EY Apartments vs. LH First Class

[puppysparkes]

Since subscribing to AFF, I don't think I've seen a TR like this ever...Thanks Boomy!

 

[TheBOSman]

Speaking about privacy, I started wondering where are the rest of the pax? Before I had time to finish that thought the lovely CSM and two FAs came to introduce themselves and said I'm going to be the only pax in F today. Well isn't that nice? I've experienced some low occupancy F cabins before but never had one all to myself!
Makes everything I said before sound a bit silly now as I ended up having more privacy on LH then I had on EY

LH F by yourself is something else entirely . I've had the good fortune of getting an LH A380 F flight with only myself in the cabin. Good times . Hope they let you go double on the caviar service .

 

[boomy]

The food and wines menu

Western



Japanese



White wines



Red wines

 

[boomy]

When the FA came to take the orders she said catering loaded four F meals onboard today so I can try both the Western and Japanese meals if I like. It sounded like a good idea but there was one problem, I wasn't hungry. Damn I hate when it happens! So much food but all I wanted is to sleep. I knew that if I'm going to sleep now I will not get up until breakfast and since I'm in F I should try some of the food so eventually decided to go for the Japanese menu which is supposed to be lighter.

But first comes the one thing on the menu that I can have any time, any day - caviar
And since it was only me today, I got to eat the whole tin



Is that decent enough portion TheBOSman?

The Japanese meal







I love Japanese food but this meal was disappointing, not on par with other Japanese meals I had on JL or CX. Should have gone for the Western or just settle for caviar and maybe some cheese.

The cheese cart was very tempting, couldn't resist



High quality cheese selection, wish I had more appetite.

 

[smit0847]

Interested to hear your ultimate decision about who won. I can't imagine any soft product that is so good it beats EYs A380 F hard product!

 

[kermatu]

Phenomenal trip. So jealous!

 

[TheBOSman]

Is that decent enough portion TheBOSman?

Looks good to me . I think that was more than I got!

 

[boomy]

Apologies for taking my time with this thread, it's been a busy weekend...

 

[boomy]

There was wifi onboard, it cost €12 for the whole flight but some reason I wasn't able to connect. The CSM tried to help me with no luck. There was an option to enter voucher but the CSM said they can use them only for emergency.
Hmmm I wasn't happy with that answer. I already agreed to pay and being the only pax in the cabin I'm sure she could spare one of the "emergency" vouchers.
Anyway, end up sleeping more so no big deal.

 

[boomy]

The bed was very comfortable, I had the best sleep. Methinks the double mattress made all the difference



The flight time was just under 11hr and I probably slept good 8hr before the FA woke me up for breakfast 1hr before landing.

Apparently sometime half-way through the flight the plane's water pumps malfunctioned and as result there was no running water.
I was lucky to have my own toilet so it wasn't too bad but I can imagine the other pax, especially those in Y weren't very happy...

Breakfast service started but I was still not hungry so just had some serial. The CSM insisted I'll try some of the special chocolates they serve in F.



They chocolates were very good, shame the coffee was horrible. I'd expect more than the usual airline black slop in F.
(spoiler alert: JL serve top-notch coffee).

 

[boomy]

As we prepared to land I asked if there is some sort of express lane at HND as I remembered with horror landing there earlier this year and being stuck almost an hour in the queues.
Both FAs in F were on their first flight to HND (they usually fly to NRT when going to Japan) so they had to look it up. Answer was no express lane but ANA offers some very good ground services which also service LH pax landing in HND.
Since I wasn't connecting to *A flight I was a bit sceptical about any personal assistance upon arrival.

Well I was up for a big surprise.
As soon as we landed and the doors opened a Japanese lady wearing LH uniform entered and asked me to follow her. We hopped on a buggy who took us to passport control and soon we were out waiting for my luggage.
The train to NRT was due to leave in 10 minutes and I didn't collect my luggage yet.
The baggage carousel finally started moving and first bag out was mine. This is how it's done, welcome to Japan
Walked fast to buy train ticket but there was queue for the machines. She walked to the front of the queue, said something in Japanese and bypassed everyone. She then walked with me all the way down and insisted on waiting with me until the train arrives. Only when I was on the train she finally left.

I was so impressed by this level of service which is very unusual, even for F.
It wasn't an LH port, I was not connecting to *A flight and I'm a nobody with LH.

To put things in perspective, QF also suppose to have some sort of ground service for F pax but on all my flights in F as P1 I was never offered anything, not on departure nor on arrival.

The only other airline I've had similar type of service was TG in BKK. On other ports TG will offer services only to pax who are connecting to TG F.

 

[kermatu]

I was so impressed by this level of service which is very unusual, even for F.
It wasn't an LH port, I was not connecting to *A flight and I'm a nobody with LH.

To put things in perspective, QF also suppose to have some sort of ground service for F pax but on all my flights in F as P1 I was never offered anything, not on departure nor on arrival.

The only other airline I've had similar type of service was TG in BKK. On other ports TG will offer services only to pax who are connecting to TG F.

I've only had a few F experiences and mainly with QF. I once had the F host on arrival treatment - which was superb. The other 6 or 7 experiences - nothing. Some pax received, others didn't. Very hit and miss.

I wonder had your LH F cabin been full if you'd have all received the service??

 

[boomy]

I wonder had your LH F cabin been full if you'd have all received the service??

Good question. Hope I'll get to test it again in the near future

 

[kermatu]

Good question. Hope I'll get to test it again in the near future

I hope I do too. Likely to fly LH in the next 12 to 18 months - not sure about F though! I would imagine if the cabin is full then the priority would be for those of higher status with LH. Though like you, all my P1 F experiences have had no QF host - I got it when a humble WP.

 

[boomy]

To summarise my LH F experience:

The hard product on the B748 failed to impress. While seat and bed were comfortable, the cabin felt outdated and exposed.
My flight was great because I was all by myself, not sure how it would be with full cabin.

Now, while the hard product may not be outstanding, Lufthansa do have the best ground services and the best lounge. It seems they understand the concept of F travel is more than just the onboard experience. It's about providing extraordinary service pre and post flight as well.

Next: JL F NRT-SYD

 

[RooFlyer]

To summarise my LH F experience:

The hard product on the B748 failed to impress. While seat and bed were comfortable, the cabin felt outdated and exposed.
My flight was great because I was all by myself, not sure how it would be with full cabin.

Now, while the hard product may not be outstanding, Lufthansa do have the best ground services and the best lounge. It seems they understand the concept of F travel is more than just the onboard experience. It's about providing extraordinary service pre and post flight as well.

Next: JL F NRT-SYD

Invaluable commentary, especially from someone who knows their way around an F cabin . LH F was high on my wish list but now dropped a few pegs. Too few and far between to be wasted!

 

[vantage03]

To summarise my LH F experience:

The hard product on the B748 failed to impress. While seat and bed were comfortable, the cabin felt outdated and exposed.
My flight was great because I was all by myself, not sure how it would be with full cabin.

Now, while the hard product may not be outstanding, Lufthansa do have the best ground services and the best lounge. It seems they understand the concept of F travel is more than just the onboard experience. It's about providing extraordinary service pre and post flight as well.

Next: JL F NRT-SYD

Exactly, the LH really get "First Class" as a concept, they make you feel special and they look after everything. Most importantly, they take the worst part out of travel - the awful airport experiences, and turn it into an absolute pleasure.

All F and HON Circle members get airport arrival services at international ports, regardless of how full the cabin is.

Shame you didn't like the F Cabin. I really like it, but my style is more minimalist. I find EK gross, for example.

Excellent report, thanks for sharing!

 

[boomy]

Invaluable commentary, especially from someone who knows their way around an F cabin . LH F was high on my wish list but now dropped a few pegs. Too few and far between to be wasted!

Thanks for the kind words.
Keep in mind this is just one review based on one flight. Some of my friends who live in Europe swear by LH (and LX).

 

[Cruiser Elite]

You have certainly whet my appetite for LH F boomster - are the F seats on 748 same as 380? I have 2 x FRA deps booked in SQ R for July and Aug and might contemplate trading one in - I just prefer the SQ schedule to LH - but I guess I should try it at least once.

 

[Jack_OC]

Fantastic report Boomy! And like everyone else, I'm very jealous!