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sukritmunjal · Member Joined: 23 Jan 2013 Posts: 178 Location: FMO

PART 1

Background

Sometime in the first week of December it was decided that I would be joining a new project for one of the clients and would need to travel to Germany for about four weeks for transition. After some discussions it was decided that I should be at client’s place starting 6th of January. That meant I will finally be flying a wide-body and with a good chance that it would be the Queen of the Skies.

Now the client I am talking about has its headquarters near Nuremberg and a huge warehouse in a small village named Rieste, around 70 km north of Munster. I was under the assumption that I would be travelling to the HQ and would be able able to visit Munich which is nearby. Alas that was not to be and I was supposed to travel to their warehouse instead. I was really disappointed that I would not be able to visit Munich as is one city I have always wanted to visit, not for the sights but for a chance to visit the site of the “Munich Air Disaster” where 11 Manchester United players and staff lost their lives on a cold winter day in 1958. Maybe some other time.

Planning

I received an Invitation letter from the client on 18th December and started the Visa application procedure. My organization has a policy where the tickets are not booked till the visa is issued, but a dummy ticket is provided for visa application. They have outsourced the travel desk to four different travel agents viz. Travel House, Carlson Wagonlit, Kuoni and Makemytrip. The employee has an option to choose any of these for his travel request.

I raised a request for a dummy ticket in the system and assigned it to makemytrip. After a lot of follow-ups I was finally sent an itinerary which read something like this:

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

Thanks for posting the report.

I totally agree that the 747 is the most beautiful airplane around but sadly its days are numbered and most carriers are getting rid of them.

I understand your frustration when agents do not give accurate information as requested, but this is one industry where they are overstretched, and under staffed most of the times. Besides today’s travelers are getting smarter and they know their ways better than an agent.

All mothers tend to pack something for their kids out of love, so hope you relished some of it. Very Happy

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

Great report.. Thanks for sharing.

I'm especially a fan of all the background and airport dramatics, and you highlighted those so well.

Any daytime pics of the cabin? I haven't flown LH in a while and always found them to be unappetising. Reliable and efficient, but very cold and sterile... The cabins seem to me to be something out of a Stalinist concentration camp in Siberia. Have things changed much?

Don't get me started on our powertripping apparatchiks!

And your agent seems like she was rejected by Jet's HR department for not being dumb enough for their great airline.
_________________
four years free of jetya punti!

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

By the way, did you notice any difference in the ridiculous immigration formalities?

Supposedly, from 1 January, citizens are no longer required to fill out the retarded form on departure. Landing cards are supposed to have gone too, and replaced by customs declarations.
_________________
four years free of jetya punti!

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 9:53 pm Post subject:

Great TR there!

The flight seemed good enough on LH.

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Thanks for a lovely report, Sukrit! Some points:
- Lovely introduction, and background. Why do you need dummy tickets? It is possible to check if a ticket is a booking, or simply a blocking, in many instances, at least. Some visas need a confirmed airline ticket, and hotel bookings.
- You have really described the happenings in an extremely vivid manner! I could imagine being with you all the while. All the happenings at the Devanahalli airport almost happened before my eyes!
I look forward to the other parts, eagerly!
Cheers, Sumantra.

sukritmunjal · Member Joined: 23 Jan 2013 Posts: 178 Location: FMO

sukritmunjal · Member Joined: 23 Jan 2013 Posts: 178 Location: FMO

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

Thanks... Do keep us updated... For once I thought something was going to change for the better. I should have known! Aiy.

Oh, and you don't have to bring the penda and biscuit back. Get the Germans to try out "special Indian delicacies" Wink

_________________
four years free of jetya punti!

sukritmunjal · Member Joined: 23 Jan 2013 Posts: 178 Location: FMO

ameya · Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:24 am Post subject:

Thanks Sukrit for such a wonderful and detailed TR. Enjoyed reading every bit of it.

When who wrote about the 4 travel agency options, I hoped that you would choose CWT. MMT is known to be worst of the lot
and not just that has some really bad customer service which was proved again !

The breakfast looks filling

Glad you had a good WB experience. . your first. .

Awaiting more details on your TR for the other 3 flights and how you killed time at FRA

sukritmunjal · Member Joined: 23 Jan 2013 Posts: 178 Location: FMO

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

sukritmunjal · Member Joined: 23 Jan 2013 Posts: 178 Location: FMO

jbalonso777 · Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:57 am Post subject:

Thanks for sharing this with us, Sukrit, and of course, your live updates from BLR on the WhatsApp group!
Finally you get to fly on a wide body, and it couldn't have been any better: the Boeing 747!
Looks like a nice-ish flight, do you remember what was there for the snack on the flight?
Interesting movie you watched - Rush! Obviously, it circulates around the rivalry of James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Incidentally, Niki Lauda's near fatal crash was at the Nurburgring, located in Nürburg, a place which I had wonderfully confused with what you have mentioned - Nuremberg!
I also agree that the B747 is the nicest looking bird (although endangered) in the sky!

Regards
Jish

shivendrashukla · Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 7:24 pm Post subject:

Great TR. Looking forward to the onward and the return trips as well.

Btw I did like that Makemytrip lady. Japan yaa Germany kya farak padta hai LOL.

Cheers
Shivendra

sukritmunjal · Member Joined: 23 Jan 2013 Posts: 178 Location: FMO

Part 2

Done with the immigration, I moved to the main hall of what I think was Terminal B and started searching for a place where I can buy a local sim card. My colleagues who had been there earlier had advised me to buy a Lebara sim card if I want to make cheap calls back home. I searched for it for over an hour in vain before someone directed me to a vending machine selling Ortel sims which has a call rates of 4 cents/minute to India.

I had planned to take one of the Airport tours that are conducted at FRA. I checked with the information desk and they informed me that all the tours that day have been cancelled due to inclement weather. What a bummer?

Disappointed, I decided to roam around a bit. Checked out a few bookshops and all the magazines and newspapers carried just one news item, Michael Schumacher and his tragic accident. By this time I was a little hungry and decided to have a sandwich. Of all the sandwiches on offer I picked the one which had Serrano Ham, something I do not like.

After somehow dealing with the sandwich, I moved to Terminal A. I did not take the tunnel, Instead I almost exited terminal B and then entered terminal A. After a quick security check; something that CISF should learn; I was in the main hall.

By this time I was hungry again, and went straight to Hausmann’s. I ordered Nuremberg Sausages with sauerkraut and settled down to a wonderful view. Five 747s to my right and nine 320s to my left. I also spotted a 321 in the old LH livery. I spotted the same aircraft on my return journey.

Lunch with a view

IMG-20140105-WA0001 by [/url]

321 in LH's retro livery
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/93015894@N06/12161498666/]

DSC01433 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

ANA's 787

DSC01431 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

AC's 773ER

DSC01432 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

The New BMW 4er Coupe

DSC01435 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

DSC01436 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

DSC01437 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

DSC01439 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

TAP's Airbus

DSC01440 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

DSC01441 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

DSC01442 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

Saudia's747F

DSC01443 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

DSC01445 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

Whalejets in the distance

DSC01446 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

DSC01447 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

Kill me! Kill me now!! Evil or Very Mad

DSC01450 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

Ain't she a beauty? Wink

DSC01451 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

Find your flight

DSC01452 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

Lunch done, I decided to walk the entire length of Terminal A. I am glad I did that. I took a lot of time and I was also able to do a lot of spotting. By the time I finished it, I was totally tired and went to Gate A3 and grabbed a seat.

Contrails

DSC01454 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

DSC01455 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

Boarding was announced at 5 and the gate agent handed me a baggage card and told me that as my cabin bag is big, I need to hand it over at the aircraft so that it can be put in the luggage hold. We boarded the bus and were bussed to the aircraft near the Lufthansa Cargo building.

D-ACPK was the bird that would be flying us today. After handing over the cabin baggage to be placed in the luggage hold, I clicked what I consider to be my best aircraft pic till then. Unfortunately, I couldn’t capture the entire aircraft. It was getting cold by then and as I wasn’t dressed for it, I was among the first few to board and settled into my seat, 6A for what was to be my 50th flight

What I consider to be my best click of an aircraft till date.

DSC01464 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

Is that a mosquito?

DSC01466 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

Boarding was over quickly since there were only 25-30 pax on board. By this time, the battery on my camera was almost drained and I took a last few pics. We taxied to Runway 25C which took quite some time and waited on the runway for over a minute after lining up. After a really short take-off roll we were airborne and turned northwards toward FMO.

The drinks service began and I just took a glass of water and a pack of salted biscuits. The rest of the flight was uneventful and soon we began our descent into FMO. We landed on runway 25 and taxied to the gates and parked next to a Cityjet Fokker-50. Collected my bag after disembarking before the bus took us to the terminal. Waited a bit before my bag came on the baggage claim belt.

DSC01467 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

DSC01470 by m_sukrit, on Flickr

As I was walking towards the exit with my bags, a person smiled and said hello. I smiled back, said hello and continued walking. He stopped me and told me he is the customs agent and needs to check my bags. I told him I am not carrying any contraband but he can check if he still wishes too. And surprisingly he found nothing, although I was secretly hoping that he confiscates that packet containing biscuits and nuts.

He apologized for the inconvenience and I was again on my way to the exit, where I found a taxi to take me a further 60 kilometers to my destination.

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Lovely Part 2, Sukrit, it was MakeMyDay.com Smile

Thanks for the vivid descriptions and nice pictures...(and that is a spider, arachnids have eight legs). You had us disappointed at the airport tour, you had us gawking at the plane pictures, and laughing and smiling at the customs man part (one clears the customs at the final destination, I guess). While you were air-side, weren't there numerous X-ray checks in each part of the terminal? I went through some of these, and each time, let out a silent prayer, since I had a film camera inside. Anything more than 5 X ray scans, and there is a chance of the picture darkening. Thanks once again, and looking forward to more from you!
Cheers, Sumantra.

jbalonso777 · Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 7:08 pm Post subject:

Great second part from you!
I loved the spotting pictures which you've taken - Europe obviously has some of the most 'appetizing' collection of planes, from all around the world!

However, it still remains to be seen if the opportunities are on par with SIN or HKG

Regards
Jish

Caliguy · Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:45 am Post subject:

Why did the LH agent ask you to weigh both your checked baggage and hand luggage in BLR? Does the 23kg allowance now include both checked and cabin? Never had anyone weigh the hand baggage

Nimish · Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:38 am Post subject:

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

sukritmunjal · Member Joined: 23 Jan 2013 Posts: 178 Location: FMO

PART 3

First of all, my sincere apologies for the delay in posting the TR for the return leg. It’s been almost two months since I returned, but somehow I didn’t get any time to write the TR. With the apologies out of the way, let me get down to it.

The 4 weeks were over and it was time for me to go back home. Every day for the last 4 weeks I had been checking my booking and seeing what seats were available for blocking. I chose 33A for FRA-BLR and some window seat for FMO-FRA leg. Ten days prior to departure it stopped giving me an option for changing my seat blocking, but it still showed seat 33A as blocked for me.

A day prior to my flight I decided to do OLCI, and it showed that there were a few aisle or window seats left and that the seat 33A was blocked. I assumed that 33A was blocked for me and did not select any of the window seats that were available. Stupid me.

Departure:
I had asked the hotel to have the airport shuttle ready for 8 AM on the day of departure. I reached the front desk, checked-out, and had a quick breakfast which was just a couple of rashers of bacon and a few sips of coffee.

The cab-driver decided to take the route that passed through a few villages and the countryside instead of taking the Autobahn to the airport. I am glad he did that as I was finally able to see some European countryside during the day and it is beautiful.

I reached the airport at around 9, thanked the driver and was inside the airport in no time. For someone, who has seen only Indian airports, it was a nice surprise to find no one checking your ticket before letting you inside the terminal.

I think all this was confiscated

Went to the counter to check my bag in. The lady at the counter told me that my bag weighs 25kg instead of the maximum limit of 23 kg. I told her that I can transfer some of the contents to my cabin bag. She said it’s not required, she will check this bag in as it is.

She then gave me the bad news that there are only middle seats available for FRA-BLR. I told her that I had blocked it more than 10 days ago, but she says she can’t see it in system and there is nothing she can do. I can try my luck at the gate in FRA.

She handed me my boarding passes and I went ahead for the security check. There were hardly any people at the airport at that time as that was the FMO-FRA was the only flight in the next couple of hours.

Reached the gates and checked the Fraport website to find out the birds I would be flying today. D-ACPT - a CRJ700 in Star Alliance livery - would be flying me to FRA and D-ABVX would take me to BLR.

The bird

Boarding was on time, and we were bussed to the aircraft. Handed over my cabin baggage at the aircraft to be kept in the luggage hold. Fortunately, I had a window seat for this leg. 11F was my seat and the seat next to me was empty. The loads were around 50%.

The Captain welcomed us onboard and gave us the weather update. It was bright and sunny in Muenster but was expected to be cold and muggy in Frankfurt. A quick taxi later, we took off from runway 25.

Bright and sunny at FMO

And we are off

The crew did a beverage run once the seat belt signs were turned off. I took a coffee and was given a pack containing what I assumed to be a chocolate-cream biscuit. I generally take my tea/coffee unaccompanied by any biscuits/snacks, as I believe it reduces the flavour of the beverage. So I kept, the biscuit in the pocket of my jacket and enjoyed my coffee.

By the time I finished my coffee, we had begun our descent into FRA. We landed on runway 7L and after a really long taxi, deplaned near LH CARGO area. We were then bussed to the terminal A. Checked the gate for my next flight, I think it was B-23.

Descending into FRA

The long taxi

LH Cargo's export terminal

333

Took the tunnel to the terminal B and cleared immigration. By the time I reached the terminal, boarding was about to begin and there was a crowd at the gate. I asked the gate agent if there were any window/aisle seats available and she replied in negative. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one with that request. I saw at least 5 more people asking her the same question.

The boarding began for F, J and status members, followed by people with infants. I boarded and took my seat 37J. The window seat was occupied by a lady who slept through most of the journey, and the aisle seat was occupied by a Swedish gentleman.

Since I was stuck in the middle seat and there wasn’t anything that I could’ve done, I decided to watch a few movies. Luckily, LH switches on their IFE prior to boarding and you do not have to wait till take off for the crew to switch it on like many Indian carriers. Oops, I said Indian carriers. There is only one Indian carrier which has the option of IFE. The other one thinks that staring at the blank PTV screen is entertaining enough.

As soon as we were seated, we were handed the retarded immigration forms.

We took off from either 7C or 7R. I was hungry by now and realized that I had that biscuit from the previous flight in my pocket. It was not a cream biscuit. It was a chocolate bar sandwiched between two crackers. Soon the crew began the drinks run, where I opted for a white wine with some salted nuts.

Once the drinks run was done, the crew served lunch. The lunch was a salad with a packet of dressing, chicken fricassee with rice and apple strudel. Sorry no pics as I was quite hungry. I took a glass of tomato juice to wash it down. I found the quantity of food to be less. The breakfast on the inbound leg was much more filling.

The crew did a post-lunch drinks run where cognac and Baileys were on offer. Took a glass of Baileys and settled down to watch the movies. Most of the flight was uneventful apart from the fact that I made frequent runs to the galley for juice and water and ended up watching four movies back to back.

An hour prior to landing, the crew served the mid-night snack. I don’t remember what it was, but I remember I had a glass of white wine with it. We landed on runway 09 in BLR on time and taxied to the gates.

We deplaned and moved to the immigration desk. The sight there was one for the nightmares. Airfrance and Dragon Air’s flight had landed just prior to us and the pax from all three flights reached the immigration counters at the same time. I had to stand in the queue for 20 minutes just to enter my own country. No wonder many Indians decide to keep staying abroad illegally. Why can’t they have a separate desk for Indian nationals?

Once you clear immigration one has to pass all the cabin luggage through a x-ray machine. One gentleman was caught here as he had a couple of gold coins in his cabin baggage which he had not declared.

Reached the baggage belt and my bag was one of the first few to come through. Grabbed it and moved out of the terminal to the waiting taxi.
Overall a slightly decent experience, considering I had a middle seat. LH’s service is efficient, but I prefer it that way. Maybe I will chance my preference if I fly SQ. The immigration experience was hellish. The last thing a person who is coming back home after a 9 hour long flight is to stand in a queue for 20 minutes. I hope with the new terminal now constructed, this is sorted out.

Hope you enjoyed the TR. And my apologies once again for the delay.

Cheers
Sukrit

Pics uploaded