Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Far East 2009
Flight Log 4 : LH738
Frankfurt (FRA) - Hong Kong (HKG)
I boarded the 747-400 and headed for the stairs,
as Lufthansa's First Class cabin is situated on the upper deck.
No-one showed me to my seat, although of course I knew perfectly
well where I was going. The first problem I ran into was that my
carry-on wouldn't fit into the very small overhead bin, even though
the same bag fits comfortably in the upper deck of a BA 747. It had
to be placed in the wardrobe. As I took my seat, I immediately
realised the shortcomings of the Lufthansa layout for the solo
traveller. There's no problem with the people in front and behind;
they exert about as much influence as they would from the dark side
of the moon. But your immediate seat-mate, for a complete stranger,
is way too close for comfort, especially
on a night flight. I hoped that the neighbouring seat would remain
unoccupied; alas, it wasn't to be.
Worse, my companion was an exceptionally restless and fidgety
Spaniard, who couldn't sit still for 15 seconds.
Curses!
Doors were closed at 1740 and I had a glass of
apple juice and some macadamia nuts. For some unexplained reason, we
didn't push back until 1815. We taxied towards the old military
runway, where the stop at the de-icing point seemed to take forever,
so that it was another half-hour before we began our southerly
take-off run. As we sat on the ground, I actually started to feel a
little miserable and wondered if this had been a mistake. I was
missing BA!
As we took up our initial heading towards Prague and Warsaw,
however, little did I know of the wonderful service to come!
Service began with hot towels, which were very nicely presented on a plate, with a flower petal as a decorative touch. I had a glass of Champagne and some water, both of which were generously topped up. A little fish-based amuse-bouche was served, which was very nice indeed. I started up the IFE system, noticing that the screen size was very much poorer than in Lufty's own Business Class, and listened to a selection of classical pieces as I ate.
The menu for the main meal was designed by Star Chef Chris Staines as a tribute to - wait for it! - modern British (and Chinese) cuisine. The introduction read : "Many years ago, British food had a certain stigma attached to it. Nowadays the Brits rate good food and eating out amongst their top interests and London has become one of the top gastro destination cities of the world..." How strange to be treated to the best of British, courtesy of Lufthansa! Here are the details :-
| DINNER |
|
WINES |
| Hors D'Oeuvres | Champagne | |
| Caviar with the traditional Garnishes | 'D' de Deveaux Brut, Champagne Veuve Deveaux | |
| Confit of Salmon with its Caviar, Horseradish Cream and new Potatoes | Piper-Heidsieck 'Rare' | |
| Sautéed Mushrooms with Bamboo wrapped in Soybean Pastry | ||
| Beetroot Salad with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts | ||
| White Wines | ||
| Salad or Soup | 2006 Napa Valley Chardonnay, Rutherford Ranch, USA | |
| Frisee, Rucola, Roman Salad and Radicchio with pickled Pumpkin, Pepper, Cherry Tomatoes and Oyster Mushrooms, served with your choice of Honey Vinaigrette and Yogurt Dill Dressing | 2007 ' Vom Porphyr' Riesling, Weingut Wagner-Stempel, Germany | |
| Oxtail Soup with Chester Straw | 2007 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Waipara Hills, New Zealand | |
| Main Courses | Red Wines | |
| Filet of Beef Wellington with Truffle Jus, Carrots and Broccoli | 2004 Aconcagua Valley Shiraz 'Vagabundo', Vineyard Selection Reserva, Chile | |
| Loin of Lamb with Mint Sauce, Winter Vegetables and Fondant Potatoes | 2001 Chateau Yon-Figeac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé, France | |
| Winter Melon au Jus with Prawns accompanied by Lotus Seed and Rice | ||
| Cannelloni filled with Mushrooms accompanied by Parmesan Cheese Sauce, Over-roasted Tomatoes and grilled Spring Onions | Dessert Wine | |
| 2006 Chardonnay Beerenauslese Premium, Burgenland, Weingut Nittnaus, Austria | ||
| Cheese and Dessert | ||
| Stilton, Cheddar, Tomme de Savoie, Fougeru and Appenzell Cheese, garnished with Grapes and Fig Mustard | ||
| Green Tea Cream with Coconut and Chocolate Sauce | ||
| Bread and Butter Pudding made from Brioche with Calvados Sauce and Raisin Ice Cream | ||
| Specialty Dessert Wines |
Even more so than in Business Class, restaurant-style trolleys are a big part of the way that Lufthansa goes about meal service. The starters are pre-loaded onto individual cake stands, the plates being shuffled according to how many options the passenger wishes to sample. I had the caviar and the salmon, which were placed on my table together with a red rose, which I was then able to place in the flower holder in my armrest. I had some garlic bread and a seeded roll to accompany my starters and stuck with the Champagne at this point.
I then had the oxtail soup, which turned out to be a consommé, and very good it was too. This was followed by the equally excellent Beef Wellington. By now, I was drinking the French red wine. Finally, I then had some cheese and port, followed by a cup of Earl Grey tea.
The excellent meal service over, I changed into my
Lufthansa PJs, which featured a reasonably stylish rugby-type top.
For some reason, I couldn't get the slippers to fit my feet, so they
were quickly abandoned. As usual, the only items in the amenity kit
that required my immediate attention were the toothpaste, eye mask
and earplugs. I settled down for the short night, but really didn't
sleep well at all. It didn't help that Senor Fidget was still at it,
with no attempt whatsoever to control his weight while changing
position every few seconds.
I think I may have nodded off at one point, but it really didn't
register as proper, sound sleep.
I got up of my own accord twenty minutes ahead of the point at which it had been agreed that the cabin crew would wake me for breakfast, and changed back into normal clothing. The breakfast menu was as follows :-
| BREAKFAST |
|
|
| Freshly squeezed Orange Juice | ||
| Honey Yogurt with Fruit and Granola Crunch / Yogurt / Rice Krispies and Milk | ||
| Edam, Buttermilk Cheese, Cream Cheese with Vegetables | ||
| Serrano Ham, Prague Ham and Milan Salami | ||
| Smoked Salmon and King Prawns, marinated | ||
| Scrambled Eggs, freshly prepared on your request, with Bacon or Chives | ||
I had a glass of apple juice, a pot of Earl Grey with a roll and jam, and the freshly-made scrambled eggs, which were lovely.
We were soon on the approach into Chek Lap Kok, where we touched down very smoothly at 1140, arriving on-stand seven minutes later.
And the overall verdict on this, my first
experience of Lufthansa First Class? I can't recall ever having two
such strong, but conflicting, opinions about the same thing. In
terms of food and service, and the sense of style and panache with
which they are delivered, LH (on the basis of this performance)
knocks spots off BA. But in terms of personal space, privacy and
comfort for the solo traveller, the opposite is the case.
Now, what I'd really like to sample is LH F as implemented on the
A340, where all the window seats are individual seats. Unfortunately
my three remaining flights in 2009 are all on the 747 layout. Damn!
Date: Wed 07 Jan 2009
Aircraft : Boeing 747-400
Scheduled dep : 1735
Actual departure : 1815
Scheduled arrival : 1120+1
Actual arrival : 1140+1
Cabin : First Class
Seat : 82A
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