Frankfurt Rhein-Main

I left the Frankfurt Sheraton much earlier than necessary, because I had scheduled a meeting with my Flyertalk IHG forum co-moderator in one of the lounges. The Star Gold / First Class / Senator Check in counter were not very busy and there was no waiting time. The check in agent checked me in and printed the boarding pass for the flight to Dallas Fort Worth and the onward flight from Dallas Fort Worth to Chicago. Luggage was checked and I was pleased to see that I was below 20 Kg – although I had an allowed limit of 32 kg. Usually I travel only with hand luggage but occasionally I check luggage depending on the need to travel with a suit.

After I had been checked in I walked over to the security checkpoint. If you access the checkpoint from the First Class / Senator Counter you walk straight to the fast lane for passengers traveling in Business Class or higher or holding Star Gold Status in one of the Star Alliance Frequent Flyer Programs. There were only a few people queuing but the lines moved fast and I passed security in approximately five minutes with no need for an additional pad down by one of the officers. The officers were surprisingly friendly, which was new to me in Frankfurt. Usually I experience them as unfriendly and sometimes unwillingly to perform their duties in a way, which is appropriate for a major hub and gateway to Europe. Not so this time.

I walked the long way to the Senator Lounge at Gate A 26, which was crowded but there were a few free seats. I took a seat and checked mails and read in the papers but did not pick up something at the buffet because it simply was too full. My co-moderator arrived at 07:40 and we decided to try to get access to the First Class Lounge as he is HON but unfortunately were not allowed to enter since I was not traveling on the same flight as he. The funny thing was that the lounge agents at the lounge entrance for the FTL / SEN lounges even suggested we should visit the First Class Lounge because both lounges were crowded and the First Class Lounge should be not that busy.

We decided to skip a visit in the lounge but instead to take a seat at one of the gate areas and discussed a few flyertalk related topics. Time passed quickly and soon it was time for my moderator colleague to leave and catch his flight to Budapest while I took the stairs up where my flight to DFW was leaving. Customs took some time, because a couple of Rumanians had some troubles with their visas as they had a dual citizenship and the agent at the Business Class desk did not know how to handle this. In so far her colleague became involved and now the line for Economy Class Passengers did not move as well. Ten minutes later the problems were solved but the lines had grown quite substantially to the top of the stairs. I passed the checkpoint and customs without further delay and soon was in the elevators to the tower lounge. As I saw the lines queuing for the elevators I knew the lounge was quite busy and I was right. I had difficulties to find a seat or chair. Finally I was able to get a seat in a corner but kept the time in the lounge short.

It is always a nightmare that the lounges in the A concourse of Lufthansa are that busy and overcrowded. The lounges in the C concourse are much quieter, at least from my experience. Luckily, with the opening of the new concourse this situation will change with the opening of additional lounge space. But this flight took place in May 2012 a couple of month before the opening of the new concourse.

The gate was not that crowded and boarding started at 09:35 with passengers traveling with small children and for those passengers needing some extra times. At 09:45 passengers traveling in First and Business Class as well as Hon Circle members, Senators and Star Gold passengers were allowed to board the plane.

30 May 2012
FRA – DFW
[Frankfurt Rhein-Main – Dallas Fort Worth]
LH438 (Lufthansa); Airbus A 330-300 (D-AIKE / ‘Landshut’)
Gate Z 22
10:20 – 14:15 [effective 10:30 – 14:13]
Business Class
Seat 11 G

I used the self-boarding facilities and could board the flight easily. Two jet bridges were used and since quite a few passengers were queuing at the Economy Class jetbridge I used the Business Class / First Class jet bridge despite my seats were behind the second door.

I took my seat in the second part of the Business Class cabin and stored my hand luggage after I took all things I needed during the flight. The plane was equipped with the usual seats in First, Business and Economy Class, i.e. 8 lie flat seats in First with a generous seat pitch of 85 inch and a seat width of 21 inch, 48 angled seats in Business Class with a recline of 165 degrees and a seat pitch of 57 inch and a seat width of 20 inch and 165 seats in Economy Class in a 2-4-2 layout with a seat pitch of 31 inch and a seat width of 17.5 inch.

The cabin was not full and the most people had a free seat next to them if they were traveling alone. Not so for me, I had a seat neighbor. On many occasions on full planes I was the one with the free seat next to me and in so far it was okay to have a seat neighbor on this trip. I could blame LH for not using the seat blocking on this trip but I did not really care about this minor detail as my seat neighbor turns out to be a quiet person. We exchanged a greeting at the beginning but he – and I – was not much in talking.

My jacket was taken by one of the flight attendants. Pre departure drinks were offered and of course I choose the all-time favorite: a glass of champagne. Lufthansa is serving Duval Leroy Brut. Aside champagne orange juice and water were also offered. A small bottle of water, the amenity kit and blanket and pillow were already lying on the seat.

Pre-Departure Drink

Champage Duval Leroy Brut

The captain welcomed us on board and informed us about our flying time to DFW, which was calculated with 10 hours. So we could expect an on time arrival and a smooth ride as the weather should be fine during our transatlantic flight. Seconds later the purser welcomed us on board as well and informed us about the service on this flight. The safety video was show while we were still at the gate. We pushed back at 10:30 and taxied to the runway 25 R. We had to wait a couple of minutes before it was our turn around 10:54 and the captain powered the engines.

While we climbed into the sky let me give some information about the plane of today. Our plane was an Airbus A 330-343X with the registration D-AIKE and was delivered to Lufthansa on December 02, 2004 and equipped with 8 seats in First Class, 48 seats in Business Class and 165 seats in Economy Class. D-AIKE was named after the city of ‘Landshut’.
The ‘43’ in the model designation A330-343X indicates that this Airbus A 330-300 is equipped with Rolls Royce Trent 772B-60B engines. Rolls Royce Group plc is the second largest maker of aircraft engines (after General Electric Aviation). The company designed this engine specifically for the Airbus A330. The first type of this engine - the Trent 700 - had a trust of 67,500 lbf (300kN), while Trent 772B 60, which was certified in September 1997, has 71,100 lbf (316 kN) for take-off and produces additional thrust between 610m (2,000ft) and 2440m (8,000ft) compared to the 772-60, which otherwise had the same thrust ratings. Used on the Airbus A330-243 and Airbus A330-343X variants. The X is an indication for a longer range due to addition tank for jet fuel as you might know from my report of my flights to Philadelphia in February 2012 on US Airways on an Airbus A 330 powered by Pratt & Whitney Engines.

Ten minutes after we took off the seat belt signs were turned off and the crew went to their stations. While some of the crew members prepared the first meal service and beverage round, one of them distributed hot towels and soon later the inflight shopping catalogue and laid the tables with linen. Menus were distributed soon later and the first beverage service was done after 40 minutes in flight.

Time to have a look at the menu (click on icon, opens new window)

The service started from the last row of the second part of the Business Class Cabin. A small packed of salted nuts were also offered. To my very surprise a South African Chardonnay was offered with the second one being an US Chardonnay and the third one a Germany Riesling. From my experience with LH, it is usually one German wine and one wine of the region the plane was flying to. There are some exceptions of this rule for thumb, but I have never experienced a South African wine on LH. Since I am a fan of South African wines I choose the Chardonnay from Stellenbosch. A glass of sparkling water was also offered. A second beverage round was done after the first one was finished and before the started was brought.

There was no personal greeting by the purser of the flight but the service of the crew in Business Class in general was good.

The fist course was served 75 minutes after take off and I choose the Terriyaki. As usual on Lufthansa it came with the tray and napkin as well as cutlery. Bread, rolls and butter was offered as well but I had to request salt and butter. As the crew started their service, I and the other Senators Members on board were asked about their choice of first course to make sure my choice was available as they reached my row. This was a nice touch and a sign, that they had read the passenger manifest.

Aperitif

2010 Stellenbosch Chardonay
Assorted Nuts

First Course

Diced Veal Tandoori Style on Apple Salad

Main Course

Jerk marinated Veal Steak with Sweet Potatoe Compote

Dessert

Fruit Salad - "Key Lime Pie" - Chocolate Mousse with Hawaii Sea Salt

The first course was surprisingly tasty and my glass of water and white wine was topped. Trays were collected individually and as usual one has to keep cutlery, napkin and glasses while the tray was collected.

Half an hour later the second course was served. I was asked again by one of the flight attendants what I like to have as main course but I was still unsure what to take, Pasta or meat. So I told her I would take what was available as I had still not made my mind. As they reached my row I decided to go with the pasta which unfortunately was not longer available, so I went with the steak, which was very soft and the potatoes tasted really good. It was not a bad choice. My wine glass and my water glass were topped. Like for the first course, used plates were collected individually by one of the flight attendants while her colleagues worked in the galley preparing the dessert.

After two hours in flight the last course arrived. The crew asked about our choice of dessert and since they had more than enough we could choose all available offerings. And so did I. I opted for a Kirschwasser with the dessert and the flight attendant brought a full wine glass with Kirschwasser. Tea and coffee were offered after the used dishes from dessert were collected. I had not yet drunk my Kirschwasser but it could not be wasted and so I took the time and emptied it in the next half hour.

After everything was cleared and the table cloth collected, the crew offered duty free items. I had started my laptop to put some work in this trip report and in some hotel reviews.

The crew was friendly and I was addressed by name several times. The plane was equipped with inflight internet but I did not make use of it. Sometimes it is good not to be connected to the internet. I can live without internet on a plane and for sure without phone.

We cruised with close to 870 km/h in 10668 meters / 35000 ft. over the Atlantic Ocean toward the US.  870 km/h or Mach 0.82 is the usual cruising speed of the A 330-300, the maximum speed is 913 km/h (Mach 0.86).

After 5 hours a snack was offered, it was either a ham or salmon wrap or a slice of lemon cake and another round of beverages were offered. I choose the salmon wrap but decided to stay nonalcoholic this time and asked for a glass of sparkling water.

The flight time passed quickly and two hours prior to landing the lunch snack service started.

Time to have another look at the menu (click on icon, opens new window)

Snack

Risotto with Spring Chicken and Wild Mushroom

The offer was either a cold dish or a hot dish. Like on the first service I was asked what I would like to have for the lunch so that the flight attendant could reserve my choice. It was a nice touch and much appreciated. The risotto was good as well. It came with a banana cake, which was also good. All types of beverage were offered but like on the midflight snack I only had a glass of sparkling water and later a cup of coffee.

Trays were collected after half an hour and the crew slowly began to prepare the cabin for the arrival. An hour before scheduled arrival the captain came over the microphone and informed us about a de route due to a thunderstorm which might cause a slight delay and he expected and touch down at 14:05.

We touched down on runway 13 at 14:05 as expected by the pilot and had a short taxi to our gate, where we arrived at 14:13. I was among the first passengers to deboard and hurried up to reach immigration with longer lines. It took me 30 minutes until I finally was allowed to enter the US. My checked luggage was already on the belt and another 15 minutes later I had passed customs, but had to open my suitcase. I am not sure, why I was further checked but they picked many passengers for additional questions at customs.

I re-checked my luggage and was soon later on the way to security with luckily only a very short line. I took the train to the E concourse and visited the Red Carpet Club, a former Continental Club.

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