After getting off my very normal intra-European flight from Vienna (seriously it was so normal it doesn't make sense to review it) I had about three and a half hours left before my flight to Luanda was scheduled to depart. Since I'm a star alliance gold member I'm entitled to use one of the many star alliance lounges at Frankfurt. I elected not to use the Lufthansa business class lounge because it's really mediocre, and instead opted for the air Canada maple leaf lounge in terminal Z, this, however, did require a lot of walking.
I mean seriously it took me a solid 20 minutes to get to the lounge.
Anywho after this, I finally arrived at the lounge with still slightly 3 hours to go before my flight was to depart. The Air Canda lounge is quite hidden away on the second floor of a strange section of Z gates, this was probably why there weren't many people inside. I was greeted by a very nice German/Canadian desk officer who swiped my THY gold card and I was in.
just as a walked in I noticed a model of the 787-9 in the new Air Canada livery. What a classy touch!
The lounge itself was quite nice with a selection of cold cuts, desserts, fruits and vegetables, carbs and a few hot meals. Definitely better than the pathetic sausages and curry Lufthansa offers just a five-minute walk away.
Air Canada Maple leaf lounge spread.
In the middle of the lounge, there was a very suggestive fireplace along with many comfortable couches and armchairs.
There was a nice selection of magazines, many of them air Canada themed, which I found interesting.
I would also like to point out that the lounge is very spotter friendly with large panel windows providing an unobstructed view onto the tarmac. here are a few aircraft I spotted that evening.
Thai a350-900 bound for Bangkok
Ethiopian 777-200lr bound for Addis Ababa
south African A340-600 bound for Johannesburg
At this point, I decided to have a small dinner. I had some beef stroganoff, rice, a cake with ice and lemon along with some nachos. All were quite good. Yet again an upgrade from you, Lufthansa.
At this point, I decided it was it was time to go to my gate as boarding had begun 2 minutes ago. I arrived at the gate 10 mins later with most of the passengers already boarded. Sadly we were on a jet bridge with no view of the aircraft, and you can't take photos in Luanda. What a bummer.
Flight info
Origin Frankfurt (EDDF) Destination Luanda (FNLU) Flight duration: 8 hours 5 minutes Aircraft: A330-343X, registered D-AIKK, named Fürth, 9.5 years old at the time of flight.
We were greeted by the icy smile of the Lufthansa flight attendant taking care of my section of the aircraft I find that Lufthansa crews are very polite and well intentioned but are quite cold and distant when it comes to interactions.
This a330 featured the usual 2-4-2 configuration in economy class. Here is a picture of my seat, from the very front of economy class.
The seatback pocket content was pretty standard, having the in-flight magazine, safety card etc.
A picture of the forward economy cabin
Legroom was decent
We took off from runway 18 using up about 65 percent of the runway. our initial cruising altitude was 35000 feet but we climbed all the way up to 39000 feet.
A good thing about being in the forward economy section is the fact that you have a shot at getting the premium economy service. The food is identical to economy class but is served in real porcelain. I wasn't so lucky this time but had the premium economy drinks selection. Score!
The meal took a while to roll out, only being served 1.15 hours after takeoff. strange for a red eye but whatever I guess. The meal consisted of tortellini, bread, a peach cobbler and a green salad. A chocolate and some Bavarian cheese were also a part of the meal. All tasted good except the salad vinaigrette which was really rancid. I spoilt a perfectly good salad which was a shame. The cobbler was the highlight of the meal. I mean really it was that good.
After the meal, I decided to pay a visit to the bathroom, which was a pretty standard a330 affair and then goes to sleep with about 6 hours left to Luanda.
I woke up with about one hour and 30 minutes left till landing, I decided to browse the entertainment section, in the end settling for some season 11 episodes of "Bones" which I've seen already.
Breakfast was served 1 hour before landing and consisted of an omelet, grilled potatoes, some bread, and yogurt. The omelet was just plain nasty but I guess that's the norm in economy.
we began our descent into Luanda about 30 minutes out, touching down hard on runway 07.
Passport control is a nightmare here so I was sure to get off the plane fast. My bags were already waiting for me when I got through immigration. A generally decent flight from LH.
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Verdict
Lufthansa
7.3/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Meal/catering6.5
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge
7.8/10
Comfort8.5
Meal/catering7.5
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Services7.5
Frankfurt - FRA
7.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access6.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness7.5
Luanda - LAD
4.3/10
Efficiency3.5
Access7.0
Services4.0
Cleanliness2.5
Conclusion
6 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Welcome and thanls for this first FR. The AC lounge is indeed much nicer than the LH's ones and is worth the extra walk. The salad size has either increased or the tray as once again increased ^^ Typical LH dinner, but the breakfast is pretty good quantity wise for a less than 9 hour flight.
I'm going to stay in Africa for a while, my next flight is South African to Capetown through Johannesburg in two weeks, followed by TAAG to Sao tome in October
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6 Comments
The AC lounge is indeed much nicer than the LH's ones and is worth the extra walk.
The salad size has either increased or the tray as once again increased ^^
Typical LH dinner, but the breakfast is pretty good quantity wise for a less than 9 hour flight.
Greetings,
João
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