SloAir From Slovenia, joined Jul 2010, 336 posts, RR: 6 Posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 15936 times:
Hello and welcome to my 15th trip report that will feature my flights with Lufthansa from Munich to Dubai in business class. MUC-DXB was operated by the A340-600 and on the DXB-MUC sector the A340-300 was on schedule.
We were in the middle of planning a trip to Dubai for some friends and family when A.net user Jonas/LH4116 posted about some very low LH business class prices. Indeed, they were going to have a special 11/11/2011 sale and thanks to Jonas, who posted about it the afternoon before, we had enough time to plan a quick DXB trip for six people from Munich.
For a long while we planned on just driving to MUC with a van (it takes around four hours from Ljubljana), but a few days before the trip the weather report looked great and we were able to get a very good deal on JP so we added a LJU-MUC-LJU round trip with around two hours of transfer time on both legs. It worked perfectly.
As every trip this one started with the cat wanting to tag along:
Check-in at LJU was simple, our bags we're checked all the way to DXB, but our LH boarding passes would need to be collected at the transfer center in Munich. A visitor from Turkey:
Bus boarding as usual for the CRJ2 at LJU.
JP108 LJU-MUC 18:40-19:40 CRJ2 S5-AAF
Not much to say about this flight, it was a standard JP hop and it was my third time flying this same 18:40 flight and my fifth time flying on this route. Since it was carnival Saturday we were given an appropriate snack:
We had great views over some ski areas glowing in artificial light.
Arrival into MUC was quick and after a bus drive to the terminal and a quick stop at the transfer center to pick up our boarding passes the first place to visit was the non-schengen lounge.
Gate H24 for our LH flight to Dubai.
Another view of the lounge.
Newspapers and mobile phone chargers.
Some very good hot food choices. Chicken wings and Munich meat loaf if I remember correctly.
Some oversized pickles and potato-pickles salad.
And some sweets…
Gate H24 was used for economy class passengers, gate H23 was used for priority boarding.
LX and SK code share.
And our beautiful A340-600, my favorite Airbus.
D-AIHW will operate our flight tonight. There were quite a lot of people taking pictures and admiring the plane form the gate area.
This will be my 5th A340-600 ride, all of the on LH (MUC-JFK 2x, FRA-YVR, YYZ-FRA).
Mostly empty MUC T2.
Another A346 was going to Shanghai.
Boarding started right on time. But there was no priority boarding call, no call for passengers travelling with small children, everyone just flooded the gate area, it was quite a mess actually, not something I would expect at MUC.
LH638 MUC-DXB 21:45-06:45+1 A346 D-AIHW
Down we go towards the plane. There was only one jetway connected.
I know this is the favorite part for many of us, the time just before boarding the aircraft.
This was probably my last time boarding the A346 as the longest passenger jet in service, the B748 will take that title if I'm not mistaking.
I was able to see through the windows that it was fitted with the new LH first class.
The fresh looking cabin awaited us, just a few steps more.
The aft business cabin.
A view across from my seat.
Bottles of water at every seat.
A view outside, two LH short-haul Airbuses and a long-haul one to HKG, at the end of the terminal you can see the B744 from BKK.
The amenity kit, the bag one on the return flight looked better for me.
The usual content inside – a pair of socks, eye shades, toothbrush, ear plugs…
The captain came on the PA, a flight time of exactly 5 hours was announced and our routing would be Austria-Hungary-Romania-Black Sea-Iraq-Kuwait-Dubai.
Orange juice was served before pushback.
Our aircraft was parked for quite a while so we had to stop for de-icing.
My first time being de-iced onboard a widebody a/c.
The Thai 747 did not need de-icing and started its takeoff roll before us.
Here we go, just after takeoff from runway 26L.
Nice views of Munich as we made our turn in the other direction towards DXB.
I decided to wait for dinner service, even though my plan at first was just to get as much sleep as possible. But I also wanted to enjoy the most of this LH A346 C experience.
A very short flight time for this night flight, it was going to be a long day ahead of us.
Entrees for the dinner service.
We were served drinks first along with some 'Mandeln'.
It took the crew more than 1 hour after takeoff to distribute the meals, way to slow on such a short night flight, when you are just looking to get at least some rest.
During the meal service there was a lot of passengers from Y, mainly kids that came running through the cabin to use the toilets, two even fought a bit who will use it first. I remember when I accidently used the F class toilet on CX B747, I was politely reminded by the FA 'Mr.SloAir, just to let you know there is a business class toilet at the back of the cabin and you are welcome to use that one.' But the crew was nowhere to be seen from after takeoff to an hour later.
But other than that all crew members were very friendly and nice, one of the best LH crews I had the pleasure of flying with. Specially the young FA that was serving my side, she paid attention to her passengers and engaged into conversation with them.
Finally with less than 4 hours to go I received my meal, at least the starter and the main course were on the same plate.
My main course, Green Curry with Chicken Breast, fresh Vegetables, Cashew Nuts and Basmati Rice.
After that I put my seat in the (angled) lie-flat position and I was able to get around two hours of sleep.
As usual I did not have any problems with sleeping or sliding down the LH business seat and was able to get enough rest to make it to the hotel in Dubai in a decent state
Snacks set up in the galley.
Stairs to the lower deck economy toilets, great idea.
I've seen a few reports on LH A346 when snacks and drinks were seat up down here, but nothing on this flight.
A picture form the back of the looong Airbus.
And the first economy section.
Our progress.
Can you guess what this is?
These are the Kuwait oil fields. I asked one of the cabin crew who also came by to appreciate the view. It was quite spectacular and my pictures can't do it justice.
Here’s the safety card to confirm the plane type.
And the back side…
Prior to landing, a light snack will be offered. Well, here it is:
Both toilets occupied.
We're getting closer and closer. The captain came on the speaker and gave some info about our flight so far and the weather in Dubai.
Soon after he was on the speaker again. He said that we might have saw some other planes outside that were waiting to land at DXB and that we will be put into a holding pattern for the next 40 minutes.
I couldn't see any other planes, but I did not mind the holding as we would still arrive on time and hopefully the sun will rise by the time we land so we would get some nice first views of the UAE from the window. And I was just saying how I would not mind spending some more time onboard this great A346
I was able to see the sunrise on the other side.
And as we made a turn in our holding pattern I was able to admire it on the right side of the plane, a very beautiful sight but hard to take decent pictures of it.
Sunrise again.
Here we go, out form the holding and into DXB runway 12L.
As I hoped it was not dark anymore during our final approach.
We made quite a few circles.
I'll just let the pictures do the talking now, we had great views of the Dubai skyline and Burj Khalifa.
Landed! So many EK planes and so many A380s!
Reverse thrust and DXB terminal.
Crossing 12R.
On stand next to a CX A333 to our left.
LH new first class taken upon leaving the aircraft.
Another view of the F seat.
So after almost an hour long immigration process that involved eye scanning, visa checking and not so friendly or nice looking officers we were cleared to enter the UAE. By some interesting coincidences a well known trip reporter FlyingFinn was also in Dubai at the same time connecting from an Emirates flight to a Flydubai flight to EVN on one of his epic flying adventures. You can follow his story on the links below, some very nice reading entertainment:
We discussed the idea of a possible meeting somewhere around DXB, but at the end there was simply not enough time so we'll leave the next meeting for Berlin in June. If you haven't noticed it already take a look at the BER opening meeting, quite some A.neet members have already confirmed their participation, should be a lot of fun.
Back to our little group, we decided to take a taxi to our hotel and we were soon on our way. A nice first impression of Dubai driving along Sheikh Zayed Road.
The stunning Burj Khalifa, hard to get a good shot of this building.
The weather was nice, a light breeze and between 22-27 degrees of Celsius during our stay.
This picture just had to be in the report.
Before visiting the Dubai museum.
Abra in the front and the smoke from a burned down ship carrying supplies to Africa in the back.
Ice rink in the Dubai Mall.
We went skating for around an hour, it was good fun.
Dubai Mall is huge.
The Address Downtown hotel in the evening.
Fountains dancing.
Sand all over the road.
The dessert. We went on one of the organized tours when you drive around for a while and then have dinner in a camp at the middle of the desert.
I'm not used to this kind of scenery.
And of course a visit to 'At The Top Burj Khalifa' was a must for our first time in Dubai.
Dubai Mall. Told you it is huge.
One side of Dubai…
…and the other. Still a lot of room left for new buildings.
Nice to have a pool instead of grass in between places
We also visited Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates and went skiing for two hours. An interesting experience.
Penguins entertaining kids.
A view down from the ski lift.
A blurry picture of me skiing.
Taxi and the entrance to the metro. For six people taking a big taxi was cheaper than going with the metro.
Our time in Dubai was quite short but we had a lot of fun. On the day of departure we had to get up pretty early and after a quick taxi ride we arrived to T1 around 2 and a half hours before our flight. Check-in area F for LH, but it was nowhere to be found in the building. A quick word with one of the employees revealed that you need to go out and into the next building just around the corner.
Interesting to note that this is the only part of the terminal I have seen where you do not need to screen you're baggage before entering the check-in area.
A very quick and efficient check-in followed by an even faster immigration and security control procedure with no lines at all.
After a long moving walkway ride we arrived back at Sheikh Rashid Terminal.
At check-in we were advised that we can use the Marhaba lounge near gate 124 if I remember the number correctly.
Every lounge where there is an A380 parked outside is a good lounge
This morning departures.
And a nice selection of hot…
… and cold food offerings. The only downside of this lounge we're the small toilets.
Some more food.
Fruit and drinks.
Computers with internet access.
Time went by quite fast and we had to make the trek to our boarding gate at the other side of the terminal.
EK lounge.
I liked the palms, but other than that I did not find DXB T1 a nice place, way too crowded with transfer PAX sleeping everywhere.
Useful information, I've only seen this at SIN.
It was bright and clean though.
Duty free area.
I don't like the concept of holding pens, but what can you do. We were inside about 10 minutes before boarding.
D-AIGS will be our ride today.
This will be my second A340-300 flight, following my recent SIN-MUC trip.
CX OW logo jet.
Boarding started with some mention of priority groups but nobody checked anything.
At door 1L.
Older first class seats.
Pre-departure drinks already ready.
This does not seem right? Wouldn't mind ending up at NRT though.
The seat.
BA B763 next to us.
Compared to the A346 on the flight to DXB this A343 showed its age a bit as you can see from the controllers. And the cabin did not have that fresh feeling to it.
Push-back commenced on time.
EK A380, what else at DXB!
Here we go, starting our takeoff roll back to MUC.
Long terminal building.
In the air again.
Some nice views after takeoff.
Dubai down below.
From warm Dubai back to cold Munich.
Interesting buildings.
Airshow was on my screen most of the flight.
Over the clouds, breakfast service was starting.
Because of the early wake up I almost fell asleep.
Not bad, but not very filling.
As you have probably discovered from FlyingFinn's reports Iran is a very interesting country to fly over.
Here are some of my impressions.
Snow!
Great landscape.
The early wakeup call took its tool and I went to sleep for around two hours and missed some more fantastic views probably.
One row behind me my brother and mother were seating and having some difficulties with their seats. The controller was unresponsive and they were not able to move their seat without a help from a crew member.
So every time they would want to change position they had to hit the call button and the FA would come with a screwdriver and move the seat into the desired position. This was not that big of a problem on this short day flight, but it could be unpleasant on longer flights. They did bring my mother a first class amenity kit as compensation and a thank you gift for not making too much fuss about it. I wrote about it in the LH survey but I haven’t gotten any feedback from LH yet.
I woke up again when we were over the Black Sea.
2:30 left of this flight.
Almost back in Europe now.
A look to the front of the cabin.
Business class menu.
A black contrail from a plane that passed underneath.
Lunch was served, this time the usual way, first the starter (or salad in my case) and then the main course.
The Salmon starter.
The somehow reserved FA that looked a bit disinterested before could not stop smiling after I asked for a picture of the bread basket
Snow in Romania.
I forgot to take a picture of my main course, sorry about that, I had the lamb and it was OK.
Some chocolates.
Survey about this flight. I wrote all the best about the crew, because they did a good job, and a wish for a good new C product on the B748
Our flight coming to an end.
Familiar cities coming up on the Airshow.
Descent.
It was again a very nice LH flight.
Austria below!
Interesting scenery.
Flying past MUC airport.
Making a right hand turn back.
It was a gorgeous sunny day.
Bavaria.
Final approach.
And here we are…
Reverse trust.
In detail.
Another A343 at MUC.
A gate at the end of the terminal meant a long walk to immigration.
A visitor from the States.
A visitor from Singapore shaking the whole terminal during engine start and producing some smoke.
That's it, the flight home was a regular JP CRJ2, I had an aisle seat, too bad because we did an interesting visual approach and it was a beautiful day. The girl next to me took a bunch of nice pictures.
globalflyer From United States of America, joined Dec 2005, 807 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 4 days 17 hours ago) and read 15640 times:
Hi Blaz, another great TR. My cats do that too. They know you are leaving them! What a cutie! DXB is a great city that continues to amaze me each time I visit. How was the hotel there? Wow I must say even though it was a short flight at 5 hours the JCL offerings did not look very good. Very small portions and just strange! I agree that T1 in DXB cannot compare with T3. I remember when everyone was in awe of T1. Yes Iran has some beautiful landscapes. I just peer out of the window everytime I fly over. Thanks for sharing! Will
Landing on every Continent almost on an annual basis!
lychemsa From United States of America, joined Oct 2009, 905 posts, RR: 3 Reply 3, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 4 days 15 hours ago) and read 15064 times:
It's risky making a connection under separate tickets with only 2 hours connecting time. Glad it worked out for you.
What was the fare? Under what section was the fare quoted. I always miss these super bargains.
Thai744 From Australia, joined Jun 2004, 249 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 14716 times:
Hi There,
Nice trip report - I enjoyed reading it.
Lufthansa doesn't look too bad in J class - I think the aircraft on the outbound trip seemed a bit "fresher" as you wrote. The aircraft on the way home seemed a little "tired".
I think it's funny how a.netters seem to need to get to the airport 3 hours or more before a flight... haha.
On the way home, you said you had an early start and were at the airport 2.5 hours before departure. If I was flying J class on the way home, I would be there about 1 - 1.5 hours before-hand and get an extra hour's sleep! LOL.
Sounds like your crews were ok too and did their best for you.
SloAir From Slovenia, joined Jul 2010, 336 posts, RR: 6 Reply 5, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 14591 times:
Quoting globalflyer (Reply 1): My cats do that too. They know you are leaving them! What a cutie!
Hi Will, thanks for commenting! I guess cats can feel when we are going away.
Quoting globalflyer (Reply 1): DXB is a great city that continues to amaze me each time I visit. How was the hotel there?
You're right, DXB is a great city to do many different things, I would recommend it to anyone who haven't been there before. The hotel (Address Dubai Mall) was excellent, we had a great time there.
Quoting globalflyer (Reply 1): Wow I must say even though it was a short flight at 5 hours the JCL offerings did not look very good. Very small portions and just strange!
Well LH is known for its small portions.
Quoting LH4532 (Reply 2): Good to see another TR online . I enjoyed reading it . Good to know that there are special offers for Business Class , from time to time .
Hi Daniel, thank you very much for your feedback.
Quoting LH4532 (Reply 2): How much did you have to pay for the JP flights ?
125 Euros per person. JP had some great deals lately, I also got a return flight to London for 89 Euros.
Quoting LH4532 (Reply 2): The new LH First Class does look very attractive . Would you try it out one day ?
I doubt it. I don't think its worth paying the difference or even using miles to get an award ticket, because the comfort difference from business is not that big.
Quoting LH4532 (Reply 2): I remember the photo from Facebook . I should also do that if I visit Dubai .
It was quite a fun experience, one to remember for sure.
Quoting LH4532 (Reply 2): That is very nice of the FA´s . Is it from Porsche Design or Bogner ?
I'm not sure, but I think it was Porsche.
Quoting lychemsa (Reply 3): It's risky making a connection under separate tickets with only 2 hours connecting time. Glad it worked out for you.
I was a bit nervous at first but given that JP and LH are normally reliable we were willing to risk it. The only thing that prevented us buying this ticket earlier were any possible weather problems, but when it became clear that it will be a sunny week we decided to go for it.
Quoting lychemsa (Reply 3): What was the fare? Under what section was the fare quoted. I always miss these super bargains.
The fare was the same as the date 1111 in Euros (a little less actually at the end). I have received quite a bit of these special business class fares from LH via their newsletter, just last week they had another 889 Pound sale to certain destinations.
Quoting Thai744 (Reply 4): Lufthansa doesn't look too bad in J class - I think the aircraft on the outbound trip seemed a bit "fresher" as you wrote. The aircraft on the way home seemed a little "tired".
Hi Thai744, thanks for your comment. And exactly my point, the A346 was fresh and the A343 tired.
Quoting Thai744 (Reply 4): I think it's funny how a.netters seem to need to get to the airport 3 hours or more before a flight... haha.
On the way home, you said you had an early start and were at the airport 2.5 hours before departure. If I was flying J class on the way home, I would be there about 1 - 1.5 hours before-hand and get an extra hour's sleep! LOL.
Haha, well I guess you can call that A.net logic I always enjoy spending time at airports so I never mind long layovers and I'm always early at the airport. Plus I knew I could sleep on board, so I did not mind getting up a bit earlier.
daviation From United States of America, joined Sep 2008, 432 posts, RR: 1 Reply 6, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 14409 times:
This is a very interesting and detailed report. I enjoyed reading it very much.
I hope I won't sound negative if I say that I find the pictures of Dubai very creepy - in the same way that I find Las Vegas very creepy. Las Vegas is a mirage of a city built on the sands of gambling. Dubai is a mirage of a city built on the sands of oil money. A ski lift in the desert! The tallest skyscraper in the world! The tall skycrapers are necessary in cities like New York and Hong Kong because there is so little room to build. But Dubai has limitless land. What is the purpose? Just to say we have the biggest skyscraper?
It's very unnerving to me. I'm sorry because your report is very well-written and one can feel your enthusiasm. But I had to say my opinion.
debonair From Germany, joined Jan 2004, 2098 posts, RR: 4 Reply 7, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 14173 times:
OMG! Are you serious?! This is a no go for LH, what a shame!!!
MUC-DXB is one of the most prestigious premium routes in the LH network- fighting against Emirates A380 on this sector, as well as against Qatar and Etihad in this region (all 3 are major premium carriers). So it is totally unbelievable to see such old and outdated aircrafts (A340-300), poor trained crews and poor meals in your TR!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): It took the crew more than 1 hour after takeoff to distribute the meals, way to slow on such a short night flight, when you are just looking to get at least some rest.
This was a night flight- so there is no excuse for such late service! Unacceptable...
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): During the meal service there was a lot of passengers from Y, mainly kids that came running through the cabin to use the toilets, two even fought a bit who will use it first.
Totally unacceptable... Very poor and low crew skills!
This breakfast looks like a joke... No menu-card for breakfast? No choice between hot and cold breakfast either?! Unbelievable!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): One row behind me my brother and mother were seating and having some difficulties with their seats. The controller was unresponsive and they were not able to move their seat without a help from a crew member....So every time they would want to change position they had to hit the call button and the FA would come with a screwdriver and move the seat into the desired position. This was not that big of a problem on this short day flight, but it could be unpleasant on longer flights. They did bring my mother a first class amenity kit as compensation and a thank you gift for not making too much fuss about it.
Totally unacceptable... The seats should have been blocked for check-in, or passengers re-seated. If BusinessClass was fully booked, the next step would have been upgrades into First and NOT just a FirstClass amenity kit (worth some ). Again, the crew failed miserable...
LH4116 From Sweden, joined Aug 2007, 1672 posts, RR: 15 Reply 9, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 12723 times:
Hi there Blaž,
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Indeed, they were going to have a special 11/11/2011 sale and thanks to Jonas, who posted about it the afternoon before, we had enough time to plan a quick DXB trip for six people from Munich.
Hehe, well thanks for the namedropping. I suppose since I discovered it the evening before, you still had the chance to score a few seats before they got sold out
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): For a long while we planned on just driving to MUC with a van (it takes around four hours from Ljubljana),
I had no idea LJU was that close to MUC. Then again couldn't you just've booked the ticket all the way from LJU, or did the 11/11/11 offer not apply ex LJU?
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Some very good hot food choices. Chicken wings and Munich meat loaf if I remember correctly.
The LH Lounges really seem to have some good food offerings, I have to try them out soon!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): There were quite a lot of people taking pictures and admiring the plane form the gate area.
Interesting that there was such a fuss about the A346. Quite surprised since that's normally what one would only expect from the A380.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): But there was no priority boarding call, no call for passengers travelling with small children, everyone just flooded the gate area, it was quite a mess actually, not something I would expect at MUC.
That's quite poor indeed, seems like more and more airlines have stopped making the priority boarding, at least SAS have. But I didn't expect it on LH. Hopefully it's just a one-off.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Airbuses and a long-haul one to HKG, at the end of the terminal you can see the B744 from BKK.
Since when did LH began operate the B744 from MUC? I thought they were all FRA based.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): a flight time of exactly 5 hours was announced and our routing would be Austria-Hungary-Romania-Black Sea-Iraq-Kuwait-Dubai.
That's really a short flight, and IMHO sufficient enough to fly in Economy. But a cheap fare is a cheap fare
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): During the meal service there was a lot of passengers from Y, mainly kids that came running through the cabin to use the toilets, two even fought a bit who will use it first.
Again very poor acting from the crew not to keep them away. I thought they were very strict with that, especially on long haul flights. How come you didn't pick the front C section?
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Prior to landing, a light snack will be offered. Well, here it is:
Looks abysmal, I'd have expected something more, like a sandwich or croissant served on a tray. But again it's a very short flight.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): LH new first class taken upon leaving the aircraft.
Those new F seats really suit the A346 well. Layout looks very open and airy though.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): So after almost an hour long immigration process that involved eye scanning, visa checking and not so friendly or nice looking officers we were cleared to enter the UAE.
So no fast-track immigration for premium pax?
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): We went skating for around an hour, it was good fun.
Well you're the master of that so no surprise
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): At check-in we were advised that we can use the Marhaba lounge near gate 124 if I remember the number correctly.
Quite poor that LH don't let their C pax use the Lufthansa Lounge. Or I suppose that's only for SEN, F and *G.
FlyingFinn76 From Finland, joined Jun 2009, 1705 posts, RR: 41 Reply 10, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 12450 times:
Hi Blaz,
Great stuff. Very nice to read about your Dubai trip, just barely overlapping with mine!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Nice views of Munich as we made our turn in the other direction towards DXB.
Nice nighttime shots - I'm a total sucker for these!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): It took the crew more than 1 hour after takeoff to distribute the meals, way to slow on such a short night flight, when you are just looking to get at least some rest.
That's quite bad. On a short flight like this they should try to maximize the time available for sleeping. But I guess due to the hot food offerings in the lounge(s) the people who really want to sleep have already had dinner there and can just crash onboard...
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): My main course, Green Curry with Chicken Breast, fresh Vegetables, Cashew Nuts and Basmati Rice.
That looks yummy! And boy am I glad that you chose the very same dish I'd chosen (hear this, Mark!) .
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): I've seen a few reports on LH A346 when snacks and drinks were seat up down here, but nothing on this flight.
On our BOG flights there was some water and juices there. No snacks though.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Prior to landing, a light snack will be offered. Well, here it is:
D'oh! Is this really all you got (plus drinks I guess)?? Quite dismal for a premium class flight. I'd expect this in economy, but not in J. Not impressed
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): I'll just let the pictures do the talking now, we had great views of the Dubai skyline and Burj Khalifa.
Nice, my views half an hour earlier were a bit more limited .
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): By some interesting coincidences a well known trip reporter FlyingFinn was also in Dubai at the same time connecting from an Emirates flight to a Flydubai flight to EVN on one of his epic flying adventures. You can follow his story on the links below, some very nice reading entertainment:
Thanks for the name droppping!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): We discussed the idea of a possible meeting somewhere around DXB, but at the end there was simply not enough time so we'll leave the next meeting for Berlin in June.
Yeah, a shame there wasn't time for this in the end but it happens. We'll certainly catch up in Berlin!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Back to our little group, we decided to take a taxi to our hotel and we were soon on our way. A nice first impression of Dubai driving along Sheikh Zayed Road.
Hmm, this looks very familiar to me!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Check-in area F for LH, but it was nowhere to be found in the building. A quick word with one of the employees revealed that you need to go out and into the next building just around the corner.
Hmm, this sounds very familiar to me!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): At check-in we were advised that we can use the Marhaba lounge near gate 124 if I remember the number correctly.
Hmm, those food offerings there look actually better than the LH lounge ones. I should've gone there instead - but then again I wasn't hungry at all after my dinner at the Dubai HRC...
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Useful information, I've only seen this at SIN.
Interesting. And yes, I agree it is a very good idea.
icanfly From Australia, joined Aug 2011, 76 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 12239 times:
Hello Blaž
Thank you for this excellent trip report - I enjoyed reading it very much. Actually, one of my favourite TRs was the one where your party was upgraded to LX First on Montreal-Zurich - I could feel your excitement build over the trip! Since then, I've always looked forward to your TRs.
I noticed that the outbound flight didn't overfly Iran but the inbound one did. No doubt the flight paths for this route are based on head winds etc but I wonder if there any attempt by LH to avoid Iran due to the current political situation?
767747 From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 1750 posts, RR: 26 Reply 12, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 11997 times:
Good report, Sloair,
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): It took the crew more than 1 hour after takeoff to distribute the meals, way to slow on such a short night flight, when you are just looking to get at least some rest.
How frustrating. Yeah, sometimes they drag the service when its so late at night ... I will always remember a flight from JFK-CAI back in the mid -90's on a 747-300 when they began "Dinner" after takeoff from JFK after mid-night! All I wanted was sleep ...
LH J looks okay ... I flew them back in 2002, and they were fine, but nothing too special. I'd rather splurge for many other airlines ...
deltamartin From Sweden, joined Dec 2010, 1059 posts, RR: 9 Reply 13, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 11545 times:
Hi Blaž!
Great report again!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): And our beautiful A340-600, my favorite Airbus.
I've only flown the -300 but the A340 series is one of my favourite aircraft as well. I've done 2 flights on the -300, it was last year on SK, also to Dubai.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): A346 as the longest passenger jet in service, the B748 will take that title if I'm not mistaking.
Correct.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter):
My first time being de-iced onboard a widebody a/c.
I've done it once, in a AY MD11 at JFK in 2005.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Prior to landing, a light snack will be offered. Well, here it is:
Don't look that good for being Business class, but then again, for being a longhaul flight it isn't that long, I guess most people were still full from the first meal.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): We also visited Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates and went skiing for two hours. An interesting experience.
I did the same when I was there.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): I don't like the concept of holding pens, but what can you do.
I totally agree with you here.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter):
As you have probably discovered from FlyingFinn's reports Iran is a very interesting country to fly over.
Quokkas From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 16, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 10963 times:
Hi Blaz/ SloAir,
Interesting to see the comparison between the two aircraft types. Shame about the problems with your mother's seat but it nice to see that the crew made amends by offering her a few little "extras".
About the delay in serving a meal, would that possibly be due to allowing the pre-dinner wines to breath before serving? Or even to settle the stomachs of those who "pigged-out" in the lounge before boarding?
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2212 posts, RR: 14 Reply 18, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 10 hours ago) and read 9966 times:
Hi Blaz
Nice report, thanks for sharing it with us! Quite happy to see the new F on the 346. Did not realise that they have started retrofitting the 346 as well! The meal service is a bit late indeed! Others, great report and pics
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4015 posts, RR: 52 Reply 19, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 5 hours ago) and read 9812 times:
Hi, Blaž
thanks for the interesting report on LH. Though the main course meal looks good with the curry, the arrival snack is defintiely not in style with C-class offering and dissappoints me. Aside from that, I find the fare -despite the discount- still quite high for this relatively short route. It's just to short to fully enjoy a 'longhaul' premium product, and I would personally stick in Y (I'm doing DXB in 2 months on LH, ex FRA and on the B747).
Good pics from Dubai, looks nice and interesting. The hotel I booked is visible in a few of your pictures... I'm looking forward to this trip since it's also for me the first time to the UAE and everything will be overwhelming, I think.
The A346 seat looks good, though not a fan of the A343 product. Indeed, it's outdated.
To Jonas;
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 9): So no fast-track immigration for premium pax?
I've never seen fast-track arrival lanes for premium pax. Where did you note this possibility?
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 9): Ah nice to see the A343 operate the famous milk-run now!
It's clearly an A330-300!
Regards
Eric
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
I took this MUC-DXB flight a few months after they opened the route back in 2004 en route to Syria
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Boarding started right on time. But there was no priority boarding call, no call for passengers travelling with small children, everyone just flooded the gate area, it was quite a mess actually, not something I would expect at MUC.
Looks exactly like the gste before my MUC-LHR flight in December - chaos
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): It took the crew more than 1 hour after takeoff to distribute the meals, way to slow on such a short night flight, when you are just looking to get at least some rest.
Thats way too slow on a short overnight flight. SHould be 30 mins max
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): During the meal service there was a lot of passengers from Y, mainly kids that came running through the cabin to use the toilets, two even fought a bit who will use it first. I remember when I accidently used the F class toilet on CX B747, I was politely reminded by the FA 'Mr.SloAir, just to let you know there is a business class toilet at the back of the cabin and you are welcome to use that one.' But the crew was nowhere to be seen from after takeoff to an hour later.
Normally LH are really strict about that aren't they? On my BCN-SIN flight I wasn't even allowed to use the F toilet when the C ones were all full, even though there was no one in F!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): I've seen a few reports on LH A346 when snacks and drinks were seat up down here, but nothing on this flight.
They had snacks down there on my FRA-BOG flights, but that was twice the length of yours.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): And of course a visit to 'At The Top Burj Khalifa' was a mu
st for our first time in Dubai.
Glad you made it to the top - it was closed for emergency work when I was there
SloAir From Slovenia, joined Jul 2010, 336 posts, RR: 6 Reply 21, posted (1 year 2 months 6 days 22 hours ago) and read 9600 times:
Hi everyone, thanks for all the comments and sorry for my late reply.
Quoting daviation (Reply 6): I hope I won't sound negative if I say that I find the pictures of Dubai very creepy - in the same way that I find Las Vegas very creepy. Las Vegas is a mirage of a city built on the sands of gambling. Dubai is a mirage of a city built on the sands of oil money. A ski lift in the desert! The tallest skyscraper in the world! The tall skycrapers are necessary in cities like New York and Hong Kong because there is so little room to build. But Dubai has limitless land. What is the purpose? Just to say we have the biggest skyscraper?
It's very unnerving to me. I'm sorry because your report is very well-written and one can feel your enthusiasm. But I had to say my opinion.
Don't worry, everyone has a right to his opinion and I don't mind at all if you share yours in my TR. I guess with all the money they have in Dubai they don't want to just sit on it but invest it in something, although some things might be more important than a ski lift in the desert.
Quoting debonair (Reply 7): OMG! Are you serious?! This is a no go for LH, what a shame!!!
MUC-DXB is one of the most prestigious premium routes in the LH network- fighting against Emirates A380 on this sector, as well as against Qatar and Etihad in this region (all 3 are major premium carriers). So it is totally unbelievable to see such old and outdated aircrafts (A340-300), poor trained crews and poor meals in your TR!
When flying in C LH surely isn't the best choice on this route. But I don't think its all that bad.
Quoting debonair (Reply 7): This breakfast looks like a joke... No menu-card for breakfast? No choice between hot and cold breakfast either?! Unbelievable!
There was one menu card for both breakfast and lunch, and this is what was written for breakfast:
Shortly after takeoff a light snack will be served.
Still a lot better than the light snack we got on the inbound flight.
Quoting debonair (Reply 7): Totally unacceptable... The seats should have been blocked for check-in, or passengers re-seated. If BusinessClass was fully booked, the next step would have been upgrades into First and NOT just a FirstClass amenity kit (worth some ). Again, the crew failed miserable...
I think that the flight was 100% full in C & F, but I'm not completely sure.
Quoting flightsimboy (Reply 8): So glad you got to travel on your favourite aircraft the A340-600! Great trip report on a great airline, Lufthansa!!
Hey flightsimboy, thanks!
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 9): Hehe, well thanks for the namedropping. I suppose since I discovered it the evening before, you still had the chance to score a few seats before they got sold out
You're welcome, you did gave us just enough time to organize and get the dates we wanted in the morning.
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 9): I had no idea LJU was that close to MUC. Then again couldn't you just've booked the ticket all the way from LJU, or did the 11/11/11 offer not apply ex LJU?
No, tickets from LJU were still the normal business price.
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 9): That's quite poor indeed, seems like more and more airlines have stopped making the priority boarding, at least SAS have. But I didn't expect it on LH. Hopefully it's just a one-off.
I've had a few other flights from MUC and they always had priority boarding calls, so maybe this was just a one-off. They did start boarding right at the time stated on the BP which is a big plus.
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 9): Since when did LH began operate the B744 from MUC? I thought they were all FRA based.
The picture really looks a bit misleading, but it was the TG B747 that flies the BKK-MUC route.
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 9): That's really a short flight, and IMHO sufficient enough to fly in Economy. But a cheap fare is a cheap fare
We almost booked EK from VCE in Economy, but the LH flight gives you 200% mileage and I could use that to retain my FTL status.
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 9): So no fast-track immigration for premium pax?
Nope, only happened to me in SYD to have fast-track immigration.
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 9): Ah nice to see the A343 operate the famous milk-run now!
It was still the A333, both on my arrival to DXB and on the way back.
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 10): Nice nighttime shots - I'm a total sucker for these!
I love them too, but its hard to get good pictures, I was a bit lucky this time to get semi-decent ones.
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 10): That's quite bad. On a short flight like this they should try to maximize the time available for sleeping. But I guess due to the hot food offerings in the lounge(s) the people who really want to sleep have already had dinner there and can just crash onboard...
I agree, but I think that most of the pax in our cabin stayed up and waited for the meal service.
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 10): On our BOG flights there was some water and juices there. No snacks though.
I know, the BOG reports were the ones I had in mind
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 10): D'oh! Is this really all you got (plus drinks I guess)?? Quite dismal for a premium class flight. I'd expect this in economy, but not in J. Not impressed
That's it, plus two rounds of drinks.
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 10): Yeah, a shame there wasn't time for this in the end but it happens. We'll certainly catch up in Berlin!
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 10): Hmm, doesn't look too substantial. But I guess with another meal served a few hours later it doesn't really have to be!
I wished it could be as I did not have a lot to eat in the lounge.
Quoting icanfly (Reply 11): Thank you for this excellent trip report - I enjoyed reading it very much. Actually, one of my favourite TRs was the one where your party was upgraded to LX First on Montreal-Zurich - I could feel your excitement build over the trip! Since then, I've always looked forward to your TRs.
Hi icanfly, thank you for these very kind words.
Quoting icanfly (Reply 11): I noticed that the outbound flight didn't overfly Iran but the inbound one did. No doubt the flight paths for this route are based on head winds etc but I wonder if there any attempt by LH to avoid Iran due to the current political situation?
I don't think so, probably the routing was different because of the winds.
Quoting 767747 (Reply 12): How frustrating. Yeah, sometimes they drag the service when its so late at night ... I will always remember a flight from JFK-CAI back in the mid -90's on a 747-300 when they began "Dinner" after takeoff from JFK after mid-night! All I wanted was sleep ...
I know that feeling
Quoting 767747 (Reply 12): LH J looks okay ... I flew them back in 2002, and they were fine, but nothing too special. I'd rather splurge for many other airlines ...
Yes, their business class is a bit outdated.
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 13): Don't look that good for being Business class, but then again, for being a longhaul flight it isn't that long, I guess most people were still full from the first meal.
Probably, it was only a few hours since dinner so noting much more was needed really.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 14): love the pics from Dubai, well done and thats somre more place to go during the cold winter months in Europe.
Hi Markus, I agree, a nice escape from the cold Europe.
Quoting christao17 (Reply 15):
Fantastic trip report. Dubai looks like an interesting place for a visit, although maybe once would be enough, no?
I think so, I might go again with someone who has not been there before, but I don't think I will visit Dubai on my own as a tourist.
Quoting Quokkas (Reply 16): About the delay in serving a meal, would that possibly be due to allowing the pre-dinner wines to breath before serving? Or even to settle the stomachs of those who "pigged-out" in the lounge before boarding?
It might have been the reason, but highly doubtful
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 17): Some very impressive sceneries from the planes and of Dubai also! Sure got to visit there some time.
It is an interesting place to see.
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 18): Quite happy to see the new F on the 346. Did not realise that they have started retrofitting the 346 as well!
It looks quite good on the A346.
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 18): The meal service is a bit late indeed! Others, great report and pics
Thanks Marc.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 19): Aside from that, I find the fare -despite the discount- still quite high for this relatively short route. It's just to short to fully enjoy a 'longhaul' premium product, and I would personally stick in Y (I'm doing DXB in 2 months on LH, ex FRA and on the B747).
If it wouldn't have been for the special offer we would have flown in Y, but we can all use the 200% mileage for retaining our M&M FTL.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 19): The hotel I booked is visible in a few of your pictures...
Could it be the Address Dubai Downtown? Or maybe even the Burj Al-Arab
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 19): I'm looking forward to this trip since it's also for me the first time to the UAE and everything will be overwhelming, I think.
I think you will find it quite interesting, I always love going to new places on different continents.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 19): I've never seen fast-track arrival lanes for premium pax. Where did you note this possibility?
CX gave us Fast Track Immigration cards in SYD. Didn't need the though as they lost our luggage and everyone was gone by the time we filled up all the reports.
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 20): Looks exactly like the gste before my MUC-LHR flight in December - chaos
Not something typical for MUC.
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 20): Thats way too slow on a short overnight flight. SHould be 30 mins max
I agree completely.
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 20): Normally LH are really strict about that aren't they? On my BCN-SIN flight I wasn't even allowed to use the F toilet when the C ones were all full, even though there was no one in F!
Well the flight attendants were nowhere to be seen...
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 20): Glad you made it to the top - it was closed for emergency work when I was there
It's more in the middle than at the top, but still some fantastic views.
infodesk From Switzerland, joined May 2006, 1245 posts, RR: 34 Reply 22, posted (1 year 2 months 6 days 22 hours ago) and read 9559 times:
Hi Blaz,
That's what I call good planning, when you organise a trip to DXB in 24hours! Thanks for all the nice pictures, especially the window shots and the ones of Iran.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): but a few days before the trip the weather report looked great and we were able to get a very good deal on JP so we added a LJU-MUC-LJU round trip with around two hours of transfer time on both legs. It worked perfectly.
Great that you were able to get a decent last minute ticket on Adria.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Finally with less than 4 hours to go I received my meal, at least the starter and the main course were on the same plate.
I'm not really inspired by any of the meals to be honest. The breakfast in particular looks disappointing for C.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): And of course a visit to 'At The Top Burj Khalifa' was a must for our first time in Dubai.
I don't have a problem with heights, but that picture does make me feel a bit light headed!
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): This was not that big of a problem on this short day flight, but it could be unpleasant on longer flights. They did bring my mother a first class amenity kit as compensation and a thank you gift for not making too much fuss about it.
They had to adjust the seat with a screwdriver? They should have upgraded your Mum to First!
Happy flying
Infodesk
"Do nothing in haste, look well to each step and from the beginning think what may be the end" - Edward Whymper
SloAir From Slovenia, joined Jul 2010, 336 posts, RR: 6 Reply 23, posted (1 year 2 months 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 9419 times:
Hi Hannah,
thanks for commeting!
Quoting infodesk (Reply 22): That's what I call good planning, when you organise a trip to DXB in 24hours! Thanks for all the nice pictures, especially the window shots and the ones of Iran.
Well at trip to DXB was a long time coming, we were already searching for suitable itineraries when this LH offer came up.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 22): They had to adjust the seat with a screwdriver? They should have upgraded your Mum to First!
I'm not sure if any seats were free, but we should have at least inquired about that, would be interesting to see if they would.
lukeyboy95 From Papua New Guinea, joined Apr 2008, 951 posts, RR: 35 Reply 24, posted (1 year 2 months 6 days 15 hours ago) and read 9342 times:
Hi Blaz.
Thanks for the report. It looked like a great trip indeed. You had some nice weather for flying on the return sector.
Dubai is not a place that enthuses me enormously. I visited once before, and felt that was a good enough time. But, this may change when I want to relax in a luxurious setting in the future. I am keener on Oman... never mind.
Quoting SloAir (Thread starter): Indeed, they were going to have a special 11/11/2011 sale
Wow. I had forgotten what a short sector that can be, given an FR flight to CHQ is down as 4.5hrs.
Quoting SloAir (Reply 5): Iran is a very interesting country to fly over.
Absolutely. Always the showstopper. Love to visit in person.
I realise that this is not a huge segment for LH, and I do not think airlines are overly interested in this sector (given the dominance of ME carriers) , probably a reason BA flies it's 767's that way. But I thought LH soft product a little underwhelming - the catering just seemed quite ordinary in comparison to some other carriers. I also thought your morning snack into DXB was insufficient.
Great report, thanks Blaz.
Luke
Breaking down the stereotypes - one by one
25 mayhem: Great trip report, loved the pictures of the landscape, and your impressions of Dubai. Dxb looks like a nice airport with nice lounges (and a great fo
26 sultanils: Hello Blaž, Excellent picturesque report! Yep, my favorite as well. No German efficiency that evening. Maybe the ground staff was too tired to have a
27 The777Man: Hi Blaz ! Thanks for a great and interesting trip report with very nice pictures ! I'm glad you got a good deal because it looks very disappointing to
28 signol: Hi Blaz, excellent account of your trip. You clearly managed to get a great fare for J on LH. Though I wonder if DXB has more "sale" J fares than else
29 stipica: Hi Blaž ! another interesting report... some nice photos of Dubai although not the best destination for me ... ah LH always nice to see micro meal an
30 akhmad: Zdravo Blaž, Very nice report. I was curious about how you took advantage of the exceptional LH offer on 11/11/11. With such Business Class offer, no
31 SloAir: Hi guys, sorry again for my late response, I've been quite busy lately and thank you for all the additional comments, I really appreciate them. The ba
32 OA260: Hey very nice read and photos . The Cat thing must be global mine does the same My Dog also saves his food the morning I'm due to go lol... Look forwa
33 SloAir: Hehe, I guess they do miss us when we are gone Thanks for the comment Philip. Regards, Blaž
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