Introduction

I must say, Kazakhstan and Almaty were not at all what I was expecting. I rather liked the place. It’s also quite unusual that Mount Shymbulak, with its excellent ski slopes, is just a short bus ride of thirty minutes away from the city centre.

I’m on my way back home on Lufthansa this evening. The schedule for the return is nasty. The flight departs from Almaty at 00:45 as LH648. It arrives in Astana at 02h50, to continue to Frankfurt at 04h20 for an arrival at 08h20 – making it near impossible to get some decent, uninterrupted sleep.

Getting to the Airport

I have ordered a car to take me from the Doubletree to the airport at 22h30. The journey to the airport takes about 35 minutes in good traffic.

Check-In

Lufthansa checks in on rows 14 to 20 and has its own staff on site supervising. From check-in, I head for passport control, which is an uncoordinated mess. We’re approaching midnight, and I’m really not in the mood. Security is just as tedious. I’m asked to open my bag to shows the syringes that, apparently, I have with me. I don’t. When they draw a blank, they ask me to fire up my laptop, only to tell me it’s okay even before the screen lights up…

Almaty Extime Lounge

Lufthansa uses the Extime Lounge in Almaty. The entrance is located right next to gate 204, from where the Lufthansa flight will be boarding.

The lounge is rather crowded, as there are quite a few departures during the night. It has a nice buffet of hot and cold dishes, though, including a few local specialties.

Boarding

Boarding starts at 00h25, with a delay of twenty minutes. Passengers routing from Frankfurt to Astana deboard here in Almaty for the aircraft to be cleaned.

The Cabin & Seat

On this flight, I’m seated on 4H, which is the aisle seat. My colleague, the Flying Dutchman, is seated by the window on 4G. Initially, I’m a bit worried I may not be able to sleep, seeing as I’m sitting right on the aisle with people walking up and down. However, it’s not really a big deal and although the seat has little privacy, I hardly notice the foot traffic during the night.

The seat is a bit hard in the sleeping position. There’s a bar pressing into my lower back and another pressing into my hip. However, it’s long enough for me to stretch out, and eventually, I find a position comfortable enough for me to fall asleep.

Amenities

As on the outbound, a pillow and blanket are already at my seat. In the storage compartment there’s a bottle of still water and another one of those immensely ugly vanity kits/wine cooling sleves by Porsche Design. You really have to put some effort into producing something this ugly!

The Service & Crew

In Almaty a new crew takes over the aircraft for the flight to Astana. And then in Astana, another crew takes over for the flight to Frankfurt. Much to my surprise, the crew on the leg to Frankfurt is the same as that on the outbound to Almaty.

Transit in Astana

Passengers en route to Frankfurt remain on board during the turn around. Only few passengers join the flight here, so boarding is quickly completed. Once the doors close, the crew pass through the cabin with welcome drinks and the menu for the flight.

The Meal – Breakfast

There are three meal services on this flight. A light snack is served after take-off in Almaty, and then another snack after departure in Astana. I decline both and decide to go off to Noddy land instead.

The breakfast service starts eighty minutes out of Frankfurt, when the lights are abruptly turned on. No towels are served during the entire flight.

I request to have the sweet hot option, which is a quark tarte with apples. The breakfast service is quite substantial. In addition to the hot meal, there’s a bowl of müsli and a plate of fruit. The crew serve croissants and rolls from the breadbasket. There’s butter on the tray, but no jam. The hot meal is okay, but a bit too sweet, while the müsli and fruit are bland and tasteless.

Arrival in Frankfurt

Shortly after breakfast, the A 340-300 dips its nose and we start the descent into Frankfurt. The crew pass through the cabin to bid passengers farewell and hand out the small boxes of heart shaped chocolates. We land in Frankfurt at 07h24, 56 minutes ahead of schedule.

I step off the plane, and that’s when I notice something’s not quite right. It takes me a moment to realise I’ve forgotten my spectacles at my seat. It’s embarrassing how often I do that… Fortunately, the crew go take a look for me and return to the door a short while later with them.

Conclusion

In the sum of all things, the flights with Lufthansa that I took on this trip to Almaty and back were okay. The food was so so on the Frankfurt-Astana-Almaty leg, but the crew were quite okay. The seat really is not good, though. Lufthansa’s overall Business Class product is somewhat mediocre and hardly competitive. I wouldn’t go out of my way to avoid flying Lufthansa, but they wouldn’t be my first (probably not even my second) choice either.