FLIEGER67 From Bulgaria, joined Sep 2003, 4424 posts, RR: 56 Posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 14 hours ago) and read 14766 times:
Wide-body comparison: The classic 744 to BKK
Sà wà ddee kráb, dear readers,
it feels like spring is actually around the corner, when I write this just now.
But back in December there was more or less winter on schedule. That means an immediate need for a trip to somewhere warmer.
Somewhere warmer?.
Travelled westbound lately
so eastbound looks like the logical consequence.
With four open days in the calender that seems not only east, no, far east is possible.
BKK is not yet pinned on my departure airports map.
And interesting to follow that an eastbound leg to BKK is bookable together with an westbound ex SIN, on two very different plane types.
A good number of airlines operate on the BKK-SIN route, also the chance to catch something new this way.
Well, why not?. So Exp. wins my business this time, four legs on one ticket with an 180.00 Euro´s average fare per leg, ok from my point of view.
Well, I´am really sorry. I´ve spent the night in Bangkok but don´t show you any Patpong Gogo-bar pictures. That´s simply not my travel style!.
Saturday, 18.02.2012
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.
.
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Service LH 137 operated by Lufthansa
Scheduled: 18.40 // 19.30
With some private duties during the day, as expected, I´ve booked the early evening service and a relaxed timed connection to FRA.
On the road at 4.30 pm. Also during the afternoon my car finds the way to the airport without any major work from my hand!.
P2 is the place to park and my usual spot is open, heading for the terminal soon thereafter.
OLCI is done during the day which works perfectly fine here by LH. One bag to check, ok, a good friend here shakes his head now, but I simply don´t want to carry all the stuff around especially during the ride back home at Monday.
No customer in front at the LH First counter.
The whole airport is more or less deserted, also security later on, winter seasons Saturday evening mood.
A cheery nice middle aged female printed my papers and send the suitcase on the way for Asia.
I should have asked for an upgrade, but don´t have it in mind during the bag drop.
Well, let´s check the screen for my flight.
Looks like ok from gate 114
What about some lounging now?. No chance to miss.
Up the stairs right hand side for the Senator´s place.
Also here not that much customers, only some 10 pax, mostly Asians and a couple of biz travellers from Russia so it seems in the lounge and nice offers here
The cold corner
Anyone in need for something sweet, for example me!
It seems worth it to have a view out of the window around the expected arrival time for my plane.
Ah, here it is, the A319 as scheduled
Boarding starts pretty well ontime, a good number of pax around the gate, but not that much to fill up an A319
Someone in uniform and four stripes is in a competition with me for the last one to board the plane. Customer first, he win´s!.
6.40 pm, ontime now for "Lufthansa" to leave STR from runway 25 and also 25 minutes only to go for FRA.
It´s party cloudy and the temperature is 8 degrees.
Much better than the last weeks, but nevertheless I´am looking forward to Asia, ok not only temperature wise!.
The last row window, 25F, three for me in the end
and the legroom is ok here
Cabin crew is one middle aged nice male, one elder also nice female and well, there is also a super nice middle aged female, cute, middle eastern touch, looking sharp with here Lufthansa cap and greeting me at the planes door.
A real good first impression here.
The NEK cabin on this plane, dark grey leater seats and clean
Cockpit crew is from Germany, the captain welcomes us during boarding with a thick bavarian accent real nice and detailed and so it seems also in a relaxed Saturday evening mood.
We will flying at a maximum of 16000 feet above Ludwigsburg.
An interesting mix of pax here on this machine today, very few biz travellers, families with children and lots of retired couples, a 70% load in the end.
Confirmed, the A319
More time to follow that magazine during these days
No service in eco on this short hop.
A comfy flight at all.
Touchdown at the 4000 meters 25L, 7.20 pm, 7 cloudy degrees here.
It seems the captain supports the Follow me guys. We waited on the taxiway just around the corner from the parking spot till a car arrived and shows us the final meters.
We had to wait some more minutes to disembark till police joining us and a young eastern european style woman, btw. nice looking, was escorted from the plane.
A deportation pushed for somewhere else.
I feel really sorry for her.
Leaving D-AILN now.
That was leg no. 74 on the A319 and the first time for me on "Idar-Oberstein".
In service with LH since 12.09.1997 and leased out twice to Air Malta and Germanwings. One of 27 in the fleet
By bus to the terminal for a view to the screen.
15 minutes ahead to schedule, not bad from my point of view
So, further on for the connection from Terminal 1C.
The signs show me the way out of the secured area.
Is this really true?. No, I´am not amused, it seems there is no intra security way for my next gate now.
Another piece of why FRA is not no. 1 for connecting flights by a good number of pax from around the world.
FLIEGER67 From Bulgaria, joined Sep 2003, 4424 posts, RR: 56 Reply 3, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 14 hours ago) and read 14837 times:
Saturday, 18.02.2012
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.
.
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Service LH 772 operated by Lufthansa
Scheduled: 22.25 // 14.55
Hey, my flight shows a delay. Not good when you know about the very strict curfew rules here.
I´ve read about a fully loaded LH A346 on the way for the departure runway which is called back to the terminal due to some minutes after the deadline.
Now, we will see
But what should go wrong, also my good friend here Suryo send me message and wishes me a good flight.
Close to no time to wait at passport control and the next security check. A long way to walk now on to C15 and the lounge.
This is the place where the A380 flights are handled and where you can board the plane directly from the lounge. Service was nice, during my early time there, a middle aged asian woman served the tables personally with a tray of cookies.
Nice offers
The large buffet
The "Queen of the sky" is parked directly in front of the lounge
Well designed seaters and screens
HoChiMinh, now that´s a surprise. I´ve don´t noticed it, that my plane is heading further to Vietnam from Bangkok
The nose close up
As close as you can go today with the classic 744
With a good number of flights to Asia from this area it seems it´s worth it to operate an Asian soup bar
The lounge filled up quickly with the incoming connecting flights. Not really comfy now with lots of pax around. No internet work stations here, not what I like and the free Wifi doesn´t work, not impressive from FRAport.
My service is the last departure from this part of the terminal.
I should go now before they close the lounge finally for the day
Boarding for D-ABVY "Nordrhein-Westfalen", the scheduled and warm welcomed 747-400. Leg no. 6 only for me on type and the last experience is more than 500 flights ago. This is also a new entry to my log.
In service with LH since 11.12.2000.
29 machines are in the actual fleet.
The aircraft is noted with an incident at TLV in 2009 when LH from FRA was accepted for touchdown and the same time an EL-AL 738 was cleared to take off from the very same runway. LH goes around while the EL-AL plane departed. The distance comes as close as 200 feet, not that much in such situations
The young female FA standing close to my seat shows me not the best first impression, cold, no smile.
Much better was the personal welcome from the elder female purser later on:
"Mr. F.?".
"Yes, that´s me".
"A very warm welcome on our flight for Bangkok.
I´am the responsible purser for the eco cabin and I will take personal care about our Senator travellers today. If there is anything I can do for you, so please let me know".
Now I´am impressed, that´s really personal service here.
There are three female FA´s serving my area, one Asian style, two Europeans, all middle aged and ok so far, but nothing special.
33 A for me, the exit row window, all three seats are taken.
The captain is on the mike with a nice and relaxed welcome during boarding. The female FO is pilot flying today. She is also short to hear later on close to arrivals into BKK.
10.25 pm, perfectly ontime and "Lufthansa" is on the way for the 9.45 hours heading east from the 4000 meters runway 18, followed by one plane only, SU to Moscow. 5 degrees now and rain.
Something to eat and drink short after departure
And the main meal is served not that long thereafter.
Well, vegi for me
You know, I´am not the very frequent eater while on planes, but this tastes superb.
Marjoram potatoes with Tofu and vegetables
Well, it seems I´am not lost my aircraft sleeping mode till now and hope that it stay´s this way further on. I´am immediatelly arrived in dreamland short after the tray was cleared and my internal watch shows me only the time to lift up the window blind, take a quick sunrise picture and fall asleep again till the next meal service.
The route is NUE-Black sea-South of Baku-Delhi-Calcutta-Rangoon at a maximum of 37000 feet
Breakfast time now
Not my taste for this kind of meal time
That´s definitely a massive wing
The safety card, before it got lost
My place to rest, no seat in front and easy to reach.
The middle and aisle seats are taken by two elder male travellers, especially the middle seat doesn´t look like really comfy.
Bright grey oldfashioned fabric, well used, a not that really clan cabin and it was a little bit to cold during the night for my personal well beeing
Cabin view, no inseat screens here on this machine
No, I don´t need a shower right now, water is dripping
Thailand ahead
Hazy sky
Touchdown on the 4000 meters runway 01R, 2.45 pm, ten minutes ahead to schedule, 32 hazy degrees here.
My seat, not a bad place on this 747-400
BKKs modern style terminal
Space enough for a couple more planes
Bye now to my machine
And welcome to a new country, interesting arts
Less than five minutes to wait for immigration.
The officer stamped my passport and so I´am ready to catch my bag.
The priority tag worked well and out in the public now.
A bit of a strange system here, barriers and security satff at the entrance, but people everywhere.
Door 5 is my place for the free hotel shuttle pickup. It seems I´am to early. The shuttle is there but the driver is surprised to see me waving. Ok, some more pax joining us and finally on the way to the hotel.
Selected is the BW Premier Amaranth Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The location is nevertheless some 15 minutes from the airport.
FLIEGER67 From Bulgaria, joined Sep 2003, 4424 posts, RR: 56 Reply 4, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 14 hours ago) and read 14790 times:
Curbside, a nice first impression
The lobby
I´am the first one to check in and requested a room on the top floor in advance.
A nice middle aged male agent confirmed, level seven is the top and also the executive floor only to reach with an extra card and I´am upgraded now for this place and also for an executive suite. Warm welcomed.
Perfectly clean and well designed
Definitely space enough for me
Real flowers on the bed
The garden
Conference center
Sure a well designed property
Nice flowers
Also in white
And purple
So heading for the city now.
It seems something like the following happened from time to time when you´re travel not only once a year.
I was in a clear state that I´ve read about the hotels location is just around the corner from the train line
stop running between the airport and the city.
But it seems this is wrong, no train tracks to see at all during my arrival.
And the nice female at the desk confirmed, I should take a cab, ok that´s not that expensive in Thailand, for the next station and take the train from there. It worked finally this way.
Leaving the train at Siam, where else?
Very low traffic only here, I like the Tuk-Tuk´s,
as long as I spot them from above
Another cab shuttled me to the Grand Palace in the later afternoon
Well, that´s a somewhat special design here
That looks like impressive
"Tuk-Tuk Transport International", for all you´re transport needs
Back to town now, Siam at night
A covered alley with one or two or thousand food stalls
There was a open air concert with lots of giggling teenies
A thousand of people all around
Every single meter is used to sell or cook something
I like it
Interesting design
Need a ticket?
Siam tower
Heading back to my hotel
The nightly skyline
No jetlag at all, falling asleep immediatelly after reaching the hotel the same way and slept like a baby till the next morning!.
Bangkok is for sure an interesting place.
Well, much larger than expected, cab´s are not that expensive and well needed here.
Sure, I want to go there again.
No complaints with LH at STR and the first leg.
I like the 747-400. It´s definitely not really up to date with the center cabin monitors, but a good chance to fly it this way to an interesting destination.
Mixed impressions with the crew, from super nice to cold.
The new departure airport together with a new airline and also not a new, but nevertheless interesting plane type, is coming up soon.
Let´s have a look here in a couple of days.
Bái láew ná kráb, comments welcome,
FLIEGER67 or "Markus Klaus Felger", like Facebook know´s me!.
aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 490 posts, RR: 3 Reply 6, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 14564 times:
Hi Markus,
Great first installment of your Asia report! LH seemed to offer you an okayish flight, the meals looked fine but it's disappointing that some of the crew weren't the best.
Bangkok looks like a great city, need to visit there myself, probably in combination with some of the beach resorts around Thailand.
egilsml From Norway, joined Feb 2007, 25 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 14523 times:
Hi Markus
The Boeing 747 is in need of a A380 upgrade, thats for sure!
Bangkok is a great town, and a place i visited in 2009. Nice surprise on the hotel upgrade
Have a nice weekend.
mal787 From Australia, joined Jul 2007, 687 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 14481 times:
Hi Marcus
Nice report and you went to my favourite city in Asia , I love Bangkok . The LH 744 looks a bit dated with the overhead screens , but it is still a joy to fly on the"Queen" any day in my book, food looks ok. Did you go into MBK in Siam square, there is a shop in there that sells some aircraft die cast models and they are really cheap, i spent a fourtune buying some to update my collection. Its a shame you stayed so far from the city , as the hotel in one of your pictures the Novotel is a great place to stay and is central to most things in town. I hope you ate from the food stalls in the streets as it is some of the best food you can get over there , do not let looks decieve you.
Looking forward to the rest of your Asian experience
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4068 posts, RR: 51 Reply 9, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 14328 times:
Hi, Markus
thanks for the view on this LH 744. Definitely a good read as usual. And moreover, with planned 2 flights on this type/airline combo in a few months time from now, good to know the current product. But, some have PTV's in Y isnt it? Not on your aircraft, such a shame.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 2): P2 is the place to park and my usual spot is open,
Really good offerings for this small airport! The herring salad sounds good to me.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 1): We had to wait some more minutes to disembark till police joining us and a young eastern european style woman, btw. nice looking, was escorted from the plane.
A deportation pushed for somewhere else.
I feel really sorry for her.
Never nice to see, but why should the whole rest of the plane wait for just her? In AMS, the deportee has to wait till everybody else is gone. I mean, it's quite inconvenient to the revenue passengers to wait longer.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 2): This is the place where the A380 flights are handled and where you can board the plane directly from the lounge. Service was nice, during my early time there, a middle aged asian woman served the tables personally with a tray of cookies.
Good way to get in Asia-mode!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 1): I´am the responsible purser for the eco cabin and I will take personal care about our Senator travellers today. If there is anything I can do for you, so please let me know".
Now I´am impressed, that´s really personal service here.
I'm also impressed, someone that looked well on her flight manifest and noticed your status.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 2): Marjoram potatoes with Tofu and vegetables
Looks good, but small portion and presentation a bit messy on the tray.
This doesn't look really good for breakfast. Plus, why do they use this silver foil. It's messy. You remember my meals on MH, much better presentation.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): it was a little bit to cold during the night for my personal well beeing
That's not uncommon near exit seats.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 4): Selected is the BW Premier Amaranth Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The location is nevertheless some 15 minutes from the airport.
It's all in the name these days haha
Looking forward to the return, and I'm also happy that my upcoming LH 744 flights in Y are not the longest ones, without PTV. As long as they have a good fare it's fine but for the rest I think LH's longhaul product is under par with competition.
Regards
Eric
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
byronicle6 From New Zealand, joined Oct 2011, 265 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 14243 times:
Hi Markus
REally enjoyed your first installment of your Asia trip
That 744 is certainly in need of an upgrade for all the Longhaul flying she would do, although you cant complain flying on the 747, one of my favourite birds in the sky!
Glad you liked Bangkok , its one of my favourite cities . I find people either love it or hate it
Quoting mal787 (Reply 8): as the hotel in one of your pictures the Novotel is a great place to stay and is central to most things in town.
Yes, i stayed there at the Novotel Siam Square in 2009. Got a great rate at about 1500 THB a night, and you cant beat the location
roberts87 From Netherlands, joined Dec 2011, 675 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 14216 times:
Hi Markus,
Great read, thanks. LH service in eco on this sector seemed fine, similair to KL's service on my recent AMS-BKK flight.
The hotel looked very nice too, and Bangkok sure is a very interesting city.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): And interesting to follow that an eastbound leg to BKK is bookable together with an westbound ex SIN, on two very different plane types.
Yes, you can book a lot of multi-stop flights to/from Asia.
That sure is a short flight, only 97 miles. How long was the flight time?
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): No, I´am not amused, it seems there is no intra security way for my next gate now.
Another piece of why FRA is not no. 1 for connecting flights by a good number of pax from around the world.
Yeah, connections between A and B are not that bad, but as soon as C/D becomes involved it gets complicated. I once tried to make sense out of de C/D/E area during a long layover, but got lost at least three times
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): "A very warm welcome on our flight for Bangkok.
I´am the responsible purser for the eco cabin and I will take personal care about our Senator travellers today. If there is anything I can do for you, so please let me know".
Now I´am impressed, that´s really personal service here.
Great touch!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): The new departure airport together with a new airline and also not a new, but nevertheless interesting plane type, is coming up soon.
What did you fly between SIN and BKK? Many options there, including some exotic 5th freedom flights.
SloAir From Slovenia, joined Jul 2010, 336 posts, RR: 6 Reply 12, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 14182 times:
Hi Markus,
nice start to a Saturday morning with one of your long haul reports, great job as usual. You probably had the best seat in Y on the 744 looks very comfortable at least in terms of legroom.
Interesting to see the BA B748 to HKG on the screen at FRA. FRA might not be the best place to transfer, but not a lot of airports can beat it's diverse traffic and that's why it's one of my favourite places to spend a long layover.
And of course very interesting that there were three of us trip reporters flying LH wide bodies to the East on the same day/night
Looking forward to the next part on the mysterious a/c
gabrielchew From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, RR: 13 Reply 13, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 14121 times:
Very nice Markus - good to see you off to the Far East - it seems to be the place to be this season!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): I´ve read about a fully loaded LH A346 on the way for the departure runway which is called back to the terminal due to some minutes after the deadline.
I'm sure it would have been easier to pay the deadline fine than have to put everyone in a hotel, rebook etc, especially for the pax coming back to FRA.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): HoChiMinh, now that´s a surprise. I´ve don´t noticed it, that my plane is heading further to Vietnam from Bangkok
Looks like a good seat for the 744 on a full flight in Y. You must have a lot of miles in your M&M account - what are you saving them for? Were you not able to upgrade with miles to C?
OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 25128 posts, RR: 60 Reply 14, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 14031 times:
Hey Markus great report and nice meals on LH . Shame about the outdated cabin but nice seat to be in made up for it . Love the hotel pics you can always get good deals for a really nice hotel in these parts.
FLIEGER67 From Bulgaria, joined Sep 2003, 4424 posts, RR: 56 Reply 15, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 13863 times:
Hey, nice to follow such a number of comments.
@PH:
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 5):
interesting first part of your Asia series. Too bad you didn't get a 744 with the new cabin. The meals look fine IMO.
Thank you.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 5):
That's definitely enough for a trip to Asia!
Definitely.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 5):
Do you guys in Baden-Wuerttemberg really say "Berliner"? We call these things "Krapfen".
I know about the "Krapfen", but it´s called also here in Ba-Wü "Berliner".
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 5):
That looks nice indeed. Much better than the hotel we chose near BKK last November...pictures to follow soon.
And not that expensive with some 60.00 Euros B&B. Looking forward to more BKK pictures from you´re hand.
@aflyingkiwi:
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Reply 6):
Great first installment of your Asia report! LH seemed to offer you an okayish flight, the meals looked fine but it's disappointing that some of the crew weren't the best.
Thank you.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Reply 6):
Bangkok looks like a great city, need to visit there myself, probably in combination with some of the beach resorts around Thailand.
Sure a place to visit and a good idea with the beach resorts.
@Egil:
Quoting egilsml (Reply 7):
The Boeing 747 is in need of a A380 upgrade, thats for sure!
Bangkok is a great town, and a place i visited in 2009. Nice surprise on the hotel upgrade
Thank you.
@Mal:
Quoting mal787 (Reply 8):
Nice report and you went to my favourite city in Asia , I love Bangkok .
Thank you.
Quoting mal787 (Reply 8): The LH 744 looks a bit dated with the overhead screens , but it is still a joy to fly on the"Queen" any day in my book, food looks ok. Did you go into MBK in Siam square, there is a shop in there that sells some aircraft die cast models and they are really cheap, i spent a fourtune buying some to update my collection.
I was there but don´t see the shop.
Quoting mal787 (Reply 8): Its a shame you stayed so far from the city , as the hotel in one of your pictures the Novotel is a great place to stay and is central to most things in town. I hope you ate from the food stalls in the streets as it is some of the best food you can get over there , do not let looks decieve you.
More or less the fact that I want to fly not that late out to SIN the next morning.
@Eric:
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 9):
thanks for the view on this LH 744. Definitely a good read as usual. And moreover, with planned 2 flights on this type/airline combo in a few months time from now, good to know the current product. But, some have PTV's in Y isnt it? Not on your aircraft, such a shame.
Thank you and this was for sure the classic example.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 9):
Good to know, private parking for frequent flyers
Exactly.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 9):
Really good offerings for this small airport! The herring salad sounds good to me.
Not a bad lounge, definitely.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 9):
Never nice to see, but why should the whole rest of the plane wait for just her? In AMS, the deportee has to wait till everybody else is gone. I mean, it's quite inconvenient to the revenue passengers to wait longer.
Good point, not sure what´s the story behind to do it this way.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 9):
I'm also impressed, someone that looked well on her flight manifest and noticed your status.
That was really nice, you know.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 9):
Looks good, but small portion and presentation a bit messy on the tray.
Sure, some more also for me and the presentation was a bit in a hurry style.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 9):
This doesn't look really good for breakfast. Plus, why do they use this silver foil. It's messy. You remember my meals on MH, much better presentation.
Also my way and sure I was impressed to follow that MH story.
Looking forward to the return, and I'm also happy that my upcoming LH 744 flights in Y are not the longest ones, without PTV. As long as they have a good fare it's fine but for the rest I think LH's longhaul product is under par with competition.
Definitely something to update soon.
@byronicle6:
Quoting byronicle6 (Reply 10):
REally enjoyed your first installment of your Asia trip
That 744 is certainly in need of an upgrade for all the Longhaul flying she would do, although you cant complain flying on the 747, one of my favourite birds in the sky!
Glad you liked Bangkok , its one of my favourite cities . I find people either love it or hate it
Thank you and I love it!.
Quoting byronicle6 (Reply 10):
Yes, i stayed there at the Novotel Siam Square in 2009. Got a great rate at about 1500 THB a night, and you cant beat the location
That´s indeed a superb rate.
@Robert:
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 11):
Great read, thanks. LH service in eco on this sector seemed fine, similair to KL's service on my recent AMS-BKK flight.
The hotel looked very nice too, and Bangkok sure is a very interesting city.
Thank you and sure Bangkok is interesting.
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 11):
Yes, you can book a lot of multi-stop flights to/from Asia.
Definitely.
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 11):
That sure is a short flight, only 97 miles. How long was the flight time?
25 minutes announced, close to doubled from gate to gate.
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 11):
Yeah, connections between A and B are not that bad, but as soon as C/D becomes involved it gets complicated. I once tried to make sense out of de C/D/E area during a long layover, but got lost at least three times
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 11):
What did you fly between SIN and BKK? Many options there, including some exotic 5th freedom flights.
Sure!.
@Blaz:
Quoting SloAir (Reply 12):
nice start to a Saturday morning with one of your long haul reports, great job as usual. You probably had the best seat in Y on the 744 looks very comfortable at least in terms of legroom.
Thank you.
Quoting SloAir (Reply 12):
Interesting to see the BA B748 to HKG on the screen at FRA. FRA might not be the best place to transfer, but not a lot of airports can beat it's diverse traffic and that's why it's one of my favourite places to spend a long layover.
Also my opinion, you know.
Quoting SloAir (Reply 12):
And of course very interesting that there were three of us trip reporters flying LH wide bodies to the East on the same day/night
Tripreporters night eastern bound style, so it seems!.
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 13):
I'm sure it would have been easier to pay the deadline fine than have to put everyone in a hotel, rebook etc, especially for the pax coming back to FRA.
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 13):
Looks like a good seat for the 744 on a full flight in Y. You must have a lot of miles in your M&M account - what are you saving them for? Were you not able to upgrade with miles to C?
It is, but this was the very late nightflight and the exit seat was ok for me this way.
@Philip:
Quoting OA260 (Reply 14): Hey Markus great report and nice meals on LH . Shame about the outdated cabin but nice seat to be in made up for it . Love the hotel pics you can always get good deals for a really nice hotel in these parts.
Thank you and I was also sure surprised with the hotel.
Hey, what you can see on the monitor is also one of the last Finnair flights from Stuttgart!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 2): Anyone in need for something sweet, for example me!
Count me in!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 3): But what should go wrong, also my good friend here Suryo send me message and wishes me a good flight.
That's very nice of him!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 3): The "Queen of the sky" is parked directly in front of the lounge
She looks gorgeous. Actually I am about to book an itinerary including my first 747 flights one of these days, I'm not sure if I should choose Lufthansa or KLM - both have very similar pricing and both include the 747-400.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 3): You know, I´am not the very frequent eater while on planes, but this tastes superb.
Marjoram potatoes with Tofu and vegetables
Nice you enjoyed the meal! What about the other things on the tray - how was the salad and the dessert?
infodesk From Switzerland, joined May 2006, 1256 posts, RR: 33 Reply 17, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 6 hours ago) and read 13343 times:
Hi Markus,
One again, really nice to read a longhaul report of yours. I love the 747 pictures, especially the close-ups of the nose. More impressive than the A380, isnt it ? However, not having your own screen onboard for such a long flight isn’t ideal.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): it feels like spring is actually around the corner, when I write this just now.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): ´ve read about a fully loaded LH A346 on the way for the departure runway which is called back to the terminal due to some minutes after the deadline.
So it happens in FRA too. Mustn’t wake the sleeping neighbours!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): You know, I´am not the very frequent eater while on planes, but this tastes superb.
Marjoram potatoes with Tofu and vegetables
A generous meal with a delicious looking main course, I feel quite hungry now!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Thread starter): I´am immediatelly arrived in dreamland short after the tray was cleared and my internal watch shows me only the time to lift up the window blind, take a quick sunrise picture and fall asleep again till the next meal service.
Please share your secret with me before I fly to Singapore !
Modern design, with the bath behind the glass screen. In a previous job of mine I had a complaint from some English guests staying in a 5* hotel in Lucerne. They’d renovated some of the rooms and the elderly couple were horrifed to see a bath just like that. They demanded to change rooms!
Quoting 717Flyer (Reply 16):
She looks gorgeous. Actually I am about to book an itinerary including my first 747 flights one of these days, I'm not sure if I should choose Lufthansa or KLM - both have very similar pricing and both include the 747-400.
Really good to know.
Quoting 717Flyer (Reply 16):
Nice you enjoyed the meal! What about the other things on the tray - how was the salad and the dessert?
Not for me this time!.
Quoting 717Flyer (Reply 16):
Hmm, do you happen to know if it is the same for all Lufthansa 747s? Because I think KLM has installed PTVs on pretty much all of their jumbo jets.
Not sure, some of them are fitted with the newer seats, but not sure which examples exactly.
Quoting 717Flyer (Reply 16):
I always thought Lapland was the place to go for piece of mind but apparently some Thai gardens could be quite amazing as well. Great pictures!
I should visit the Lapland gardens also.
@Hannah:
Quoting infodesk (Reply 17):
One again, really nice to read a longhaul report of yours. I love the 747 pictures, especially the close-ups of the nose. More impressive than the A380, isnt it ? However, not having your own screen onboard for such a long flight isn’t ideal.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 17):
So it happens in FRA too. Mustn’t wake the sleeping neighbours!
That´s it, definitely.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 17):
A generous meal with a delicious looking main course, I feel quite hungry now!
Count me in.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 17):
Please share your secret with me before I fly to Singapore !
Will do so!.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 17):
A safety card getting lost? Never heard of that before
A real surprise, you know.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 17):
Modern design, with the bath behind the glass screen. In a previous job of mine I had a complaint from some English guests staying in a 5* hotel in Lucerne. They’d renovated some of the rooms and the elderly couple were horrifed to see a bath just like that. They demanded to change rooms!
I like it this way.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 17):
Esprit in Bangkok, there’s a surprise.
The777Man From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 6115 posts, RR: 56 Reply 19, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 2 hours ago) and read 12956 times:
Hi Markus !
Thanks for another great report with great pictures !
It's great to see you do more long haul flights !
Meals on LH looks good but vegetarian is not my style. Breakfast looks very good to me.
Hotel seems very nice and especially for that price but that's Thailand!
Too bad you got a 744 in without the PTVs but at least you got a seat with lots of legroom.
Amazing that it's been over 500 flights since your last flight on a 747!
Looking forward to your next report !
The777Man
Need a Boeing 777 Firing Order....Further to fly....GA, T5, CI and LX 777s
Avianca From Venezuela, joined Jan 2005, 5858 posts, RR: 40 Reply 20, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days 2 hours ago) and read 12864 times:
great report as usual!
the LH lounges seems very nice, dont get it why so many people are always complaining!
I am planing for July a CCS-FRA-BKK / SIN-FRA-MUC-FRA-CCS routing with LH, so now at least I know what to expect on LH 744, the last time I flew a LH 744 was 96 or so FRA-BOG
AlwaysOnAPlane From United Kingdom, joined Sep 2010, 299 posts, RR: 2 Reply 21, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 4 days ago) and read 12712 times:
Hi Markus, good to know you are keeping up with the ever growing list of new Departure airports.
It's interesting to see the LH 744 review from a experienced flyer. I hear a lot of bad press about the outdated style on these birds, mainly directed at the lack of personal IFE. Anyway, things look ok with the seat and the food. It was a very nice touch for the crew member to acknowledge your SEN status, if only it was to welcome you to move into J .
Your choice of hotel looks good and congrats on the upgrade. Great stuff.
Good also to get some pictures from the city, really interesting looking and a vibrant scene.
I'm looking forward to the return story Markus.
Thanks, Lee.
Quoting Avianca (Reply 20):
the LH lounges seems very nice, dont get it why so many people are always complaining!
I am planing for July a CCS-FRA-BKK / SIN-FRA-MUC-FRA-CCS routing with LH, so now at least I know what to expect on LH 744, the last time I flew a LH 744 was 96 or so FRA-BOG
Very interesting routing. Good to see you in FRA and MUC and sure the lounges are ok.
Hi Markus, good to know you are keeping up with the ever growing list of new Departure airports.
Sure there are some more to come if nothing goes wrong.
Quoting AlwaysOnAPlane (Reply 21):
It's interesting to see the LH 744 review from a experienced flyer. I hear a lot of bad press about the outdated style on these birds, mainly directed at the lack of personal IFE. Anyway, things look ok with the seat and the food. It was a very nice touch for the crew member to acknowledge your SEN status, if only it was to welcome you to move into J
Good point, that´s what I´am waited for with the move to J.
Quoting AlwaysOnAPlane (Reply 21):
Your choice of hotel looks good and congrats on the upgrade. Great stuff.
Good also to get some pictures from the city, really interesting looking and a vibrant scene.
767747 From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 1760 posts, RR: 25 Reply 24, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 3 days 21 hours ago) and read 12400 times:
Nice report, Marcus.
Cool shots from Frankfurt and Thailand - I'd love to visit Bangkok.
I'm amazed that LH still does not offer in-seat video in Y on their 747-400 flagship ... This was the same way 10 years ago as well! I think if they are going to continue to fly these aircraft on flights of such a long length, they should install this - definitely behind the competition! Meals look nice though.
Thanks for sharing!
Matthew
25 Sultanils: Hi Markus, From the warmer climes westbound (Florida), to the warmer climes eastbound (Bangkok): good idea in this Euro winter time. Good to see, you
26 CaptainRed: Hi Markus, interesting report, good to see you on a long-haul flight again. Great to catch a flight on the 747-400, indeed a very nice and classic pla
27 signol: Hi Markus, excellent as usual! Thanks! Exellent service for you, Senator in Y, to come and personally welcome you I might find it a little embarrassin
28 FLIEGER67: Hey, good to follow more comments. @Matthew: Thank you. Also my opinion, something to do for LH soon. @Nils: Thank you and interesting to follow that
29 Avianca: I try to go at least once or twice per year to MUC at least... well as a born Bavarian and with the whole bunch of family sill their its a must... an
30 deltamartin: Hi Markus! Nice report as usual! Good to see that you had a nice flight on the LH 744, that exit row seat sure seem like a good seat for such a long f
31 FLIEGER67: Nice to follow more comments. @Avianca: Hey, more interesting to know. Good luck for Star Gold, sure worth it. @Martin: Thank you and also my opinion
32 lukeyboy95: HI Markus, Enjoyed this instalment. It was nice to get a flavour of BKK as I have not been there for quite a while. LH looked not too bad, but the mea
33 ba319-131: Good read Markus, thanks for sharing. - Looks great in this picture with the rain drops on the window, nice! - Always! - Not a bad set of offerings in
34 MSS658: Hi Markus Great trip report you have got there! I'm starting to get used to those long haul reports from you. Nice to log the 744 from Lufthansa befor
35 stipica: Hi Markus ! this LH flight did not change from 1998 only the portions are reduced hehehe but mama Lufti is concerned for our health ... so glad that y
36 FLIEGER67: Hey, more comments, nice. @L.: Thank you. Sure something to improve soon by LH and exactly my opinion with the hotel. @Mark: Thank you. Also my opinio
37 FlyingFinn76: Hi Markus, A nice idea to catch some more warmth in SE Asia - certainly a bit better weatherwise than SW Germany . A LH747 is certainly a very nice wa
38 FLIEGER67: Hi, P., Thank you and really good to follow you´re comment. Count me in this way, you know. Such a shame, also my opinion. Italian, yeah I should go
39 parton87: Guten tag Markus Thanks for the great story. Good read and pictures as always. Nice with some more long haul stories from you too. Good to hear Ah, Be
40 LXM83: Hello Flieger67 Great report, thanks also for the nice BKK-pictures. Always nice to be sitting in a 747 these days! No last row this time? Best regard
41 FLIEGER67: Hi, Robert and J., good to follow you´re comments. @Robert: Thank you. Definitely. Count me in, you know. Terrible, indeed. Really impressive, for su
42 akhmad: My friend Markus, I am sorry for my late reply. I had been looking forward to reading your exciting report since three weeks ago. But somehow, I get a
43 FLIEGER67: Hoi, Suryo, Thank you and I know about you´re trip to Asia. Sure ok this way. Definitely. No way. Sure he was. Always nice for me. Not at all but it
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