Trip to Kazakhstan in Lufthansa First Class and Dubai to Stockholm in Qatar Airways Business Class
A few weeks ago, I traveled to Kazakhstan for the first time where I spent two nights in the capital city of Astana. I flew from Dubai to Astana via Frankfurt (and back) in Lufthansa First Class using my miles and needless to say, it was one of the best trips I've ever had. I had a separate ticket on Qatar Airways between Stockholm and Dubai where I flew in economy class on the outbound and business class on the inbound. My business class ticket on Qatar Airways from Dubai gave me the chance to visit their newly opened lounge which was really nice, as well as that of British Airways'. This whole trip lasted for a week and eventhough it was very extensive, I loved every single minute of it!
Photoreview: Lufthansa Business Class Lounge, Dubai T1 Concourse D (DXB)
Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge, Dubai T1 Concourse D (DXB)
Review: Lufthansa First Class, Dubai-Frankfurt
Photoreview: Lufthansa First Class Lounge, Concourse A Schengen (FRA)
Review: Lufthansa First Class, Frankfurt-Astana
Top Attractions in Kazakhstan
Review: Hilton Garden Inn Astana
Review: Astana Airport Transit Hotel
Review: Lufthansa First Class Astana-Frankfurt
Photoreview: Lufthansa Welcome Lounge, Frankfurt (FRA)
Review: Lufthansa First Class, Frankfurt-Dubai
Review: Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Al Muraqabat
Photoreview: British Airways Galleries Club, Dubai T1 Concourse D (DXB)
Photoreview: Qatar Airways Dubai Premium Lounge, Dubai T1 Concourse D (DXB)
Review: Qatar Airways First Class, Dubai-Doha
Review: Qatar Airways Dreamliner Business Class, Doha-Stockholm
Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 First Class bar, Dubai to Frankfurt
Flight: LH 631
Departure time in Dubai: 1:00
Arrival time in Frankfurt: 5:50
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Seat: 1A
Duration: 6h 50m
Date of flight: September 10, 2016
*This is an award travel, First Class flight #36
Check-in, desk 537
Since I had already checked in using the Lufthansa mobile app (the day before) and had my mobile boarding passes added on the Passbook app, I didn't really need to check-in again. Still, I wanted to experience the normal procedure so I left the lounge, went pass security controls and took the train to the main terminal so I could check-in and have a paper boarding pass issued by a Lufthansa agent.
The First Class check-in desk #537 was occupied when I came but I was assisted by the next available agent at desk #536. I did not have any checked in baggage so the process went smoothly. Moments later, I got my boarding passes from the agent as she handed me over to Ariane, a lovely Filipina working for Lufthansa's Marhaba Service. I did not know that Lufthansa is offering this service to their first class passengers so I was really thankful I decided to do the normal check-in otherwise I would have not experienced it. Ariane escorted me to Immigration control which obviously went very quickly. Unfortunately, there was no separate security control for first class passengers so I had to take the line with all the other passengers flying in economy and business class. Ariane also explained to me that Luthansa first class passengers get the Silver Marhaba Service since they leave passengers in the Lufthansa Lounge where the service ends while those who get Gold service uses Marhaba's own lounge and probably gets additional complimentary service.
Dubai Airport Concourse D
Lufthansa Senator Lounge
I then spent another half an hour in the new Lufthansa Senator Lounge before heading to the departure gate.
Boarding, gate D2
The departure gate which was D2 was a bit of a walk from the lounge so it was good I left the lounge earlier. I also had some "extra" security check with my luggage which thankfully went pretty fast.
Aircraft
Lufthansa's Airbus A330-300 bound for Frankfurt
Boarding was scheduled at 12:15am but it was about 8 minutes delayed. They started with those needing assistance, families with kids followed by first and business class passengers, then status members and finally economy class passengers. As usual, there were magazines on the trolley placed before boarding the aircraft. I was greeted by a friendly flight attendant upon showing my boarding pass and was directed to my seat which was 1A.
Cabin
The first class cabin on Lufthansa's Airbus A330 consists of 8 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration and on that evening flight to Frankfurt, all the seats were taken. I guess, Lufthansa is doing good on this route so congrats to you guys!
Seat
Welcome to my seat, 1A!
In front of the seat is the personal 17-inch monitor. Although not the largest in the industry, it was still okay for watching films.
Then, directly below the monitor is the ottoman where the first class blanket was placed. Of course, you can also place other stuff here like the pyjamas and the amenity kits the way I did.
Lufthansa first class blanket
Seat controls located on the right arm rest.
There's also the more advanced settings under the right arm rest.
Located under the left arm rest is the entertainment controls.
And below the left arm rest, you will find the USB and power outlet.
There is also another storage on the left side of the headphones' storage which is perfect for mobile phones, specs, etc.
As usual, you get the BOSE noise cancelling headset which is impressive since not many airlines provide BOSE in first class.
Bottle holder
Reading lamp
Reading light
Inflight magazine, safety instruction card, etc.
A few minutes after settling in, I was offered something to drink and I chose a glass of bubbly which was served with some warm nuts. I was not sure if it was Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle though. Also, I am not sure when Lufthansa stopped serving macadamia nuts but two years ago, they were still serving them and not the "mixed nuts" I got on this flight.
Shortly after, I was offered slippers and medium pyjamas designed by Van Laack which was the same I had the last time I flew with them from Frankfurt to Chicago. They are actually nice (they are made in Vietnam) but my favorite design is still the ones I got from Asiana Airlines a few years ago.
The First Class amenity kit (inside the Jacob Jensen bag) consisted of skin care products from the Swiss luxury brand La Prairie, a comb, a toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, eyeshades and earplugs. I was hoping they would offer the Rimowa one but I guess it is route dependent.
I was also offered the menu card and wine list for the months of September and October.
I thought I'd change into pajamas before take off so I went to the lavatory. After changing, I opened the door and a flight attendant was waiting for me offering to hang my shirt. Truly first class service! When I returned to my seat, a hot towel was waiting for me.
By this time, the flight attendant had cleared my glass and the captain came on the PA to welcome us onboard this flight to Frankfurt. He also advised us of our flight time of 6 hours and 50 minutes which would mean an on-time arrival. Moments later, the safety video started playing and some more minutes and we were airborne.
In-flight Entertainment System
I thought there were lots of new movies to select from although one thing that was missing here and which Qatar Airways' has on their selection was the film "The Guy Who Knew Infinity". Nevertheless, there were a lot of recent movies and I started with "The Nice Guys" which I thought was a cool movie.
As usual, there was also wifi connection by Flynet although I wasn't sure anyone availed of it since most went to sleep after the meal considering the time of our flight.
Dining
A few minutes after the seat belt sign was turned off, the flight attendants started setting up the bar.
As for my post departure beverage, I had a glass of apple juice.
Lufthansa First Class table set up
The menu on this flight could be found on the internet which read as follows:
Lufthansa First Class snack and breakfast, Dubai to Frankfurt
The first class champagne was Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle.
Lufthansa First Class trolley
It's been a long time since I've ordered caviar from the first class menu so this time, I ordered it without hesitation 😋
I also had some salmon and a plate of fruits.
To end the meal, I had a cup of green tea which was served with Peters chocolate.
By this time, most of the passengers have finished their meal. One of the flight attendants asked if I wanted a turn down service and since I was already sleepy, I willingly accepted it. I also got a bottle of mineral water and was asked if I wanted to be woken up for breakfast. I ended up saying yes since I was planning to visit the Lufthansa First Class Lounge Schengen in Frankfurt and I knew it would take some time before I could have another meal. Needless to say, I slept really well and woke up with about 1 hour and 15 minutes left before landing.
As usual, I was offered a hot towel which I really liked since some airlines miss this service.
Breakfast set up
Fresh fruits, apple juice, green tea
Scrambled eggs with grilled turkey bacon 😋
I was also offered some bread, jams and honey but only went for a piece of bread. The breakfast was very good specially the scrambled eggs with bacon. After my breakfast, I decided to change into my own clothes before the lavatory got too busy.
Toilet & Lavatory
The Lufthansa first class lavatory may not be the biggest there is but I liked its design. Also available were razors, wet towels, make up remover, face moisturizer, hand cream and mouthwash among others.
Lufthansa first class lavatory
Lufthansa first class lavatory
Airshow
Airshow enroute to Frankfurt
Airshow enroute to Frankfurt
Mood lighting
First class cabin mood lighting
About 30 minutes before landing, the captain once again came on the PA for some arrival informations.
Arrival at Frankfurt Main Airport
We landed at Frankfurt Main Airport around 5:41am which was a few minutes ahead of schedule.
CONCLUSION
My last flight in Lufthansa first class two years ago was not really something I was happy about so I was not expecting much on this flight. Fortunately, I don't think I could ask for more on this flight as I had one of the best crews and the hard product on Lufthansa's Airbus A330 is something you can't really criticize. I loved the fact the the flight attendants had always addressed me by my name and that they offered to hang my clothes after I've changed into pyjamas. The seat that turns into a fully flat bed with complete mattress and duvet is one of the best being offered in the industry. To offer caviar is always impressive since my last flights in first class prior to this was on Qatar Airways and Etihad and none of them offered caviar. Of course, it is only a part of the whole dining experience and there's a lot to be considered. If there's one thing I wish they could improve on, it would be to offer better amenity kits. Asiana and Emirates offer Bulgari products, Qatar Airways offers Giorgio Armani and Singapore Airlines offer Salvatore Ferragamo (all complete with hand cream and perfume) so I hope Lufthansa would also follow this trend. Overall, I really enjoyed flying in Lufthansa first class to Frankfurt and would gladly choose them again in the future. To all the crew on this flight specially to Ms. Moore, thanks so much. Auf Wiedersehen!
Related Posts:
Asiana A380 First Class, Seoul-Los Angeles
Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class, Tokyo-Singapore
A few weeks ago, I traveled to Kazakhstan for the first time where I spent two nights in the capital city of Astana. I flew from Dubai to Astana via Frankfurt (and back) in Lufthansa First Class using my miles and needless to say, it was one of the best trips I've ever had. I had a separate ticket on Qatar Airways between Stockholm and Dubai where I flew in economy class on the outbound and business class on the inbound. My business class ticket on Qatar Airways from Dubai gave me the chance to visit their newly opened lounge which was really nice, as well as that of British Airways'. This whole trip lasted for a week and eventhough it was very extensive, I loved every single minute of it!
Photoreview: Lufthansa Business Class Lounge, Dubai T1 Concourse D (DXB)
Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge, Dubai T1 Concourse D (DXB)
Review: Lufthansa First Class, Dubai-Frankfurt
Photoreview: Lufthansa First Class Lounge, Concourse A Schengen (FRA)
Review: Lufthansa First Class, Frankfurt-Astana
Top Attractions in Kazakhstan
Review: Hilton Garden Inn Astana
Review: Astana Airport Transit Hotel
Review: Lufthansa First Class Astana-Frankfurt
Photoreview: Lufthansa Welcome Lounge, Frankfurt (FRA)
Review: Lufthansa First Class, Frankfurt-Dubai
Review: Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Al Muraqabat
Photoreview: British Airways Galleries Club, Dubai T1 Concourse D (DXB)
Photoreview: Qatar Airways Dubai Premium Lounge, Dubai T1 Concourse D (DXB)
Review: Qatar Airways First Class, Dubai-Doha
Review: Qatar Airways Dreamliner Business Class, Doha-Stockholm
Flight: LH 631
Departure time in Dubai: 1:00
Arrival time in Frankfurt: 5:50
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Seat: 1A
Duration: 6h 50m
Date of flight: September 10, 2016
*This is an award travel, First Class flight #36
Check-in, desk 537
Lufthansa Senator Lounge
Boarding, gate D2
Aircraft
Cabin
Seat
In-flight Entertainment System
Dining
The menu on this flight could be found on the internet which read as follows:
The first class champagne was Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle.
I was also offered some bread, jams and honey but only went for a piece of bread. The breakfast was very good specially the scrambled eggs with bacon. After my breakfast, I decided to change into my own clothes before the lavatory got too busy.
Toilet & Lavatory
Airshow
Mood lighting
About 30 minutes before landing, the captain once again came on the PA for some arrival informations.
Arrival at Frankfurt Main Airport
CONCLUSION
My last flight in Lufthansa first class two years ago was not really something I was happy about so I was not expecting much on this flight. Fortunately, I don't think I could ask for more on this flight as I had one of the best crews and the hard product on Lufthansa's Airbus A330 is something you can't really criticize. I loved the fact the the flight attendants had always addressed me by my name and that they offered to hang my clothes after I've changed into pyjamas. The seat that turns into a fully flat bed with complete mattress and duvet is one of the best being offered in the industry. To offer caviar is always impressive since my last flights in first class prior to this was on Qatar Airways and Etihad and none of them offered caviar. Of course, it is only a part of the whole dining experience and there's a lot to be considered. If there's one thing I wish they could improve on, it would be to offer better amenity kits. Asiana and Emirates offer Bulgari products, Qatar Airways offers Giorgio Armani and Singapore Airlines offer Salvatore Ferragamo (all complete with hand cream and perfume) so I hope Lufthansa would also follow this trend. Overall, I really enjoyed flying in Lufthansa first class to Frankfurt and would gladly choose them again in the future. To all the crew on this flight specially to Ms. Moore, thanks so much. Auf Wiedersehen!
Related Posts:
Asiana A380 First Class, Seoul-Los Angeles
Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class, Tokyo-Singapore