Round The World and other travels

Flight Log 1 : LH4943

Edinburgh (EDI) - Frankfurt (FRA)

In line with the delay notified earlier, boarding started at 1815 and was announced as being complete just 12 minutes later. As I settled into 3A, I noticed that there were only three Business Class passengers, despite the cabin being configured for 22. The other two had been allocated 3F and 5D. As is almost invariably the case with Lufthansa, the cabin was spotless, despite this being one of the more elderly members of the fleet. The Captain explained that the delay had been caused by earlier severe weather in Frankfurt and a glance out of the window confirmed that conditions in Edinburgh were rather grim-looking as well. He went on to impart another piece of bad news : our revised take-off slot was at 1900, which meant spending another 20 minutes on-stand prior to push-back.

More or less in line with this revised timescale, we made our way out to the north-easterly runway and took to the horribly murky skies just before seven o'clock. It was a relief when we finally rose above the nasty conditions into smoother air. Relief of a different kind soon became a feature of the flight, as a succession of passengers from the Economy cabin made their way to the forward toilet. A glance behind showed that the crew hadn't bothered to close the dividing curtain.

The excellent in-flight meal continued the 'Discovery' series that I first encountered earlier in the year, but with a new twist. Instead of going on a culinary tour of the different regions of Germany, we were now embarked on a celebration of different herbs and spices. Today's meal was dubbed 'Discover Dill' and consisted of :-

• vitello tonato with Pommery mustard, egg, caper and dried dill;
• tartar of smoked salmon on cucumber, and gravad lax, served with lime and dill;
• buttermilk mousse and kiwi sauce, served with redcurrants (rather than blackberry, as listed in the leaflet);
• two chocolates.

As always, this was accompanied by some warm bread rolls. I washed the whole lot down with a glass of Riesling wine and a cup of coffee. Unfortunately the friendly and courteous service given by the Purser during the meal was spoiled somewhat by a complete cessation of service afterwards, while the crew tucked into their food. I didn't really feel like anything else, but that's not the point. If I'm sitting up front, I expect to be asked.

The route was the usual one, via the east coast of England, Amsterdam and Dusseldorf. We touched down in Frankfurt at 2158 local time and pulled onto our remote stand a mere two minutes later.

My overall impression was that this was a flight that came close to excellence, yet failed to achieve it. Even more frustratingly, the weather delay had nothing to do with it. The twin niggles were the suspension of service while the crew retreated behind a closed front curtain, while leaving the other curtain open reduced the level of privacy in the Business cabin. It was without doubt a good flight, but needlessly throwing away the opportunity to make it a great flight was mildly irritating.   

Date: Fri 15 May 2009
Aircraft : Boeing 737-500
Scheduled dep : 1815
Actual departure : 1849
Scheduled arrival : 2110
Actual arrival : 2200
Cabin : Business Class
Seat : 3A



Next Flight

Home | Major Trips | Short Trips | About this site | Index