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

[yflyer]

Today's flight routing took a fairly northerly route, over India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan, avoiding airspace over Iran and the Persian Gulf...



Wifi-based internet was available on this flight...



Messaging was free...



...while full flight premium internet was EUR 25...



Cabin ambience on the upper deck was wonderful throughout the flight.



By the time we were over Europe, the sun was up...



Refreshing towels were handed out prior to breakfast service.

[yflyer]

Breakfast, comprising everything I had ticked off on the order form, was served on a single tray.



The Chinese noodles and dim sum were tasty (Note: It was a little spicy, which was not stated on the menu).

Miss yflyer no.2 ordered the French Toast, which she enjoyed.

[yflyer]

48 minutes to arrival...



A box of chocolate to end cabin service...



Descending into FRA...



Nice views of the city out of the right side windows...





We were on the ground at 6:26 am, 14 minutes ahead of schedule, and at the gate in the Z section of FRA a few minutes later.

[yflyer]

This was an excellent flight from Singapore to Frankfurt. While the LH 744 J cabin product can no longer be considered state of the art, it remains a very comfortable way to fly. The LH catering concept has improved since my last flight to Frankfurt on the 747-8 three years ago -- I really enjoyed the meal service on this flight, and slept very well on the lie-flat bed in between meals. Cabin crew were attentive and on-the ball as well. Seat, catering and cabin crew aside, the upper deck of the 747-400 has a unique ambience that no other airliner can replicate.

To be continued!

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

It was now 6.40am, and were in Frankfurt Airport, near the Z gates, on a cloudy Tuesday morning. Our connecting flight to Edinburgh was at 11.10am, departing from the B gates. We had some time to check out one or more of several Lufthansa lounges at FRA.

I decided first to check out the lounge close to the Z gates.

There were actually 2 Lufthansa lounges colocated in the same place, the Business Lounge and the Senator Lounge.



Here's the thing I find interesting about Lufthansa: Passengers flying business class are invited to the Business Lounge. The Senator Lounge is a more premium lounge offering that is offered to Lufthansa Senator members (their high tier frequent flyers) and Star Alliance Gold members.

In other words, non-high tier frequent flyers travelling in Business Class can only use the Business Lounge, not the Senator Lounge, whereas Lufthana Senators and Star Alliance Gold members can use the Senator Lounge, whatever class of travel their tickets are for, and Star Gold are allowed to guest one member into the Senator Lounge.

This is the opposite of how SQ treats their frequent flyers at Changi Airport. At Changi, anyone in business class (Or PPS) can use the SQ SilverKris Lounge, whereas Star Alliance Gold is only able to access the Krisflyer Elite Gold Lounge when travelling in economy or premium economy.

What's different about the Senator Lounge? There are more F&B offerings in the Senator Lounge, and the decor is better as well. Also, more importantly, the Senator Lounge is typically less crowded.

As there were 3 of us, and as Mrs yflyer and Miss yflyer no.2 were not Gold, I was only able to guest one person into Senator, so at least for this initial transit stop, the three of us spent time in the Business Lounge.



This was actually a pretty decent lounge, with a good (if not exceptional) hot and cold breakfast apread...



...and a good (but not exceptional) wine and spirit selection.



There were well-equipped shower rooms.





We spent some time in the lounge before leaving the lounge and heading to the B gates.

The helpful lounge staff informed us that there was a shuttle bus that brought you from the Z gates to the B gates.

"Could we just walk?" I asked.

"Yes, but if you take the bus, you don't have to go through additional security screening." was the reply.

So the bus it was.

The bus boarding point was near gate Z11.



From the gate, we descended the stairs and walked quite a distance to get to the bus...



...however there was encouraging signage along the way.



At the B gates, we spent some more time at the Lufthansa Business Lounge there, before heading to the gate for our flight LH960 to Edinburgh.



While waiting for our flight, I tasted a few of the Amaros and aperitifs on offer...



I also could not resist making a Bloody Mary with one of the vodkas on offer.

[yflyer]

The 4 1/2 hour transit stop in Frankfurt went by in a blink of an eye, and we were soon bussed to our plane, passing by SQ's Boeing 777-300ER registration 9V-SNB along the way. The aircraft was operating SQ25 FRA-SIN that day. These days, SQ operates the 777 on this sector, unlike the old days where the A380 was deployed on SQ26/25, SIN-FRA-JFK vv. This triggered fond memories of a previous flight we took, SQ25 FRA-SIN in A380 Business and Suites in 2022, covered in this TR. [Correction: SQ still flies the A380 out of FRA seasonally, in their evening departures. Thank you, SQ777, for this nugget of info!]



Taking us to Edinburgh that day was D-AIUA, a 12 year old Airbus A320, currently painted in Star Alliance Livery. No pics of this plane as I had no opportunity to snaps pics before I boarded via the air stairs.

However next to our plane was D-AIEM, an Airbus A321neo, painted in 100th anniversary employee livery, featuring snapshots of Lufthansa employees across the entire company.



There were so many interesting liveries to be spotted at FRA, including Condor's distinctive colourful stripes in different colours.

[yflyer]

Our seats were in the Business Class section of the plane As I had flown intra-Europe business class in the past, I knew what to expect. This was simply an economy class equivalent cabin, laid out 3-3, but with the middle seat empty. I was in 1F, the first row window seat.



Seat recline was nothing to shout about. I guess this was bearable for a 1 hour 40 minute flight, but I still wonder how airlines in Europe get away with passing off this cabin as a business class product.



The leather headrest covers were embroidered with the Lufthansa 100th anniversary logo.



Lufthansa is currently the largest operator of passenger 747's in the world, and this was quite apparent out of the window as we taxi'ed for take-off.



Today's take-off was to the west, on Runway 25C.



We were quickly airborne...



Far below, yet another special livery aircraft, 747-8 registration D-ABYN, in the "XXL Crane" livery.



Skies were a cloudy blue that day. Far below, I could see lush green farmland.

[yflyer]

A light lunch was served on this flight.



The menu...



Despite being unappetisingly described as a "Cold Meal" on the menu, the meal actually looked and tasted pretty good.



I found the sliced roast beef very tasty.



Mrs yflyer paired hers with a glass of red wine.



As I had to drive a rental car upon arrival in Edinburgh, I decided to avoid alcohol on this flight, and asked for a coffee, which came in an attractive ceramic cup.



We flew over Amsterdam and the Dutch coast as we crossed over the North Sea towards the UK.



Ambience in the front cabin of the A320 was good, with the empty middle seats making a huge difference to comfort.



Wifi internet was available onboard.

[yflyer]

I viewed flight progress on the map on my mobile.





We were soon over the UK.



Prior to descent, the crew came round with Valrhona chocolate.



Views of the Forth Bridge and the Queensferry Crossing Bridge out of the right hand side windows as we made our final approach to EDI...



It was a standard approach into EDI until as low as 975 feet, when the engines suddenly spooled up and the pilot executed a go-around. The cabin was silent as this happened (I suspect this was the first time this had happened for many pax onboard, although I personally have been on a couple of go-arounds in the past).



I snapped this pic as we climbed out...



Later, the Captain came on the PA to inform pax what happened: Another aircraft had not vacated the runway in time, hence the go-around.

Although the go-around and subsequent circuit of the airport to land added another 15 minutes to the flight time, I was happy to peer out the window and snap pics of the airport and scenery as we came round again.



All went well the 2nd time round, with exactly the same approach, flown in textbook-perfect fashion.



Here's a screen capture of the go-around as recorded on flightradar24.



The international arrivals queue at EDI was quite long as it was a busy afternoon, with several aircraft (or maybe one large aircraft?) arriving at around the same time, but the automated biometric passport gates worked well and pax were cleared at a fairly quick pace. Our luggage, which was through-checked from Singapore, all made as well. It was time to start our vacation in Scotland!

From Edinburgh Airport, we picked up our rental car.



From there, it was a pleasant drive to Glasgow, just 65km away.

[yflyer]

In Glasgow, we stayed at the Native Glasgow Aparthotel. This was a beautifully refurbished Art Deco building, formerly the HQ of the Anchor cruise line.



The hotel was in an excellent location at St Vincent Place...



...just a stone's throw from Buchanan Street, a major shopping street.

[yflyer]

The intimate lobby area of the Native Glasgow was decorated with old Anchor Line cruise posters.



Our suite was spacious and beautifully decorated, with a very high ceiling.



As there were 3 of us, the sofabed in the living room had been unfolded.



There was a separate bedroom, which was also beautifully styled.



The attention to detail was quite impressive.



There was a well-equipped kitchenette...



...with microwave, induction hob, and mini fridge.



Spacious bathroom...



...with large shower stall...



...and high quality fittings and toiletries.



There was also a washing machine.



Everything was very new.

This was an excellent property, with great rooms in a wonderful location. Highly recommended.

[yflyer]

It was easy to get around Glasgow by subway.



This was the world's 3rd oldest subway, after London and Budapest, and was first opened in 1896. It was a single loop around the city (Like a smaller Singapore Circle Line...), with the narrowest trains I had ever seen.



I was a little surprised at how small and narrow the trains were, with the tracks being an unusually narrow 4 foot gauge, but the trains themselves were very modern, clean and comfortable, and it got us to where we wanted to go quite efficiently.



Best of all, you could just pay for your ticket with your credit card or mobile wallet. Super convenient!

[yflyer]

Regulars on SQTalk will know that I am a big fan of Anthony Bourdain. When he was in Glasgow on his series "Parts Unknown", he visited the University Cafe, and that's where we had a late lunch on the day we arrived in Glasgow.



This cafe first opened in 1918...



We began with 2 soups...



Then proceeded to share a "Bourdain Special", comprising everything he ate when they filmed his show here, comprising fish & chips, deep fried haggis, and fries with cheese topping and a side of curry sauce...



The 3 of us struggled to finish it all, but it was all very tasty in a comfort food sort of way!

For dessert, an "oyster",which in reality was a wafer filled with ice cream.



A memorable meal!

[yflyer]

After that, we headed to the Anchor Line Bar & Restaurant adjoining our hotel for evening drinks...



We sampled drams of whisky...



...as well as a couple of their cocktails.



This was a nice end to Day 1 in Glasgow!

[SQ777]

Here's the thing I find interesting about Lufthansa: Passengers flying business class are invited to the Business Lounge. The Senator Lounge is a more premium lounge offering that is offered to Lufthansa Senator members (their high tier frequent flyers) and Star Alliance Gold members.

In other words, non-high tier frequent flyers travelling in Business Class can only use the Business Lounge, not the Senator Lounge, whereas Lufthana Senators and Star Alliance Gold members can use the Senator Lounge, whatever class of travel their tickets are for, and Star Gold are allowed to guest one member into the Senator Lounge.

This is the opposite of how SQ treats their frequent flyers at Changi Airport. At Changi, anyone in business class (Or PPS) can use the SQ SilverKris Lounge, whereas Star Alliance Gold is only able to access the Krisflyer Elite Gold Lounge when travelling in economy or premium economy.

What's different about the Senator Lounge? There are more F&B offerings in the Senator Lounge, and the decor is better as well. Also, more importantly, the Senator Lounge is typically less crowded.

Great report so far!

I just wanted to interject here as there is a general misconception as to lounge strategy of LH v PPS (speaking as a LH Sen and TPPS here).

The reason for the lounge policy at LH is that the senator and business lounges are actually the same (one small dish different perhaps but not always). The booze is also the same (and quite good for a biz lounge — though not exactly premium). Remember you cannot get champagne in sen lounges (which appears to be barrier to FCL on LH lounges). SQ biz model is to prioritize premium spend, hence why PPS (which is not a frequent flyer program in its current iteration) gains access and star gold (which globally is easier to get) is relegated to KF gold lounge (which funnily enough has marginal better food than LH sen lounges). sQ biz lounges, aka SKL as a concept is actually more premium than SEN as it offers a wider variety of arguably more complex dishes (slightly off topic but western dishes are fairly easy to execute en mass and are readily accessible in SG). The SKL F in SIN just by virtue of the champagne quality on offer would be on par with La Premier based on that price point only and perhaps even ahead as you get multiple champagnes at exceedingly high price points.

The main spend at LH lounges has gone to the FCL facilities in their hubs.

I will single out the Alpine lounge (sen lounge in effect as only star gold gets access) in ZRH for its made to order dishes (limited but excellent quality). Funnily enough the Alpine lounge in the Schengen area is good wise vastly superior to Senator lounge at E gates in ZRH (which does have a whisky bar — albeit slightly worsening selection as the years go by).

Special shout out to the Thai bar tenders at MUC Senator Schengen lounge. Other than that the cost cuts and resulting lack of differentiation between SEN and biz lounges has been shocking. I would jot be surprised if they combined these going forward.

tldr: with sq it is obvious the more you spend on flights the better the facilities — with LH the general standard is low but differentiation kicks in and jumps when you fly F with them. So they are not quite the opposite but follow different loyalty and commercial strategies.