Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: South America 2009
Flight Log 6 : LH4940
Frankfurt (FRA) - Edinburgh (EDI)
How nice it was to settle into 1A after that limo
transfer to the foot of the aircraft steps! A funny moment happened
two minutes later when the bus arrived. The first passenger up the
steps strode purposefully into the cabin and was quite obviously
taken aback to find me sitting there. His puzzled expression clearly
said "How did you do that?"
I noticed that the 737 was named after the Franconian town of
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which I nearly visited during my recent
trip to Nuremberg. Boarding was completed by 1215 and I was
delighted to find that there were no other passengers in either of
Rows 1 or 2.
We pushed back from stand a little late at 1222 and made the very long taxi to the other side of the airport, where we were further delayed waiting for landing aircraft on both 07L and 07R. We finally got away at 1242, from Runway 07L, giving good views of the airport. Even better, as we turned northwards we overflew the part of Frankfurt that I visited regularly on business during the period 2000-02, triggering lots of memories.
The in-flight meal was another in the 'Discovery' herbs and spices series : Discover Basil. The main dish was a baby leaf salad with basil, chopped egg, cherry tomatoes, radishes and marinated mozzarella, garnished with herb-crusted cooked ham and accompanied by a light balsamic vinegar dressing. Dessert was an unusual (I thought!) lime and basil tiramisu. The usual bread rolls were offered - only one variety, I noticed - and I drank apple juice and coffee in preparation for driving shortly after arrival.
Although this crew kept the service going after the meal had been cleared away, in contrast to the outbound, one thing that both flights had in common was a failure to close the curtain between Business Class and Economy. I couldn't work out whether this was a new procedure or simply a new bad habit. At least there was no constant procession to the forward toilet on this occasion.
Although conditions remained bright travelling up the east coast of England, an all too typical Scottish gloom established itself just a few miles south of Edinburgh and the Captain announced the expected temperature on arrival as 16C. We made the nice approach, passing east of the city and out over the Forth for a big turn to align with the south-westerly runway, where we touched down at 1311 local time and proceeded to one of the jetty-less Gate 1 stands.
Date: Mon 25 May 2009
Aircraft : Boeing 737-300
Scheduled dep : 1220
Actual departure : 1222
Scheduled arrival : 1315
Actual arrival : 1315
Cabin : Business Class
Seat : 1A
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