adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 783 posts, RR: 2 Posted (6 months 1 week 1 day ago) and read 8517 times:
Introduction
On the 26th of April 2012 Lufthansa announced a new 2x daily (1x daily in the weekend) route from one of their home bases Munich to the Dutch city of Rotterdam starting the 1st of October.
This (obviously) caught my attention and I immediately started looking for fares trying to catch the inaugural RTM-MUC flight. I eventually booked a round trip leaving on the inaugural RTM-MUC flight and coming back the next day on the evening flight for 99EUR.
As I booked these flights back in April I decided not to book an hotel until after the summer which I later came to regret.
Stupid me forgot that the Oktoberfest was going on during my stay there, so once I started looking for hotels all prices were sky high by now. I eventually settled for a rather pricy stay at the Novotel Munchen Airport, an hotel I have been to before and close to the airport.
Map
The boring looking map for this trip thanks to the Great Circle Mapper:
Sunday September 30
Getting To RTM
With the inaugural flight leaving on Monday morning I decided to head towards Rotterdam on Sunday night and stay at an hotel near the airport. After a bit of searching on the internet I booked a room at the Van der Valk hotel in Rotterdam-Blijdorp which is a 10 minute bus drive from Rotterdam-The Hague airport.
Transportation to Rotterdam will be by train. I decided to take the 30 minute Fyra high speed train from Schiphol to Rotterdam Centraal. I booked a ticket a couple of days in advance for the good price of 7.50EUR.
As always this trip report will start at Amsterdam Lelylaan station in the west side of Amsterdam where the usual 7 minute train ride to Schiphol followed. Once arriving at Schiphol a 15 minute wait followed for the next Fyra train to Rotterdam. Unfortunately the Fyra train wasn’t operating so I ended up with taking the domestic train. About an hour later I finally arrived at Rotterdam Central Station from where I took a quick taxi ride to my hotel.
After paying and thanking the driver I headed inside to the reception desk and 5 minutes later headed upstairs to my room:
The view from my room:
For the remainder of the night I relaxed, watched some TV and tried connecting to the free WIFI (which was very slow so I gave up after an hour).
Monday October 1
After a nice 7 hours of sleep it was time to wake up again and get my usual morning rituals done. With that all done I headed downstairs to check out and head towards RTM.
Transportation to RTM will be by bus, number 33. The designated bus stop was about a 10 minute walk from my hotel. On the way I took a quick picture of the hotel:
A 7 minute wait followed for the bus:
After a 10 minute bus drive I arrived at RTM at 09:15 and headed straight inside.
Check-In
Once inside I headed straight to the LH check-in where there was no line. I had already checked in online the night before in my hotel so all I needed now was my BP. However, the check-in agent had no idea what she was doing and apologized for it explaining that I was the very first passenger to be checking in. Behind her was a LH employee helping and guiding her through every step. After about 10 minutes I (finally) got my BP, so I thanked her and headed straight towards security where the next “fun” experience was about to happen.
After putting all my belongings on the belt I handed my BP over to the agent. He gave it a weird look and handed it over to his supervisor who also gave it a weird look. Apparently they had never seen a LH BP before and weren’t sure if it was the real deal. While I headed through the x ray machine without any problems the supervisor headed over to the LH check-in desk to double check.
After waiting for about 10 minutes she finally came back and handed it back to me, but not before showing it to the other 8 agents that were there. For a second I thought I was a celebrity or I had a lot of gold with me but no, it was just simple Lufthansa boarding pass.
With that all taken care of I found a place to sit and connected to the free WIFI. A quick look at the FIDS, my flight looks good at 11:05 from gate 8. At 10:00 it is showing a special welcome to Lufthansa:
After surfing the net for about 15 minutes I decided to check the airports website to look at the scheduled arrival time for the inbound inaugural flight. It was about 10 minutes away so I headed upstairs to the observation deck/restaurant/bar to catch a glimpse of any celebrations/water salute.
This Cityjet Fokker 50 was headed to LCY:
This group of press and I’m guessing important people of Lufthansa and RTM airport were drinking some champagne up here next to me at the bar and were now headed down which meant the aircraft was almost here:
The red carpet was already laid down for me later on, how nice:
The fire trucks had also arrived by now:
Cityjet all ready to go now:
Testing 1,2,3:
Soon enough I saw an aircraft on final approach in the distance, so I grabbed my binoculars and saw LH2314 make a smooth landing on runway 24:
Turning onto the tarmac for a short shower:
Nice and close:
D-ACKI got the honors to fly this inaugural flight. Delivered factory fresh to Lufthansa Cityline on 29/09/2006:
Enough picture taking for now, so I headed back downstairs to wait for boarding to begin.
Boarding
BP for this flight:
Boarding was called at 10:45, 10 minutes after original boarding time. There was no special mention about this being the first/inaugural flight, although I’m thinking most of the people already knew. The gate agent scanned my BP with a smile and handed this gingerbread out which was quite tasty:
I walked towards the aircraft, left my carry-on on the cart and walked up the stairs.
Waiting inside the aircraft was a female FA wearing a traditional Bavarian dress who greeted me with a big smile. At the back of the aircraft was a colleague of hers also wearing a traditional Bavarian dress. Both of them got their job done with lots of smiles.
A short walk followed to my assigned seat 6A and I got settled in. The windows were still a bit wet from the water salute:
The doors were closed 8 minutes ahead of schedule, at 10:57. Flight load was around 60% with the seat next to me empty. One of the female FAs came on the PA with the usual announcements and an announced flying time of 1 hour and 5 minutes. After her came the flight deck with another nice welcome on this inaugural Rotterdam-Munich flight and some announcements.. Cruising level will be FL360 and the routing: Rotterdam-The Hague-Dusseldorf-Frankfurt-Munich.
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 783 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (6 months 1 week 1 day ago) and read 8569 times:
While the safety demonstration was being performed we started our taxi towards runway 24, 3 minutes ahead of schedule.
This most definitely is Rotterdam The Hague airport:
An American registered bizjet passing by:
Take Off
After about a 5 minute taxi we rolled onto runway 24 and started take off roll immediately:
Rotate!:
Rotterdam skyline in the background:
The city of The Hague:
Seatback Contents
Legroom shot:
Lufthansa Magazin:
And of course, the safety card:
Cabin shot, also visible is one of the female FAs in her traditional dress:
The crew came around offering the snack service. The snack this time was brown bread with a big slice of cheese in between it. Just realized I forgot to take a picture of it, together with that I got a coke. While enjoying my snack I watched the earth go by down below:
Soon enough the pilot came on the PA announcing our descent towards MUC, the weather conditions in Munich (which didn’t sound all too well) and thanking us for choosing Lufthansa.
Landing
On final approach to runway 26R:
It is indeed not the best weather today:
And touchdown at 12:16, 14 minutes ahead of schedule:
US Airways heading to PHL:
Heading to much better weather:
We exited the runway and taxied to a remote stand:
The tower:
Of course Munich means Lufthansa:
I am ashamed to say I still have to try out Air Berlin sometime soon, but when?:
And in our final parking position at 12:22, still 8 minutes ahead of schedule:
The seatbelt sign dinged off and everybody grabbed their belongings, including me, waiting for the front door to open.
I’m guessing this is someone important. He watched us get off the plane and then left again in his fancy car:
Soon enough the door opened and I was one of the first ones off the plane, not before thanking the FA for the nice flight. While waiting for my carry-on I snapped a quick picture of my plane:
After retrieving my carry-on I stepped into the bus. A short 5 minute bus ride followed and we were let out into terminal 2.
I headed straight towards the baggage claim and exit while passing customs to which I was of no interest.
Novotel München Airport
As already mentioned in the introduction above my hotel for the night will be the Novotel. Check-in for the hotel starts at 15:00 so I had some time to go. My initial plan was to get some spotting done from the besucherpark close to my hotel, but as the weather wasn’t particularly cooperating I decided not to. Instead I hung around at the airport making use of the provided WIFI and getting some food at McDs.
At 14:40 I decided to head towards my hotel. So I bought a train ticket at one of the machines and took the S1 train 1 short stop to the Flughafen Besucherpark.
A short walk followed to my hotel following the signs:
Hotel in sight:
Almost there:
I arrived at the hotel just ahead of 15:00 but the reception had no problem checking me in. 5 minutes later I went upstairs using the elevator and headed straight to my room:
During the rest of the afternoon/evening I made use of the WIFI, caught up on some trip reports, watched a DVD, watched some TV and ordered some room service:
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 783 posts, RR: 2 Reply 2, posted (6 months 1 week 1 day ago) and read 8554 times:
Around midnight I started to get quite tired so fell into a nice and long sleep..
Tuesday October 2
With my flight not leaving back to RTM until late in the afternoon I was able to sleep in, so at 11:00 my alarm clock went off and I got my usual morning rituals done.
With that all done I grabbed my belongings and headed downstairs to check out. With that taken care of I walked back to the train station to head back to the airport:
The train came right away so I was back at the airport in no time.
Check-In
Next stop was Terminal 2. As I had checked in online the night before in my hotel all I needed to do now was print my BP so I approached one of the LH SSK and swapped my LH FFC. For some reason the machine didn’t like me as it didn’t want to find my flight in the system for some odd reason.
So off to the Business Class check-in I went where it was my turn right away. The quite uninterested check-in agent printed my BP without a problem.
Next stop was security, which was a breeze as I was able to use the Business/First Class lane. This all together only took a mere 15 minutes.
Lufthansa Business Lounge
With more than 4 hours to go until my flight I headed straight towards the Lufthansa Business Lounge. The friendly agent scanned my BP, swapped my FFC and I was let through while being wished a pleasant stay.
For the next 4,5 hours I made use of the free WIFI, caught up on some trip reports and watched some TV while regularly visiting the bar:
Boarding
BP for this flight:
Eventually at 16:50, 10 minutes past boarding time I left the lounge and headed towards my assigned gate G45. Once arriving there it seemed that everybody had already gone through so I scanned my BP and headed straight downstairs to the waiting bus. In front of us was this OS 737 heading to VIE:
After 5 minutes the bus doors were closed and we headed towards our aircraft. After looking around in the bus there were only 4 other people to be seen, wow this is going to be a very light load I thought.
Once arriving at our aircraft I immediately noticed that this wasn’t the planned CRJ-900. Apparently the aircraft had been downgraded back to a CRJ-700.
I exited the bus and headed up the stairs.
Once entering the aircraft I was greeted by a female FA. In the back of the cabin was another female FA, they can best be described as biz friendly with not many smiles.
The first thing I noticed was that there were already quite some passengers on board so I was apparently on the second bus. The second thing I noticed was that Business Class was the first 7 rows with just one person seated in the very first row.
I headed straight to my seat 15A and got settled in:
As already mentioned above the first 7 rows were Business Class with 1 person in it. Rows 8-20 were Economy Class and the load here was around 85% with the seat next to me occupied. Why they didn’t make the first 2 rows Business Class and let the rest of us spread out is beyond me. This caused for quite a cramped feeling.
The doors were closed at 17:00, 5 minutes ahead of schedule. One of the female FAs came on the PA with the usual announcements followed by the flight deck. Announced flying time was 1 hour and 10 minutes.
The safety demonstration was being performed while we started to taxi towards the same runway I landed on yesterday, 26R:
Next time you downgrade my aircraft, at least give me a special scheme like this!:
After you big brother:
Take Off
After about 10 minutes of taxiing and waiting for departing/arriving aircraft we rolled onto 26R and started take off:
Nice view of MUC:
The legroom was a bit tight:
The remainder of the flight I played a game on my laptop as there wasn’t too much to be seen outside. The crew also came around offering the snack service. A piece of bread filled with big chunks of butter was the snack on this flight. Have had it before and it can best be described as disgusting so I didn’t bother eating it:
Together with that I got an OJ and coffee:
Safety card:
In no time the pilot came on the PA announcing our descent towards RTM and thanking us for flying Lufthansa:
Typical Dutch landscape in sight:
Making a left turn:
Landing
And into final approach for runway 24:
Rotterdam Skyline:
And touchdown at 18:24, 11 minutes ahead of schedule:
We exited the runway and a short taxi followed to our remote stand:
Yes I know I have to fly you soon:
In our final parking position at 18:26, still 9 minutes ahead of schedule:
And yes, this is Rotterdam The Hague airport again:
Hello there:
The front door was opened swiftly so I grabbed my belongings and headed outside together with the other passengers. Before heading inside the terminal I snapped a quick picture of my plane. D-ACPP did the honors on this flight, delivered factory fresh to Lufthansa Cityline on 07/02/2003:
I headed inside the terminal and was at the bus stop waiting for my bus within 2 minutes, oh the joy of those smaller airport it’s so much easier. Luckily enough my bus was just about to depart so I was at Rotterdam Centraal in no time. Unfortunately my Fyra train back to Amsterdam had just left so a 25 minute wait followed:
The nice thing about the high speed Fyra train is that you can get to Schiphol from Rotterdam Centraal in 27 minutes.
So in no time I was at Schiphol airport where I took the regional train up to Amsterdam Lelylaan station. A 10 minute walk followed and I was back home after another great trip.
Conclusion
Catching an inaugural flight with its celebrations is always fun and this trip was no exception. It’s always nice to catch some nice pictures of the water salute. The flight RTM-MUC was a good one. Nice crew and very peaceful.
The Novotel was a nice hotel to stay at despite the price, but that was my own stupid fault. I would definitely recommend it if having a short night at MUC or a spotting trip as it is close to the Besucherplatz.
The Lufthansa Business Lounge was quite nice and luckily enough not all too busy as seems to be standard at their lounge in FRA , had a pleasant stay there.
My return flight MUC-RTM was a different experience. Quite cramped and not that great of a crew. Am glad it didn’t last all too long. On the plus side we arrived at RTM ahead of schedule.
Overall I surely enjoyed this trip and I wish Lufthansa all the best on this route!
This will conclude my trip report. If you’re still reading, thank you very much for taking the time to read this report, it is much appreciated.
Please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question, I would really appreciate that!
My next report will be on more Lufthansa, more lounges and a lot of pictures of FRAs new Pier A+!
LFutia From Netherlands, joined Dec 2002, 3195 posts, RR: 31 Reply 3, posted (6 months 1 week 23 hours ago) and read 8522 times:
Goedenavond Brendan!
Nice to see you got this trip report up so fast. I enjoyed all the pictures including the food, now I'm hungry! I'm sure its pretty cool to be the first person to check in for the innaugural flight. The safety card honestly looked like a huge book, kind of different from our safety cards.
Overall, would you see yourself flying this route again?
Leo/ORD
Leo/ORD -- Groetjes uit de VS! -- Heeft u laatst nog met KLM gevlogen?
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 4, posted (6 months 1 week 23 hours ago) and read 8518 times:
Hi Brendan,
very nice report with good pictures! Good idea to book a seat on that inaugural flight.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Stupid me forgot that the Oktoberfest was going on during my stay there, so once I started looking for hotels all prices were sky high by now. I eventually settled for a rather pricy stay at the Novotel Munchen Airport, an hotel I have been to before and close to the airport.
Yes, hotels can be very expensive during that period.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): After putting all my belongings on the belt I handed my BP over to the agent. He gave it a weird look and handed it over to his supervisor who also gave it a weird look. Apparently they had never seen a LH BP before and weren’t sure if it was the real deal. While I headed through the x ray machine without any problems the supervisor headed over to the LH check-in desk to double check.
After waiting for about 10 minutes she finally came back and handed it back to me, but not before showing it to the other 8 agents that were there. For a second I thought I was a celebrity or I had a lot of gold with me but no, it was just simple Lufthansa boarding pass.
Very odd!
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): The gate agent scanned my BP with a smile and handed this gingerbread out which was quite tasty:
They're good, but they cannot match the ones which are produced near my hometown...
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Waiting inside the aircraft was a female FA wearing a traditional Bavarian dress who greeted me with a big smile. At the back of the aircraft was a colleague of hers also wearing a traditional Bavarian dress. Both of them got their job done with lots of smiles.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Cabin shot, also visible is one of the female FAs in her traditional dress:
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): During the rest of the afternoon/evening I made use of the WIFI, caught up on some trip reports, watched a DVD, watched some TV and ordered some room service:
That looks good. How much did they charge?
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): A piece of bread filled with big chunks of butter was the snack on this flight. Have had it before and it can best be described as disgusting so I didn’t bother eating it:
roberts87 From Netherlands, joined Dec 2011, 660 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (6 months 1 week 22 hours ago) and read 8517 times:
Hi Brendan,
Nice report on the new RTM-MUC service! Pretty neat to be the first to check in for the first flight. Interesting year for RTM with also the BA service coming up soon. Will you be trying that one out too?
jpetekyxmd80 From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 4243 posts, RR: 29 Reply 7, posted (6 months 1 week 17 hours ago) and read 8517 times:
Nice report! And quite familiar, as I was transiting MUC on Oct 1 as well. Must have arrived shortly after you on Air Dolomiti from Florence and onward to ORD on the 346!
Avianca From Venezuela, joined Jan 2005, 5857 posts, RR: 40 Reply 8, posted (6 months 1 week 17 hours ago) and read 8517 times:
exelent report - and I have to say quite interesting. I am wondering why the mayor european carrier are just starting with flights ex RTM to their hubs - for sure their is a nice market in RTM - well its not so far away from AMS - but still around 60 to 90 min if I remember well.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): The gate agent scanned my BP with a smile and handed this gingerbread out which was quite tasty:
hmmm nothing better than these ginger breads (ok I prefre them with chocolate) with a cold glass of milk
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): As already mentioned in the introduction above my hotel for the night will be the Novotel. Check-in for the hotel starts at 15:00 so I had some time to go. My initial plan was to get some spotting done from the besucherpark close to my hotel, but as the weather wasn’t particularly cooperating I decided not to. Instead I hung around at the airport making use of the provided WIFI and getting some food at McDs.
I was always wondering how these "cheaper" airport hotel is like - If I remember well 2 years ago it was still under construction or? - why didnt you checked out the Airbräu? for sure years ago it was better than these days but still better than Mcd - and of course they have a decen brew !
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): With more than 4 hours to go until my flight I headed straight towards the Lufthansa Business Lounge. The friendly agent scanned my BP, swapped my FFC and I was let through while being wished a pleasant stay.
For the next 4,5 hours I made use of the free WIFI, caught up on some trip reports and watched some TV while regularly visiting the bar:
nice lounge! also I see they have good Bavarian food on offer! mmmm - btw is also Star Gold from other carriers accepted to get into?
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): The crew also came around offering the snack service. A piece of bread filled with big chunks of butter was the snack on this flight. Have had it before and it can best be described as disgusting so I didn’t bother eating it:
well for me its one of the best breafast snacks in the world - ok I am native Bavarian - but wow nothing better than a Butter Brezen or a Butter Brezenstange mmm but of course it should be fresh
gabrielchew From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, RR: 13 Reply 12, posted (6 months 1 week 5 hours ago) and read 8515 times:
Nice report Brendan....looks like a nice new service.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): However, the check-in agent had no idea what she was doing and apologized for it explaining that I was the very first passenger to be checking in. Behind her was a LH employee helping and guiding her through every step. After about 10 minutes I (finally) got my BP, so I thanked her and headed straight towards security where the next “fun” experience was about to happen.
After putting all my belongings on the belt I handed my BP over to the agent. He gave it a weird look and handed it over to his supervisor who also gave it a weird look. Apparently they had never seen a LH BP before and weren’t sure if it was the real deal. While I headed through the x ray machine without any problems the supervisor headed over to the LH check-in desk to double check.
Quite shocking really how RTM or LH weren't able to brief/train staff BEFORE passengers arrived....pretty poor planning. You shoud not be the person showing them their first LH bp.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): As already mentioned above the first 7 rows were Business Class with 1 person in it. Rows 8-20 were Economy Class and the load here was around 85% with the seat next to me occupied. Why they didn’t make the first 2 rows Business Class and let the rest of us spread out is beyond me
Very annoying. I hope the return flight was full in C, otherwise you'll have all suffered for nothing.
FLIEGER67 From Turkey, joined Sep 2003, 4391 posts, RR: 57 Reply 13, posted (6 months 1 week 4 hours ago) and read 8515 times:
Hoi, B.,
really good to follow you´re impressions about this LH inaugural service.
Well done, also the pictures.
Shame with these hotel prices, but they know how to make money, definitely.
CaptainRed From Germany, joined Oct 2010, 578 posts, RR: 19 Reply 14, posted (6 months 1 week 3 hours ago) and read 8515 times:
Hi Brendan,
nice report here, great idea to get on that inaugural flight to MUC. And nice to see that they made some celebrations on it and even had a water cannon salute, cool. And for sure something special to be the first one to check-in on a flight like that, though I agree that the agent should have been better prepared for it.
sultanils From Belgium, joined Mar 2010, 1188 posts, RR: 29 Reply 15, posted (6 months 1 week ago) and read 8515 times:
Yo Brendan,
Cool report and congrats on your 1st (?) inaugural. I hope this route will last, you never know whith these oddball routes.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): However, the check-in agent had no idea what she was doing and apologized for it explaining that I was the very first passenger to be checking in. Behind her was a LH employee helping and guiding her through every step.
Hmm, does LH have a separate checkin system then? I would think that it's more 'airport related' then 'airline related'. But then again, I'm not in the business so I can't really know/tell.
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2212 posts, RR: 14 Reply 16, posted (6 months 5 days 23 hours ago) and read 8515 times:
Hello Brendan
Very nice report as usual! It's always fun to be on an inaugural and this is trip is not exception.
LH made this inaugural very special! I almost logged an LH CR9 as well between MUC and BRU but it got cancelled and had the E95 instead!
Those AF F50's are really making me look forward to my recently booked trip.
CRJ900 From Norway, joined Jun 2004, 2080 posts, RR: 1 Reply 17, posted (6 months 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 8515 times:
Hi Brendan, nice report. I see from your pics that you got the refurbished CRJ900 with new slimline seats - how were they? Was legroom decent? LH now has 90 seats on the refurbished CRJ900 but they are supposed to be just as comfy as their older interior. True?
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4015 posts, RR: 52 Reply 18, posted (6 months 5 days 6 hours ago) and read 8515 times:
Hi Brendan,
really good to see your report on this new LH service. I think you got a nice extra little touch with this inaugural, normally the standard LH service would apply of course.
I'm still interested to know how they anticipate the CR9 on this new route, where I think the CR7 would've been a better fit, so with the operations active for a few weeks it might be interesting to know the loads on this new route.
I remember TTA (TransTravel Airlines) operated this route on their Dash 8-300 and/or ATR42. They were not successful.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Hmm, does LH have a separate checkin system then? I would think that it's more 'airport related' then 'airline related'.
Check-in systems are airline based. Some systems have they same base system and are customized, but systems need specific training. Current operator Cityjet (AF/KL) and HV use the same system afaik, LH is on a different platform.
Regards
Eric
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
Quoting jpetekyxmd80 (Reply 7): And quite familiar, as I was transiting MUC on Oct 1 as well. Must have arrived shortly after you on Air Dolomiti from Florence and onward to ORD on the 346!
There is a nice coincidence, hope you enjoyed the flight!
Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): exelent report - and I have to say quite interesting
Thank you very much, am glad you liked it..
Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): I am wondering why the mayor european carrier are just starting with flights ex RTM to their hubs - for sure their is a nice market in RTM - well its not so far away from AMS - but still around 60 to 90 min if I remember well.
It is quite interesting to see how it will all go, especially with BA also opening twice daily RTM-LHR flights starting in the begin of December.. I can see people living closer to RTM then AMS will prefer using RTM and connecting through MUC or LHR later on.. Rotterdam also has the biggest harbor in Europe and one of the biggest in the world of course.. Time will tell I guess!
Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): hmmm nothing better than these ginger breads (ok I prefre them with chocolate) with a cold glass of milk
That sounds even better!
Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): I was always wondering how these "cheaper" airport hotel is like - If I remember well 2 years ago it was still under construction or?
Yes, it was under construction back then if I remember correctly
Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): why didnt you checked out the Airbräu? for sure years ago it was better than these days but still better than Mcd - and of course they have a decen brew !
Wanted a quick bite to eat and didn't really think through my options, will definetely go there next time I transfer through MUC
Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): nice lounge! also I see they have good Bavarian food on offer! mmmm - btw is also Star Gold from other carriers accepted to get into?
Yes it sure did and yes I believe both the Business and Senator lounges are accessible for Star Gold
Quoting Avianca (Reply 8): well for me its one of the best breafast snacks in the world - ok I am native Bavarian - but wow nothing better than a Butter Brezen or a Butter Brezenstange mmm but of course it should be fresh
If it was fresh I think I would actually like it oo, although it was a bit too much butter for me'
Quoting Avianca (Reply 8):
thanks for the great trip report!
Quoting OA260 (Reply 11): Always nice to catch an inaugural especially when they do something to make it a bit different.
Indeed, hope you are enjoying your cruise!
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 12): Nice report Brendan....looks like a nice new service.
Thanks Gabriel, it sure does hope it lasts
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 12): Quite shocking really how RTM or LH weren't able to brief/train staff BEFORE passengers arrived....pretty poor planning. You shoud not be the person showing them their first LH bp.
Exactly me opinion
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 12): Very annoying. I hope the return flight was full in C, otherwise you'll have all suffered for nothing.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 14):
nice report here, great idea to get on that inaugural flight to MUC.
Thanks! Yes it sure was great
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 14): And nice to see that they made some celebrations on it and even had a water cannon salute, cool
Indeed, was very happy with catching the water canon salute
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 14): And for sure something special to be the first one to check-in on a flight like that, though I agree that the agent should have been better prepared for it.
It sure felt special despite the agents not being prepared
Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Cool report and congrats on your 1st (?) inaugural. I hope this route will last, you never know whith these oddball routes.
Thank you very much.. I sure hope so too, would be nice to try it again a years time from now
Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Hmm, does LH have a separate checkin system then? I would think that it's more 'airport related' then 'airline related'. But then again, I'm not in the business so I can't really know/tell.
Wasn't really sure but Eric already answered it below I see
Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Nice touch indeed to see this message in the FIDS.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Look at that guy in his lederhosen, so funny.
Haha yeah there were 2 guys in Lederhosen and 2 fine ladies in traditional clothes. A nice touch IMHO
Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Was she dressed up for this occasion only?
Yes
Quoting sultanils (Reply 15): Indeed. Same with ANR for example, in and out in 2 mins, no more and free parking right outside!
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 16): Very nice report as usual! It's always fun to be on an inaugural and this is trip is not exception.
Thank you! It sure was fun!
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 16): LH made this inaugural very special! I almost logged an LH CR9 as well between MUC and BRU but it got cancelled and had the E95 instead!
Shame you missed out on the CR9 then
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 16): Those AF F50's are really making me look forward to my recently booked trip.
Yes, dont forget they are Cityjet, much better service I hear
Quoting CRJ900 (Reply 17): I see from your pics that you got the refurbished CRJ900 with new slimline seats - how were they? Was legroom decent? LH now has 90 seats on the refurbished CRJ900 but they are supposed to be just as comfy as their older interior. True?
Have never flown the older interior LH CRJ900 so cant answer that part. These newish slimline seats were quite comfortable and legroom was acceptable. Although I am 2 meters tall so barely any legroom is really acceptable for me
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 18): really good to see your report on this new LH service. I think you got a nice extra little touch with this inaugural, normally the standard LH service would apply of course.
Indeed a nice experience
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 18): I'm still interested to know how they anticipate the CR9 on this new route, where I think the CR7 would've been a better fit, so with the operations active for a few weeks it might be interesting to know the loads on this new route.
I remember TTA (TransTravel Airlines) operated this route on their Dash 8-300 and/or ATR42. They were not successful.
Yes same here, very curious how it will go. Same with BA in December using bigger equipment..
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 18): Check-in systems are airline based. Some systems have they same base system and are customized, but systems need specific training. Current operator Cityjet (AF/KL) and HV use the same system afaik, LH is on a different platform.
Didn't know that either, thanks!
Guys, thanks once again for commenting really appreciate it!
LH4116 From Sweden, joined Aug 2007, 1672 posts, RR: 15 Reply 21, posted (6 months 3 days 23 hours ago) and read 8515 times:
Hoi Brendan, great report!
Always nice to see inaugural reports here on the forum, and it certainly looked like they were making it a big deal at RTM! LH looked good as usual, with some decent service for those short hops. However those bread sticks aren't very nice!
Regarding the limo parked at stand I suppose it was there to pick up a HON Circle / First Class passenger?
Novotel Munich looks nice. Is this hotel new, because I didn't notice it there when I was in MUC? Or perhaps I missed it…
LH Biz lounge looks nice as usual, love the wooden floors which in fact make it look nicer and brighter than the SEN Lounge downstairs. Btw how come your BP only showed M/M?
//Jonas
I won't stop complaining until SAS reintroduces free service in Economy Class!
thijs1984 From Netherlands, joined Mar 2007, 49 posts, RR: 0 Reply 22, posted (6 months 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 8191 times:
Very nice trip report, also nice pictures, yoyu can clearly see the work on the extended A4 highway near my home upon departure from Rotterdam
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 18): I remember TTA (TransTravel Airlines) operated this route on their Dash 8-300 and/or ATR42. They were not successful.
TTA flew RTM-HAM and were quite succesfull for some time.
VLM did RTM-MUC, but on very unsuitable flighttimes and this caused the demise of the Route. I think big players like LH and BA will be much more succesfull on this kind of routes out of Rotterdam.
i learned that the afternoon/evening flight is doing very well.
Hi Jonas, thanks for commenting, glad you liked it
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): Always nice to see inaugural reports here on the forum, and it certainly looked like they were making it a big deal at RTM!
Yes, it sure was nice. We will see what happens with BA in 2 weeks..
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): LH looked good as usual, with some decent service for those short hops. However those bread sticks aren't very nice!
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): Regarding the limo parked at stand I suppose it was there to pick up a HON Circle / First Class passenger?
They didn't take anyone else with them so I dont think so..
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): Novotel Munich looks nice. Is this hotel new, because I didn't notice it there when I was in MUC? Or perhaps I missed it…
It is about 2 years old
Quoting LH4116 (Reply 21): LH Biz lounge looks nice as usual, love the wooden floors which in fact make it look nicer and brighter than the SEN Lounge downstairs. Btw how come your BP only showed M/M?
Indeed, the LH biz lounge is quite nice! Not sure why my BP shows M/M, it is quite odd
Quoting thijs1984 (Reply 22): Very nice trip report, also nice pictures, yoyu can clearly see the work on the extended A4 highway near my home upon departure from Rotterdam
photoshooter From Belgium, joined Feb 2010, 353 posts, RR: 20 Reply 24, posted (5 months 4 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 7345 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CHAT OPERATOR
Hi Brendan
quite an interesting and wonderful trip report you've got there!
This route has got my attention since they announced though I was hoping they would consider EIN instead of RTM.
LH looks like they were as usual, nice and correct. Pity they downgraded your aircraft but then again, I wouldn't mind since you logged two different types instead of one.
The hotel at RTM looks pretty good! Too bad the Internet failed but it's hard to find a hotel with decent (free) Internet connections these days .
Thanks for this lovely trip report and keep them coming!
Cheers
'A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.' - Winston Churchill
25 Widebodyroga: Hey Brendan, How nice that you got to fly on the inaugural service. I've never been on one, it sure must be special, no matter the route. A very well-
26 thijs1984: No wonder :lol: I personally would have preferred to maintain the name of Rotterdam Airport (without The Hague) or Rotterdam / Den Haag Airport (Dutc
27 win1290: Hi Brendan, A very excellent account of LH inaugural flight from RTM-MUC. Very nice to see the celebration at RTM, particularly nice to see the water
28 adamspotter: Nice to see more comments, thank you very much! Hi photoshooter Thank you very much Yeah that would have also been nice, although RTM makes a bit more
29 dkdaviator: Hi Brendan, Nice report you have there on catching the inaugural from Rotterdam to Munich. Lots of nice pictures in the report as well. It's cool that
30 adamspotter: Hi David Thank you very much! It sure gave a special feeling! Very bad from their side Unfortunately Thank you! cheers, Brendan
31 akhmad: Hoi hoi Brendan, Thank you for taking us along the experience of LH’s inaugural flight to RTM! Don’t you think that you could have combined the fl
32 adamspotter: Hoi Suryo No problem. Thanks for commenting! Yeah, achteraf.. Didn't really think it through all to much Yes, but surprisingle the VDV was a bit chea
33 dc9northwest: Hey Brendan, Good to see your inaugural report (and sorry my reply is about a month too late ) Nice to see LH inaugurating RTM... I guess this airport
34 flightsimboy: Hey Brendan, Nice to see this inaugural report. I just had a slight chuckle as for inaugurals and water canon salutes are for the big widebodies, so i
35 adamspotter: Hi Alex! Thank you and no problems Yes they sure are! Indeed Thanks for commenting! Hi FSB Thanks hehe, i can understand that hehe Yeah, it sure is g
36 deltamartin: Hello Brendan! I finally got around reading this report of yours! Good story and interesting read as usual! Glad to see you had two fairly enjoyable f
37 adamspotter: Hi Martin! Thanks for stopping by Thank you very much indeed Indeed, inaugurals are fun Mixed feelings there! cheers, Brendan
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