************************************
Part 4: FRA-ICN Lufthansa FIRST CLASS
I took my seat at 2A and was offered a pre-departure beverage but I declined since I was stuffed from being in the lounge. I was given the usual goodies: amenity kit, pajamas, and slipper set. There was a slight delay as some mechanics had to go to the cockpit to troubleshoot a problem. It was great to see so many different airlines at the airport as we taxied to the runway. I am not sure if it is the jet lag, time difference, or the fact I had only about four hours of sleep the night before, I dozed off even before we took off. The flight attendant was very nice and asked if I would like a blanket so that I could rest which I agreed.
After we took off, I was greeted by the purser to personalized my menu (was not hard since I was the only passenger in First Class) and gave me some wine recommendations along with option of traditional German entrees for my main. It was weird and sort of eerie being the only passenger in the cabin. I went ahead and changed into my pajamas/slippers from the previous flight so that I could save the other one for later or even as a souvenir. Throughout the meal service, people in Business tried to come through the cabin to use the restroom and the flight attendants asked them to turn around to use the one in their cabin. One complained that First was empty and their bathrooms were full but they did not get any sympathy from her. I got a whole bunch of the delicious garlic bread and a glass of champagne to start. I eventually got her to add some orange juice to help with the taste and me less likely to flush if I paced myself.
The pre-appetizer was a cream cheese mixed with a lot of salt served in an eggshell… it was ok, nothing to write home about. The three appetizer choices included: salmon tartare with lemon confit and fennel salad (which I ate one mound only), Duck foie gras and poultry meat with celery salad and beetroot vinaigrette (which I only at the poultry meat and skipped the live), and Mousse of Tomatoes and Bell Pepper with pine nut peso (which was very good as I ate all of it). I did miss the metal tower in which to place the appetizers on as it took up quite a bite of space on my table. I did skip the caviar service as I got all I wanted from my previous flight. It is definitely an acquired taste for me and I know it is not something that I need to enjoy daily.
The pre-appetizer was a cream cheese mixed with a lot of salt served in an eggshell… it was ok, nothing to write home about. The three appetizer choices included: salmon tartare with lemon confit and fennel salad (which I ate one mound only), Duck foie gras and poultry meat with celery salad and beetroot vinaigrette (which I only at the poultry meat and skipped the live), and Mousse of Tomatoes and Bell Pepper with pine nut peso (which was very good as I ate all of it). I did miss the metal tower in which to place the appetizers on as it took up quite a bite of space on my table. I did skip the caviar service as I got all I wanted from my previous flight. It is definitely an acquired taste for me and I know it is not something that I need to enjoy daily.
The flight got choppy during meal service and the seatbelt sign was turned on. I went with the White Onion Cream Soup with Parmesan Croutons over the salad. It was served pretty hot so I waited for it to cool down and read the USA today newspaper to catch up on national news. For my entrée I had trouble deciding between the Bibimbap and the Bulgolgi so I got both. It was served with the traditional garnishes of kimchee, hot sauce/paste, and preserved radish. I was thoroughly stuffed after that meal and was able to finish the bibimbap and only the bulgolgi meat. I definitely put on a few pounds on all these flights/lounge visits and really enjoying myself all the way.
For dessert, I had both the Crème Brûlée with Macademia Nut ice cream and it was the best dessert that I have even had on an airplane. I also got the Carrée of Mousse au Chocolat served with Orange Sauce which was also good. The flight attendant offered me some green tea which I enjoyed with my dessert. I also took some grapes from the cart but passed on the cheese.
After dinner service was over, the flight attendant asked me what I thought of the food and I gave her my honest opinion and mentioned about how great the service was throughout. She even reset my table cloth for dessert and gave me wooden chopsticks for my main entrée. We chatted for a bit and I asked her about her trips/work experiences and she offered to give me a tour of the plane later if I wanted (which of course I agreed to… wonder around to see the other cabins of service). The other flight attendant offered me some pralines which I took three: cactus, mango, and green tea. These were round and not individually wrapped but nevertheless very nice/tasty. She also sat down on the seat in the aisle from me to talk to me about my travels. She is a very interesting person who takes off 2 months every year to have fun and go vacationing. She lived in Egypt for a year and in Johannesburg (Jo'burg) for seven. She was giving me travel ideas for Morocco and talked about the airline industry. She said that Singapore Airlines is the only Star Alliance member that will not give them a discount for non-revenue travel (which is not surprising since Singapore rarely release premium seats for award travel).
We talked for about thirty minutes and every once in a while, she had to turn a Business passenger away for trying to use the bathroom in First. She talked about the comparison of Lufthansa to American carriers and Asian Carriers. Lufthansa clientele are different that those of American, Middle Eastern, and Asian so that is why it has taken them a while to update their First Class cabins but they will eventually be very similar to those on the Airbus 380's. She is going to be trained on the Airbus 380 so she will be letting her Boeing 747 certification go starting in March. We discussed the new Airbus 380 route to/from San Francisco and she let me know that the Jo'burg route might get downgraded this summer since less people will travel there during their winter months. I am not sure what route that plane might be moved to… perhaps India or Hong Kong maybe? She told me that a lot of the Lufthansa staff some from diverse background and are very educated. They even command a higher salary than their American counterparts. She has a Master's degree but chose the flexibility of work and travel benefits over more income. Overall, I enjoyed talking to them as we had the whole cabin to ourselves. It is not uncommon for the cabin to have one passenger or even no passenger and in that case, it becomes the unofficial crew lounge rest area. With me being there, that was not going to happen on this flight.
I wanted to know what the purser role was and he walked in right as she was about to explain it. He and I spoke for a while and now I have a better idea of his job. He grew up in Brazil and seemed like a very nice, personable man. I think he was heading towards the front for crew rest as after we had talked for a good twenty minutes, he bid me farewell and I did not see him for a long while.
Having nothing to do, I started blogging again so I do not forget details of my experience thus far. I had to ask for a plug adapter being that this is a German plane. Whenever I put off my blogging, a lot of details start to get forgotten and I want to always come back and remember this special trip. I asked the flight attendant about the Business Class amenity kit and she gave me one to take with me. She reminded that I could call on her anytime I wanted a tour of the plane. She asked if it was all right for her to turn off the main cabin light and I said it was fine since I had my reading light and overhead light. She then later came by to refill my water glass and placed a bottle of water into the holder in my seat.
With about 5 & ½ hours to go before arrival, I packed up my computer and went to rinse out my mouth with the mouth was in the restroom and planned on turning in for the night to get what little sleep I can get which ended up being about three hours of quality sleep. I pulled the thick blanket from the drawer under my seat and used it as a seat topper to make it more comfortable and used the thin blanket for covers. I left my computer charged the whole time I was sleep and was paranoid that I would know it over the seat edge and break it so that affected my sleep. I could have moved it to one of the seven empty seats in the cabin, but I got lazy and wanted to just lay there.
I woke up about 2 & 1/2 hours prior to arrival in Seoul. I watched an old episode of Glee and 30 Rock.
The flight attendant asked me if I wanted breakfast and gave me a menu. I went with the yogurt, fruit plate, and some type of sandwich. I asked the other flight attendant to give me a tour of the plane and she took me through the business class only since economy was getting their meal service. I settled in my seat and I had a three course hot breakfast complete with bread, toast, croissant, cinnamon roll, and a kolache. She offered me fresh squeezed (in Frankfurt) orange juice and a cappuccino after setting cloth on the tray table.
I was stuffed after eating everything but inquired to see if they had any pralines left. Since I took only three after the dinner service and was the only passenger in First, it appeared that the flight attendants helped themselves to a majority of the chocolates left. I picked out four pieces: cactus, latte, strawberry, and a regular chocolate. She offered me tea but I declined. She saw me taking pictures of my food and offered to snap a few photos of me enjoying my breakfast.
With about an hour to go, she took me on the rest of the tour of the plane, we went to the back where economy was and circled around toward the front. In the very back of the plane, the six restrooms are located downstairs necessitating the passengers to congregate down there to wait for their turn. The crew rest area was in the lower floor as well. I did notice that the pilots and the crew used the First Class lavatories. I asked her what was included in the Business Class amenity kit and instead of listing the contents; she later gave me a bag to take home with me! After the tour, I changed back into my clothes and put away all my amenity items which left my carry-on quite bulky. I had to carry my toiletry bag by hand when I departed from the plane. I bid the crew farewell and made my way out via the front jet-bridge towards the transit area.
E
