Ghana) and I figured, while in the neighbourhood, I’d see a few more places. Now, it’s turned into a six country trip adding Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Niger to the list. The rough plan is:

One major challenge will be that a couple of the tickets can only be bought locally, so we will see if I manage to sort out all the plane tickets. Of course, there’s also the issue that flights in this part of the world don’t always run so on time, so there will be that too. Also, this assumes I manage to get all six visas on time. It’s also the most number of airlines I’ve ever taken on one trip I think:

Air Canada
Lufthansa
Brussels Airlines
Air Cote d’Ivoire
ASKY
Air Burkina
SWISS
United

Of course, assuming everything works out….that will bring the total country count up to 143 visited…only 53 to go!

Tashkent, Uzbekistan to Washington, Dulles on Air Astana and Lufthansa

Airports, Europe and Central Asia 2013, Flights, Germany, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan No Responses »

Jun 132013

Got to the airport at 9pm for my 11:50pm flight, since I’d been warned by several colleagues that immigration to get out of Tashkent could be nasty. I tried to check in at the VIP terminal again, but turns out that’s only for those flying on Uzbekistan Airways. No priority anything for other airlines. There was no wait to check in, however, but there was probably a 30 minute queue for passport control.

The real nightmare began on the other side. The person manning the baggage scanner decided I was a good target for harassment, and pulled me and my bags aside for a hand search and grope. And when I say grope, it made the TSA look like naïve innocents. Seriously, I’m pretty sure there are people hire “professional escorts” who get less of a grope. Then, it continued on to a very very detailed baggage inspection, going through every little container I had, squirting a little bit of toothpaste out, looking in prescription jars, etc. Eventually, I’d had enough and refused to answer any further questions until he called a supervisor over. The supervisor continued the harassment, but when I told him where I’d been working when there, he finally gave up and sent me on my way.

Not that it was much better – the entire airport is one large waiting area, and again there was a lounge, but the doors were locked. No access for Air Astana. Rather bizarre. I ended up just sitting around for nearly 90 minutes trying to kill time until it was time to board.

Air Astana flight 124
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (TAS) to Astana, Kazakhstan (TSE)
Depart 23:50, Arrive 2:55 next day, Flight Time 3:05
Embraer ERJ-190, Registration P4-KCH, Manufactured 2012, Seat 2A

Water, juice, and sparkling wine were offered during boarding, and the flight appeared to be completely full today. We pushed back pretty much on time, and were airborne shortly. Despite the late hour and being a regional jet, Air Astana pulled out all the stops and served a full hot meal. Actually quite impressive…starting with warm nuts and wine!

This was followed with a full hot meal (and wine refills upon pressing the flight attendant call button):

Shortly before landing, immigration cards were distributed. I didn’t see any way to to an airside transfer in Astana, but it could be possible. I didn’t require a visa with my passport, so I decided to just clear immigration and check in with Lufthansa. I found the immigration forms mildly amusing, because watermarked across them in large text was the fact that they were free!

Immigration took less than five minutes, but checked bagged took over 30 minutes to show up! Not a big issue though, and went upstairs and checked in with Lufthansa quite easily. Exit immigration and security were a complete non-event, and once again there was no lounge on the other side. I’ve never been to a Lufthansa international destination that didn’t have a lounge for business class passengers, so this was rather surprising. The airport had free, and fast-enough-to-Skype internet, so that was good at least, and helped to pass a bit of time.

Lufthansa flight 649
Astana, Kazakhstan (TSE) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)
Depart 4:40, Arrive 6:45, Flight Time 6:05
Airbus A330-300, Registration D-AIKE, Manufactured 2004, Seat 3D

There’s not going to be much detail on this flight, other than to say it was about 2/3 full in business class, and I was lucky enough to have the seat next to me remain empty. The downside is, at 4:40am in May this far north, the sun was already rising as we took off, and we flew into the sun the entire flight. The crew was great about putting the shades down very quickly after takeoff so those who wanted to sleep could. When the food/drink service came around I wasn’t hungry, but asked for and got two glasses of red wine, the proceeded to pass out and sleep for five straight hours. Excellent!

However, I did keep the menu, and appears there was no food service. The flight comes from Almaty where they serve a small dinner (listed aso Chicken Breast stuffed with dried Tomato, marinated Prawn and Mango Sauce with fresh fruit for desert) but this flight featured a breakfast which I didn’t bother waking up for:

Fresh Fruit

Muesli

Marinated Prawn, moked Beef (not my typo, theirs), smoked Chicken Breast and Chili Cause, Bavaria blu and Goda Cheese

Cheese Omelette with Chicken Brochette, Potato Cake, Asparagus and Tomato Sauce

After clearing security in Frankfurt, I went straight to the Senator lounge and asked about upgrading my next flight with a United Global Upgrade. I was worried because Expertflyer showed 4 seats left in first, and I know Lufthansa usually loads meals in sets of 4, and sometimes where there are exactly 4 seats left they will use it as an excuse not to upgrade you. The agent said she would call the agent handing the flight and get back to me shortly. Meanwhile, I decided it was time for a shower and an espresso while I waited.

After the espresso, the agent came over to tell me that normally it would not be possible to upgrade on this flight, but due to my “corporate account booking” they would be making an exception. Score! I opted to wait out the next two hours in the Lufthansa First lounge, even though it meant having to clear immigration to the Schengen side. I have no idea where there’s no First class lounge for the Z gates since they’re almost all longhaul international flights, but that’s how it is. Once there, I had time to wait, so had a proper morning snack. Pain au chocolate, kiwi juice, smoked salmon, and a bit of Veuve rosé bubbly:

Back through immigration after catching up on some work, and soon it was time to board.

Lufthansa flight 416
Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) to Washington, DC, Dulles (IAD)
Depart 9:40, Arrive 12:30, Flight Time 8:50
Airbus A340-300, Registration D-AIGZ, Manufactured 2000, Seat 2D

I’m going to mainly focus on the food service here, as the crew was flawless as usual. I think I’ve taken around a dozen flights in Lufthansa first now, and every single crew has been absolutely perfect. As a bonus, this flight had wifi so I was able to get quite a bit of work done. I still think it’s ridiculous they charge for WiFi in first class, but it is what it is. Unfortunately, all four window seats were taken when I upgraded, but I ended up with all four middle seats in the middle to myself. Hooray! Somehow I forgot to take a picture of the pre-departure champagne and macadamia nuts, however.

To start the meal service, the customary Lufthansa rose:

This was followed by an amuse bouche:

The table was set, and today’s bubbles were Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame….YUM!

I asked the flight attendant to slow down service since it would be a long flight, and I opted to start with the caviar before appetizers. Ok, I’m going to confess to it here too….this was one of three servings I had. They were all delicious. I was the only passenger eating early in the flight (I noticed 3 of the other 4 never at at all) so I hoped I wasn’t eating it all, but hey…she offered…

Today’s appetizer choices were:

North Sea Crabs with Mustard Dill Sour Cream, Pumpernickel Cream and Cucumber Relish
Prime boiled Veal with Frankfurt Green Sauce, Egg Salad
Mozzarella with Giant Oxheart Tomatoes and Pine Nut Dressing
Salad of meadow Herbs with Oyster Mushrooms accompanied by your Choice of Yogurt Dill or Tomato Tarragon Dressing

I decided to try everything but the crabs, and it was all quite tasty. Yes, more bubbles please….

I’ve seen Lufthansa serve some really unusual stuff in First Class before. One of the more memorable oddities was the milk-wine they served, even though it was delicious. Today definitely took the cake though, there was a palate cleanser which was described as “melon sorbet with cucumber tapioca and basil oil.” I took one bite, and the combination of texture, taste, and smell was just not the least bit appealing…and this coming from someone who will eat just about anything.

Palate cleansed (or revolted) it was time for a main meal. Choices today were:

Asparagus Spears with Sauce Hollandaise, Black Forest Ham, boiled Ham and Parsley Potatoes
American Rump Steak on White Bean Mash with Feta Cheese
Filet of Char and its Caviar with Grape Seed Oil and mashed Green Peas
Oriental flavored Saddle of Lamb with Citrus Yogurt, Pomegranate and Couscous

I went with the lamb, and it was absolutely delicious. Only complaint is there needed to be more lamb!

There were three red wine choices to accompany the lamb:

2007 Château Conon-La-Gaffelière Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé
2007 Guade al Tasso, Bolgheri Superiore DOC
2007 Neuquén Patagonia Malbec

Being a huge fan of Argentine malbecs that’s what I chose, and it went perfectly with the lamb.

Next up was the cheese course:

Brillat Savarin, Gruyère, Reblochon, Goat Cheese and Gorgonzola with Orange Chutney, Grapes and Celerey.

I took a little taster of each along with some more malbec.

Then, it was dessert time. There were two choices:

Toasted white Chocolate, pickled Pineapple and Curry Crumble
Cream Cheese Mousse and Ice Cream on Rhubarb Ragout with Strawberries

Now, I have a little confession. I’m pretty sure I chose the second option, especially because it contained rhubarb which I love, but there’s no photographic evidence nor do I really remember it. There is, however, evidence on my camera of at least two glasses of Johnny Walker Blue, one ice cube. Hey, priorities!

At this point I went to the washroom, changed into my Lufthansa pyjamas, came back to a made up bed, and proceeded to pass out for around four hours. I did manage to snap a selfie in the pyjamas before passing out though and post it to facebook…a great use of in-flight internet if I ever saw one!

Woke up about 90 minutes out of DC and sampled the “snack time” service just to report on it of course. Our options today were:

Frisée, Radicchio, Arugula and Romaine Lettuce with Carrots, Bell Pepper, Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, Red Radish and Chives presented with your Choice of Champagne or Yogurt Herb Dressing
Salad of Chilean Shrimps
Marinated Cocktail Tomatoes with Mozzarella Balls
Orecchiette Pasta with Green Peas, sun-dried Tomatoes, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Spinach and Italian Herbs
Toasted Pine Nuts
Fried Button Mushrooms
Serrano Ham and Poulard Breast with Thyme
Fried Swordfish with Herbs

I got a little sampler of things, since I was being indecisive:

I was completely stuffed, but hey, there’s always room for desert. It was a “chili flavored chocolate tart with whipped cream.” Oh, wait, that’s where things went! I actually stopped the first meal after the cheese… I did have the rhubarb from the main course…just later!

…and to finish things off, a nice double espresso.

At this point we were getting close to landing, so it was time to change out of pyjamas. I briefly considered being obnoxious and going through immigration in pyjamas, but really didn’t need to risk running into anyone I knew, or having more fun dealings with CBP.

Soon, it was time to stow away monitors and get ready to land.

That wraps up this trip report! Nothing on the horizon, but I’m sure that won’t last long!

Washington to Sarajevo on Lufthansa and Turkish

Airports, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe and Central Asia 2013, Flights, Germany, Turkey, United States No Responses »

May 312013

I’d been watching this flight for a few weeks leading up to it, and was incredibly disappointed it would be an old 747-400 on the day I needed to fly. Not only that, but when I booked the only seats left in business were middle seats. Mildly disappointing…I know….#firstworldproblems but still. Since the flight was F6 and I didn’t see needing all my United systemwide upgrades, I decided to take the chance and have one printed for use on this flight. Then, 48 hours before the flight, it was changed…to the new 747-800 and I had an aisle seat in the middle. Score! I began to question if I really wanted to upgrade, but of course, the chance to be spoilt won out!

When I got to Dulles, it was still F6, and upon checkin at the first class counter about 3 hours before flight time the upgrade was instantly confirmed. Score!

First stop was the United First lounge for some snacks. For once, I didn’t get trouble getting in being on Lufthansa and they let me in…only questioning why I’d want to use their lounge instead. That said, it was time for a couple glasses of champers, and some of the delicious United First lounge shrimp cocktail!

Here a Stan, there a Stan, everywhere a Stan Stan….

Austria, Bosnia and Central Asia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan No Responses »

Apr 262013

No sooner had I gotten back from Johannesburg than I found out that the new job I took starting the day I returned had a trip planned for me. I expected it would maybe be one new country, but as planning has evolved it’s now planned for nearly three weeks and four new countries! Score! The downside is not getting to really play tourist too much, but you can’t complain about getting to go to four relatively out of the way countries without it costing any vacation time or out of pocket expense! Things are pretty much lined up now, and the the route looks like:

Plan is to visit four new countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Assuming the visas show up in time, all systems should be go for this trip! Lots of long segments on Lufthansa…perhaps in First if upgrades clear, along with a couple long segments on dreaded Turkish 737s from Sarajevo to Istanbul to Bishkek. Also, two new airlines: Uzbekistan Airlines and Air Astana, one on an A320 and the other on an ERJ-190. This assumes, again, that everything happens as planned…

Not sure how many sights I’ll get a chance to see, but I’ll definitely make an attempt to review the flights, check out the local restaurants, and use my evenings wisely to at least try and see some sights around town! Plus, I should have a full weekend day in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, so that should be a chance to see a fair bit!

More to come soon!

Johannesburg, South Africa to Washington, DC, the very very long way

Airports, Belgium, Flights, Germany, South Africa, South Africa Milage Run 2013 2 Responses »

Apr 232013

I’m going to be a bit briefer on this entry than the trip down, mostly because many of the flights were relatively similar…just in reverse. That said, there were quite a few differences so I’ll go into a bit more detail about them.

Check-in at Johannesburg was a piece of cake despite the fully loaded A380, and we had our boarding passes within 10 minutes of getting off the Gautrain. Past the ticketing counters, on the way to security, we saw this interesting gem:

I’m going to guess that enough people flying out of JNB have weapons to check that not only do they need a special place for it, but they need a giant sign to let you know where to do it. I guess this makes you feel a little safer? Maybe?

No wait for security, but the wait for immigration was close to 20 minutes. With A380s of Lufthansa and Air France departing, as well as a couple long-haul South African and BA flights it was no big surprise, and can’t really complain about it too much. We did a bit of duty free shopping, and maybe a couple things worth mentioning: if you want Africa-themed souvenirs, you can find just about anything you want at JNB. There are several shops selling just about every sort of mask, statue, necklace, and trinket you could imagine. If you want to buy South African wine…not so much. There’s one shop, with a small selection, and they do NOT package or ship. Sort of disappointing, but saved me a good deal of money I guess.

Shopping done, it was time to spend a bit of time in the South African business lounge. Plentiful drinks served by bartenders, a bit of pre-packaged food that was so unappetizing I didn’t touch any of it, and internet that was about as fast as Oscar Pistorius…no wait, too soon. It was slow. Almost unusable slow. So slow I used data roaming on my iPhone slow. Oh, and if you want to plug in your device….you best forget it. I think the whole lounge had about 10-15 outlets all of which were in use. Womp womp.

Boarding for the A380 was total chaos due to it being a completely full flight.

Lufthansa flight 573
Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)
Depart 19:05, Arrive 5:45 next day, Flight Time 10:40
Airbus A380, Registration D-AIMC, Manufactured 2010, Seat 27K

This flight was nearly identical to the way down there. I’m not going to post too much, because honestly…not much is different. Pre-departure juice, water, or champagne (one glass, and one glass only), quick and efficient meal service from a very friendly crew, and I managed to sleep a solid 8 hours on the way to Frankfurt. I can’t ask for too much more. The menu:

I had the chicken thai coconut stew, and it was pretty tasty, but a pretty small portion. I did get a second helping of cheese after the desert course (hey, I’m a growing boy) and with a few glasses of wine got an incredibly solid sleep as mentioned above.

When we deplaned in Frankfurt, there were German immigration officers just outside the jetbridge checking passports. I’m not certain how this works, but I guess they want to catch people who ditched their passports in flight (hoping for asylum?) coming off the plane before they mix in with other flights so they can at least tell where they came from? Anyone know more about why they do this? I flashed mine, and we were off. Quick re-do of security, and we were in the A/Schengen-gates senator lounge where a nice shower awaited:

Showered and happy, grabbed a lite breakfast including lots of coffee, and some of the brightest and most festive easter eggs I’d ever seen. But come on Lufthansa, you’re a couple days late…easter was a couple days ago!

Washington DC to Johannesburg, South Africa…the long way!

Airports, Flights, Germany, South Africa, South Africa Milage Run 2013 8 Responses »

Apr 182013

A couple months ago, people were posting about a fare from DC to Johannesburg, mentioning that while it was a great fare in business class, it wasn’t really cheap enough to be considered a “milage run.” Well, I like to be comfortable, and with business fares earning 1.5 times the elite miles it was a no brainer for me. I tend to think if I can buy a business fare for less than 10 cents per elite mile I’m doing well, and with the limited time off I have it made this a no-brainer. The kicker was that my friend Dewon was already headed back to South Africa to renew a visa, and I could fly the outbound with him. A few days after booking, my friend Phil wanted to join me for the crazy milage run from DC, and we had the makings of an adventure!

Of course, since this was largely for the miles I devised the most insane routing I could to maximize the miles, and it went off without a hitch! All told, it would be around 33,000 elite miles earned, at the cost of only one day of leave…can’t complain too much! Soon, the day of the trip was here and it was time to go. I’m going to break this into three parts…. (1) the trip to South Africa aka this post, (2) our 1.5 days in South Africa, and (3) the trip back from South Africa. Warning, this part of the post will be extremely picture heavy!

Got to National Airport, check-in was fairly efficient, TSA was a non-event due to TSA Pre-Check, and soon we were in the United Club. I love the historic club at National Airport, not to mention the awesome bartender who makes the most amazing spicy bloody mary…perfect start to a big adventure!

United (operated by Shuttle America) flight 3523
Washington DC, National (DCA) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
Depart 10:35, Arrive 11:44, Flight Time 2:09
Embraer E-170, Registration N638RW, Manufactured 2004, Seat 2F

Not too much to say about this flight…it was a pretty generic express flight. One more drink, some “gourmet snack mix,” some crossword puzzles, and soon we were in Chicago.

Whenever I have time, it’s become an O’Hare ritual for me to swing by Chilis for some Tex Mex Eggrolls and a Platinum Presidente Margarita…couldn’t resist this time either. We had plenty of time, and the other option was to sit in a crowded United Club, so the choice was obvious!

Continue reading »

Tunis to Yangon via Hong Kong on Lufthansa First + Thai A380

Airports, Flights, Germany, Hong Kong, Myanmar, New Years 2012-2013, Thailand, Tunisia No Responses »

Jan 212013

Slept nearly 10 hrs, and woke up feeling even more like death than the night before. Ugh!

Went to the Sheraton Executive lounge for the breakfast, where there was fresh-squeezed orange juice. Fantastic. I think I had 3 or 4 glasses, along with several espressos, and began to feel marginally functional. Rather than deal with a cab, I decided to take the hotel shuttle to the airport for 10 TND, and be at least marginally more comfortable.

Check-in for Lufthansa at Tunis took an eternity – or at least it felt like that. Waited in line for at least 15 minutes, and even then they could only check me in for the first segment to Frankfurt…and seats? It was one of those old 1980s sticker maps where they peeled a sticker off a sheet with your seat assignment. Once all the stickers were gone, there were no more seats. Anyone have a clue why Tunis operates SO old school? It’s as if they’re not connected to any global systems at all!

Through immigration and security, and into the TunisAir lounge which is used by Lufthansa. First time in ages I’ve seen a lounge where smoking is permitted…ug. Not what I needed with a horrid cold and congestion already. Combine that with three or four sick people in the lounge who made me look like I was a rolemodel of health, and it wasn’t the recipe for the best time. I was ready to get out of there! The lounge did have a buffet and drinks (I did have one glass of wine…it kills germs, I swear) but I didn’t explore it much so can’t really comment on the quality.

Lufthansa Flight 1323
Tunis, Tunisia (TUN) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)
Depart 13:40, Arrive 16:25, Flight Time 2:45
Airbus A319, Registration D-AIQF, Manufactured 1991, Seat 2F

I honestly don’t remember this flight too much. We boarded just 5 minutes before departure, and ended up leaving nearly 20 minutes late…getting into Frankfurt 20 minutes late. This brought my connection down to barely an hour….totally doable, but definitely not optimal in Frankfurt. There was a full meal offered with two meal choices, but I skipped it so can’t comment on it. Seemed to be the pretty typical Lufthansa meal, nothing overly special. I spent most of the flight dozing in and out and watching some tv on the iPad…just trying to get through it.

The one big disappointment upon landing in Frankfurt – although we were at a remote bus gate, there was no car transfer waiting for me. I had to take a bus to the terminal, and use the regular security lines with everyone else. I’m not complaining, but part of the reason I’d booked a first award was that being sick I wanted the absolute minimum time standing around and waiting, and wanted to be as comfortable as possible. Waiting in a cold bus, and long hot security lines…not my idea of fun. Service failure: Lufthansa.

Got to the lounge in Frankfurt with about five minutes to use it, but that was enough time to get a few glasses of water and freshen up again before heading to the next flight. The lounge agents were very apologetic, but nothing they could do about the missed transfer request at this point.

Lufthansa Flight 118
Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) to Munich, Germany (MUC)
Depart 18:00, Arrive 19:05, Flight Time 1:05
Airbus A320, Registration D-AIQK, Manufactured 1991, Seat 7F

For some reason, Lufthansa had blocked off nine rows for business on this flight, despite there only being 8 people total in business class. Economy was pretty full, so no clue what they were thinking. There was a small snack on this flight, but again, I skipped it and had only water so can’t really comment on it. We arrived in Munich nearly 20 minutes early, and at an actual gate, so I had plenty of time to unwind in the lounge – over two hours!

The lounge was actually relatively full when I arrived just after 7pm, but it did thin out quite a bit by 9pm. The lounge attendants couldn’t have been more wonderful. I was blowing my nose a lot, and she actually brought me two small packs of kleenexes to take with me on the flight – that’s service! Had several glasses of water, and couldn’t resist a couple glasses of champagne, otherwise just tried to relax and take it easy as much as possible. Caught up on some stuff online, and before I knew it it was time to head to the gate and board.

Lufthansa Flight 730
Munich, Germany (MUC) to Hong Kong (HKG)
Depart 21:55, Arrive 16:05 Next Day, Flight Time 11:10
Airbus A340-600, Registration D-AIHU, Manufactured 2008, Seat 2K

This flight was absolutely wonderful. That’s the only word I have for it. First was only booked to 5 of 8 seats, including a mother and approx 8yo son in the first row…but he was perfectly behaved. The minute I was seated, the pre-departure treats arrived! Mmmm macadamia nuts and champagne.

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