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

[yflyer]

That's quite an epic trip, yflyer. Thanks for sharing.

It was certainly very memorable! We really enjoyed ourselves. Thank you for reading, SQ218!

[SQ218]

That's quite an epic trip, yflyer. Thanks for sharing.

[yflyer]

As for Scotland and the UK -- we had a wonderful vacation. We were very lucky with the weather on our trip. The weather was mild and sunny for most of our trip, with just a couple of days where the mercury got a little high, into the low 30's. It was a great time of year to be in Scotland and the UK, with long daylight hours and lots of sunshine.

Full credit to Mrs yflyer who did the research and planning for our itinerary, hotel stays, restaurants as well as how to get around the country. We were very happy with our the chosen hotels, and our car rental and train journeys went without a hitch.

Highlights included our stay on Islay, as well as Staffa and Fingal's Cave (I still owe it to Miss yflyer no.2 to plan a trip somewhere to see puffins, which we missed on Staffa). Heading between Fort William/Edinburgh and London by train was also something I would recommend, especially the Caledonian Sleeper between Fort William and London.

From an aviation perspective, if you are into military aviation and history, IWM Duxford is a must visit.

With airfares being what they are these days, I think it will be a while before we take such a long and farflung vacation. Till then, we have memories of this trip to happily recollect.

Thanks for reading!

[yflyer]

There are very few opportunities to fly on a 747 these days. While Lufthansa, Air China and Korean AIr still operate fleets of 747-8's for passenger service, LH is the only airline still flying the 747-400, and these are slated for retirement by the end of 2027.

To me, the 747 is an absolutely special aircraft to fly on. The 747-400 was the first aircraft able to fly nonstop between Singapore and London, and for me personally, many of my most memorable trips over the years have been on 744, whether on SQ to London or San Francisco (via Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport), or QF to and from Australia, not to mention flights on other airlines' 747, where at one time in the not so distant past, almost every major airline flew the 747 as their flagship aircraft type..=

In that context, to say I enjoyed the flight LH780 FRA-SIN on the upper deck would be a big understatement. I had an absolutely wonderful flight. Questions about whether the LH 744 J seat is competitive with more modern seat products fade into irrelevance. The seat was fine, the experience was priceless. There's nothing like the 747, and nothing like a long haul flight on the 747 upper deck. I was very happy to be able to share this experience with Mrs yflyer and also Miss yflyer no.2, who hopefully now has a better understanding of why her father has such an obsession with airplanes and commercial aviation.

[yflyer]

Final approach...



Over Nicoll Drive...



On the ground, thrust reversers deployed...



It was great to be back home!



We taxi'ed past the Changi sign on the way to our gate. What a familiar and welcome sight!



We were at our gate and of the plane a few minutes later.



One last look at the Queen of the Skies...

[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...

[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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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...