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Nimish · Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:14 am Post subject: BLR-BCN-SFO-BLR on LH

Starting my TR - in bits and pieces. This post covers the online-check in formalities, where I was able to select great seats of my choice (which were not available when I booked the ticket).

The itinerary - http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=3188

Step 1:

Step 2: (This shows already checked-in since I redid the sequence to take screen-shots)

Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5:

I was very impressed with the OLCI facility - it must have been improved recently because it sucked last year when it only allowed you to "check-in" but not select/change seats!

Birendra · Member Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 1411

Solid funda technology boss....
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BigTom · Member Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 271 Location: Dubai, UAE

Nimish, do they have a dedicated quick check in kiosk at BLR to print/pick up your boarding card?

Cheers

Nimish · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:23 pm Post subject:

So here's the real trip report - though it's basically a bunch of pictures and some commentary....

Note: I've posted pictures in a larger size (800 px) this time, but can easily change them all down to 400 pixels if there's any such preference:

Sector 1: BLR-FRA
LH755 operated by a 744 (D-ABVY)
Standard flight times: 03:20 - 08:45
Standard boarding time: 02:50

I reached the airport nice and late (around 1:45 or so), since I'd already finished the OLCI and did not want to spend too much time waiting at BLR. Surprisingly the baggage X-Ray did not take too long (may be just a couple of minutes), and then it was over to the business class check-in counters. A few minutes in the queue there, and I was presenting my suitcase and passport to the check-in agent, and soon had my boarding passes for both sectors (BLR-FRA and FRA-BCN). I made sure to get a Priority tag on my suitcase, as that generally ensures that the bag comes out in the first lot.

Some pictures of the check-in area after I was done:

After check-in - one needs to take an escalator up to the first floor, and then go through immigration. Surprisingly there was a long queue for immigration this time - it's normally ultra quick.

View of the queue waiting for the immigration check.

Post immigration there was a quick stop at the customs counter, and then over to the security check (for hand baggage). Short queue and moved quickly - and of course no checks for the LAG rules.

BA and LH notices pasted on the wall

Chaos in the hold area

Pre-boarding was announced for families with kids and persons needing assistance, and then it was time for the F/J and *G pax to board. I was on seat 34H this time (Aisle seat towards the front).

Pushback and take off were on schedule (Runway 09) and after about an hour the crew started the drinks/meal service.

I chose a Gin and Tonic, and the Chicken meal (turned out to be a European style chicken - not very appetizing)

My food tray

And the actual food

The dessert was delicious!

After food - I had some brandy and then managed to crash for a couple of hours.

I woke up around breakfast time and decided to try the Indian option - which was actually delicious!

Indian Breakfast - Upma and rice dumplings (don't know what they were called) with sambhar.

Soon after breakfast was cleared out, we started preparing for our descent. We were supposed to be ontime on arrival, but turns out due to traffic congestion at FRA, we had to circle for almost 30-40 minutes. Needless to say, a lot of the folks on the flight (including me) had tight connections at FRA, and it was going to be a hit or miss. I had a 1 hour 20 minute connection time at FRA, which was fine, but when we landed almost an hour late at 9:35 (we got further delayed due to a remote gate), it was really dicey.

Luckily for a bulk of the flight (which was not surprising going onto SFO), LH had organized a special bus which would take them directly to their aircraft (don't know if it was parked remotely as well). But the rest of us had to trundle into the regular bus and take the scenic route back to the terminal. I was one of the first off the aircraft and when I reached the bus, I realized I'd forgotten my camera back on my seat Sad

. So then I rushed back (past the folks getting off), went back to my seat, picked up my camera and then joined the last few folks off the a/c.

Some pictures of the 744 which operated our BLR-FRA sector:

Nimish · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:51 pm Post subject:

Sector 2: FRA-BCN
LH4452 operated by a 321 (??)
Standard flight times: 10:05 - 12:00
Standard boarding time: 09:25

When we reached the terminal after the scenic bus journey, I started a mad run to the gate - A32, which was about the longest I've ever run in my life. Goes without saying that I had to go through passport control (I was entering the Schengen region), and another round of hand baggage security checks. I reached the gate at around 10:05 - when the flight was supposed to have been gone. But luckily it was still at it's gate and I managed to board it - though I was sweating like crazy and must have been smelling like a pig.

It was a fairly empty flight, and I was on a window seat up front, and the middle seat was empty. The a/c was on the parking bay for another 20 minutes or so, and I was hopeful it was to load the bags of the last few passengers (including my bag!). Despite the aircon being on, I had to use the safety card to fan myself for the 20 minutes before I could cool down.

Eventually we got the "boarding completed and doors closed" announcement and were pushed back and started our taxi. Here are a couple of pictures from our taxi.

Our BLR-FRA bird.

A beautiful SAA A346

We were the 3rd in the take off sequence, and it was about a 10 minute wait. We were soon airborne and it was time to relax and look around...

The seat with the nice hook for jackets or similar:

A look at the next 2 seats:

Fairly glitzy looking control panel

A view of the clouds between 2 mountains

The lovely french alps:

There were numerous contrails all the way across the alps

Alps:

And more alps:

Unfortunately my camera's battery died out on me at this stage, and as I'd not got the charger, I was out of luck as far as taking further pictures went Sad

.

I enjoyed a glass of sparkling wine (champagne) on this sector, though it was a first to see them open up a full bottle of bubbly - earlier LH used to have the single serves of bubbly in Y. There was a half decent sandwich, which was wolfed down in a minute. Surprisingly though, it was vegetarian!

The crew were smiling through out and I did not face any of the standard strong-arm tactics one has come to associate with LH and their FAs. Come to think of it - the crew were spectacular even on the BLR-FRA sector and were serving with a smile, and the lady actually remembered to get me my Gin and Tonic refill on that sector!

Anyway - we soon got past the alps and headed out over the ocean for a little while, until we reached Barcelona - which is a coastal city. The views approaching the runway were great, but you'll have to take my word for it as I did not have my camera functional any more!

Landing at BCN was fairly uneventful, and the airport itself seemed quite nice. Since I'd cleared immigration at FRA, I had to walk straight to the baggage claim (which took a while to start spitting out bags), but my bag was thankfully on that belt in the first few minutes!!

This is really where LH stands out - they were able to get my bag onto the connecting flight without a bit of fuss, and I was reasonably confident that my bags would make it. Contrast this with AZ - where they had a liesurely 2 hour connection at MXP, but yet 3 out of my 30 colleagues did not receive their bags Sad

On the whole I would rate this as a great journey on LH - leaving aside standard squibbles like the tight seats and the lack of IFE/PTVs.

The week spent at ESADE in BCN was great, but what was spectacular was the city itself and it's great people, food and nightlife! I came away totally charmed and besotted with BCN and Spain, and would definitely hope to go back to spend a few weeks there (though would be great to learn basic Spanish first).

Nimish · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:22 pm Post subject:

Sector 3: BCN-MUC
LH4483 operated by a 737 (??)
Standard flight times: 06:05 - 08:10
Standard boarding time: ?

After a great week at BCN, it was soon time to leave student life behind and head back to the corporate world. We had our coach arriving at the hotel at 4:00 am to take us to the airport bright and early in the morning. In keeping with Spanish customs and etiquette, me and a group of friends spent the entire night on the town - hopping across different bars and assorted night life. We took at cab at around 3:45, and when we reached the hotel, the bus was already waiting for us. As we'd already packed earlier on, all that remained was to quickly shower, freshen up and then come down to the waiting bus.

The bus journey took us only 20 minutes since there was no traffic, and we reached the airport by about 5:15 am or so. As I was originally booked on an 8 am flight, I took it easy at the airport and spent a few minutes with my collegues at the AZ check in counters. I then realized that I should try and get on the earlier MUC flight (which was scheduled to leave at around 6 am).

So I bid farewell to my friends and came back to the LH check-in area, and was quickly at the check-in desk. I asked the lady if I could change to the 6 am flight and she said she was not sure and would check. It was also a problem since the flight was almost closed for check-in (as it was just 30 minutes before departure now), but the check-in lady was on the phone for a good 5 minutes, and ultimately checked me into the 6 am flight. She did tell me to rush through security and for boarding, and could not give me a boarding pass for the MUC-SFO sector (though she tagged my bag all the way through).

Security check at that time on Saturday morning did not take too long, and I was soon air-side and on my way to the gate. It turned out to be another remote gate, and I was soon on the bus to take me to my a/c. I'd chosen a window seat up front, and once again had an empty middle seat.

I did not notice much on this flight as I slept for most of it. I actually woke up only around touch down at MUC, but at least we had a contact gate there. It was really cold in MUC that morning, and I made my way straight to the LH Senator lounge to freshen up and also to get my connecting boarding pass.

This was my first time trying to enter a lounge without a boarding pass, so I just showed my BCN-MUC boarding card and my *G card to the screener outside the lounge and said I needed to get my next boarding pass. He happily let me through and I was soon talking to a very courteous and knowledgeable lady manning the counter. She gave me my boarding pass in no time, and then I spent a few minutes asking her about heading out to the city for some quick sight seeing. She also told me I could leave my hand luggage in the lounge itself (they had a few lockable cupboards where you could lock your suitcase and take the key with you).

I had a good time in the city center in MUC (Marienplatz and the surrounding areas) - walked around a bit and eat and drank a bit. I was glad I'd take the earlier flight as I found I still did not have too much time to really explore the city. The metro connectivity from the airport to the city was quite convenient.

Sector 4: MUC-SFO
LH458 operated by a 340-600
Standard flight times: 15:40 - 18:50
Standard boarding time: 15:55

I was back well in time to pick up my bag from the lounge, enjoy a rum & coke and something to eat, and then head to the gate for this flight. This flight was reasonably full and I'd chosen seat 52K - a window seat almost at the end of the a/c.

Once again I don't remember much of this flight, since I was very sleepy and slept through most of the flight. I did notice though that the 346 was not quite as silent as a 343, and once again felt that the service on board LH was excellent. That may be because I never once rang the bell - but would instead walk up to the galleys to request my drink, or it may be that the service levels on board have improved. It was never even close to the courtesy and service on SQ, but still much better than I expected.

This 346 had the loos on the lower level - and that was a unique experience. Landing at SFO was fun - on the standard 28L, though we landed just after the SQ 744 via HKG, and as a result there was a long line at immigration. It was made worse by the fact that my seat was towards the end of the plane, so I was one of the last to get off and one of the last to make it through immigration.

Past immigration, I was soon at the rental car counter, and after a 20 minute journey on the 101 South - I was checked into my hotel.

Nimish · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:16 pm Post subject:

Sector 5: SFO-FRA
LH455 operated by a 747 (D-ABVR)
Standard flight times: 14:20 - 10:10+1
Standard boarding time: 13:35

I had an uneventful 10 days at SFO - visiting our HQ and participating in the 6 monthly sales meeting. It was soon Wednesday the 13th Feb and time for me to leave. OLCI was over on the 12th and I'd bagged prime seats on both sectors.

I'd bought a new Kodak 12X optical zoom camera this time around, and decided to use it for some spotting at SFO before my flight. Unfortunately I had a series of last minute "fire-fighting" calls on Wednesday morning, and could not leave the hotel until about 9:45. I'd checked earlier posts on A.net and figured out a possible spotting location, and taken directions to reach that place. The first thing that surprised me was those parking lots depicted where in fact pay-parking lots - belonging to the Westin and Marriott hotel. But anyway - I entered the lot, parked my car and crossed the road to reach the "bayshore park" overlooking the bay. I later realized I'd turned in too early, and should have gone a little ahead where there was more parking (and which may have been free).

Here's the link to where I went spotting:

http://maps.google.com/?&ie=UTF8&ll=37.60464,-122.37628&spn=0.003748,0.007221&t=h&z=17&iwloc=addr

I was in the little park visible just north of the "Bayshore hwy".

After an enjoyable 2 hour spotting session, I made my way over to the rental car return at SFO, returned my car, got on the Airtrain and got off the International terminal G. Since I'd arrived rather late, all the check-in counters were completely empty, and I was soon checked in and both my bags tagged through to BLR. I asked which lounge I could use at SFO and was told to go to the United RCC just after security and to the right.

Security screening was painless (though I was asked to take off my shoes for some wierd reason), and I was soon at the RCC. Now this is the first time I've been to the RCC at SFO - and I was surprised to see how huge it was!!! It could probably comfortably seat 400 or so pax! Of course in typical RCC style, there was hardly anything to eat (just some salad sticks with Ranch dressing). Luckily it seemed like most of the morning UA departures to Asia had gone by that time, so the lounge was quite empty. LH pax get 2 "drinks" coupons to be used at the bar at the RCC - and I proceeded to enjoy some nice G&Ts while enjoying the view from above the international gates.

A view of a quarter of the RCC lounge at SFO!

The heavies at the international gates.

Our steed for the day

A rather battered looking UA 737

The UA 737 again

A much fresher looking TED 320

Time to test the self-timer on this new camera!

Soon it was time to leave and I had to almost gulp down my second G&T. By the time I reached the gate, boarding had already started, but luckily I managed to make it on board before the overhead lockers filled up completely.

I'd decided to try out the only seat which is both a Window and an Aisle - seats 33K and 33A. This sector was 33K.

A view of the legroom and aisle access from my seat:

A view of the wing from the window at my seat Wink

:

Boarding finished quite fast (the flight was only about 75% full).

Turning doors to automatic:

We then started our long taxi to the 28s, and this is quite a scenic route as you pass by all the terminals.

A United heavy at a nearby gate:

We did not have to wait at all at the 28s, and managed to taxi right onto the active and take off immediately. We were soon crossing the continent and the captain announced that we were expecting an ontime arrival at FRA.

I slept through large parts of this flight (I can sleep through most flights - even in Y), but had an uneventful journey. I would definitely recommend seats 33A/K as they're awesome - a window and an aisle and no one stepping on your feet while waiting for the loo (Row 32 has that problem).

My first meal on the SFO-FRA sector was a choice of chicken or Salmon, and I chose the chicken. It wasn't too bad.

Another first on this flight - I saw mouthwash and hand lotion in the toilets!!

We passed by quite a few a/c on the way, but I was never quick enough to be able to photograph them. All I got was this contrail.

Service in J:

We (once again) had a 30 minute delay landing at FRA (this time due to the fog at the airport), so we made a couple of circles at FL150 before heading down to land. This was quite a neat landing as we broke through the cloud cover when we'd already crossed the airport threshold, and we still couldn't see too far ahead!

All in all this flight was very comfortable though I did miss the PTV/IFE options from SQ.

Nimish · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:18 pm Post subject:

Sector 6: FRA-BLR
LH754 operated by a 747 (D-ABVD)
Standard flight times: 14:20 - 10:10+1
Standard boarding time: 13:35

The standard routine at FRA followed - exit, head to the lounge, freshen up there, eat/drink a bit and then it's time for the next leg.

Our flight was to leave from Gate B23 - and I was luckily in the lounge very close to this gate. Once again - when I got to the gate, boarding had already started, but I managed to find room for my hand luggage in the over head lockers.

A picture of the 744 which would take us to BLR:

One question I had was about the "ASG" branded catering trucks servicing this (and other LH) a/c. I wonder what that company is, and why LH does not exclusively use it's own LSG catering?

VT-EVA parked at the next gate:

The view from my seat:

Some pictures from the window while still at the gate...

Our neighbor:

The cargo hold:

Once again ASG instead of LSG:

SQ 744 on it's way

A tangle of 3 *A 744s:

We finished boarding and pushed back on time.

Some pictures from our taxi:

Beautiful livery of the Vietname 772:

Another one:

Some other shots:

There were about 4-5 a/c queued for take off, so that wait took a while. It was great to break through the cloud cover and view the sun again!

The flight was comfortable and I chose the Indian food option on this journey. I did not take any pictures on this sector as I once again slept through most of it Sad

!

Landing in BLR was great as there was no circling around the city and we were able to land on schedule. It did seem like the AF flight was delayed that day as it was no where in sight.

One thing different at BLR this time was that the customs department's X-Ray of hand baggage and your checked baggage seems to have stopped now. Earlier they used to X-Ray all bags and haul up any passenger who seemed to be carrying a lot of dutiable goods. I stopped at the duty free "flamingo" shop, and stocked up on some booze, and by the time I reached the belt, my bags were already there. Sailed past customs and there was no queue for the pre-paid taxi, and I was soon at home!

Hope you guys liked my trip report, and I'd welcome feedback, suggestions and questions Smile

...

saurabhm_101 · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 529 Location: Mumbai

aweeeeeeeeeesommmee!!! i love LH!!
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avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Excellent TR Nimish! the LH B744's look awesome!

Your TR makes me feel even more guilty that I was unable to take pictures on my trip to DOH Sad

sammyk · Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:12 am Post subject:

About the ASG v LSG, I don't think ASG is a catering company. In some of you pics it even shows both ASG and LSG vehicles at the aircraft. It's my understanding that ASG is owned by Fraport and provides services such as cleaning.

rhumbline · Member Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 443

Great Great Great Great Great Great Great TR whew Man I ran out of Greats Laughing

This was a really good TR man
I loved all the sectors especially the FRA-BCN sector the pic of the alps was absolutely spectacular
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Nimish · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:36 am Post subject:

Nimish · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:37 am Post subject:

Megatop · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 257 Location: Bangalore

nice tr.

since I'd already finished the OLCI

LH has no option to print a BP at home?

turned out to be a European style chicken - not very appetizing

LH's supper at 3 am is so dismal that i once had my tummy burning of acidity, guess they are more civilized now than before when they served a greasy panneer gravy in the wee hours ex BLR & u get hungry at 2 am after all the formalities.

Indian Breakfast - Upma and rice dumplings (don't know what they were called) with sambhar.

that's kanchipuram idlis, a lighter variety.

This is really where LH stands out

plus their generous miles, connectivity & punctuality.

BCN was great but how is esade, heard good stuff about it.

I did notice though that the 346 was not quite as silent as a 343

346 is a flying pencil with 4 screaming RR trents, i love the whining when seated next to them, u feel the takeoff unlike the lazy cfm.

I was in the little park visible just north of the "Bayshore hwy".

was it at the end of millbrae ave?

Boarding finished quite fast (the flight was only about 75% full).

surprising, as it connects to all indian flts at FRA.

Another first on this flight - I saw mouthwash and hand lotion in the toilets!!

as a star all member, they took a cue from SQ

One thing different at BLR this time was that the customs department's X-Ray of hand baggage and your checked baggage seems to have stopped now

a one-off thing at BLR, i doubt it happens when EK & GF birds land.

It was never even close to the courtesy and service on SQ, but still much better than I expected; I did miss the PTV/IFE options from SQ;

how do you compare your SQ 16 memories of last year with LH (not considering you upped to J on SQ)

Megatop · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 257 Location: Bangalore

Nimish · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:50 am Post subject:

karatecatman · Guest

Nimish, the format of your TR was a nice change. Kept reading it in parts like book chapters. So it was nice.

And exhaustive.
The Alp pics were really nice. And so too was VT-EVA!

DoES LH allow cabin crew to have eye-wear?

Nimish · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:27 pm Post subject:

Megatop · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 257 Location: Bangalore

AKLDELNonstop · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1066 Location: Auckland

Hey Nimish!!! Awesome TR. Really appreciate the effort that goes into writing a TR. I wanted to write one for my trips but lack oof pics and laziness + work put me off.

Keep em coming
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sammyk · Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:14 am Post subject:

Megatop · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 257 Location: Bangalore

sammyk · Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:16 am Post subject:

PAL@YWG · Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:35 am Post subject:

Hi Nimish,

Great TR with lovely pictures (especially of alps)!
I guess yours may be one of the few TRs in Anet-India forum, which can be compared with the TRs written by the biggies( likes of sam Chui) on Anet forum.

Keep it up!

Nimish · Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:14 pm Post subject:

Thanks PAL - but I'm no where in the league of Sam Chui (and neither do I aspire to be an ace photographer like he is Wink

).
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MAAflyer · Member Joined: 21 Dec 2007 Posts: 15

Hello Nimish,

I see that you are collecting your Miles with Aeroplan. How is that program? I hope is not like Miles and less.. I my self chose Krisflyer to collect * Alliance miles as i had Way too many options... Let me know..
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Nimish · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:54 am Post subject:

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Great TR Nimish with excellent photos of the aircrafts.

With regard to screening of baggages last time when I visited Bombay from Singapore the customs guy just waved me to go by and not to put my luggage on the x-ray machine.

I think they are now randomly screening passengers to check baggage.

Sri_Bom

G-BYGB · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:22 pm Post subject:

Nimish,that was a great TR and you have taken Gr8 pics man........
I say you should really try uploading those pics on airliners.net.Some of them are bound to get accepted. seriously......... Very Happy

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G-BYGB · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:30 pm Post subject:

Good to see LH serves Indian dairy giant Amul. Smile

Nimish,how many Indian pax were flying during the whole trip?
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Nimish · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:50 pm Post subject:

rutvij · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 3:36 am Post subject:

Gr8 TR, Mod! Pardon Me, but I missed this one! And, hats off to LH's Management! Plane. Simple. Punctual. Without the Bells and Whistles.

Had this 1 query to everyone:

Is a SPARE battery and a Charger allowed in Hand baggage? I suppose there won't be a problem with the Charger. But, Spare Battery?? Especially, if its US??

I read somewhere that batteries aren't allowed. But, i can't recollect where i read it!

Regds
rutvij

Nimish · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 11:23 am Post subject: