While the safety demonstration was being performed we started our taxi towards runway 24, 3 minutes ahead of schedule.



This most definitely is Rotterdam The Hague airport:





An American registered bizjet passing by:

After about a 5 minute taxi we rolled onto runway 24 and started take off roll immediately:





Rotate!:



Rotterdam skyline in the background:













The city of The Hague:




Seatback Contents


Legroom shot:



Lufthansa Magazin:



And of course, the safety card:







Cabin shot, also visible is one of the female FAs in her traditional dress:



The crew came around offering the snack service. The snack this time was brown bread with a big slice of cheese in between it. Just realized I forgot to take a picture of it, together with that I got a coke. While enjoying my snack I watched the earth go by down below:





Soon enough the pilot came on the PA announcing our descent towards MUC, the weather conditions in Munich (which didn’t sound all too well) and thanking us for choosing Lufthansa.






Landing


On final approach to runway 26R:



It is indeed not the best weather today:













And touchdown at 12:16, 14 minutes ahead of schedule:



US Airways heading to PHL:



Heading to much better weather:



We exited the runway and taxied to a remote stand:







The tower:



Of course Munich means Lufthansa:





I am ashamed to say I still have to try out Air Berlin sometime soon, but when?:







And in our final parking position at 12:22, still 8 minutes ahead of schedule:



The seatbelt sign dinged off and everybody grabbed their belongings, including me, waiting for the front door to open.
I’m guessing this is someone important. He watched us get off the plane and then left again in his fancy car:



Soon enough the door opened and I was one of the first ones off the plane, not before thanking the FA for the nice flight. While waiting for my carry-on I snapped a quick picture of my plane:



After retrieving my carry-on I stepped into the bus. A short 5 minute bus ride followed and we were let out into terminal 2.
I headed straight towards the baggage claim and exit while passing customs to which I was of no interest.


Novotel München Airport


As already mentioned in the introduction above my hotel for the night will be the Novotel. Check-in for the hotel starts at 15:00 so I had some time to go. My initial plan was to get some spotting done from the besucherpark close to my hotel, but as the weather wasn’t particularly cooperating I decided not to. Instead I hung around at the airport making use of the provided WIFI and getting some food at McDs.



At 14:40 I decided to head towards my hotel. So I bought a train ticket at one of the machines and took the S1 train 1 short stop to the Flughafen Besucherpark.
A short walk followed to my hotel following the signs:



Hotel in sight:



Almost there:



I arrived at the hotel just ahead of 15:00 but the reception had no problem checking me in. 5 minutes later I went upstairs using the elevator and headed straight to my room:













During the rest of the afternoon/evening I made use of the WIFI, caught up on some trip reports, watched a DVD, watched some TV and ordered some room service:




Continued Below

Around midnight I started to get quite tired so fell into a nice and long sleep..

With my flight not leaving back to RTM until late in the afternoon I was able to sleep in, so at 11:00 my alarm clock went off and I got my usual morning rituals done.
With that all done I grabbed my belongings and headed downstairs to check out. With that taken care of I walked back to the train station to head back to the airport:





The train came right away so I was back at the airport in no time.


Check-In


Next stop was Terminal 2. As I had checked in online the night before in my hotel all I needed to do now was print my BP so I approached one of the LH SSK and swapped my LH FFC. For some reason the machine didn’t like me as it didn’t want to find my flight in the system for some odd reason.
So off to the Business Class check-in I went where it was my turn right away. The quite uninterested check-in agent printed my BP without a problem.
Next stop was security, which was a breeze as I was able to use the Business/First Class lane. This all together only took a mere 15 minutes.


Lufthansa Business Lounge


With more than 4 hours to go until my flight I headed straight towards the Lufthansa Business Lounge. The friendly agent scanned my BP, swapped my FFC and I was let through while being wished a pleasant stay.
For the next 4,5 hours I made use of the free WIFI, caught up on some trip reports and watched some TV while regularly visiting the bar:
















Boarding


BP for this flight:



Eventually at 16:50, 10 minutes past boarding time I left the lounge and headed towards my assigned gate G45. Once arriving there it seemed that everybody had already gone through so I scanned my BP and headed straight downstairs to the waiting bus. In front of us was this OS 737 heading to VIE:



After 5 minutes the bus doors were closed and we headed towards our aircraft. After looking around in the bus there were only 4 other people to be seen, wow this is going to be a very light load I thought.
Once arriving at our aircraft I immediately noticed that this wasn’t the planned CRJ-900. Apparently the aircraft had been downgraded back to a CRJ-700.
I exited the bus and headed up the stairs.


On Board


02/10/2012
MUC-RTM
LH2316 // 15A
CRJ-700 operated by Lufthansa Cityline // D-ACPP
17:07-18:26

Once entering the aircraft I was greeted by a female FA. In the back of the cabin was another female FA, they can best be described as biz friendly with not many smiles.
The first thing I noticed was that there were already quite some passengers on board so I was apparently on the second bus. The second thing I noticed was that Business Class was the first 7 rows with just one person seated in the very first row.
I headed straight to my seat 15A and got settled in:



As already mentioned above the first 7 rows were Business Class with 1 person in it. Rows 8-20 were Economy Class and the load here was around 85% with the seat next to me occupied. Why they didn’t make the first 2 rows Business Class and let the rest of us spread out is beyond me. This caused for quite a cramped feeling.
The doors were closed at 17:00, 5 minutes ahead of schedule. One of the female FAs came on the PA with the usual announcements followed by the flight deck. Announced flying time was 1 hour and 10 minutes.
The safety demonstration was being performed while we started to taxi towards the same runway I landed on yesterday, 26R:



Next time you downgrade my aircraft, at least give me a special scheme like this!:





After you big brother:




Take Off


After about 10 minutes of taxiing and waiting for departing/arriving aircraft we rolled onto 26R and started take off:









Nice view of MUC:









The legroom was a bit tight:



The remainder of the flight I played a game on my laptop as there wasn’t too much to be seen outside. The crew also came around offering the snack service. A piece of bread filled with big chunks of butter was the snack on this flight. Have had it before and it can best be described as disgusting so I didn’t bother eating it:



Together with that I got an OJ and coffee:



Safety card:







In no time the pilot came on the PA announcing our descent towards RTM and thanking us for flying Lufthansa:





Typical Dutch landscape in sight:



Making a left turn:




Landing


And into final approach for runway 24:





Rotterdam Skyline:













And touchdown at 18:24, 11 minutes ahead of schedule:



We exited the runway and a short taxi followed to our remote stand:



Yes I know I have to fly you soon:





In our final parking position at 18:26, still 9 minutes ahead of schedule:



And yes, this is Rotterdam The Hague airport again:



Hello there:



The front door was opened swiftly so I grabbed my belongings and headed outside together with the other passengers. Before heading inside the terminal I snapped a quick picture of my plane. D-ACPP did the honors on this flight, delivered factory fresh to Lufthansa Cityline on 07/02/2003:



I headed inside the terminal and was at the bus stop waiting for my bus within 2 minutes, oh the joy of those smaller airport it’s so much easier. Luckily enough my bus was just about to depart so I was at Rotterdam Centraal in no time. Unfortunately my Fyra train back to Amsterdam had just left so a 25 minute wait followed:



The nice thing about the high speed Fyra train is that you can get to Schiphol from Rotterdam Centraal in 27 minutes.
So in no time I was at Schiphol airport where I took the regional train up to Amsterdam Lelylaan station. A 10 minute walk followed and I was back home after another great trip.


Conclusion


Catching an inaugural flight with its celebrations is always fun and this trip was no exception. It’s always nice to catch some nice pictures of the water salute. The flight RTM-MUC was a good one. Nice crew and very peaceful.
The Novotel was a nice hotel to stay at despite the price, but that was my own stupid fault. I would definitely recommend it if having a short night at MUC or a spotting trip as it is close to the Besucherplatz.
The Lufthansa Business Lounge was quite nice and luckily enough not all too busy as seems to be standard at their lounge in FRA , had a pleasant stay there.
My return flight MUC-RTM was a different experience. Quite cramped and not that great of a crew. Am glad it didn’t last all too long. On the plus side we arrived at RTM ahead of schedule.
Overall I surely enjoyed this trip and I wish Lufthansa all the best on this route!

This will conclude my trip report. If you’re still reading, thank you very much for taking the time to read this report, it is much appreciated.
Please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question, I would really appreciate that!

My next report will be on more Lufthansa, more lounges and a lot of pictures of FRAs new Pier A+!

Take care,

Brendan Berkhout // Amsterdamspotter


Previous Trip Reports


Catching The LAN A340: FRA-MAD-FRA-AMS (by adamspotter Oct 23 2012 in Trip Reports)
Air Baltic, Norwegian & KLM: RIX-ARN-HEL-AMS (by adamspotter Oct 11 2012 in Trip Reports)
KLM Business To HEL + A BT Dash 8: AMS-HEL-RIX (by adamspotter Sep 27 2012 in Trip Reports)
USA Vacation Part 5: YYZ-AMS In A KLM Upper Deck! (by adamspotter Sep 16 2012 in Trip Reports)
USA Vacation Part 4: Off To Canada!: PHL-LGA-YYZ (by adamspotter Sep 9 2012 in Trip Reports)
USA Vacation Part 3: Big Delay + JFK-PHL On DL (by adamspotter Aug 30 2012 in Trip Reports)
USA Vacation Part 2: Maine! + BOS-JFK On DL In Y (by adamspotter Aug 26 2012 in Trip Reports)
USA Vacation Part 1: Delta Long Haul: AMS-BOS In Y (by adamspotter Aug 19 2012 in Trip Reports)
Spotting Pics + My Journey Back Home On Swiss In C (by adamspotter Jun 30 2012 in Trip Reports)
Weekend Spotting Trip To Zurich On Edelweiss In C (by adamspotter Jun 25 2012 in Trip Reports)
To Heathrow Via Munich + Lounges (by adamspotter Jun 12 2012 in Trip Reports)
Business Class To Manchester On KLM (by adamspotter May 6 2012 in Trip Reports)
To LGW Via FRA + Spotting At FRA (by adamspotter May 1 2012 in Trip Reports)
To Toronto For The Weekend Pt. 2: YYZ-FRA-AMS (by adamspotter Apr 19 2012 in Trip Reports)
To Toronto For The Weekend Pt. 1: AMS-FRA-YYZ (by adamspotter Apr 12 2012 in Trip Reports)
Another Great Day With LH: AMS-MUC-FCO-FRA-AMS (by adamspotter Mar 31 2012 in Trip Reports)
Delay & Plane Change: AMS-BCN-MAD-BCN-AMS On VY! (by adamspotter Mar 24 2012 in Trip Reports)
Lufthansa To Brussels!: AMS-FRA-BRU-FRA-AMS (by adamspotter Mar 12 2012 in Trip Reports)
First Trip Report!: AMS-CPH-FRA-AMS (SAS & ICE) (by adamspotter Mar 3 2012 in Trip Reports)

[Edited 2012-11-16 12:30:01]

Goedenavond Brendan!

Nice to see you got this trip report up so fast. I enjoyed all the pictures including the food, now I'm hungry! I'm sure its pretty cool to be the first person to check in for the innaugural flight. The safety card honestly looked like a huge book, kind of different from our safety cards.

Overall, would you see yourself flying this route again?

Leo/ORD

Hi Brendan,

very nice report with good pictures! Good idea to book a seat on that inaugural flight.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Stupid me forgot that the Oktoberfest was going on during my stay there, so once I started looking for hotels all prices were sky high by now. I eventually settled for a rather pricy stay at the Novotel Munchen Airport, an hotel I have been to before and close to the airport.

Yes, hotels can be very expensive during that period.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): After putting all my belongings on the belt I handed my BP over to the agent. He gave it a weird look and handed it over to his supervisor who also gave it a weird look. Apparently they had never seen a LH BP before and weren’t sure if it was the real deal. While I headed through the x ray machine without any problems the supervisor headed over to the LH check-in desk to double check. After waiting for about 10 minutes she finally came back and handed it back to me, but not before showing it to the other 8 agents that were there. For a second I thought I was a celebrity or I had a lot of gold with me but no, it was just simple Lufthansa boarding pass.

Very odd!

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): The gate agent scanned my BP with a smile and handed this gingerbread out which was quite tasty:

They're good, but they cannot match the ones which are produced near my hometown...

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Waiting inside the aircraft was a female FA wearing a traditional Bavarian dress who greeted me with a big smile. At the back of the aircraft was a colleague of hers also wearing a traditional Bavarian dress. Both of them got their job done with lots of smiles.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Cabin shot, also visible is one of the female FAs in her traditional dress:

Very nice!

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Lufthansa Magazin:

I enjoyed reading that article about tea.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): During the rest of the afternoon/evening I made use of the WIFI, caught up on some trip reports, watched a DVD, watched some TV and ordered some room service:

That looks good. How much did they charge?

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): A piece of bread filled with big chunks of butter was the snack on this flight. Have had it before and it can best be described as disgusting so I didn’t bother eating it:

So bad?

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Yes I know I have to fly you soon:

Yes, you should. Very nice airline with good service.


PH

Hi Brendan,

Nice report on the new RTM-MUC service! Pretty neat to be the first to check in for the first flight. Interesting year for RTM with also the BA service coming up soon. Will you be trying that one out too?

Nice to see some comments already, thanks a lot!

Quoting LFutia (Reply 3): Goedenavond Brendan!

Hi Leo!

Quoting LFutia (Reply 3): Nice to see you got this trip report up so fast

Yes, worked on it all day haha  

Quoting LFutia (Reply 3): I enjoyed all the pictures including the food, now I'm hungry!

Well you work in a mall, go get some haha

Quoting LFutia (Reply 3): I'm sure its pretty cool to be the first person to check in for the innaugural flight

Yes it was very cool!

Quoting LFutia (Reply 3): The safety card honestly looked like a huge book, kind of different from our safety cards.

Yes a lot of those are like that here. Didn't have much trouble with taking pictures of them during my last USA trip  

Quoting LFutia (Reply 3): Overall, would you see yourself flying this route again?

Yes I sure would!

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): Hi Brendan

Hi PH!

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): very nice report with good pictures!

Thanks a lot  

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): Good idea to book a seat on that inaugural flight.

indeed!   

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): Yes, hotels can be very expensive during that period.

Unfortunately

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): Very odd!

Indeed, that left a not so good impression

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): They're good, but they cannot match the ones which are produced near my hometown...

I must come and try them out then

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): Very nice!

  

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): I enjoyed reading that article about tea.

Me too, very interesting

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): That looks good. How much did they charge?

around 9EUR if I remember correctly

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): So bad?

Yes IMHO

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 4): Yes, you should. Very nice airline with good service.

  

Quoting roberts87 (Reply 5): Hi Brendan,

Hi robert!

Quoting roberts87 (Reply 5): Nice report on the new RTM-MUC service!

Thanks a lot

Quoting roberts87 (Reply 5): Pretty neat to be the first to check in for the first flight

Yes it sure was special

Quoting roberts87 (Reply 5): Interesting year for RTM with also the BA service coming up soon. Will you be trying that one out too?

Yes, I am booked on the inaugural flight RTM-LHR on December 9th  

cheers!

Brendan

Nice report! And quite familiar, as I was transiting MUC on Oct 1 as well. Must have arrived shortly after you on Air Dolomiti from Florence and onward to ORD on the 346!

exelent report - and I have to say quite interesting. I am wondering why the mayor european carrier are just starting with flights ex RTM to their hubs - for sure their is a nice market in RTM - well its not so far away from AMS - but still around 60 to 90 min if I remember well.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): The gate agent scanned my BP with a smile and handed this gingerbread out which was quite tasty:

hmmm nothing better than these ginger breads (ok I prefre them with chocolate) with a cold glass of milk

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): As already mentioned in the introduction above my hotel for the night will be the Novotel. Check-in for the hotel starts at 15:00 so I had some time to go. My initial plan was to get some spotting done from the besucherpark close to my hotel, but as the weather wasn’t particularly cooperating I decided not to. Instead I hung around at the airport making use of the provided WIFI and getting some food at McDs.

I was always wondering how these "cheaper" airport hotel is like - If I remember well 2 years ago it was still under construction or? - why didnt you checked out the Airbräu? for sure years ago it was better than these days but still better than Mcd - and of course they have a decen brew !

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): With more than 4 hours to go until my flight I headed straight towards the Lufthansa Business Lounge. The friendly agent scanned my BP, swapped my FFC and I was let through while being wished a pleasant stay. For the next 4,5 hours I made use of the free WIFI, caught up on some trip reports and watched some TV while regularly visiting the bar:

nice lounge! also I see they have good Bavarian food on offer! mmmm - btw is also Star Gold from other carriers accepted to get into?

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): The crew also came around offering the snack service. A piece of bread filled with big chunks of butter was the snack on this flight. Have had it before and it can best be described as disgusting so I didn’t bother eating it:

well for me its one of the best breafast snacks in the world - ok I am native Bavarian - but wow nothing better than a Butter Brezen or a Butter Brezenstange mmm   but of course it should be fresh


thanks for the great trip report!
Cheers
Avianca

Nice report Brendan! How does the legroom compare to other regionals here in the US?

I've always wanted to try LH and KL so I can't wait to get a week off and non rev across Europe!

Hi Brendan!

Thanks for another great report with great pictures !

Very special for you to be a part of an inaugural flight!

Nice short flight and hotel looks nice. Too bad the weather wasn't the best for spotting.

I don't think a sandwich with just a lot of butter would taste so bad; I would give it a try myself...

Looking forward very much to many more reports from you very soon... 

The777Man

Nice report Brendan . Always nice to catch an inaugural especially when they do something to make it a bit different.

Regards

Philip  

Nice report Brendan....looks like a nice new service.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): However, the check-in agent had no idea what she was doing and apologized for it explaining that I was the very first passenger to be checking in. Behind her was a LH employee helping and guiding her through every step. After about 10 minutes I (finally) got my BP, so I thanked her and headed straight towards security where the next “fun” experience was about to happen. After putting all my belongings on the belt I handed my BP over to the agent. He gave it a weird look and handed it over to his supervisor who also gave it a weird look. Apparently they had never seen a LH BP before and weren’t sure if it was the real deal. While I headed through the x ray machine without any problems the supervisor headed over to the LH check-in desk to double check.

Quite shocking really how RTM or LH weren't able to brief/train staff BEFORE passengers arrived....pretty poor planning. You shoud not be the person showing them their first LH bp.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): As already mentioned above the first 7 rows were Business Class with 1 person in it. Rows 8-20 were Economy Class and the load here was around 85% with the seat next to me occupied. Why they didn’t make the first 2 rows Business Class and let the rest of us spread out is beyond me

Very annoying. I hope the return flight was full in C, otherwise you'll have all suffered for nothing.

Hoi, B.,

really good to follow you´re impressions about this LH inaugural service.
Well done, also the pictures.
Shame with these hotel prices, but they know how to make money, definitely.

Greetings,
Markus(FLIEGER67)

Hi Brendan,

nice report here, great idea to get on that inaugural flight to MUC. And nice to see that they made some celebrations on it and even had a water cannon salute, cool. And for sure something special to be the first one to check-in on a flight like that, though I agree that the agent should have been better prepared for it.

Greetings
CaptainRed

Yo Brendan,

Cool report and congrats on your 1st (?) inaugural. I hope this route will last, you never know whith these oddball routes.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): However, the check-in agent had no idea what she was doing and apologized for it explaining that I was the very first passenger to be checking in. Behind her was a LH employee helping and guiding her through every step.

Hmm, does LH have a separate checkin system then? I would think that it's more 'airport related' then 'airline related'. But then again, I'm not in the business so I can't really know/tell.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): At 10:00 it is showing a special welcome to Lufthansa:

Nice touch indeed to see this message in the FIDS.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): This group of press and I’m guessing important people

Look at that guy in his lederhosen, so funny.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): and handed this gingerbread out which was quite tasty

That probably comes from the bakery where PH goes?

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): also visible is one of the female FAs in her traditional dress

Was she dressed up for this occasion only?

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): oh the joy of those smaller airport it’s so much easier.

Indeed. Same with ANR for example, in and out in 2 mins, no more and free parking right outside!

Sultanils

Hello Brendan

Very nice report as usual! It's always fun to be on an inaugural and this is trip is not exception.
LH made this inaugural very special! I almost logged an LH CR9 as well between MUC and BRU but it got cancelled and had the E95 instead!
Those AF F50's are really making me look forward to my recently booked trip.

Greetings
Marc

Hi Brendan, nice report. I see from your pics that you got the refurbished CRJ900 with new slimline seats - how were they? Was legroom decent? LH now has 90 seats on the refurbished CRJ900 but they are supposed to be just as comfy as their older interior. True?

Regards, Ivan

Hi Brendan,

really good to see your report on this new LH service. I think you got a nice extra little touch with this inaugural, normally the standard LH service would apply of course.
I'm still interested to know how they anticipate the CR9 on this new route, where I think the CR7 would've been a better fit, so with the operations active for a few weeks it might be interesting to know the loads on this new route.
I remember TTA (TransTravel Airlines) operated this route on their Dash 8-300 and/or ATR42. They were not successful.

Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Hmm, does LH have a separate checkin system then? I would think that it's more 'airport related' then 'airline related'.

Check-in systems are airline based. Some systems have they same base system and are customized, but systems need specific training. Current operator Cityjet (AF/KL) and HV use the same system afaik, LH is on a different platform.

Regards
Eric

Nice to see more comments, thank you very much!

Quoting jpetekyxmd80 (Reply 7): Nice report!

Thanks!

Quoting jpetekyxmd80 (Reply 7): And quite familiar, as I was transiting MUC on Oct 1 as well. Must have arrived shortly after you on Air Dolomiti from Florence and onward to ORD on the 346!

There is a nice coincidence, hope you enjoyed the flight!

Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): exelent report - and I have to say quite interesting

Thank you very much, am glad you liked it..

Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): I am wondering why the mayor european carrier are just starting with flights ex RTM to their hubs - for sure their is a nice market in RTM - well its not so far away from AMS - but still around 60 to 90 min if I remember well.

It is quite interesting to see how it will all go, especially with BA also opening twice daily RTM-LHR flights starting in the begin of December.. I can see people living closer to RTM then AMS will prefer using RTM and connecting through MUC or LHR later on.. Rotterdam also has the biggest harbor in Europe and one of the biggest in the world of course.. Time will tell I guess!

Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): hmmm nothing better than these ginger breads (ok I prefre them with chocolate) with a cold glass of milk

That sounds even better!

Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): I was always wondering how these "cheaper" airport hotel is like - If I remember well 2 years ago it was still under construction or?

Yes, it was under construction back then if I remember correctly

Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): why didnt you checked out the Airbräu? for sure years ago it was better than these days but still better than Mcd - and of course they have a decen brew !

Wanted a quick bite to eat and didn't really think through my options, will definetely go there next time I transfer through MUC

Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): nice lounge! also I see they have good Bavarian food on offer! mmmm - btw is also Star Gold from other carriers accepted to get into?

Yes it sure did and yes I believe both the Business and Senator lounges are accessible for Star Gold

Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): well for me its one of the best breafast snacks in the world - ok I am native Bavarian - but wow nothing better than a Butter Brezen or a Butter Brezenstange mmm but of course it should be fresh

If it was fresh I think I would actually like it oo, although it was a bit too much butter for me'

Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): thanks for the great trip report!

Thanks for commenting, I'm glad you liked it!

Quoting bufmd90pl (Reply 9): Nice report Brendan!

Thanks man  

Quoting bufmd90pl (Reply 9): How does the legroom compare to other regionals here in the US?

I would say it is about the same

Quoting bufmd90pl (Reply 9): I've always wanted to try LH and KL so I can't wait to get a week off and non rev across Europe!

That would be nice for you. Travelling in Europe is much more relax than the US haha  

Quoting The777Man (Reply 10): Hi Brendan!

Hi there 777Man!

Quoting The777Man (Reply 10): Thanks for another great report with great pictures !

Thank you very much, I am glad you liked it

Quoting The777Man (Reply 10): Very special for you to be a part of an inaugural flight!

It sure was!

Quoting The777Man (Reply 10): Nice short flight and hotel looks nice. Too bad the weather wasn't the best for spotting.

Indeed shame about the weather!

Quoting The777Man (Reply 10): I don't think a sandwich with just a lot of butter would taste so bad; I would give it a try myself...

I do like a sandwich with a bit of butter, but with chunks of butter..

Quoting The777Man (Reply 10): Looking forward very much to many more reports from you very soon...

Doing my best  

Quoting OA260 (Reply 11): Nice report Brendan

Thanks Phillip!

Quoting OA260 (Reply 11): Always nice to catch an inaugural especially when they do something to make it a bit different.

Indeed, hope you are enjoying your cruise!

Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 12): Nice report Brendan....looks like a nice new service.

Thanks Gabriel, it sure does hope it lasts

Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 12): Quite shocking really how RTM or LH weren't able to brief/train staff BEFORE passengers arrived....pretty poor planning. You shoud not be the person showing them their first LH bp.

Exactly me opinion   

Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 12): Very annoying. I hope the return flight was full in C, otherwise you'll have all suffered for nothing.

Indeed!

Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 13): Hoi, B.,

Hi Markus

Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 13): really good to follow you´re impressions about this LH inaugural service. Well done, also the pictures.

Thank you very much

Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 13): Shame with these hotel prices, but they know how to make money, definitely.

Yes they sure do!

Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 14): Hi Brendan

Hi there Captain!

Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 14): nice report here, great idea to get on that inaugural flight to MUC.

Thanks! Yes it sure was great  

Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 14): And nice to see that they made some celebrations on it and even had a water cannon salute, cool

Indeed, was very happy with catching the water canon salute  

Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 14): And for sure something special to be the first one to check-in on a flight like that, though I agree that the agent should have been better prepared for it.

It sure felt special despite the agents not being prepared

Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Yo Brendan

Yo Nils 

Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Cool report and congrats on your 1st (?) inaugural. I hope this route will last, you never know whith these oddball routes.

Thank you very much.. I sure hope so too, would be nice to try it again a years time from now  

Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Hmm, does LH have a separate checkin system then? I would think that it's more 'airport related' then 'airline related'. But then again, I'm not in the business so I can't really know/tell.

Wasn't really sure but Eric already answered it below I see  

Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Nice touch indeed to see this message in the FIDS.

  

Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Look at that guy in his lederhosen, so funny.

Haha yeah there were 2 guys in Lederhosen and 2 fine ladies in traditional clothes. A nice touch IMHO

Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Was she dressed up for this occasion only?

Yes  

Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Indeed. Same with ANR for example, in and out in 2 mins, no more and free parking right outside!

Indeed, very nice!

Quoting MSS658 (Reply 16): Hello Brendan

Hi Marc  

Quoting MSS658 (Reply 16): Very nice report as usual! It's always fun to be on an inaugural and this is trip is not exception.

Thank you! It sure was fun!

Quoting MSS658 (Reply 16): LH made this inaugural very special! I almost logged an LH CR9 as well between MUC and BRU but it got cancelled and had the E95 instead!

Shame you missed out on the CR9 then

Quoting MSS658 (Reply 16): Those AF F50's are really making me look forward to my recently booked trip.

Yes, dont forget they are Cityjet, much better service I hear  

Quoting CRJ900 (Reply 17): Hi Brendan

Hi Ivan

Quoting CRJ900 (Reply 17): nice report

Thank you  

Quoting CRJ900 (Reply 17): I see from your pics that you got the refurbished CRJ900 with new slimline seats - how were they? Was legroom decent? LH now has 90 seats on the refurbished CRJ900 but they are supposed to be just as comfy as their older interior. True?

Have never flown the older interior LH CRJ900 so cant answer that part. These newish slimline seats were quite comfortable and legroom was acceptable. Although I am 2 meters tall so barely any legroom is really acceptable for me 

Quoting airbuseric (Reply 18): Hi Brendan

Hoi Eric  

Quoting airbuseric (Reply 18): really good to see your report on this new LH service. I think you got a nice extra little touch with this inaugural, normally the standard LH service would apply of course.

Indeed a nice experience

Quoting airbuseric (Reply 18): I'm still interested to know how they anticipate the CR9 on this new route, where I think the CR7 would've been a better fit, so with the operations active for a few weeks it might be interesting to know the loads on this new route. I remember TTA (TransTravel Airlines) operated this route on their Dash 8-300 and/or ATR42. They were not successful.

Yes same here, very curious how it will go. Same with BA in December using bigger equipment..

Quoting airbuseric (Reply 18): Check-in systems are airline based. Some systems have they same base system and are customized, but systems need specific training. Current operator Cityjet (AF/KL) and HV use the same system afaik, LH is on a different platform.

Didn't know that either, thanks!

Guys, thanks once again for commenting really appreciate it!

Brendan

Hi Brendan great report there - kept me entertained for part of my flight down to Malaga this morning.

Hoi Brendan, great report!

Always nice to see inaugural reports here on the forum, and it certainly looked like they were making it a big deal at RTM! LH looked good as usual, with some decent service for those short hops. However those bread sticks aren't very nice!

Regarding the limo parked at stand I suppose it was there to pick up a HON Circle / First Class passenger?

Novotel Munich looks nice. Is this hotel new, because I didn't notice it there when I was in MUC? Or perhaps I missed it…

LH Biz lounge looks nice as usual, love the wooden floors which in fact make it look nicer and brighter than the SEN Lounge downstairs. Btw how come your BP only showed M/M?

//Jonas

Very nice trip report, also nice pictures, yoyu can clearly see the work on the extended A4 highway near my home upon departure from Rotterdam 

Quoting airbuseric (Reply 18): I remember TTA (TransTravel Airlines) operated this route on their Dash 8-300 and/or ATR42. They were not successful.

TTA flew RTM-HAM and were quite succesfull for some time.
VLM did RTM-MUC, but on very unsuitable flighttimes and this caused the demise of the Route. I think big players like LH and BA will be much more succesfull on this kind of routes out of Rotterdam.
i learned that the afternoon/evening flight is doing very well.

Nice to see more comments, appreciate it!

Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 20): Hi Brendan

Hi J

Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 20): great report there - kept me entertained for part of my flight down to Malaga this morning.

Thanks you very much, am glad you liked it

Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): Hoi Brendan, great report!

Hi Jonas, thanks for commenting, glad you liked it  

Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): Always nice to see inaugural reports here on the forum, and it certainly looked like they were making it a big deal at RTM!

Yes, it sure was nice. We will see what happens with BA in 2 weeks..

Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): LH looked good as usual, with some decent service for those short hops. However those bread sticks aren't very nice!

  

Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): Regarding the limo parked at stand I suppose it was there to pick up a HON Circle / First Class passenger?

They didn't take anyone else with them so I dont think so..

Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): Novotel Munich looks nice. Is this hotel new, because I didn't notice it there when I was in MUC? Or perhaps I missed it…

It is about 2 years old

Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): LH Biz lounge looks nice as usual, love the wooden floors which in fact make it look nicer and brighter than the SEN Lounge downstairs. Btw how come your BP only showed M/M?

Indeed, the LH biz lounge is quite nice! Not sure why my BP shows M/M, it is quite odd

Quoting thijs1984 (Reply 22): Very nice trip report, also nice pictures, yoyu can clearly see the work on the extended A4 highway near my home upon departure from Rotterdam

Thank you!

cheers,

Brendan

Hi Brendan

quite an interesting and wonderful trip report you've got there!
This route has got my attention since they announced though I was hoping they would consider EIN instead of RTM.

LH looks like they were as usual, nice and correct. Pity they downgraded your aircraft but then again, I wouldn't mind since you logged two different types instead of one.

The hotel at RTM looks pretty good! Too bad the Internet failed but it's hard to find a hotel with decent (free) Internet connections these days  .

Thanks for this lovely trip report and keep them coming!

Cheers

Hey Brendan,

How nice that you got to fly on the inaugural service. I've never been on one, it sure must be special, no matter the route. A very well-organized and -written report. Thumbs up!

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Turning onto the tarmac for a short shower:

It's really nice that this tradition is being preserved, even in today's no-nonsense attitude of most airlines/airports.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Cabin shot, also visible is one of the female FAs in her traditional dress:

Now this IS cool! I'm a sucker for this kind of things. And the dresses look quite nice, no less!

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): And yes, this is Rotterdam The Hague airport again:

Whenever I come across the full name of this airport I can't help but giggle a little bit. To me "Rotterdam The Hague" sounds kinda like "Billy The Kid", or "Bob The Builder", or "Conan The Barbarian"  .

Thanks for the nice read!

Stojan

Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 25): Whenever I come across the full name of this airport I can't help but giggle a little bit. To me "Rotterdam The Hague" sounds kinda like "Billy The Kid", or "Bob The Builder", or "Conan The Barbarian" .

No wonder :lol: I personally would have preferred to maintain the name of Rotterdam Airport (without The Hague) or Rotterdam / Den Haag Airport (Dutch name of The Hague city)

Hi Brendan,

A very excellent account of LH inaugural flight from RTM-MUC. Very nice to see the celebration at RTM, particularly nice to see the water cannon salute, great capture!

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): D-ACPP did the honors on this flight, delivered factory fresh to Lufthansa Cityline on 07/02/2003:

Cool! That is the very same plane that flown me from Copenhagen to Munich last October.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience,

Cheers,

Win

Nice to see more comments, thank you very much!

Quoting photoshooter (Reply 24): Hi Brendan

Hi photoshooter

Quoting photoshooter (Reply 24): quite an interesting and wonderful trip report you've got there!

Thank you very much  

Quoting photoshooter (Reply 24): This route has got my attention since they announced though I was hoping they would consider EIN instead of RTM.

Yeah that would have also been nice, although RTM makes a bit more sense

Quoting photoshooter (Reply 24): LH looks like they were as usual, nice and correct. Pity they downgraded your aircraft but then again, I wouldn't mind since you logged two different types instead of one.

Yes that was the "nice" part about it, I got to log 2 different types  

Quoting photoshooter (Reply 24): The hotel at RTM looks pretty good! Too bad the Internet failed but it's hard to find a hotel with decent (free) Internet connections these days

Very true!

Quoting photoshooter (Reply 24): Thanks for this lovely trip report and keep them coming!

Thank you very much for commenting, really appreciate it!

Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 25): Hey Brendan

Hi S

Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 25): How nice that you got to fly on the inaugural service. I've never been on one, it sure must be special, no matter the route. A very well-organized and -written report. Thumbs up!

Thank you very much

Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 25): It's really nice that this tradition is being preserved, even in today's no-nonsense attitude of most airlines/airports.

  

Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 25): Now this IS cool! I'm a sucker for this kind of things. And the dresses look quite nice, no less!

  

Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 25): Whenever I come across the full name of this airport I can't help but giggle a little bit. To me "Rotterdam The Hague" sounds kinda like "Billy The Kid", or "Bob The Builder", or "Conan The Barbarian"

Haha, yeah I can understand that 

Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 25): Thanks for the nice read!

Thanks for commenting!

Quoting win1290 (Reply 27): Hi Brendan

Hi Win!

Quoting win1290 (Reply 27): A very excellent account of LH inaugural flight from RTM-MUC. Very nice to see the celebration at RTM, particularly nice to see the water cannon salute, great capture!

Thank you very much

Quoting win1290 (Reply 27): Cool! That is the very same plane that flown me from Copenhagen to Munich last October.

There is a nice coincidence  

Quoting win1290 (Reply 27): Thanks a lot for sharing your experience,

Thanks once again for commenting!

cheers,

Brendan

Hi Brendan,

Nice report you have there on catching the inaugural from Rotterdam to Munich. Lots of nice pictures in the report as well.

It's cool that you were the first to check in at Rotterdam on the inaugural flight. Like you were officially "the first person ever" to do so.   

It was strange though that your boarding pass would cause such an issue at security. But you got through in the end.

I can certainly imagine hotel prices were crazy in Munich at that time.

Happy spotting.  

David

Quoting dkdaviator (Reply 29): Hi Brendan

Hi David

Quoting dkdaviator (Reply 29): Nice report you have there on catching the inaugural from Rotterdam to Munich. Lots of nice pictures in the report as well.

Thank you very much!

Quoting dkdaviator (Reply 29): It's cool that you were the first to check in at Rotterdam on the inaugural flight. Like you were officially "the first person ever" to do so.

It sure gave a special feeling!

Quoting dkdaviator (Reply 29): It was strange though that your boarding pass would cause such an issue at security. But you got through in the end.

Very bad from their side

Quoting dkdaviator (Reply 29): I can certainly imagine hotel prices were crazy in Munich at that time.

Unfortunately

Quoting dkdaviator (Reply 29): Happy spotting

Thank you!

cheers,

Brendan

Hoi hoi Brendan,

Thank you for taking us along the experience of LH’s inaugural flight to RTM!  

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Oktoberfest was going on during my stay there

Don’t you think that you could have combined the flights with Oktoberfest?

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): I booked a room at the Van der Valk hotel in Rotterdam-Blijdorp which is a 10 minute bus drive from Rotterdam-The Hague airport.

Did you look at Regardz Airport Hotel Rotterdam?

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Unfortunately the Fyra train wasn’t operating so I ended up with taking the domestic train.

Too bad! I would love to see Fyra’s interior.

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Behind her was a LH employee helping and guiding her through every step.

Probably an AMS based employee?

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): but not before showing it to the other 8 agents that were there.

Perhaps saying, “Look! Look! Brendan is here! I have checked him in!”   

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): The red carpet was already laid down

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): The fire trucks had also arrived

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Turning onto the tarmac for a short shower:

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): handed this gingerbread out

Wonderful inaugural sequences!

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): D-ACKI got the honors to fly this inaugural flight.

Even one of the ramp agent was taking picture!

Quoting adamspotter (Reply 1): also visible is one of the female FAs in her traditional dress:

No picture with one of them together?

Quoting adamspotter (Reply 1): He watched us get off the plane and then left again in his fancy car:

And leaving you behind to step in an ordinary bus? How inconsiderate!  

Quoting adamspotter (Reply 1): my room:

Spacious and well-appointed!

Quoting adamspotter (Reply 1): uring the rest of the afternoon/evening I made use of the WIFI, caught up on some trip reports, watched a DVD, watched some TV and ordered some room service:

No visit to the wellness center?

Quoting adamspotter (Reply 2): Why they didn’t make the first 2 rows Business Class and let the rest of us spread out is beyond me.

Probably to relieve the on-board service procedure?


Thanks again for sharing.

Warme groet,
Suryo  

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Hoi hoi Brendan

Hoi Suryo  

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Thank you for taking us along the experience of LH’s inaugural flight to RTM!

No problem. Thanks for commenting!

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Don’t you think that you could have combined the flights with Oktoberfest?

Yeah, achteraf.. Didn't really think it through all to much

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Did you look at Regardz Airport Hotel Rotterdam?

Yes, but surprisingle the VDV was a bit cheaper

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Too bad! I would love to see Fyra’s interior.

Same here!

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Probably an AMS based employee?

Yes she was

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Perhaps saying, “Look! Look! Brendan is here! I have checked him in!”

hehe 

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Wonderful inaugural sequences!

Indeed   

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Even one of the ramp agent was taking picture!

Yes, she was not the only one  

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): No picture with one of them together

No unfortunately not!

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): And leaving you behind to step in an ordinary bus? How inconsiderate

Thats what I thought too 

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Spacious and well-appointed!

Indeed!

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): No visit to the wellness center?

It was closed for some odd reason!

Quoting akhmad (Reply 31): Probably to relieve the on-board service procedure?

That could be true indeed

cheers mate!

Brendan

Hey Brendan,

Good to see your inaugural report (and sorry my reply is about a month too late   )

Nice to see LH inaugurating RTM... I guess this airport's getting a lot of business lately, hah.

Strange experience about the first LH BP seen by security at RTM. That's a bit annoying, but an interesting experience nonetheless.

Anyway, I'd read/skimmed the report earlier but with all the school stuff I had to do this quarter... Glad I could give it a more detailed look now it's resurfaced  

Thanks for the write-up, Brendan!

Hey Brendan,

Nice to see this inaugural report. I just had a slight chuckle as for inaugurals and water canon salutes are for the big widebodies, so it was nice to see the little LH bug get that treatment lol

Loved that room service meal you ordered. Luckily I had already had lunch by the time I viewed that or it would have made me very hungry!

Of course needless to say I just love how you can just travel between cities as though you were taking a bus to another part of town.

Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 33): Hey Brendan

Hi Alex!

Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 33): Good to see your inaugural report (and sorry my reply is about a month too late

Thank you and no problems  

Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 33): e to see LH inaugurating RTM... I guess this airport's getting a lot of business lately, hah.

Yes they sure are!

Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 33): Strange experience about the first LH BP seen by security at RTM. That's a bit annoying, but an interesting experience nonetheless.

Indeed   

Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 33): Thanks for the write-up, Brendan!

Thanks for commenting!

Quoting flightsimboy (Reply 34): Hey Brendan

Hi FSB

Quoting flightsimboy (Reply 34): Nice to see this inaugural report

Thanks

Quoting flightsimboy (Reply 34): I just had a slight chuckle as for inaugurals and water canon salutes are for the big widebodies, so it was nice to see the little LH bug get that treatment lol

hehe, i can understand that

Quoting flightsimboy (Reply 34): Loved that room service meal you ordered. Luckily I had already had lunch by the time I viewed that or it would have made me very hungry!

hehe 

Quoting flightsimboy (Reply 34): Of course needless to say I just love how you can just travel between cities as though you were taking a bus to another part of town.

Yeah, it sure is great!

Thanks for commenting guys

cheers,

Brendan

Hello Brendan!

I finally got around reading this report of yours! Good story and interesting read as usual!
Glad to see you had two fairly enjoyable flights on LH. Always interesting to read about an inaugural!

Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): As already mentioned above the first 7 rows were Business Class with 1 person in it. Rows 8-20 were Economy Class and the load here was around 85% with the seat next to me occupied. Why they didn’t make the first 2 rows Business Class and let the rest of us spread out is beyond me. This caused for quite a cramped feeling.

Ugh, very annoying. Glad to hear the load was fairly nice though.

Martin

Quoting deltamartin (Reply 36): Hello Brendan!

Hi Martin!

Quoting deltamartin (Reply 36): I finally got around reading this report of yours!

Thanks for stopping by  

Quoting deltamartin (Reply 36): Good story and interesting read as usual!

Thank you very much

Quoting deltamartin (Reply 36): Glad to see you had two fairly enjoyable flights on LH.

indeed   

Quoting deltamartin (Reply 36): Always interesting to read about an inaugural!

Indeed, inaugurals are fun  

Quoting deltamartin (Reply 36): Ugh, very annoying. Glad to hear the load was fairly nice though.

Mixed feelings there!

cheers,

Brendan