Lufthansa 405
New York (JFK) – Frankfurt (FRA)
Boeing 747-800
D-ABYU
Seat 29A
Scheduled Departure Time – 9:55pm
Actual Departure Time-11:30pm
Scheduled Arrival Time –11:50am
Actual Arrival Time- 12:18pm
6 hours 48 minutes
About 15 minutes prior to scheduled boarding time they announced that they were doing additional security checks, and that the flight would be delayed 30 minutes. Finally boarding started. It was a full flight that evening, and boarding took a while. Eventually everyone was onboard, and the door was closed. We sat at the gate for about 15 minutes before pushing back. Runway 4L was in use. By the time we got there, we were #2 for takeoff, behind a TAP A330 to LIS. After takeoff, we paralleled Long Island as we climbed up to our cruising altitude of FL350.
Boarding
Cabin before departure
29A
About 30 minutes after takeoff the dinner service began. The flight attendants came through with chicken or pasta, and then drinks. Once the trays were collected, the lights were turned down. Since the flight left so late, it started to get light out about 3 and half hours into the flight. Everyone but a few people had their window shades down, so there was a little bit of light that came into the cabin. The flight attendants came around with water and coffee a few times during the night. A little over an hour before landing the flight attendants came through with a muffin and fruit. They also were serving juice, water and coffee. Shortly after this, the CA made an announcement that we were now over Germany and starting our initial descent. We made a left turn, and flew a long left downwind for 25L.
Dinner
Cabin before the lights were turned down
Breakfast
Starting our descent
Final
Touchdown
D-ABYU before flying to LAX
After landing, we headed over to the gate where the TLV flight was departing from. Boarding started about 40 minutes before departure. We were boarding from a remote stand, so it took 3 buses to get everyone to the plane.
Lufthansa 694
Frankfurt (FRA) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
Airbus A321
D-AISP
Seat 14A
Scheduled Departure Time – 2:00pm
Actual Departure Time-2:25pm
Scheduled Arrival Time –7:05pm
Actual Arrival Time- 7:10pm
3 hours 45 minutes
Boarding
It was a fast taxi. We were in the air within 15 minutes of the door being closed. On this flight they also served meals. Lunch was similar to dinner on the first flight. They were offering lemon chicken, or pasta. It was a smooth flight, as we flew southeast towards TLV. Twice during the flight, we came close to other planes. One was a KLM 747-400, and the other a Saudia A330. An announcement was made that beginning 30 minutes prior to landing, all passengers would need to be seated for the remainder of the flight. We touched down in TLV at 7:10pm, arriving at the gate about 5 minutes later. Just like in FRA, there was no jetway. We deplaned via airstairs and were bussed to the terminal.
Climbing out of FRA
Lunch
Getting closer
Descending into TLV
Final
Touchdown
The arrivals hall was not that busy, and we had our bags and were in a cab within about 30 minutes after landing. This was a lot better then last time when it took almost 2 hours.
After a fun week in Israel it was time to head to Poland. Our flight was not supposed to leave until 9:15pm. We spent the day at the beach. After getting an early dinner. We left our hotel in Tel Aviv around 5:30pm. When we got to the airport, the LOT counter was not open for check in. Most of the plane was at the counter by the time agents arrived. Check in was slow, and after finally dropping our bags we headed to a nonexistent security line. Once we were through, we walked around the terminal to kill some time before heading to our gate.
4X-ELC arriving from BCN, and leaving to JFK later that night
SP-LWB arriving from WAW
LOT Polish 160
Tel Aviv (TLV) – Krakow (KRK)
Boeing 737-800
SP-LWB
Seat 8A
Scheduled Departure Time – 9:15pm
Actual Departure Time-9:33pm
Scheduled Arrival Time –11:55pm
Actual Arrival Time- 11:59pm
3 hours 26 minutes
Boarding began at 8:50pm. It was a full flight, and multiple announcements were made that they wanted to get this flight out, despite starting boarding 10 minutes later then scheduled with the crew and plane there. We started to pushback right at our scheduled departure time. With the engines started we taxied to runway 26, and took off at 9:33pm. As usual with departing TLV, once we were out over the Mediterranean there was nothing to look at, until we flew past Istanbul. It was a dark night as we flew east over Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary before starting our descent over Slovakia. On this flight the flight attendants came through with water, coffee and some chocolate. It was a clear night and we flew straight in landing on runway 25 at 11:59pm, arriving at the gate a few minutes later.
Boarding
Taxing
Landing in KRK
As seemed to be the theme with this trip, we deplaned in KRK via airstairs and were bussed to the terminal. It was late, and we were one of the last arrivals for the night. After a short line at immigration and getting our bags, we were in a cab to our hotel.
After spending 2 days in Krakow, we were headed to Warsaw for one night, before our flight back to New York early the following morning. We left our hotel at 6:30am, for our 8:55 flight. I was looking forward to this flight as it was on a Q400. While I have flown on a few before, it is always a fun plane to fly on and not something I get to do often. The airport was busy this morning. The check in and security process took quite a while. Eventually we made it to our gate. Boarding started about 20 minutes before our scheduled departure time. Just like when we landed a few days prior, we got on a bus to bring us to our Dash 8 that was waiting for it’s second flight of the day. It flew in from Bucharest, Romania earlier that morning.
LOT Polish 3904
Krakow (KRK) – Warsaw (WAW)
Bombardier Dash 8-400
SP-EQK
Seat 14A
Scheduled Departure Time – 8:55am
Actual Departure Time-8:57am
Scheduled Arrival Time –9:50am
Actual Arrival Time- 9:33am
36 minutes
14A
We started our engines 10 minutes early. After a quick taxi to runway 25, we were cleared for takeoff after an easyJet A320 arrived. Once we were in the air, the flight attendants came through with water and chocolate. It was a short flight, before long we were descending into WAW. When we got to WAW, one of the bags did not come out. After talking to a LOT agent, she said the bag was in WAW and to wait. About 15 minutes later it came out with 2 or 3 other bags.
We spent the day walking around Warsaw. After dinner we called it an early night, since we had a 4:45am shuttle to the airport the next morning. The airport was busy, and the line for security was slow. Boarding started 30 minutes prior to departure. Boarding was very efficient, and we were ready to go 15 minutes early. The door was closed, and we pushed back 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Once the engines were started we taxied to runway 29. After a TAP A321 from LIS arrived the crossing runway, we were cleared for takeoff. When we were in the air an announcement was made that there was an issue with catering in WAW, and there would not be any snacks or meals, only drinks would be served.
Lufthansa 1353
Warsaw (WAW) – Frankfurt (FRA)
Airbus A320
D-AIUK
Seat 16A
Scheduled Departure Time – 6:55am
Actual Departure Time-6:59am
Scheduled Arrival Time –8:40am
Actual Arrival Time- 8:19am
1 hour 20 minutes
16A
Landing in FRA
Pulling up next to D-AIST, before it went to TXL
Shortly after landing, I got a notification that our flight to JFK was delayed 30 minutes. By the time we went through passport control and got to the Z gates, we had a little over 2 hours before our flight was leaving.
D-AIMK arriving from an overnight flight from DEL
Boarding began about 45 minutes prior to departure. They were using 2 lanes. Being on the upper deck we had to go through the entire plane, before going up the aft staircase. The seats were similar to the 747-800, but in the window you had a little storage area next to your seat. There was also a smaller window that was covered by plastic, making it hard to look out of. The CA made an announcement that due to airspace over Iran that was closed, the flight inbound from New Delhi took over an hour longer then normal. That was the reason our flight was delayed. After this we pushed back, and all 4 of the engines were started. We taxied very slowly to runway 25R and took off at 11:49, 49 minutes late. There was some decent turbulence climbing out of FRA, the CA made an announcement telling the Flight Attendants to remain seated. A few times we hit some really big bumps, and several passengers yelled. The FA sitting on the jumpseat a few rows ahead of me was laughing to herself. Once it smoothed out lunch began. Just like on the other flights the options were some variation of chicken or pasta.
Lufthansa 400
Frankfurt (FRA) – New York (JFK)
Airbus A380
D-AIMK
Seat 96K
Scheduled Departure Time – 11:00am
Actual Departure Time-11:49am
Scheduled Arrival Time –1:40pm
Actual Arrival Time- 1:46pm
7 hours 57 minutes
96K
Climbing out of FRA
Cabin
In flight map
About 1 hour and 30 minutes before landing, the flight attendants came through with a small snack and drinks. After this they came around to collect the headphones they had given out at the beginning of the flight. The CA made an announcement that it was a nice day in NY, and that we should be landing on runway 22L within 30 minutes.
Descending into JFK
Final 22L
Welcome to JFK
After landing we held short of 22R waiting on a few departures, The CA made an announcement that we were at a very busy airport, and would have to wait for a few planes to takeoff before we could continue our taxi. He asked everyone to remain seated until we were at the gate.
Pulling up next to VQ-BQF, preparing for an afternoon flight to SVO
After going through customs and getting my bag, it was time to head over to T4 for my DL flight. It was a great trip to Israel and Poland. All of the flights on LH were great. The food was decent, the service was great. Almost all of the flight attendants on all the flights were very friendly and helpful. I look forward to flying them again. LOT Polish flights were decent. Nothing really stood out, and the flight from KRK-WAW was very short. Overall all of the flights were good, and I got to experience the A380 for the first time!
