Frankfurt Rhein-Main

I began my long way to the A concourse but decided to pass the SEN lounge in the B concourse to get my boarding pass and also see, if I was able to take a shower. The boarding pass was issued without problems, but the queue for the shower was long and housekeeping expected a waiting time between 90 and 120 minutes. Probably too long for me and as this lounge was packed and one could hardly find a seat, I decided to go to concourse A.

Unfortunately the IRIS Scan at immigration did not work for me and a couple of other passengers, so I had to join the queues for a real immigration officer.

Again, I had to clear security at concourse A and I was on my way to the SEN lounge near gate A 26, which was also full, but some free seats were available. I got something to drink and took a seat. The lines for the shower in the FTL lounge were also quite long.

The flight to Düsseldorf had the gate just opposite the lounge and therefore it was not a long way from the gate to the lounge. I left the lounge a few minutes after boarding time, because I expected boarding time to begin late as usual. I was right; the plane was not even there. It finally arrived at 08:25 and had to be cleaned first. The information screen at the gate was never updated.

Looking on the gate the flight would become really full. At departure time the boarding process started slowly with a wheelchair service and some elder people. The self check in gates were open, but we were told not to board. Again, some passengers did not hear or did not care and boarded themselves. The gate agents were a bit annoyed, but I and other passengers decided to wait until boarding had finally started for the hoi polloi.

26 February 2008
FRA – DUS
[Frankfurt - Düsseldorf]
LH 802 (Lufthansa); Boeing 737-300, (D-ABXU / Seeheim-Jugenheim)
Gate A 26
08:50 – 09:40 [effective 09:15 – 10:09]
Business Class
Seat 09 D

I boarded the plane and was able to store my trolley in the overhead bin. I changed seat with a passengers, because his relatives were sitting beside me and he wants to sit with them.

Later another passenger approached him and telling him he was on his seat. I stand up and seat 16 D was given two times. I informed the flight attendant who took our boarding passes and informed the gate. They assigned me seat 09 D instead and so I had a seat in Business Class on this short hop.
Magazines and newspapers were distributed.

We pushed back at 09:15 and rolled to the runway. Luckily we had not to wait that long at wheels were up five minutes later at 09:20. Soon after the seat belt signs were turned off the crew began the service in Business Class.

First the snack was delivered; which consisted of a small sandwich and yoghurt. A beverage service soon followed and I had a cup of coffee and a glass of water. While the coffee was served in a paper cup, the water came in a real glass.

Soon our trays were cleared and we began our final approach into Düsseldorf. We touched down at 10:05 and arrived at our gate at 10:09.

I left through the exit for passengers with hand luggage only and looked for my father, who had decided to pick me up and drive me home.

Conclusion

Looking back, I had been very lucky in the last 15 years of flying. It was only a question of time before this luck comes to an end. And it seems, this had been on this trip. I was affected by weather, stressed agents and some other things. Eventually everything worked out due to some very good agents of UA at San Diego, Chicago and San Antonio. United should be proud of its staff. Nevertheless it was a nice trip; I meet some nice passengers traveling in the seat next to me, meet some new flyertalkers in San Francisco, meet some flyertalker again and got a very nice guided tour through SFO by flyertalker sy7. And I met unexpected cawhite in SAT, which was a pleasant surprise and met an exhausting day turning into a very pleasant chat on the flight to ORD.

United is in Economy still better than Lufthansa, if you are able to get an Economy Plus seat and have a good crew. However in Business Class, the product is outdated and they have to improve service level, especially with the new C Class they might be equal with some of their European competitor, but they have to work on the service attitude of staff.

Ground Crew is still not very stress resistant at all hubs. Luckily you still find some friendly and helpful agents at some airports. It is interesting to learn, that their customer service department did a good job in dealing with complaints. I never had to wait more than 48 hours for an answer.

An security and ground handling in Frankfurt is awful if you have to transfer between A / B and C Concourses. There is room for a lot if improvement.

The lesson learned no mileage runs in winter …

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