E 190 – knightofmalta

Lufthansa, Business Class – Embraer 190: Feeding into the mega hub

Check-in

Location: Departures on the first floor.
Facilities: Self-service machines and dedicated counters.
Counters: There are three counters (64 – 66) available for Star Alliance flights in check-in hall 1 on the Swiss side of the terminal, although only one of the two Economy Class counters and the Business Class counter are staffed when I arrive.

The check-in agent seems a bit upset. I am not really sure if it because I am only going on such a far away trip for the weekend of if she just does not approve of my somewhat limited luggage. ‘Do you have check-in luggage?’ ‘Uhm, no.’ She wrinkles her nose. ‘May I see your hand luggage…? Is that all your luggage?’ ‘Uhm, yeah’. She wrinkles her nose again. She issues my boarding passes. No bye, no thank you, nothing. Yes, well it was nice talking to you to, Ma’am.

I head for the stairs to take me one floor up to security and the departure gates. Just as I am about to climb the stairs some dude comes rushing up from the Easyjet check-in area and body-checks just about everyone, including me, in his way as he elbows his way forward. Apparently, his Easyjet flight is leaving in ten minutes. So apparently, his on time performance is totally crap too.

Once I am through security I go and take a look, just out of curiosity. I do not think he is going to make it. There is only one Easyjet aircraft standing around, heading for Thessaloniki, and that is just pushing back…Shame the queue for security is so long today.

In any case, I shall refrain from giving you another full-on review of the flight to Frankfurt. First of all, because it is hardly long enough. Secondly, because I have already covered things like the lounge in Basel in some of my previous reports.

The flight to Frankfurt is operated by an Embraer 190 with a configuration of 2 + 2. In Business Class, one of the two seats is kept empty and a small tray table is fixed to the spare seat to provide some extra storage area. There are five passengers in Business Class on today’s flight.

The Cabin

The Meal

Despite the relatively short flight time of only 50 minutes, Lufthansa serves a meal on a tray on this sector. In this particular case, the meal consists of a double-decker sandwich with a layer of smoked salmon and cream cheese and another with boiled egg and watercress. The meal is fine, but perhaps a tad heavy on the sweet stuff. There is a Danish pastry on the plate, as well as two filled Easter eggs and a small box of chocolates.

Transfer in Frankfurt

Transport: Mercedes Benz
Departs from: Right outside the aircraft
Journey time: About ten minutes

We land on the northern most runway, which is not really that big a deal if you are travelling in First Class because at least this runway is closer to some of the remote stands for Lufthansa’s regional fleet, right behind the threshold of runway 18.

I emerge from the aircraft to find the First Class and Hon transfer service already waiting. There are two other gentlemen making the journey to the terminal complex with me. The car drops me off at arrivals near the B gates.

From here I take the stairs one floor up and then do a u turn which eventually brings me to immigration. From there I keep on walking until I reach gate B 22, where there are stairs and a lift to go up one floor to the First Class lounge on the B concourse.

Lufthansa, Business Class – ERJ-190: Frankfurt to Basel

Introduction

It’s rather difficult to describe Frankfurt without availing oneself of language unsuitable for social media and the web. The place is way too big and quite simply a mess.

Transfer in Frankfurt

Mode of transport: Automated Skytrain on the roof of Terminal 2.
Frequency: Every two minutes during peak times.
Journey time: Five minutes
Fast track for security: For First and Business Class passengers.

The Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong arrives at Frankfurt’s Terminal 2. My onward connection to Basel will be departing from Terminal 1’s A gates. The quickest was to the A gates from Terminal 2 is via the Skytrain located on the roof.

The final stop of the Skytrain is for the Z and A gates of Terminal 1. But first I have to go through security. There is a dedicated line for First and Business Class passengers, which is considerably shorter than the Economy Class queue.

From security you should theoretically be able to head two floors down to immigration to enter the Schengen area. But not this morning. The stairs have been cordoned off. Apparently the queues at immigration are too long. So instead, we’re advised to walk all the way to immigration near gate A 26, five minutes away. In theory there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, I’ve just spent nearly thirteen hours on a plane without any major physical activity. However, given that I’ll have to backtrack all the way once I reach the Schengen area on the lower level to reach the Senator lounge is, the whole thing does seem awfully dumb really.

The Lufthansa Senator Lounge

Location: On the Schengen level, in the atrium of the new A+ gates
Type of Lounge: Senator lounge
Facilities: Washrooms, showers, public computers, buffet
Internet: Free, unlimited WiFi; there is no password

Where on earth have all these people come from? Haven’t they got anything better to do on a Sunday morning than hang around at Frankfurt airport? The lounge is absolutely packed when I arrive, the only places left to sit are the bar stools. Well, I guess at least this will keep me from falling asleep. I get myself a caffé latte and continue working on my trip report.

Boarding

A69 is a bus gate, there is no separate bus for Business Class passengers

Thank God I decided to walk all the way to the Senator lounge once I’d reached the Schengen area. Initially I’d contemplated using the Business Class lounge right behind immigration, but eventually figured it would be more convenient to take a lounge located in closer proximity to my departure gate. Even so, it’s still a ten minute walk from the Senator lounge to gate A 69 at the very end of the A+ pier.

I arrive to find the gate already deserted. I head downstairs and even though I’m holding up the proceedings and the bus, I still have to give in to my impulse to take a picture of the B 747-8 parked right in front of us.

Our Embraer is parked right behind the threshold of runway 18, at the far end of the apron. The journey by bus to get there takes 10 minutes to complete with all the stopping and starting.

The Cabin

Configuration: 2 + 2
Seat: Standard economy seat with one of the seats on the row of two kept empty
Facilities: Hook to hang a jacket

The cabin looks very cleared up, although with all the grey it also looks a bit bland. There are seven rows of Business Class on today’s flight, with fourteen passengers in total. In the back there are only about another twenty passengers or so.

At least the good thing of parking in such a remote spot is that we don’t have far to go to reach the departing runway.

The Crew

There are two female flight attendants working the flight. The purser is a middle-aged, friendly woman. The other is also female, younger and exudes about as much charm and warmth as a visit to the dentist.

The Meal

Delivery: Individual tray
Appearance: Metal cutlery, crockery, glassware and a paper cup for the coffee
Type of Meal: Continental breakfast

Natural Yoghurt with berries and almonds
A cold plate with cheese and smoked meat
A selection from the breadbasket
Freshly squeezed orange juice
Tea or coffee

The quality of the meal is very good and the presentation is also nice and appealing. Furthermore, it’s quite a substantial meal, particularly given that the flight time to Basel is only 35 minutes!

Arrival

We approach the airport from the north, passing over the Peugeot factory in France. In the background there appears to be snow on the hills on the other side of the Rhine in Germany.

From the gate it’s just a short walk to the luggage reclaim area. As I reach the luggage carousel for my flight, I’m somewhat surprised to find that apparently the suitcases for our flight are expected in 12 minutes, which seems awfully long for such a small airport. Eventually though, we end up having to wait a full thirty minutes before the first bags start arriving. At least both of the suitcases I checked in made it back to Basel with me.