Star Alliance Mega-Trip 2012: First Class on Lufthansa SFO-FRA

Star Alliance Mega-Trip 2012  

a.      Introduction/Preface

b.      United Club at DFW and First Class on United DFW-SFO

c.       United First Class lounge at SFO

d.      First Class on Lufthansa SFO-FRA

e.       Lufthansa Welcome Lounge at FRA

f.       Exploring Frankfurt

g.      Lufthansa First Class Lounge at FRA

h.      First Class on Thai Airways FRA-BKK

i.        Thai First Class Lounge and Spa at BKK

j.        First Class on Thai Airways BKK-HKG

k.      Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong

l.        Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge (The Wing)

m.    Business Class on Dragon Air from HKG

n.      Business Class on Dragon Air to HKG

o.      Cathay Pacific Lounge (The Arrival)

p.      Exploring Hong Kong and Macau

q.      Business Class on Asiana Airlines HKG-ICN

r.        Asiana Business Class & First Class Lounge at ICN

s.       First Class on Asiana Airlines ICN-NRT

t.        Conrad Tokyo

u.      Exploring Tokyo

v.      United Airlines First Class Lounge/United Club at NRT

w.    All Nippon Airways First Class lounge at NRT

x.      First Class on All Nippon Airways NRT-IAD

y.      Lufthansa Lounge and British Airways Lounge at IAD

z.       United Economy Class IAD-DFW plus Conclusion and Final Thoughts

First Class on Lufthansa SFO-FRA

Lufthansa 455  SFO-FRA   Boeing 747
Wednesday, January 18
Depart: 2:40PM  Arrive: 10:40AM +1 Day
Duration: 11hr00min
Seat: 82H (First Class)

Mobile boarding card

After the crew arrival, boarding commenced twenty minutes later. I was passenger #4 on the plane and there were 2 paths on the jet bridge: one for the premium cabins and the other for economy cabin.  I even got to use the Lufthansa APP to check in!

  

Upon boarding, I immediately went upstairs to the upper deck and dropped my roll-on board bag in the huge closet space.  The overhead space is only big enough for a back pack/laptop bag.  I had Steffi again as my flight attendant on board my flight and I had her last year on my DFW-FRA flight.  I got to know her a little better and she told me that if we meet a third time, we would have to go and get a cup of coffee after the flight.  I agreed and took her up on the challenge.  Within minutes of settling in I was offered a pre-departure beverage. I went with with champagne and as usual they were served with macadamia nuts.  The cabin was pretty full with 7 out of 8 seats occupied (my original seat 82C remained unoccupied).

My Original Seat... 82C was inoperable

View from my seat

After settled in, I was served a glass of champagne and some macadamia nuts.  We were given amenity kits, headphones, pajamas, and slippers.  Some of the passengers changed in to them immediately while I waited until after we took off before doing so.  The purser came by to introduce himself and told me why the flight was late (due to deicing at Frankfurt). 

My Bed

We took off from SFO at about 3:15PM and were on our way to Frankfurt with a flight time of about 10 hours.  Dinner service began quickly after reaching a cruising altitude.

 

Documentary on Marina Bay Sands in Singapore (I've been there)

After the seatbelt sign was switched off and I headed to the lavatory to change into PJ’s.  We were first served with a hot towel.  Shortly thereafter drink orders were taken, and the pre-dinner snack was served.  I went with both Garlic and pretzel bread aka(“laugenbroetchen”).  I enjoyed the Soba noodles and the Beef sashimi appetizers but the crab meat I barely touched.  For the main course, I ended up not getting my first choice of the Braised Beef short ribs due to catering issues, so I went with the Chicken.  It wasn't that good but I was pretty stuffed with all the courses they served so fat.

My Dinner and Wine menus

Garlic Bread

Tower of Appetizers

More bread! Delicious!

Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing

Korean Style Spiced Chicken, White Bean Ragout, and Sautéed Swiss Chard

I skipped the cheese plate on this flight since I was very full already.  But having a sweet tooth and not wanting to have to choose between desserts... so I got both.  The Chocolate one was very good and the cheesecake was ok... the gingersnap cookies were not that good because I did not like the texture.  After dinner, I was offered pralines and had a cup of coffee.

Mandarin Cheesecake, Gingersnaps and Cardamom Sauce

Chocolate Pot de Créme

 

Pralines and Chocolate

Survey

After dinner, I went to sleep with about 6 hours before arrival and woke up with 2 hours to go before landing, thus giving me about 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  I grabbed the blanket from 82C and used it as a comforter on my bed.  It seems that everyone in the cabin went sleep before I did.  

Upon waking up, I was greeted by the flight attendant.  I was immediately given a menu for breakfast along with a glass of orange juice.  For breakfast, I enjoyed some yoghurt with dried fruit, scone, bacon/eggs, and a plate of fruit.  This was all served with a few cups of coffee.  

Scone

Yogurt and dried fruit

 The breakfast was pretty good and I got ready for arrival by changing back into my clothes and packing all my belongings.  The landing was very smooth on this 747-400 aircraft but we had to wait a little bit for we parked at the gate so I got drowsy at one time while waiting.

Even though the flight was 11 hours in the air... it still felt too short.  The advantage flying from SFO was the addition of 3 hours in the air (as compared to ORD or the east coast flights) and having the opportunity to experience the New First on Lufthansa. Overall, it was a great flight.