LondonAkis
First-Class-Member
17 March 2004; LH4771 LHR-DUS; seat 18A
06:30hrs. Arrival at Heathrow Terminal 2. The trip looked promising considering the clear blue skies above, so rare in London during March. The terminal area was quiet; it usually gets crowded for flights departing by 7am. Check-in was rather quick and so was security check. The gate had just been announced, yet I succumbed to the temptation of having a couple of cigarettes before I go on the smoke free environment of the plane. From the lounge at Gate 4 I could see the LH 735 being prepared for the flight. The rest of the planes in that section included the usual LH, AF, IB, TP and LX Airbus aircraft. A couple of worth mentioning aircraft: an LG ERJ as well as a British European AR8 flying on behalf of AF the LHR-LYS route. Boarding started at 07:35 and once seated the only view I had was of other passengers inside the terminal spotting planes I couldnt see. Annoying at first but once we rolled back I had an excellent view of parked and on-the-move planes alike. Thats the good thing about LHR (it could be bad too depending on your mood). It takes so long for planes to reach the runways/terminals that a plane spotter can indulge in great views for a lot longer than expected. On the way to runway 27R, I saw a QF 744, a UA 777 and a KL 739 landing. At Terminal 1 you could clearly see the CY A332 parked. Take-off was at 08:30 and having taken off westbound, the pilot did a 180 degree turn which took us right above Luton airport and a few minutes after that, Stansted airport. The English coast was clearly visible; however as soon as we crossed the English Channel (La Manche to the rest of the world) there was low cloud/haze that blocked the view of the countries below. According to the pilot we flew right above Amsterdam and Schiphol airport and then took a slight turn for Dόsseldorf. Fortunately the haze has started clearing; it was too late for me to catch a view of AMS. In-flight service included sandwiches, soft drinks and tea/coffee. Service at Business Class didnt seem much more elaborate than that in Economy either than the seat pitch. Seat pitch on a Boeing is a compromise compared to most MDs or Airbus aircraft. I did not try foor either, so no comments on that. Interestingly, the 735 had been configured up until row 14 in Business Class layout. The rest of the passengers in Economy (including myself) seemed to be traveling on business as well but obviously on different budgets! Touch down in Dόsseldorf was at 10:30 on Runway 23L. It was smooth, but the 735 hadnt even pulled on full brakes when it taxied out of the runway. Heading straight towards the terminal building, I thought we were going to crash right into it but obviously they know what theyre doing. The terminal building looked great from the outside and once inside it looked even better. Last time I landed in DUS was in 1989; it was pretty much inevitable that I was going to be impressed, especially since the airport went through complete renovation after the big fire there a few years ago. Following our webmasters advice, I made my way towards the Sky Train terminal which connects passengers with the airport train station great views indeed. While waiting for my train to central Dόsseldorf, I noticed that the train station had actually been built right next to the beginning of runway 23L. All the planes taxiing for take-off were parading almost in front of the platform. The first one I saw was a JAT 733 with its old livery. I thought of staying there a bit longer to catch a few more take-offs but my first meeting in Dόsseldorf was due in 35.
Verdict: 07/10
17 March 2004; LH815 DUS-FRA; seat 15F
After a great day of business and sunshine (24 degrees!!!), I was on the train to the airport. I decided against taking a taxi all the way to the airport, not because of cost, but it seems this trade in Dόsseldorf is exclusive to one nationality with a serious chip on their shoulder (fellow forum members that live/know Germany will understand)! Besides, it was almost evening rush hour and mixing with the locals made me feel like a world citizen.
I arrived at the airport train station a good 90 before departure so I decided to visit the viewing gallery at the Sky Train terminal (one of the two in DUS). Regional jets seemed to be the majority at DUS, with the CRJ the undisputed king of the airport. Having moved to the main Terminal I made my way to security check. There were 10-12 infrared booths (unlike 4 at LHR T2) and although it was really busy it took each queue approximately 5 to clear. Is that German efficiency or what? My gate was A84 and there was an excellent view from the gate lounge. BA, AY and AZ had employed A319/320s that day and SK had a sparkling clean 736 parked right next to the gate. Interesting sightings were the MAT 733 bound for Skopje, a Styrian AW (bound for GRZ, I think), an OS CRJ displaying the new livery, a Blue1 AR8 and last but not least, a PrivatAir A319CJ!!! If I am not mistaken this is the concept LH employed for nonstop flight to ORD with a 50 seat C-class only layout. Once the LH 735 was ready, boarding was announced and I was again impressed to see that even row 14 was under C-class configuration. I find it really hard to think that passengers pay business class fares for a 30 flight to Frankfurt. It seems more likely that regular flyers are using their Miles&More points for upgrades. Tightly squeezed in seat 15F, I got busy looking at aircraft movements nearby. At some point a fellow passenger trying to find his seat turned towards me and in fluent German pointed out that I was sitting in his seat by the window, 15D!!! My initial thought was to lash out and explain to the dork that a. plane enthusiasts like me simply DO NOT mistake their seats and b. seat D means no view. But then I politely answered back in fluent English that he should read his boarding card again. How dare he ?
Take off was at 19:35 (20 delayed), but the captain announced he was confident we would make it to FRA on time. The area around Dόsseldorf looked so pretty with its night lights on, unfortunately though my night-geography is not good enough for me to understand the exact route of the flight and the captain didnt bother making any further announcements. In-flight service, what in-flight service? The stewardesses did not even walk around economy to offer a soft drink. Business class passengers though got the same sandwiches that are offered to economy passengers on European flights. I did not expect dinner etc for the 30 we were on air (I dont eat airline food anyway), but a simple coffee and some water at least should have been offered. I didnt realize LH turned its domestic economy product to no-frills but when I originally booked LH for my trip my perception was that of a full service airline. By 20:00hrs I could see the city Frankfurt as we flew eastbound north of river Main. We took a 180 degree turn, crossed above the river, lowered altitude; there it was Mainhattan, Germanys most glorious sky line was visible to the North of the river. We touched down at 20:15 on the dot on runway 25R. The 735 was parked remotely and the bus drove behind a number of LH 744s and right next to an EK 332 until we reached Terminal 1. I made my way to luggage reclaim as I had to pick up my suitcase that was checked-in from LHR that morning. Again to my surprise, we were only five of us waiting for luggage! It seems like the rest of the passengers were on a day-trip to Dόsseldorf too. FRA arrivals seemed a bit dark compared to DUS but then DUS is a brand new building and much quieter indeed.
Verdict: 05/10
21 March 2004; LH4742 FRA-LHR; seat 15A
This was my first time arriving by car at FRA. The motorway and causeway network accessing the airport grounds is extremely elaborate and to newcomer like me it looked like a huge maze. I was dropped off a good two hours before departure at Terminal 1. Check-in was a new experience as my suitcase was put through infrared scan while queuing up for check-in. LHR should do the same, but then space is a problem there where as FRA is so comfortably spacious and big. Signage confused me a bit but I soon managed to find my way towards gate A62. When in FRA you dont necessarily need to go to a viewing gallery for good plane spotting. The runways are right in front of the terminals and most aircraft movements take place right there as well. While sipping on a double espresso two LH 346s paraded towards the runways. One was in Star Alliance livery. What a treat I thought, only to be faced by an LH 332 parking a couple of spots away. This is the sleekest airliners ever! An Asiana Airlines 744 pulled back for take-off while a new AF 318 (!!!) speeded towards Terminal 2. Boarding was announced and just as I was leaving my table an A3 733 peaked through the west side of Terminal 1. The flight to LHR was on a A320. Shame as I was looking forward to flying the AB6 LH usually places on this route during midweek flights. Next to us, there is a Thomas Cook powered by Condor 753 and a line up of other LH Airbus aircraft. Take-off was at 19:55 from runway 18 and it was very shaky as the weather all across Northwestern Europe was seriously windy. The sky was clear and Belgium was clearly defined on the night map as they have all their motorways and cities fully lit up. The usual sandwiches were offered to all passengers along with a full bar. Service was exceptionally friendly. So much that when I refused the sandwich, the stewardess insisted saying it was yummy. Good effort but no thanks. We reached London airspace within 40 after take-off. We had to do a good three rounds above Northeast London before getting to the right altitude for landing at LHR. We flew right above London City airport and took the Thames flight path to land at 20:30. Passing in front of Terminal 3 my eyes popped wide open. 2 MH 744s, 3 UA 777s, 3 AA 777s, an AC 343, an EK 777 and 773, a QR 332, 2 VS 346s, a PK 777, an SQ 744 and many many more planes later, we finally stopped on a landing bridge in Terminal 2.
Verdict: 09/10
06:30hrs. Arrival at Heathrow Terminal 2. The trip looked promising considering the clear blue skies above, so rare in London during March. The terminal area was quiet; it usually gets crowded for flights departing by 7am. Check-in was rather quick and so was security check. The gate had just been announced, yet I succumbed to the temptation of having a couple of cigarettes before I go on the smoke free environment of the plane. From the lounge at Gate 4 I could see the LH 735 being prepared for the flight. The rest of the planes in that section included the usual LH, AF, IB, TP and LX Airbus aircraft. A couple of worth mentioning aircraft: an LG ERJ as well as a British European AR8 flying on behalf of AF the LHR-LYS route. Boarding started at 07:35 and once seated the only view I had was of other passengers inside the terminal spotting planes I couldnt see. Annoying at first but once we rolled back I had an excellent view of parked and on-the-move planes alike. Thats the good thing about LHR (it could be bad too depending on your mood). It takes so long for planes to reach the runways/terminals that a plane spotter can indulge in great views for a lot longer than expected. On the way to runway 27R, I saw a QF 744, a UA 777 and a KL 739 landing. At Terminal 1 you could clearly see the CY A332 parked. Take-off was at 08:30 and having taken off westbound, the pilot did a 180 degree turn which took us right above Luton airport and a few minutes after that, Stansted airport. The English coast was clearly visible; however as soon as we crossed the English Channel (La Manche to the rest of the world) there was low cloud/haze that blocked the view of the countries below. According to the pilot we flew right above Amsterdam and Schiphol airport and then took a slight turn for Dόsseldorf. Fortunately the haze has started clearing; it was too late for me to catch a view of AMS. In-flight service included sandwiches, soft drinks and tea/coffee. Service at Business Class didnt seem much more elaborate than that in Economy either than the seat pitch. Seat pitch on a Boeing is a compromise compared to most MDs or Airbus aircraft. I did not try foor either, so no comments on that. Interestingly, the 735 had been configured up until row 14 in Business Class layout. The rest of the passengers in Economy (including myself) seemed to be traveling on business as well but obviously on different budgets! Touch down in Dόsseldorf was at 10:30 on Runway 23L. It was smooth, but the 735 hadnt even pulled on full brakes when it taxied out of the runway. Heading straight towards the terminal building, I thought we were going to crash right into it but obviously they know what theyre doing. The terminal building looked great from the outside and once inside it looked even better. Last time I landed in DUS was in 1989; it was pretty much inevitable that I was going to be impressed, especially since the airport went through complete renovation after the big fire there a few years ago. Following our webmasters advice, I made my way towards the Sky Train terminal which connects passengers with the airport train station great views indeed. While waiting for my train to central Dόsseldorf, I noticed that the train station had actually been built right next to the beginning of runway 23L. All the planes taxiing for take-off were parading almost in front of the platform. The first one I saw was a JAT 733 with its old livery. I thought of staying there a bit longer to catch a few more take-offs but my first meeting in Dόsseldorf was due in 35.
Verdict: 07/10
17 March 2004; LH815 DUS-FRA; seat 15F
After a great day of business and sunshine (24 degrees!!!), I was on the train to the airport. I decided against taking a taxi all the way to the airport, not because of cost, but it seems this trade in Dόsseldorf is exclusive to one nationality with a serious chip on their shoulder (fellow forum members that live/know Germany will understand)! Besides, it was almost evening rush hour and mixing with the locals made me feel like a world citizen.
I arrived at the airport train station a good 90 before departure so I decided to visit the viewing gallery at the Sky Train terminal (one of the two in DUS). Regional jets seemed to be the majority at DUS, with the CRJ the undisputed king of the airport. Having moved to the main Terminal I made my way to security check. There were 10-12 infrared booths (unlike 4 at LHR T2) and although it was really busy it took each queue approximately 5 to clear. Is that German efficiency or what? My gate was A84 and there was an excellent view from the gate lounge. BA, AY and AZ had employed A319/320s that day and SK had a sparkling clean 736 parked right next to the gate. Interesting sightings were the MAT 733 bound for Skopje, a Styrian AW (bound for GRZ, I think), an OS CRJ displaying the new livery, a Blue1 AR8 and last but not least, a PrivatAir A319CJ!!! If I am not mistaken this is the concept LH employed for nonstop flight to ORD with a 50 seat C-class only layout. Once the LH 735 was ready, boarding was announced and I was again impressed to see that even row 14 was under C-class configuration. I find it really hard to think that passengers pay business class fares for a 30 flight to Frankfurt. It seems more likely that regular flyers are using their Miles&More points for upgrades. Tightly squeezed in seat 15F, I got busy looking at aircraft movements nearby. At some point a fellow passenger trying to find his seat turned towards me and in fluent German pointed out that I was sitting in his seat by the window, 15D!!! My initial thought was to lash out and explain to the dork that a. plane enthusiasts like me simply DO NOT mistake their seats and b. seat D means no view. But then I politely answered back in fluent English that he should read his boarding card again. How dare he ?
Take off was at 19:35 (20 delayed), but the captain announced he was confident we would make it to FRA on time. The area around Dόsseldorf looked so pretty with its night lights on, unfortunately though my night-geography is not good enough for me to understand the exact route of the flight and the captain didnt bother making any further announcements. In-flight service, what in-flight service? The stewardesses did not even walk around economy to offer a soft drink. Business class passengers though got the same sandwiches that are offered to economy passengers on European flights. I did not expect dinner etc for the 30 we were on air (I dont eat airline food anyway), but a simple coffee and some water at least should have been offered. I didnt realize LH turned its domestic economy product to no-frills but when I originally booked LH for my trip my perception was that of a full service airline. By 20:00hrs I could see the city Frankfurt as we flew eastbound north of river Main. We took a 180 degree turn, crossed above the river, lowered altitude; there it was Mainhattan, Germanys most glorious sky line was visible to the North of the river. We touched down at 20:15 on the dot on runway 25R. The 735 was parked remotely and the bus drove behind a number of LH 744s and right next to an EK 332 until we reached Terminal 1. I made my way to luggage reclaim as I had to pick up my suitcase that was checked-in from LHR that morning. Again to my surprise, we were only five of us waiting for luggage! It seems like the rest of the passengers were on a day-trip to Dόsseldorf too. FRA arrivals seemed a bit dark compared to DUS but then DUS is a brand new building and much quieter indeed.
Verdict: 05/10
21 March 2004; LH4742 FRA-LHR; seat 15A
This was my first time arriving by car at FRA. The motorway and causeway network accessing the airport grounds is extremely elaborate and to newcomer like me it looked like a huge maze. I was dropped off a good two hours before departure at Terminal 1. Check-in was a new experience as my suitcase was put through infrared scan while queuing up for check-in. LHR should do the same, but then space is a problem there where as FRA is so comfortably spacious and big. Signage confused me a bit but I soon managed to find my way towards gate A62. When in FRA you dont necessarily need to go to a viewing gallery for good plane spotting. The runways are right in front of the terminals and most aircraft movements take place right there as well. While sipping on a double espresso two LH 346s paraded towards the runways. One was in Star Alliance livery. What a treat I thought, only to be faced by an LH 332 parking a couple of spots away. This is the sleekest airliners ever! An Asiana Airlines 744 pulled back for take-off while a new AF 318 (!!!) speeded towards Terminal 2. Boarding was announced and just as I was leaving my table an A3 733 peaked through the west side of Terminal 1. The flight to LHR was on a A320. Shame as I was looking forward to flying the AB6 LH usually places on this route during midweek flights. Next to us, there is a Thomas Cook powered by Condor 753 and a line up of other LH Airbus aircraft. Take-off was at 19:55 from runway 18 and it was very shaky as the weather all across Northwestern Europe was seriously windy. The sky was clear and Belgium was clearly defined on the night map as they have all their motorways and cities fully lit up. The usual sandwiches were offered to all passengers along with a full bar. Service was exceptionally friendly. So much that when I refused the sandwich, the stewardess insisted saying it was yummy. Good effort but no thanks. We reached London airspace within 40 after take-off. We had to do a good three rounds above Northeast London before getting to the right altitude for landing at LHR. We flew right above London City airport and took the Thames flight path to land at 20:30. Passing in front of Terminal 3 my eyes popped wide open. 2 MH 744s, 3 UA 777s, 3 AA 777s, an AC 343, an EK 777 and 773, a QR 332, 2 VS 346s, a PK 777, an SQ 744 and many many more planes later, we finally stopped on a landing bridge in Terminal 2.
Verdict: 09/10
