SANAV8R From United States of America, joined Mar 2009, 215 posts, RR: 0 Posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 15088 times:
This a group of firsts for me.
First post.
First trip report.
First time in Germany.
First time on Lufthansa.
Basically this trip was born out watching a Travel Channel show marathon back in October. Not about Germany, but actually about the best places to eat in Hong Kong and Singapore. My aunt and I discussed we should take a trip to some sort of exotic destination at my spring break. I looked into it, but about a week later she mentioned she had a friend living in Germany and that we could visit her. I started looking into fares and then she said that we could use Dividend Miles to get there. And all was booked last November on my birthday and the countdown began.
I live in San Diego but actually attend college near Phoenix, where she resides. So we would leave from Phoenix. It was my natural thought that it would be US Airways for most of the journey, but we were lucky in that we got to fly on Lufthansa for most of the travel (except the domestic portions in the U.S.). And the best part was it would be Business Class.
Now onto the report (US to Germany)…
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First Leg of the Journey: Phoenix - Philadelphia
Flight: US Airways 250
Aircraft Type: A319-100
Aircraft Registration: Unknown
Seat: 2F
I fly US Airways a lot (mostly between San Diego to Phoenix), so I didn't feel the need to take that many photos this portion apart from the meals and a few ramp shots at PHX.
We arrived early at around 7, and proceeded to check-in and get our boarding passes. From there through security which was mostly empty. We waited at the gate area until boarding for the very full flight.
We had to wait about 30 minutes before takeoff, but I recall I have waited longer at EWR (almost 2 hours).
The pre-arrival snacks.
Before landing at PHL.
I was impressed with US's domestic First Class, with attentive service and nice meals. Though strangely, despite using china place ware, they used plastic cups. The only drawback I could see for some is the lack of IFE. But most people were working, sleeping, or had their own devices. I slept some and then got my iPod on and that keeps me entertained.
After we landed, I found the PHL terminal C to be really unpleasant. The areas were really cramped and the cart drivers were speeding through crowds. So we made our way over to the A/International check-in to get our Lufthansa boarding passes, as the US PHX clerk only gave us our PHL-FRA and not our FRA-NUE ones. Plus, the LH passes are much more colorful. Additionally, the PHX agent didn't give us our baggage tracking number, so the LH agent was very helpful.
We had about an hour or so until boarding, so we went to the Envoy Lounge which was really nice. The nice selection of hors d'œuvres and self-service bar areas were a plus. It had nice large windows for spotting as well.
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Second Leg of the Journey: Philadelphia - Frankfurt
Flight: Lufthansa 427
Aircraft Type: A330-200
Aircraft Registration: D-AIKB "Cuxhaven"
Seat: 3K
Finally it was time to board.
Climb out over the Delaware River.
The seats were tricky to figure out at first, but I got the hang of it.
I am only 5' 7, my aunt is 6', so she had some trouble with the sleeping arrangement, but I found that it was easier to sleep in the "Relax" mode of the chair.
The descent into Frankfurt.
One of the rarer aircraft these days. My brother and mom flew on a LH AB6 last year from ATH to FRA.
Overall, this was one of the best flights I've been on. The crew was very friendly, the food was superb, and the AVOD was top-notch. I eagerly looked forward to the return long-haul flight.
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Third Leg of the Journey: Frankfurt - Nuremberg
Flight: Lufthansa 922
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-300
Aircraft Registration: D-ABXT "Reutlingen"
Seat: 3A
The thing I noticed about Frankfurt is that one has to walk through the terminal to get to customs. There wasn't a dedicated floor or security area. It was kind of nice not be in such a sterile area or super security-centric area as I have noticed when I go through customs and immigration in other countries. Hardly a line either.
After going through customs we went to baggage because US told us our bags were only checked to FRA not NUE, but to our surprise it was cleared to NUE. I thought it had to clear customs and be rechecked. So then we made our way to the "Welcome Lounge"
It was great to have a shower after a long flight. Usually I have to wait until I get to a hotel or someone's house, which could be hours.
So it was back upstairs to A and to our plane at gate A5.
The Lufthansa armada.
Lufthansa A320
Air Canada 767-300
Climb out of Frankfurt.
One of the shortest flights I've been on and yet they served a meal and drinks along with passing out newspapers. The crew was excellent.
We landed at Nuremberg, which is a fairly nice-sized airport and easy to get around. We went to the baggage claim and got our bags and went to the arrivals area to meet her friend. We each had a carry-on rollaway and personal bags, plus a shared suitcase. And we had to fit it into a Mini Cooper...that was a challenge.
Well this concludes the first part of my trip. During the next week and few days, I stayed in the amazing historic city of Bamberg and got to explore southern Germany including Munich and the castles, Herrenchiemsee and Linderhof. Hopefully I will post the report of my return trip very soon.
SANAV8R From United States of America, joined Mar 2009, 215 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days 21 hours ago) and read 13916 times:
Thanks. I didn't realize it until later when I looked up photos of that plane it was a -300.
And that explains why they don't inspect and re-check bags. It was kind of a confusing for me on my return portion to take my suitcase from the DFW International Arrivals to the US Airways terminal because it was a non-hub airport for them and distance.
Zonks From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 166 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 13512 times:
Congrats on your first post and first TR!
Like you, I was pleasantly surprised about stepping off the plane in Europe (AMS for me) and walking right into the terminal instead of down endless sterile corridors before I got to immigration & customs.
The salad on the FRA-NUE sector looks nice and I quite like the dot pattern on the inside of the plane. Great job!
PHLstudent From United States of America, joined May 2006, 498 posts, RR: 8 Reply 5, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 13392 times:
This is a great trip report. I took the same PHL-FRA flight last year and had the same feelings on the seat. I did not find it comfortable at all when it was lie flat, and slept much better in the relaxing position.
Welcome to a.net and hopefully we'll see some more interesting reports.
Caspritz78 From Germany, joined Aug 2007, 518 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 13233 times:
Very nice report.
Quoting SANAV8R (Thread starter): After going through customs we went to baggage because US told us our bags were only checked to FRA not NUE, but to our surprise it was cleared to NUE. I thought it had to clear customs and be rechecked.
In Germany and all other Schengen countries even if you connect onward to another Schengen country customs is done at your final destination. Customs agents can identify you coming from a non Schengen country by looking at your baggage tags. Schengen baggage tags have green lines on them. Non-Schengen tags are plain white.
SANAV8R From United States of America, joined Mar 2009, 215 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 13016 times:
Quoting Zonks (Reply 4): The salad on the FRA-NUE sector looks nice and I quite like the dot pattern on the inside of the plane. Great job!
It actually is pleasing to the eyes. Nowadays, I've become used to the plain white interior paneling, so I was surprised to see a change from the norm.
Quoting PHLstudent (Reply 5): I took the same PHL-FRA flight last year and had the same feelings on the seat. I did not find it comfortable at all when it was lie flat, and slept much better in the relaxing position.
The other strange thing is I didn't realize that it had a lumbar support, which I had to decrease.
AT From United States of America, joined Jul 2000, 872 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 12632 times:
Quoting Seemyseems (Reply 9): I loved LH's A332's, I dislike the A330 with the RR engines.
Why do you hate the RR engines?
I actually think they look best on the 330...
BA319-131 From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 8278 posts, RR: 56 Reply 11, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 3 days ago) and read 12287 times:
Nice report and pictures, enjoyed, thanks.
Quoting SANAV8R (Thread starter): I was impressed with US's domestic First Class, with attentive service and nice meals. Though strangely, despite using china place ware, they used plastic cups.
B747forever From United States of America, joined May 2007, 16598 posts, RR: 11 Reply 12, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 12042 times:
JFKMan From United States of America, joined Mar 2007, 582 posts, RR: 4 Reply 13, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 12032 times:
Simply wonderful TR!
I would of liked more US pics...
I recently flew US from JFK to PHX in F class..I was also very happy with it, but the plastic cups were not good.
LH looks amazing BTW.
Hey! I'm Tommy from JFK, New York. (US AIRWAYS RULES)
SANAV8R From United States of America, joined Mar 2009, 215 posts, RR: 0 Reply 14, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 11872 times:
Quoting BA319-131 (Reply 11): What are they serving meal wise these days?
They had a choice of a Cobb Salad with a cheese plate or Chicken Breast Sandwich and fruit plate on my flight. The
Quoting BA319-131 (Reply 11): The LH meals looked ok, though it did appear everything was on your tray at once, did they not serve the meals by course?
No. I have flown on CO BusinessFirst a few times and I kind of became accustomed to either service straight from the galley or the special serving cart by course, but they used a regular beverage cart and asked for the choices.
But the food was still excellent and service great so I can't complain. However on the return flight they served by course but from the carts.
TheGMan From United States of America, joined Nov 2008, 606 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 2 days 9 hours ago) and read 11626 times:
Quoting JFKMan (Reply 13): I recently flew US from JFK to PHX in F class..I was also very happy with it, but the plastic cups were not good.
LH looks amazing BTW.
I am not sure why everyone hates the plastic cups in F on US.
Plastic disposable cups means, less weight needed because you know if there are 12 seats in F, you are going to need more glassware because of PAX wanting different drinks and such in flight, and washing glasses in flight is not an option.
At least they went back to real silverware. A few years back there was plastic forks in F.
SANAV8R From United States of America, joined Mar 2009, 215 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (4 years 2 months 3 weeks 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 11573 times:
Quoting TheGMan (Reply 15): I am not sure why everyone hates the plastic cups in F on US.
Plastic disposable cups means, less weight needed because you know if there are 12 seats in F, you are going to need more glassware because of PAX wanting different drinks and such in flight, and washing glasses in flight is not an option.
Actually I didn't mind it. In fact, I was surprised at their size. They were larger than both glassware cups and plastic cups that I have encountered on other carriers. Although they might want to put their logo on them.
Semsem From Israel, joined Jul 2005, 1779 posts, RR: 3 Reply 19, posted (4 years 3 weeks 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 9080 times:
My aunt used to also invite me on trips to America, Caribbean etc. I am laughing as it is unusual and it's interesting to see, I am not the only one. Thanks for the pictures.
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