Round The World and other travel

Flight Log 5: LH447

Denver (DEN) - Frankfurt (FRA)

The forward Business Class cabin filled up quickly. There were two children in 3A/C, but based on both the kids themselves and their parents seated behind, I formed the opinion from the outset that they weren't going to present any issues. My jacket was hung in the wardrobe. A pillow, blanket, bottle of mineral water and a new-style amenity kit "tin" were already in place in the seat area. I enjoyed a pre-take off glass of champagne as we waited for the boarding process to finish. The passenger in 1A turned up after door 1L had been closed, leaving only 3H empty in the nose cone. Lucky 3K - and me, of course: I was safely installed in 4D, the so-called Captain Kirk seat which despite my usual preference for looking out of the window had become a real favourite when travelling alone.

We pushed back ten minutes behind schedule, made our way out to Runway 08 and took to the skies at 1707 after a run that didn't seem particularly long, despite the mile-high elevation. There was the usual noisy retraction of the front wheel followed by relative quiet. We experienced a bout of significant turbulence just five minutes into the flight, but it didn't last. Cabin service commenced with a round of hot towels, followed by distribution of tablecloths and menus. My usual selection of post-departure drinks, champagne and ice water, were supplemented by a bag of roasted almonds to nibble on. I started up the TV documentary Megastructures: Singapore's Vegas, which examined some of the issues faced in constructing the new Marina Bay Sands resort in the island state. It didn't take long for the food, created by USA-based Star Chef Annie Hongkham, to make its appearance:

DINNER		WINES
Hors d'oeuvres		Champagne
Seafood salad with lemon and coriander dressing		Jacquart Brut Mosaique
Salad of Bresaola with green beans and garlic confit
Grilled asparagus with shaved Parmesan and citrus Dijon		White wines
mustard dressing		Riesling Kabinett trocken 2010, Prinz von Hessen,
		Germany
Entrees		Friendly Grüner Veltliner, Laurenz V, Austria
Roasted breast of chicken, savory bread pudding and
English peas served with jus		Red wines
Cod filet with orange butter sauce, asparagus, green onion		Château Mazails 2007, Médoc Cru Bourgeois, France
and fingerling potato		St Laurent "Ausstich" 2008, Klosterneuburg, Austria
Vegetable Nasi Goreng
		Port
Cheese and Dessert		Graham's Late Bottled Vintage
Goat, Gruyère and Brie cheese
Soft chocolate cake
Fruit salad

I had the seafood salad, supplemented by a slice of German Schwarzbrot and a glass of the Riesling. We ran into another area of significant turbulence at this point but surprisingly, the seat belt signs weren't switched on. In due course, I was offered more bread and my wine was topped up. The usual Lufthansa practice of collecting the trays was followed and the plates containing my fish main course and cheese were placed directly on the tablecloth. I enjoyed the latter with some crackers and a small glass of port. I watched another short documentary about life in the Arctic region while I enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey tea, which was served with a little box of two chocolates. Just as I was finishing, the cabin lights were switched off and those who hadn't already done so settled down for what remained of the short night. I don't think I fell into a sound sleep at any stage, but did manage to doze my way through the following few hours.

The lights came back on with two hours left to run. I felt that it had been an exceptionally short night and I was right: a glance at the 'Airshow' moving map display showed that we were travelling at a ground speed of 619mph! Our route had taken us across the Great Lakes and out into the Atlantic, and now we were crossing southern Ireland. A round of hot towels helped everyone wake up. In line with previous practice, the towels in this second distribution were of a much higher quality than those used earlier. I wondered, not for the first time, what could be the rationale for this and speculated that perhaps it was simply a case of using up the leftovers from First Class.

BREAKFAST

Fresh fruit

Turkey breast, Salami, Camembert and cream cheese

Omelette with asparagus ragout and potato

Still feeling rather full from dinner, I chose the continental option for breakfast and it proved to be both light and refreshing, washed down with apple juice and coffee. As I ate and drank and slowly came around, we passed close to Cardiff, Bristol, Oxford, London, Dover, Brussels and Liege. The captain told us that conditions on arrival were likely to consist of gusty westerly winds and a temperature of 6C. It was therefore no surprise that in the final stages of the flight, we passed Frankfurt and turned round to land facing the west. Touchdown on 25L came at a ridiculously early 0937 local time and we parked at a remote stand a full forty minutes ahead of schedule.

This was another competent and enjoyable Business Class flight from Lufthansa, although I feared that the exceptionally short flight time would lead to problems with jet lag - problems that in the event never materialised.