My foray into LH F (FRA-SIN-FRA): lovin' it even before stepping into the F Cabin

[jjpb3]

"Mr jjpb3, I'm sorry but the flight to Singapore is delayed by 20 minutes."

I never expected to find a delay welcome. On any other occasion, that apology would have provoked a rising annoyance that would take all my willpower to suppress. But this time I just smiled, and said, "Oh that's OK."

"Is there anything I can get you while you wait? A drink from the bar?"

"I'm fine right now. Thank you!"

Such is this passenger's reaction when an airline gets the ground experience right. The FCT is quite empty on Christmas Eve, which makes everything feel peaceful.

But I can see that even if it were more busy, the FCT clearly sets the world-class standard. The staff are great; the food offering is amazing; and a leisurely shower in a spacious bathroom (more than enough room to spread my stuff out) stocked with nice Etro toiletries puts you in a very good mood to travel. Well done, LH.

My Santa-outfitted LH Ducky says a cheerful (or is that just a sign of my mood?*) "quack" to y'all. He's coming with me to a more tropical place.

More to follow when I'm wrestling with jetlag in Singapore.



*Just one glass of champers, KeithMEL and CGK, so this ain't the alcohol speaking.

[SQflyergirl]

Sounds like you're having LOTS of fun Enjoy your Christmas! (and a quack back to mr Ducky too)

[nickbot]

Sounds excellent jjpb3 - hope you have a great flight

[SQFAN]

Relaxing....waiting eagerly to see your pics and further TR.

[Lobster]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the FCT, hope the rest of your trip is as good.

[KeithMEL]

Glad the trip got off to a great start.

Just one glass of champers?

[taipeiflyer]

wish i was partaking in a drink with you... i'm jealous! merry christmas jjpb3, and all SQTalkers.

[StarG]

Glad to hear your journey was off to a good start, jjpb3.
Enjoy the rest of your trip!

[Greatfox]

choose the porsche!! the porsche!!

[SQ LPP]

It is too bad that I lost the chance to witness jjpb3 lost his virginity of FCT and LH F. But I am delighted to hear that he had a good start for his Christmas journey to the land of humidity. And I bet that he only had one champer for KeithMEL and CGK because he tried other collection of hard drinks at FCT.
I do hope that LH will not provide him with the pajamas which have a zipper top front.
Lastly, wish this can make him not jumping ship to be Sir Green Traitor.

[jjpb3]

And I bet that he only had one champer for KeithMEL and CGK because he tried other collection of hard drinks at FCT.

You'd have lost that bet, as I was very good about keeping the alcohol to a minimum at the FCT. Good thing, too, as you'll see below ...

Anyway, apologies to everyone for the very late update, but Christmas season means more time is spent taking pictures than uploading them. Let me put those factors in balance once again.

What will follow is a not-necessarily chronological accounting of my LH F experiences. Given how late this update is, I think I'll organize my TR thematically. I hope y'all don't mind.

[jjpb3]

Ground Services (Part 1): Checkin and Security at LHR

IMHO, this is where LH really shines. The alternative would be the dismal checkin and security experience at LHR and FRA. LH services allow you to start your journey on a very high note.

When I arrived about 2 hours before my flight at LHR T2 (I think phaleesy now knows that's the proper departure point for LH flights ), there was a snaking line for Y checkin; three people queued up for C checkin; and one (really, a couple) checking in at the F counter. The couple turned out to be *G in the C cabin, because they didn't join me for ...

The expedited service through the BP('blood pressure', not 'boarding pass' )- damaging security lines at LHR. After the checkin agent cheerfully checked me in, she said, "Here you are, Mr jjpb3, these are your boarding passes. My colleague will accompany you to the security line."

As this was something I didn't expect, I did a double-take, and asked, "Pardon me? Colleague?"

"Yes, Mr jjpb3, my colleague will accompany you so you won't have to stand in line. The queue might be very long."

Well well, how nice. True enough, someone with a name tag took me and one other passenger through the right-most lane in security. Usually, that's reserved for passengers leaving on the flights that are closing. This time, it allowed us to skip past the masses and must have saved me at least 20 minutes, judging from the slow progress of the queue.

When the airport experience is one of the stress-inducers on your trip, service like this creates a powerful impression. I imagine this would be less valued at super-efficient Changi. I wish SQ, though, would think about offering this at outstations like LHR (not that I could really take advantage of them, but hey, it's for the good of my fellow travellers ).

These were my passports to this much-valued experience at LHR:



Quite snazzy-looking, these folders. And I was glad they were more than just for DYKWIA show.

[jjpb3]

Ground Services (Part 2): Plane to Termainal at FRA

One of the experiences I dislike the most is waiting for a bus to take me from the plane to the terminal, and vice versa. FRA is, unfortunately, really good at levelling the passenger experience this way (short-haul intra-Europe business class thereby affords no priority access to immigration / passport control, or to priority boarding) .

So I congratulated myself when I stifled my sigh when the captain announced that we would park at a remote stand and have to wait for a bus to take us to the terminal.

But wait, it turns out my snazzy red folder gave me a special pass. The head FA (dunno what they're called on LH) looked over her manifest and called out to me, "Mr jjpb3? [I nodded and smiled.] Oh you don't have to wait for the bus. Your car is waiting for you downstairs."

Oooh. Thank you, LH.

So a bit of a mumbled apology to those who stood in front of me, and I made myself down the stairs to the Porsche Cayenne waiting for me and another pax. We were soon whisked to the terminal, where I followed SQflyergirl's and CGK's instructions on how to get from the arrival gate to the FCT.

This was the exchange at passport control:

"What is your final destination?" (Very Teutonic, that question. No smooth pleasantries like "sir" as in Britain. )
"Singapore."
"You're exiting to get to Singapore?"
"I'd like to use the First Class Terminal." [flash snazzy red folder]
"Oh, OK."

It was a fairly long walk to the First Class counter (this is where I deviated from SQflyergirl's and CGK's advice, and rather than venture outside in the -2 degree weather, decided to ask for a car transfer to the FCT). A five-minute wait, and I was bundled along with an American couple into another Porsche to get to the FCT.

There I was greeted by my personal assistant (forgot her name ) who took me through security (this means I could put my LAGs into proper toiletry bags rather than keeping them in the ziploc bag); showed me around the FCT; and assured me she would find me to inform me when it was time to head to my flight.

My conclusion even at this stage: LH F is quite astute in differentiating its service offering by providing these conveniences that make you feel special on the ground and blur the boundary between onboard service and pre-flight service. When the originating airports (e.g., LHR, FRA) are ones which offer less-than-stellar experiences, such services are a powerful competitive differentiator.

I'm very happy I got to experience these aspects of the LH F experience.

[jjpb3]

Side note: it's nice transiting through an empty airport

I forgot to snap pictures when I was transiting on 24 December, but I remembered to do so on the 30th, around 0845.

The effect was the same: amazement that this was one of Europe's busiest hubs any other part of the year, and appreciation for the majestic silence.

The usually busy LH checkin counters:


Leading up to the premium checkin areas:


A bit of Christmas cheer overlooking the terminal:

[jjpb3]

Ground Services (Part 3): Terminal to Plane at FRA

As with the ride to the terminal, the chauffeur service from the terminal to the plane (or aerobridge) was great for maintaining the exclusive feel of F service.

When your personal assistant brings you downstairs from the FCT, you will need to show your BP to collect your passport from the Border Police stationed in the basement. Then you'll be taken to your car.

You might have to share the ride if there are several people who are trying to get on the same flight. I had to share the Porsche with 3 other pax, making the ride rather too cozy for my tastes. @SQ LPP: this is why it was good I limited my alcohol intake at the FCT. It would have been embarrassing to be the only one struggling with my sense of balance in my party. (The sharing of the ride might not have been bad for phaleesy : it was during this ride that I discovered that the cute guy was on my flight to SIN, and that he was Swiss.)

We got out of the car; walked upstairs (this is where you would be thankful if you didn't pack too much into your carryons; cough cough SQ LPP ); and were escorted past the pax who were already standing in a long line waiting for the BP readers to be manned.

On my return journey, I was the only one who had to get from the FCT to the LHR-bound flight. This time, I got the Mercedes and a very friendly chatty staff member from Italy who was obtaining a degree in event organizing.

Views from my chariot ride:







SQ LPP said he saw how packed the buses were which were taking the LHR-bound passengers. The main advantage of the car ride was avoiding the bus ride itself. I got assisted with my luggage until the foot of the stairs, and then I had to carry it up the stairs myself. What horror. I was so flustered I couldn't take a picture of the aircraft and the staircase boarding.


Coming soon ... my visits to the LH Lounges.