Romantic Danube: Flying Home on Lufthansa

Romantic Danube: Overview
Romantic Danube: Flying United from Chicago to Brussels
Romantic Danube: Brussels and continuing to Prague
Romantic Danube: Marriott Courtyard Prague
Romantic Danube: Exploring Prague
Romantic Danube: Boscolo, Autograph Collection
Romantic Danube: Prague to Erlangen
Romantic Danube: Viking Longships
Romantic Danube: Nuremberg, Germany
Romantic Danube: Weltenberg Abbey and the Danube Narrows
Romantic Danube: Regensburg, Germany
Romantic Danube: Passau, Germany
Romantic Danube: Wachau Valley and Göttweig Abbey
Romantic Danube: Vienna, Austria
Romantic Danube: Budapest, Hungary
Romantic Danube: Hilton Castle District
Romantic Danube: Flying Home on Lufthansa

As I've mentioned before, the downside of using miles to fly is that sometimes the flights with available seats are not at the time of day you'd prefer to fly.  That was exactly the situation for this trip as my flight left Budapest at 0630.  But after nearly getting scalded in the shower I was actually fairly wide awake.

When we'd taken the taxi from the Bestla to the Hilton on Saturday, our driver offered to take us to the airport Monday morning, wrote it down in his notebook and gave us his card, promising to be at the hotel at 0400.  We were in the lobby in plenty of time, but he never showed.  We gave his number to the front desk staff member who called his house and woke him up!  Not a great start to the trip home.  But the front desk staff member was able to get another taxi for us in a matter of minutes, so all was well.

While my flight was quite early, C's was nearly 3 hours later on a different airline.  When we arrived, the counter for her airline wasn't even open yet so we had to say our goodbyes there in the check-in area.

Unsurprisingly, my check-in at the business counter for Lufthansa was quite efficient.  The business class seat got me through the priority security line and it didn't take long at all to wind my way through Duty Free and to the appropriate lounge.


This was a contract lounge, not operated by Lufthansa, and it was quite small and nearly full.  Beverages like water, tea and coffee were available but since I knew I'd get those on the flight I didn't bother.  At least the wi-fi was free but the lounge did not even have its own restroom facilities.  Yes, it was quieter than the terminal but that's about all it had going for it.

Fortunately the lounge was quite close to my gate and so it was a quick walk down the hall.  Intra-Europe flights are almost like domestic US flights with smaller planes and quick trips.  On many (most?) airlines business class seats on intra-Europe flights are simply economy seats with the middle seat blocked, and this flight was no exception.  We were served breakfast on this flight that's blocked at 1h 45m.  That's slightly shorter than Memphis-Chicago and it's funny how US airlines can't serve breakfast to economy passengers on a regional jet on flight of that duration yet other airlines can serve all the passengers on an Airbus A321.

We were on time to Frankfurt and I made my way to the Lufthansa lounge.  It was quite large and very busy.  That's not surprising since Frankfurt is one of their hubs.

I had booked this trip using Lufthansa's Miles & More miles, hoping that I'd be able to upgrade from Business class to First class as they often open up F award space within a couple of weeks of the flight.  But I learned that when flying on a Monday morning, this is less likely to happen.  There were F seats available both the day before and day after my flight but space never opened up on my day.  Why is F such a big deal?  Because in Frankfurt Lufthansa has an entire terminal dedicated to First Class passengers.  You get driven directly to your flight in a Mercedes or BMW.  Yes it's completely over the top but it's still something I'd like to experience some day. Oh well, maybe next time.

When it was finally time to board I couldn't believe the mess I found at the gate.  Yes, lots of folks at this airport are Lufthansa frequent flyers with premium status but the German efficiency I like so much would seem to dictate that the gate agents could keep them in orderly lines instead of hovering around the boarding area.  There's a reason they call these type of people "gate lice" (no matter what airline they're flying) and it's really annoying for those trying to follow the process.

But eventually we all made it aboard and I found my seat in the center section on row 6 of business class.  The business class cabin is in a 2-2-2 layout, so by having a seat in the center section, that meant I didn't have to climb over anyone, or be climbed over.

On my last trip on Lufthansa the business class seat was one of the old angle-flat models but this plane had lie-flat seats and fresh colors.  I really liked the colors of the interior and of the pillow that was waiting for me at my seat, along with a blanket.

LH 430 Business Class Seat

Naturally there was plenty of leg room.  The center seats are in a reverse herringbone layout, meaning they angle a bit toward the center.  This is much less awkward when you don't know your seatmate.  The IFE screen was nice and big and the magazine/safety card rack was just below it.  Under the ottoman was storage room but since I had the overhead bin to myself I just put my bag up there.

LH 430 IFE Screen and Ottoman

I liked that the electrical outlet could handle both US 110v plugs and European 220v plugs.

LH 430 Electrical Outlet

The seat controls needed no explanation and had pre-set positions for take-off and landing, relaxing and sleeping.

LH 430 Seat Controls

The amenity kit bag itself was not as cute as the one I'd had two years prior but it was easier to access the contents with the full-length zipper.  The usual items were included: socks, eyeshade, toiletries, etc.

LH 430 Amenity Kit

Under the center console was the tray table as well as the IFE controller and the headphones.  Fortunately, all worked well and I ended up watching many episodes of Big Bang Theory back-to-back.

LH 430 Center Console

The menu for flight LH 430 (click each photo to enlarge):

As a starter I chose the Arugula Salad with Mozzarella Cheese.

Mozzarella on Arugula salad

Selecting fish on a plane can be hit or miss but the salmon was good.

Salmon with veggies and a salad

Once again there was no chocolate option for dessert (what's up with that?) so I had the Mascarpone and Pear Cake which did come with a couple of chocolates on the side, along with my tea.

Dessert, chocolates and tea

Shortly before arrival the snack service arrived all on one tray. I wasn't all that hungry after eating everything for lunch and I guess it was just as well, though the apple cake was pretty good.

Pre-arrival snack

We arrived in Chicago on time and moved through Customs quite quickly.  As my flight didn't leave for 6 hours I tried to use the lounge but learned that Lufthansa does not pay for lounge access for onward flights.  I think that's kinda cheap but couldn't do anything about it.

I arrived in Memphis around 10 PM only to find my luggage had arrived on an earlier flight and was now locked up in the United baggage office that closed at 7 PM.  I found that policy ridiculous as there was at least one more flight arriving after mine.  I don't know if unclaimed luggage would just circle on the belt all night long or what.

While it was an inconvenience for me, at least I could go home and come back in the morning.  There was another guy who'd been on my flight from Frankfurt who was traveling for work and needed some of the items in his suitcase for work the next day.  He was quite irate but there was nothing we could do.  I did have a lengthy (calm) exchange with the United Twitter team explaining how bad it looked when the AA office right next door was still open.  They seemed grateful for the feedback but when I visited the airport again this winter, nothing had changed.

All in all a terrific trip.  I would love to spend a few more days in Vienna and to see what I missed in Nuremberg.  We no doubt missed a few things worth seeing in both Prague and Budapest and I wouldn't mind spending another day or two in each of those cities.  Can't wait to go again!