LX F and OZ C - my two new loves

[stargold]

I won't say too much on here since I will be churning out my standard-issue trip report on the flights (that is to say, expect ~10,000 words and 100 photos per flight ) but just a few points:

LX F

1. Service extremely polished, refined and really very warm and genuine all around. The Maitre de Cabine was even more wonderful than the one male and one female FA serving the F cabin, who were already amazing.

2. I loved the ZRH FCL. Not the most elaborate in terms of food offerings or facilities, but to me it was decorated in exactly my ideal tastes and the pre-flight dining was a real delight. The Merc Van transfer to E-terminal was pleasant.

3. Food onboard - wow! LX clearly take food very seriously - perhaps almost as much as NH and the meal onboard was just wonderful. And the Cuvee Louise was still very much drinkable after 6-7 glasses

4. Seat - you'd never think it was a 10+ year old design! Better than SQ 77W F in more ways than one, not the least the option of the face-to-face dining with that ridiculously big (biggest I've ever seen) table.

It was just a mind-blowing flight really. I would suggest anyone who hasn't tried it before to plan it as soon as possible

OZ C

The service on the Upper Deck was simply wonderful. All the attentiveness of SQ, minus some of the "polish" but a lot more of the "human touch" - it really felt like you're interacting with a person rather than a training manual.

The seat, catering, IFE etc were all pretty standard, but the service really made the flight a real joy. Without a doubt my most enjoyable Business Class service to date.

And jhm: I did not get round to calling them "older sister" - I didn't really start chatting to them until towards the end of the flight, by which it would have sounded a bit... strange to suddenly launch into doing that!

[jhm]

And jhm: I did not get round to calling them "older sister" - I didn't really start chatting to them until towards the end of the flight, by which it would have sounded a bit... strange to suddenly launch into doing that!

Noted that I should get this done earlier in the flight - e.g. soon after boarding - to maximise the potential benefits.

I'm glad you enjoyed your flights! I'm looking forward more to my OZ! I've never tried LX C/F but it looks like it'll be even better when the new seats get rolled out.

[taipeiflyer]

glad to hear you enjoyed your trips stargold. glad to know i was not the only one who was just blown away by LX F. better than any SQ F experience i have had heretofore. can't wait to get back on them in december.

[SMK77]

glad to hear you enjoyed your trips stargold. glad to know i was not the only one who was just blown away by LX F. better than any SQ F experience i have had heretofore. can't wait to get back on them in december.

I love (and I mean love) service on LX - they have never failed on any of my trips in F with them. From the shortest trip (BKK-SIN) to midhaul (DXB-ZRH) to long distance (ZRH-NRT with me being the only pax in F) - it was always very pleasant flying with them.

Service on SQ is different but definitely top notch as well. It really comes down to personal preferences - and as there are only very few routes where both of them compete, I always enjoy the difference in approaches. Wouldn't F travel become boring if you had only one airline?

NH delivers a very very good F experience as well - although I have read that some people who are not familiar with Japan / Japanese find it difficult onboard.

LH has improved F cabin service over the last couple of years and plays in the top league as well - only the hard product really sucks. LX wins over LH in terms of cabin service though as cabin crew on LX is indeed very polished, refined and warm.

[Singapore_Air]

Nice to hear you enjoyed OZ and LX.

with that ridiculously big (biggest I've ever seen) table.

I think you might see a bigger one pretty soon.... !

[StarG]

Good to hear you enjoyred your flights on OZ and LX, stargold.
I have not had a chance to try LX F yet, but from my past several flights on LX J intra Europe, the crews were consistently professional/polished and warm as well.

[jjpb3]

LX is tied with BA as my favorites for intra-Europe flights (in C, as Y is mostly a wash among most of the major carriers*).

Can't wait to try them long-haul.

Glad to hear you had great experiences, stargold.

[KeithMEL]

I quite enjoyed my first experience on OZ C. I liked the cute set up of the C cabin on the 767 (2-1-2 config). But I was disappointed that there weren't any Korean meals on the menu, as I was looking forward to the novelty of eating bi bim map in the air. The service was as stargold said - warm and attentive. Also, to my relief - with a lot less bowing than JL. Choice of bubbles was Cattier NV.

I'll be flying them again in whY at the end of the year as QF codeshares on the ICN-SYD sector, so look forward to reporting back on what that's like.

[HUGE AL]

NH delivers a very very good F experience as well - although I have read that some people who are not familiar with Japan / Japanese find it difficult onboard.

I've always been confused by this statement and regularly find myself muttering, "WHATEVER..."

[MAN Flyer]

LX F

1. Service extremely polished, refined and really very warm and genuine all around. The Maitre de Cabine was even more wonderful than the one male and one female FA serving the F cabin, who were already amazing.

2. I loved the ZRH FCL. Not the most elaborate in terms of food offerings or facilities, but to me it was decorated in exactly my ideal tastes and the pre-flight dining was a real delight. The Merc Van transfer to E-terminal was pleasant.

3. Food onboard - wow! LX clearly take food very seriously - perhaps almost as much as NH and the meal onboard was just wonderful. And the Cuvee Louise was still very much drinkable after 6-7 glasses

4. Seat - you'd never think it was a 10+ year old design! Better than SQ 77W F in more ways than one, not the least the option of the face-to-face dining with that ridiculously big (biggest I've ever seen) table.

It was just a mind-blowing flight really. I would suggest anyone who hasn't tried it before to plan it as soon as possible

This just about sums up my thoughts and experiences of LX F. Did ZRH-BKK with them last week and it was another great flight. The MDC was an absolute star, I had great laugh with her.

Their crews are gutted about them dropping SIN, as it's now just a 24 hour stopover in Bangkok now rather than 3 days.

Doing BKK-ZRH with them tomorrow and looking forward to it.

[SQflyergirl]

Glad you find it enjoyable

[9V-JKL]

I too like LX & OZ(as document on my TR) and am glad you like them too.

But I was disappointed that there weren't any Korean meals on the menu, as I was looking forward to the novelty of eating bi bim map in the air.

That's bizarre.

[stargold]

jhm: Should you really be calling any of them "older sister"??

OZ C is really something quite special, I have decided. Even the seat is actually quite comfortable as far as angled lie-flats go - I slept quite happily for a good few hours on the day flight, so I have no doubt that I would be able to sleep for a decent stretch on a night flight. You should definitely look forward to the flight, but just make sure you choose the Korean Bibimbap!

taipeiflyer: You're definitely not the only one! They are now firmly in my "top tier" F league. The best part about my LX F experience is that it didn't seem like a one-off, but rather something that they can repeat time and time again.

SMK77: Definitely agree that it's nice to have a choice. But at the moment, especially if with the new F product onboard the A333, I'm feeling the LX F much more than SQ F...

Yes, the Singapore boys and girls make you feel like a king onboard, but I found the LX F style much more enjoyable. Maybe it's my age?

I can't really comment on the Japanese familiarity issue on NH F since I'm relatively comfortable with the Japanese culture, but I can't imagine that those who are not walk away disappointed either...

For me, the only attraction of LH F is the FRA FCT, which is obtainable with LX F anyway. So, I doubt I will be hurrying to try LH F anytime soon.

Singapore_Air: Bigger one? Whose table is bigger?

StarG: If you can somehow tear yourself away from SQ, I would say that LX F is definitely worth a try. I know that it's hard, but variety is the spice of life, etc etc

jjpb3: Again, I can only repeat my recommendation - you should try to grab LX F on a BD award before the whole program becomes Savage25-fied!

KeithMEL: Glad you enjoyed the OZ C flight - where was it to/from? I'm very surprised to hear that there were no Korean meals on the menu, though!

whY on OZ is also a very good experience with 34" pitch in Y and a good meal ex-ICN. Definitely one of the least painful ways of "enjoying" whY!

HUGE AL: Not everyone is on first-name terms with countless NH Chief Pursers and cabin attendants!!

MAN Flyer: The MdC on my flight also said something about less and less layover time for other routes too - they seem to be getting squeezed from the top quite a lot, and I could only hope that the service levels don't suffer as a result! How was the BKK-ZRH?

SQflyergirl: I remembered your "Two ways of skinning a cat" TR from a while back - will you be making use of a certain airline's generous FFP to try them for longhaul, if you haven't done so already?

9V-JKL: I still have the "look, no hands!" photo of bibimbap in my head

[KeithMEL]

The flight was MNL-ICN; it was "supper service" due to the 2350 departure so maybe they had a reduced meal service. I note that there was bi bim map for the outbound service ICN-MNL.

[MAN Flyer]

How was the BKK-ZRH?

Another very enjoyable flight. Although I only had a main course then went to sleep, and didn't wake up until the captain came on 45 mins outside ZRH. It's always nice to wake up and watch sunrise over the Alps.

One surprise was when I arrived in BKK early afternoon around 10 hours before departure, and there waiting was LX ground staff with my name on a board. I identified myself and she asked did I want to go to the lounge or was I going into the city. I said the latter so she put me on a buggy, whisked me through the Fast Track immigration and escorted me all the way through to the AOT limo outside. She told me to come back to row G and she would take me through Fast Track again, and she did exactly that when I got there just over an hour before departure.