Still, you can't put in all the info unless you do voice overs or something. So I will still have to depend on writing, just a bit.
Imagine arriving around 6 am and having your next flight at past 1 pm. In FRA. OMG. I knew I had to come up with some plan to avoid boredom. The lounge is nice, but it isn't the most interesting lounge on the planet.
So I decided upon arrival to go through the hassle of immigration and get out to land side. For reasons I still can't understand, I thought it was a good idea to go into the city and maybe do some shopping. Of course I would forget that shops would not open until say 10 am, and that it would be brrr cold outside and of course I would forget to bring the right clothes. Plan B it was. To get into the arrivals lounge (since I was not air side anymore). Thought I could shower, and have breakfast.
Well.
LH Arrivals lounge, I was soon to learn, was only for people coming off LH flights. Star Alliance Gold status would not get you in. Even if your flight was LH coded but operated by another carrier.
So what else was there to do?
Shop at the Worldshop for LH Rimowa luggage. Always wanted a matching carry on. Met a Singaporean lady there who was raving about how she compared prices in Singapore and how cheap it was in Germany. My shopping experience took a few hours after I learned that my luggage was a little damaged and I had to go back and exchange it.
I did think of doing the airport tour but they had limited slots and I couldn't make it work. So it was back through immigration and security. FRA is just bad with security. They always find something to gripe about. This time it was my Bose mini sound link. They literally hauled me away, put the damn thing in a box before deciding it wasn't a terrorist tool. The only upside to this experience was the officer, who was a stunner, made a pass at me. Er hm.
The rest of the time was spent in the lounge, where I chatted with the friendly bartender from the Philippines and ate average food. Tried to nap, just couldn't do it.
Boarding was easy. If I wanted to I could even use the pass noted in my iPhone. LH is good for such things. Very integrated and seamless, unlike some other airlines.
On board, the service was professional. Of course it would never be like Asian hospitality. But the ladies were pleasant enough, and they fed us all enough to not warrant any call bell.
Note: I had the first row, upper deck. The beauty of the Dash 8 is of course the extended upper deck. So it should be your first choice. And because it is single aisle up there with limited seats, it does tend to be quieter. I know because I have sat in the main deck business class too. Not pleasant.
First row however meant that your IFE monitors would be cramped together. But lucky me, I was alone in that row. Guess most HON members prefer the full seat set up with all the cubby holes etc.
Catering was of course better than pre-new business class days. And because this was the Dash 8 the service was upgraded. I must say the food wasn't bad at all. And in some respects even better than SQ. Except for the welcome nuts. In a packet, not in a bowl, and not warm. Terrible.
There were two meals on this flight. Lunch and pre-landing dinner, which was an abbreviated version. Single tray service whereas the lunch was course by course.
Amenity kit was from Samsonite. Well the bag at least. Nice, considering what LH used to give out. Anything missing from the kit you can get from the restrooms.
The flight was uneventful, except that someone from two rows back kept eyeing me, and even shamelessly made several trips to the lavs in the front. It wouldn't take a genius to know that I was er hmm being desired.
The immigration process was simple and quick. And everyone was friendly and used whatever English they knew to welcome me into their country. It was a good start to what would be a hectic trip.
Enjoy the video!
