Planes, Trains & Automobiles - Lufthansa 747-400 Upper Deck & A Drive around Scotland

[yflyer]

We flew past the city of Amsterdam...



...and the Waal River, the waterway connecting the port city of Rotterdam with inland ports in Germany such as Duisburg. The Waal River was also the main distributary branch of the River Rhine.

[yflyer]

Final approach into FRA, over the River Rhine...



Lufthansa 100 logo in the fields near FRA...



We landed in Frankfurt at 4.10pm local time, ten minutes behind schedule.



We had ample time before our flight LH 780 FRA-SIN, departing at 9.50pm that evening.

It was now time to explore the Lufthansa Lounges at FRA.

[yflyer]

From our arrival B gates in T1, we rode the Skyline people mover to the Z gates (which were also in T1) , and headed to the Lufthansa Senator / Business Lounge there. This was the same lounge we had visited when we had arrived in FRA at the start of our holiday.



As Lufthansa J was on eligible for the Business Lounge, and I was the only Star Alliance Gold member who could guest one person into the Senator Lounge, we headed first into the Business Lounge.



By this point in our journey, Mrs yflyer and I were both fans of the Ziegler Avionic aperitif.





This was a decent enough lounge, with good F&B and a nice liquor selection, however it was fairly busy.



Miss yflyer no.2 had everything she needed in the Business Lounge -- a comfy spot and a good wifi connection, not to mention snacks, so I asked her if it was ok if Mrs yflyer and I headed up to the Senator Lounge for a while to check it out, and Miss yflyer no.2 was absolutely fine with that.

We headed up the escalator to the Senator Lounge.

I much preferred the Senator Lounge to the Business Lounge. For one, it was much less busy.



The decor was a touch more sophisticated.



While the lounges were similar in many ways, I felt the Senator Lounge was just a notch better.



It was a similar story with the F&B. While the selection was similar to the Business Lounge, there were a few additional dishes available in the Senator Lounge, as well as a greater choice of wines and spirits.

The Senator Lounge also had an additional 100th Anniversary F&B pop-up spread...

[yflyer]

I sampled some of the wines in the Senator Lounge.





There was no Champagne on offer, but some of the sparkling wines on offer were quite drinkable, including this Bouvet ladubay Instinct Extra-Brut, made in the Loire Valley with the Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay grapes using the m?thode traditionnelle.



The spirit selection was very impressive...



...with many interesting bottles to taste.





On the food front, there were also a few additional selections compared to the Business Lounge.



Many diifferent kinds of bread...



Very appetising hot selections...





A baked potato station...



Strawberry rhubarb crumble...



There was a sleep room, with several beds available.



While I was impressed by the F&B and decor of this Senator Lounge, what I really appreciated was that the lounge was quite serene and peaceful throughout the time we were there.

[yflyer]

We were in transit in FRA for close to 5 hours. I enjoyed the time spent relaxing in the Senator and Business Lounges there.

Our departure time was slightly pushed back from 9:50pm to 10:25pm. We left the lounge just after 9pm to head to our gate.

The sun was setting as we made our way from the lounge to our departure gate.



There were many special liveries to spot that evening, including this retro Lufthansa "Superstar" livery on A321 rego D-AISZ...



Lufthansa 747-400 rego D-ABVY flying us home to Singapore this evening...





We boarded and headed up the stairs to the upper deck.



There are few places I would rather be than on the upper deck of a 747.



On this flight, we were seated in row 84, just behind the upper deck emergency exit.



Many travellers online recommended these seats, as the footwells were larger than the other upper deck seats.



However, the trade-off was that during cabin service, the top counter above the screens in that row were used as a service counter, which tended to make the area feel a little busy.



Were the upper deck row 84 seats preferable to the other seats? I think it was a matter of personal preference. Some might value the larger footwell more, but for me personally, I preferred the row 82 seats on our outbound SIN-FRA, On that flight, we were in the 2nd row from the front, with regular sized footwells but with a little more peace and quiet compared to the row 84 seats.

There were 2 bathrooms at the front of the upper deck cabin, just behind the cockpit.

[yflyer]

Pre-departure beverages...

On the ground, it was sparkling wine. They would serve Champagne in the air. Mrs yflyer opted for the Ziegler Avionic cocktail.



Menus were handed out, along with pens for us to mark our breakfast orders on the breakfast cards.



Pushback...



As we taxi'ed, I took a few more pics of the upper deck...would this be the last ever flight we took on a 744?





Take-off at dusk...



I watched the street lights of Frankfurt slowly fade into the distance...



Today's flight time to Singapore was just under 12 hours...

[yflyer]

The upper deck was completely full on this flight. Cabin ambience was very good -- it was really quiet and peaceful throughout the flight.



As on the outbound sector, I found my seat very comfortable



Although this seat was a couple of generations behind the latest and greatest business calss cabin products, everything felt new and well maintained, and the fact that the window seats did not have aisle access was a non- issue to us on this flight as the person next to me was Mrs yflyer.



Of course, if I were travelling alone, then newer J seat configs, with individual seats and aisle-access for all pax would be prefererable.

The footwell was large, compared to the other seats on the upper deck.



Seat controls were very easy to understand, and located in a spot where it was not easy to press them accidentally.



Headphones in a slot by the seat. It was possible to unplug the provided headphones and use your own.



Sound quality from these AKG noise cancelling headphones was good.



Tray table and IFE controller under the armrest.



USB charging points...



Large IFE screen, with a decent movie, TV and music selection.



This was not a touch screen, so you had to use the handheld controller.



A nice selection of sci-fi movies...

[yflyer]

The amenity kit offered on this flight differed from our outbound SIN-FRA sector.



This was the 100th anniversary amenity kit.



Slippers...



Sleep shirts were also handed out. These were the same Van Laack design as our outbound sector.

WiFi was available on this flight for a fee.



Free messaging was available.

[yflyer]

Moist towels were handed out...



Dinner service began with Champagne and an amuse bouche...



The tray table was set with a white tablecloth...



Today's menu...



3 courses of main...



It was possible to pre-order your main online, either from the menu, or from a small list of mains offered ex-FRA (Similar to SQ's "Book the Cook").

The wine list included one of my favourite Champagne houses, Billecart-Salmon...



White wines...





Red wines...





Spirits, Cocktails and mocktails...



Beer and soft beverages...



Coffee, tea and digestifs...

[yflyer]

Starter and salad...



Bread from the basket...



For my appetiser, I opted for the smoked trout, which was delicious.



For my main, I had pre-ordered the Beef Fillet with Cognac Pepper Sauce...



When my main was served, the cabin crew offered me fresh ground pepper.



It was a small touch, but I really liked the fact that there was a real pepper grinder onboard.



The beef fillet was a little too cooked for my taste (I prefer my steaks medium rare -- impossible on a plane) , but it had good flavour.



Steaks are very difficult to do properly as an inflight meal -- I've had hits and misses over the years. I would say this one was satisfying, but not the best I've had onboard a plane. (For comparison, here's an example of an inflight steak on SQ26 SIN-FRA).

Mrs yflyer had pre-ordered another special, the veal meatball.



She liked it and she let me have a taste. Quite good!

Cheese...



Dessert...



Overall, an impressive dinner service concept and execution.

[yflyer]

It was now time to sleep. I reclined my seat into fully flat bed position...



A mattress topper was provided, as well as a large pillow.



There was ample space to stretch out...



I slept soundly through the night.

[yflyer]

Hours later, I awoke from my slumber, and headed downstairs for stroll around the cabin.



The Economy cabin, laid out in 10-abreast 3-4-3, was pretty full that day. Despite the aircraft's age, the seating looked pretty decent and modern.



There was also a Premium Economy section, laid out 2-4-2.



I headed back upstairs.

[yflyer]

We had flown into daylight, and with just over 2 hours left to run, it was time for breakfast.





Cabin lights came on...



Cabin crew prepared for breakfast service...



Refreshing towels were handed out...



I had previously ticked off my breakfast choices on a menu card...



Breakfast was served on a single tray...



Cheese and cold cuts...



My choice of breakfast main was poached egg with hollandaise sauce and bacon...



I found this pretty good!

I asked for a couple of glasses of Champagne, and the cabin crew were happy to serve this later, after the breakfast trays had been served to all pax.

[yflyer]

I spent much of the rest of the flight looking out the window...



...with A R Rahman providing the accompanying soundtrack...



We were soon off the coast of Thailand and West Malaysia...



...close to the Thailand-Malaysia Border...



We overflew the island of Langkawi...



You could see both the east and west coast of the Malay Peninsula from cruising altitude. In the foreground, the small Thai islands of Ko Yao and Ko Khamin, and beyond that, the Malaysian state of Perlis. Further in the distance, Songkhla province in Thailand, beyond that the Gulf of Thailand.

[yflyer]

There were great view of the city of Ipoh...



...with Ipoh's Sultan Azlan Shah Airport, Perak Turf Club, and Royal Perak Golf Club clearly visible from cruising altitude...



We also flew past Kuala Lumpur, although it was harder to spot landmarks like the KLCC Twin Towers from the air.



It was only after I returned home and examined the photos more closely did I see that I had indeed taken pictures of Kuala Lumpur landmarks as the aircraft flew by.



We were now about 40 minutes from landing...



The cabin crew came round to distribute chocolate.



The west coast of Singapore came into view...



Pax on the left side were treated to views of the Singapore skyline...



We were landing on Runway 20R, which meant we had to make a big loop around the coastline...



...which meant great views of Changi Airport as we came round...