Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: The Portuguese Connection (2012)
The long haul begins
With four days of travelling behind me and intensive bouts of sightseeing in both London and Lisbon under my belt, it had been tempting to put to the back of my mind the fact that this was first and foremost an Asia-based trip. But no longer! Almost everything had been successful, and certainly it had all been hugely enjoyable up to this point, but now the script called for a dramatic change of scene. As ever, though, it would all take time ...
| The day started with
breakfast in the Executive Lounge - isn't it odd how quickly
a routine can be established? We then finished packing,
checked out of the hotel and caught a cab to the airport.
Finding the Lufthansa desks, we checked in for our flights,
completed the other formalities and spent some time in the
crowded TAP lounge. In due course, we made our way to the
equally busy gate area, where we were pleased to find
Lufthansa's retro-liveried Airbus A321 D-AIRX. (Link to flight log in side panel) |
 ABOVE: D-AIRX with a retro look |
We made our way through the seemingly endless corridors of Frankfurt Terminal 1 and used the pedestrian tunnel finally to reach the B-gates area of the sprawling complex. After a brass-necked and predictably unsuccessful attempt to access the Lufthansa First Class Lounge, we settled for the new B-gates Senator Lounge. It was the quietest I had ever seen it.
Nor were there many people at the gate: we were going to be flying on a 747 Combi, where passenger capacity had been sacrificed in favour of freight. Prior to any announcements being made, an attentive agent spotted the large 'F' imprints on our boarding passes and ushered us forwards. Thus began a standard of service that would be maintained for several joyful hours to come.
(Link to flight log in side panel)