Part 1: The DFW Club/Lufthansa Contract Lounge
I stayed up until midnight to get some last minute packing done before I could rest properly. It seems that I always forget something each time I go on a trip. I used to make lists of things I need to take with me but I also forget something to add to the list as well. I slept in until 8AM which felt good since I have not done it for a while. My packing was done by noon and I took a shower at about 12:30PM to stay refreshed before y 40 hour journey (16 hours is airport appreciation/in-transit). I finally left my home at around 1:15 PM with a scheduled departure of 4:35PM from DFW. Traffic was not bad and we got to the airport at about 1:45PM and I was dropped off at the curb in front of Terminal D near the British Airways/Lufthansa entrance. I had 2 large luggage to be checked in with a roll-on board carry on as well. I packed them to the maximum permitted on my First Class allowance of 70 pounds/32 kilograms. They checked in at 68 pounds and 62 pounds so I could have stuffed it more but I am content with the amount of luggage taken with me back to China.
I got dropped of at the curb
DFW Lufthansa Check-In Counters
The Lufthansa Contract Lounge at DFW
I proceeded to the First Check-In counter and there was only one passenger ahead of me. I was asked by one of the workers if I was in First Class… I guess he was making sure I was not lost and ended up in the wrong line as First Class is the closest line to the entrance. All my boarding passes for the entire outbound journey was issued, placed in the famed Lufthansa First Class sleeve, and my two pieces of checked baggage were tagged with priority tags all the way through my final destination. The agent asked me if I needed an escort into the lounge near gate D21 and I replied no. The security was not ling but here was a family in front with two small children that slowed down the line as the little boy was uncooperative and did not want to go through the metal detector and subsequently was carried by his father to go through it together.
I headed to the Airport Lounge complex near gate D21 and proceeded to level 5 where a lounge dragon (receptionist) checked my boarding pass and directed me to Room #4 where Lufthansa rents out their contract lounge at DFW. The complex holds the lounge for Korean Air, KLM-Air France, British Airways, and The Club at DFW for Priority Pass holders. The lounge was a little cozy/quaint with plenty of window to view the tarmac. By the time I got in to the lounge, it was about 2PM and I spent 2 hours in there. I did roam around to snap a few pictures during my stay. They had a restroom for male and one for female passengers. The set-up was in a circle with one room for children, one for First Passengers and a small room of 4 cubicles labeled as the business center. The First Class lounge had 14 seats available and a few snacks and also a drink mini fridge with a maximum of five passengers in there (including me). The main lounge had more of the same snacks available along with wine and beer. Liquor was by request only from one of the attendants that poured and brought it to patrons. Snacks included selections of apples, Sunchips, bagged popcorn, Stacy's pita chips, Lay's BBQ chips, Baked Lay's, Rold Gold Pretzels, Walker's Cookies, Raisins, dried fruit, Oreos, and Cape Cod Chips. I helped myself to an apple (not fresh), Sunchips, and dried fruit.
Snacks/Drinks
Business Class Section/Lounge Area
Bathroom
Bathroom Sink
Snack Selection
Drink Selection
Airport Lounge Complex Logo
During my stay, I chatted on and off with Nina who was a flight attendant for 22 years with Braniff Airlines (now defunct after several Chapter Eleven bankruptcies). The wireless internet was spotty but was enough to let me play scrabble on my iPod and I occasionally tapped into the Admiral's Club internet with my membership account. Boarding announcement was made at about 45 minutes before departure at 3:50PM and I made my way to gate D10 for boarding. I told the gate agent that I misplaced by board pass so that they would issue me a new one as I know that once they run it through the scanner, I would only get a stub. I wanted to keep the intact pass as a souvenir for the future. By that time, boarding had moved on from First Class and Business Class passengers all the way to Star Gold members. The gate agent told me to skip to in front of the line and I made my way on the jet bridge to the Airbus 330-300 aircraft that would take me into Frankfurt, Germany (a route that American also flies regularly).
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