#65 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
1596 reviews
Report No: 2019-309E
Ladies and Gentleman,
Welcome to another series that would include 2 transatlantic flights on Lufthansa Premium Economy on the newest version of the Queen of the Skies and 2 Frankfurt-Istanbul flights again on Lufthansa and one American Airlines regional flight. All 5 reports would include lounge reviews of their respective airports.
As it was time to return to the USA, after founding a cheaper fare to JFK than IAD, I had decided to use the JFK route instead of the IAD one. This flight would cover the morning departure flight to JFK from FRA onboard the LH 747-8i and a review of the Premium Economy cabin. Also, I would include a short review of the Senator Lounge in Frankfurt Terminal 1Z.
The routing for this series would look like this
Pax for this flight:
First Class: No idea
Business Class: %95-100
Premium Economy Class: %95-100
Economy Class: %95-100
After a bad misfortune, forgetting my cabin bag onboard my previous flight. I have learnt that the first party of unforgotten bags would arrive at 11:00; but my flight was going to depart at 10:45. So, I went to the Lufthansa ticket counters and checked availability to all Northeastern destinations for the same day, but guess what, the specific flight that I was going to fly was the only flight that was not fully booked. All other flights within the peninsula was fully booked. That meant that I was going to take my originally scheduled flight.
Early in the morning, the path from the check-in area to the Z concourse was open. First, there was a document check and questioning for USA flights. Then the passport control. Both of these were a breeze. But as it was Sunday, security… If I didn't have access to the priority lane, I would have probably missed my flight as there was 250-300 people waiting and only one lane was open for pax joining in FRA. Luckily, the priority lane gave me the opportunity to skip %95 percent of these pax and in 10 minutes I was in the airside and I had time to visit the lounge.
Boarding pass
After arriving to the Senator Lounge, I first went to the shower desk but I have learnt that the wait was more than 30mins so I didn't asked for a pager. However, I had some breakfast over there before the flight.
The offerings were same as the Terminal 1B Lounge that I have visited the previous week.
The lounge was crowded, however, I have managed to found an empty table having a view of the apron.
As the lounge was crowded, the tea&coffee section facing the food bar was extremely crowded and 10-15 people was waiting every time since I past there. However, no one had realized that there was another machine at the rear section of the lounge which had no wait.
While enjoying my coffee, I had read my newspaper. It's a nice touch that they have started to have Turkish newspapers in the Terminal 1Z lounge as well. In the previous years, Turkish newspapers were only available at the 1B lounge.
At 09:58, I have left the lounge and the FIDS on the way to the gate. My gate (Z25) was the gate which has longest walk from the lounge.
At 10:05, the boarding wasn't started yet.
Once again, I had asked if the flight was overbooked but the answer was no. I was going to fly to the USA leaving my hand baggage in Germany. After pre-boarding has ended, the boarding had begun with priority passengers. I was one of the first ones to board.
The aircraft from the gate. At the jetbridge, there was a passport check which the agent checked if the name on the passport matches the boarding pass instead of a visa/ESTA check.
After being welcomed by the crew, I have taken my seat 24K. A pillow, a blanket and headsets were present at each seat.
The legroom at Premium Economy is pretty decent.
As usual, every Premium Economy passenger received a bottle of water.
And a personal amenity kit
Headsets
Our neighbor was this United 777-300ER
All seats were equipped with the Panasonic ex2 IFE system. Like my previous PE flight on Lufthansa, the USB port didn't work this time, but the power source was working.
The IFE system welcoming me onboard this flight
And today's route
Wi-Fi was offered throughout the flight. I haven't purchased Wi-Fi for the flight as I was going to sleep.
Sport24 and Euronews could be streamed live for free onboard that aircraft. The IFE system didn't contain any live TV this time.
The seat pocket had the safety card, the Lufthansa Magazin and the Inflight Shopping Catalogue. Inflight shopping was offered on this flight.
LH Fleet
LH Transatlantic and African destinations
Some information about FlyNet
Shortly after doors closed, the crew came with pre departure drinks, today's pre departure drink was orange juice with mint. Also, I was greeted by some Turkish speaking cabin crew members. There were 2-3 of them who spoke Turkish and I have noticed 25-30 pax from the previous IST-FRA flight who had preferred to make a connection at FRA instead of flying direct.
Menus were distributed after glasses were collected.
Today's selections
Beverage selection
And in Spanish - You could find the flights which this menu was offered at the bottom of the photo.
As we were taxiing to the runway, the safety video and an info video about FlyNet was screened.
As we were taxiing, this AA aircraft was visible.
And we had took off
And reached our cruising altitude
Shortly after reaching our cruising altitude, snacks were distributed alongside with a choice of drink.
I have opted for a glass of red wine and sparkling water.
Later on hot towels were distributed.
While I was enjoying the snack and drinks, I have decided to watch this old movie that I haven't watched before.
Before the meal service had begun, I have visited the lavatory, which was clean at that time.
Even though the flight was a 10:45 departure, lunch was served with the option of chicken or pasta. I have opted for the pasta option which was delicious as always. The SkyChefs facility in Frankfurt is one of the best catering facilities that prepares delicious aircraft meals.
Mixed Salad with Radish Julienne accompanied by French Dressing
Rigatoni in Creamy Tomato Sauce
Chocolate Mousse with Shaved White Chocolate
The tray also had a 5€ voucher for the inflight shopping service.
Shortly after the meal service, coffee and tea service had begun. In addition, while enjoying the meal, the cabin crew made water runs.
Route map as the trays were collected.
I have visited the galley to check if snacks were available, and yes there were some pretzels and cheese snacks alongside with soft drinks.
Later on, I had slept for a while and woke up after the second meal service. Hot towels were being distributed just after I woke up.
Chocolates were distributed after the hot towels were collected. I have notified the crew that if possible, I want to have the meal as I was hungry. The Premium Economy seat are really comfortable so I didn't give up from my sleep and I couldn't wake up for the meal service
5 minutes later, I have received the vegetarian Economy snack instead of the Premium Economy one. As there was less than 45 minutes to land, probably the crew didn't want to deal with trays so I have received the sandwich. However, the sandwich was delicious but I would have preferred having veal slices and a yoghurt.
The route map for the last time
A photo before our arrival
And we had landed to JFK ahead of schedule.
Oops, we were going to be parking to the gate with the help of the pushback vehicle.
Terminal 2
Some more Delta aircraft alongside with the Norwegian 737-800
Brussels Airlines A330 and our friend
We were going to park at gate 8.
After we were approaching our parking position, the Norwegian 737-800 continued taxiing.
After arriving and saying goodbye to the crew, as I could not use the machines at the passport control due to my visa type, I have entered the queue for the manned immigration desks. It was surprising but after 10 minutes of wait, it was my turn. As there was no requirement to fill out immigration forms the officer had asked me the questions on the immigration form orally. After I was all set, I had headed to the baggage carousel where my bags were already there. Then, I have left the baggage claim area and requested an Uber to go to LGA for my next flight.
For those who wonder, during this flight, I have received a mail from Fraport Lost property that my hand baggage was found and I need to claim it in person or pay for shipping. As international shipping for a 8 kg bag is much more expensive than purchasing a discounted IST-FRA-IST ticket, I have decided to pick my bag from Frankfurt.
This report has came to an end.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you in another report.
After an unexpected event, I have needed to leave my cabin baggage in Frankfurt and continue my journey. As I had priority access, all 3 checkpoints ( document check, passport control, and security ) had reasonable waiting times. However, I don't understand Fraport only having one lane available for all Z gate passengers joining here in Frankfurt. There were 250-300 people waiting for a single lane and there was no intention of opening another one. The priority lane allowed me to skip %90-95 of the passengers as I saved a lot of time and avoided the risk of missing my flight. It was funny that no-one checked my eligibility for the priority lane. If I had no status, I could have sneaked in. The lounge was pretty crowded that Sunday morning but I was lucky to find a seat. The breakfast offerings were the same as my last visit to the 1B lounge, the previous week. Lufthansa started to offer a better product at their lounges compared to the last few years. Boarding had started few minutes after the scheduled time. There was not enough seating near the gate, however, as priorities were respected I was able to board after standing for 2-3 minutes. The flight was a PE flight above average with a great seat compared to the price. The IFE system is better than most of the other carriers, however, live TV didn't work that day, in addition, the Wi-Fi is not cheap. The meal services were great with a delicious pasta dish for lunch. Being tired that day and not waking up for the snack service before arrival. I have ended up eating the vegetarian economy sandwich which was also great. I believe that the veal slices would also taste great. Lavatories were kept clean throughout the flight and drink runs were made. Also, drinks and snacks were available at the galley. After arriving at JFK, I was surprised that immigration took that short and my bags were ready while more than half of the passengers were still waiting for their bags. To conclude the LH part of this series, I could tell that it was a pleasure flying Lufthansa.
FRA
(+) Priority lane saved a lot of time
(+) Priorities respected throughout the boarding process
(-) Only one security lane for 250-300 people in line
(-) Not enough seating area near gate Z25
LH Senator Lounge T1Z
(+) Decent breakfast selection
(+) Comfortable seating
(+) Availability of international press and computers at the media zone
LH 400
(+) Comfortable seats and a decent legroom
(+) The IFE system and the availability of Wi-Fi
(+) Delicious meals ( even the Economy sandwich that I have received before arrival )
(+) Lavatories were kept clean throughout the flight
(+) Super friendly cabin crew
(-) Not must to must but live TV which is advertised wasn't available
JFK
(+) Efficient immigration ( Compared to US airports )
(-) Overcrowded and unorganized arrivals hall
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 15 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Frankfurt (FRA) → New York (JFK).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Singapore Airlines avec 8.7/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 8 heures et 41 minutes.
More information
4 Comments
Ouch.... that's always a bummer. Hopefully it did make it's way to you somehow?
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I've seen several systems like those with several airlines, but it feels like the usb part is never working. At least It never did for me. Prown to be easily broken? or is it simply disabled?
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Thanks for sharing.
"Ouch.... that's always a bummer. Hopefully it did make it's way to you somehow?"
- Yes, I would pick my bag up from Frankfurt, this week.
"I've seen several systems like those with several airlines, but it feels like the usb part is never working. At least It never did for me. Prown to be easily broken? or is it simply disabled?"
- I could tell the same thing, %90 of the time in the same system, they don't work. Probably LH Tecknik is blaming on Panasonic for the issue and don't want to fix it.
They should have simply put the USB port in the armrest but I don't know who would care about my suggestion.
Once again thanks for stopping by and hope to see you in another report.
- Yes, I would pick my bag up from Frankfurt, this week.
- I could tell the same thing, %90 of the time in the same system, they don't work. Probably LH Tecknik is blaming on Panasonic for the issue and don't want to fix it.
They should have simply put the USB port in the armrest but I don't know who would care about my suggestion.
Once again thanks for stopping by and hope to see you in another report.
It might not have been cheap either to change your flight for a one later on that day, had tere been empty seats.
You're very nice with LH catering, I find it very basic especially for Y+ and not even serving you the regular Y+ snack 45 minutes before landing is petty.
But I reckon the extra room and better seat is mostly what matters here.
- LH is good dealing with same day changes. However, with the 'N' fare ( discounted PE ), I was definitely going to pay something. In the end, I had to travel with a backpack for 2 months and checked baggage ( when I need ) but at least I am traveling to Frankfurt this week to pick it up and meet some friends.
- I don't know why but I always enjoy LH catering for flights from FRA. However, yes, the meal seems basic for Y+ but at least it was not that basic as the inbound flight. The part that I was served the Y snack was probably because of that the crew didn't want to open the PE meal tray that they have already locked in the galley.
- The extra legroom and the better seat is one of the most important parts choosing Premium Economy. Even though I could sleep easily on Economy Class seats as well, in this case, the price difference with Y was very small so it was worth it.
Thank you for your comment and hope to see you in another report.
- LH is good dealing with same day changes. However, with the 'N' fare ( discounted PE ), I was definitely going to pay something. In the end, I had to travel with a backpack for 2 months and checked baggage ( when I need ) but at least I am traveling to Frankfurt this week to pick it up and meet some friends.
- I don't know why but I always enjoy LH catering for flights from FRA. However, yes, the meal seems basic for Y+ but at least it was not that basic as the inbound flight. The part that I was served the Y snack was probably because of that the crew didn't want to open the PE meal tray that they have already locked in the galley.
- The extra legroom and the better seat is one of the most important parts choosing Premium Economy. Even though I could sleep easily on Economy Class seats as well, in this case, the price difference with Y was very small so it was worth it.
Thank you for your comment and hope to see you in another report.
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