introduction + trip information
Welcome to the last installment of my Winter 2018/2019 trip to the US! In this report, I'll be flying a Lufthansa A350-900 in Economy Class from Chicago to Munich. In case you missed the other flights in this series, be sure to read those Flight-Reports, too!
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5LH435 - Economy - Chicago → Munich - Airbus A350-900
chicago o'hare international airport (ord)
I was hoping that my inbound from LaGuardia would be delayed as to cut short my 8 hour layover. But unfortunately, UA1697 was early and my connecting flight to Munich was 2 hours late due to the weather in Germany. Ah well. At least I had lounge access. After I deplaned, I headed to concourse C to check out the first of 3 United Clubs I'd visit that day.
A look at the A319 which brought me from LGA.
Am I the only one who loves United's ad campaigns?
Granted, on this one I'd prefer it to say Seattle Seahawks instead of Chicago Bears, but hey, we are in Chicago.
Going through the coolest tunnel in the world.
Made it to concourse C…
united club c16
…and the United Club at gate C16.
Only one picture of the crowded lounge.
A nice view of two beautiful United 777s.
wandering through the terminal
After a very short visit there, I decided to head back to the B Gates. But first, another shot of concourse C.
United 737-800 off to Tampa.
Another great United ad.
Through the tunnel again, which also plays a classic American song, Rhapsody in Blue. Rhapsody in Blue is also United's theme song. You can listen to a part of it below.
And here's a video I found of the tunnel with a slow version of the song.
After 3 minutes in the tunnel, I found myself back at concourse B.
united club b6
The next United Club I visited was across from gate B6. I believe it's the largest United Club at ORD.
The entire lounge, apart from the reception, is one floor up from the rest of the terminal.
As you can see, it's pretty nice.
Unfortunately, there are no good views of the tarmac, just of people in the terminal.
There is a water bar with different types of water.
After 2 hours in the lounge, I decided to leave…
…and head to the last lounge of the day…
united club b18
…the United Club at gate B18.
I had a very nice chat with the receptionist about how United has been improving, which ended with us talking about life in Europe vs. America, as I can attest to living in both. Let's just say that they both have their pros and cons.
Cool lighting.
The other reception area.
The buffet included the typical chips, hummus, carrot sticks, cheese, and chili con carne.
My flight showing as on time. Interesting, as the inbound aircraft was 2 hours late.
A nice chandelier in the lounge.
My view for 3 hours.
At 10PM, the remaining guests of the lounge (of which 95% were on my LH flight) had to leave the lounge, as it closed. The staff members were very apologetic, and wished us a pleasant flight. Of all the United Clubs I visited, the last one was my favorite because of the friendly staff, and because it was empty for the entire duration of my stay. The positive of leaving the lounge was that I could visit the tunnel one last time.
boarding + initial impressions
At long last, our aircraft arrived at gate B17. Doing the honors would be D-AIXC, a 2017-built Airbus A350-941 named Saarbrücken. It was delivered new to Lufthansa in March 2017.
At the gate next to mine, a United 757-300 had arrived from LAX.
A ton of gate lice lined up around 10 minutes before boarding. I decided to join in, just because I want a few cabin pics without the aircraft being full.
I'll be in 24K tonight.
Finally down the jetbridge, 3h after the departure time.
At least I was greeted to a nice and fresh cabin.
At my seat.
Cabin from my seat.
A photo of Munich as the backdrop of the IFE.
Boarding complete with an empty middle seat, which means more legroom. Yay! Unfortunately, my neighbor decided to claim to middle seat for her jacket :( I claimed the middle seat's legroom though.
A beaten-up safety card.
lufthansa 435 - chicago to munich
A very energized Captain Ingo apologized profusely for the delay (which he confirmed was caused due to wintry weather in Munich) and promised to try to make up as much time as possible in the air. A flight time of 7:55 was announced. A very nice wing view from my seat.
Let's take a look at the IFE.
A lot of options…
…but only one was really cool.
OMG, the quality of the cameras on the A350 really astound me.
Pushing back.
I love LH's safety video intro.
One last look at a United tail for a while.
Flaps 2.
Taxiing to Runway 25R.
The Spirit/American terminal.
departure from chicago
Lining up with the runway at taxiway EE.
Starting our super short roll.
And airborne after rolling for 28 seconds!
Right turn.
Tailcam after departure.
Another right turn towards Europe.
Downtown Chicago again.
Leaving Illinois behind.
After departure, I decided to watch Catch Me If You Can.
dinner service
The crew started the service very quickly so people could catch up on sleep. Firstly was a hot towel.
As I was very hungry, I'm glad they served the food before the drinks.
On the side were a salad and some cake. Not even close to what SWISS offered.
I did appreciate the real cutlery.
For the main, we were offered pasta or chicken. I chose the latter. At best, it could be described as meh.
As a drink, I chose water with lemon.
mid-flight
I took a quick walk after dinner. The cabin lights stayed like this for the night (at least while I was awake).
I went to sleep around here…
…and woke up as we were over Northern Ireland.
breakfast service
A very weak breakfast was served around 1:20 before arrival. A stale fruit salad and a muffin which was at least a day old. The Oreos were the best part of the meal.
More lemon water for me.
I still can't get over that tailcam!
Almost over German airspace.
arrival into munich
The captain made another announcement shortly before we commenced our descent. He said that the weather was really wintry: snow and gusty winds. He again apologized for the delay and thanked us for flying Lufthansa.
Who else loves the A350 winglet?
Lufthansa 747-400.
Cloudsurfing on our descent.
CAT III approach.
First sight of land.
Almost down.
Very smooth landing on Runway 26L.
Exiting the runway on to a snow-covered taxiway.
Taxiing with flaps full due to icing (I asked the captain after the flight).
Lufthansa A340-600 (D-AIHI 'Mönchengladbach') with the new livery off to JFK as LH410 .
Air Canada 777-300ER (C-FITU) off to Toronto.
Pulling in to our gate next to an Etihad 777-300ER (A6-ETR) from Abu Dhabi.
Deplaning through Premium Economy and Business Class.
The awesome Captain invited me into the cockpit after I started asking questions about the flight! What a beautiful cockpit. Thanks, Captain!
routing of lh435
Thanks for joining on this trip. Stay tuned for my next series, covering a short February trip to Sofia, Bulgaria.
Oreo's for breakfast? That's a new one for me!
I had the exact same breakfast from Newark once, and again the Oreos were the best part.
Thanks for this FR.
Again the main problem with LH Y class is catering, really basic and small.
MUC based crews have a better reputation than FRA's, so I'm not surprised you found them friendly.
Thanks for reading!
I agree that the catering in LH Y sucks, but I do like it on Europe-West Coast flights. When I flew FRA-SEA in 2017, we were given two pasta dishes, one after takeoff, and one prior to arrival. Actually the pre-arrival meal into Seattle in Y is better than in J IMHO, because in J you only get a small soup and a salad.
I agree, though the younger flight attendants are usually good no matter from which base.
Again, thanks for your comment, and I hope to see you in another report soon.
Thanks for sharing this report with nice pictures! For an 8+hour layover in O’Hare, I would definitely go to the Loop and back to the airport :)
I'd prefer it to say Chicago Cubs instead of Chicago Bears, but hey, AA robbed the Cubs sponsor lol
Glad you can enter the C16 United Club, I was denied enter last time because it was too crowded…
The LH A350 looks very nice with the seats, IFE, lighting, better than 748... just the catering is too meh. I think United even have better breakfast since they will give you warm croissant.
I totally agree even on intercontinental flights.
Looking forward to your next report.
Hey ashleyyau, thanks for stopping by my report!
Yeah I agree, I should have gone to the loop, and maybe stopped by Giordano's for some pizza too :)
Wow, I can't imagine being turn away at a lounge. Ok, maybe if I was flying Lufthansa, but were you flying United in F or J? Very interesting.
It is very nice, but I haven't flown the 748 in Y, so I wouldn't be able to compare. Yeah, the catering is LH's weak spot. I totally agree that UA would be better catering wise. Thanks for leaving a comment, and I hope to see you again in another report :)
Saved the best for last ?
? But I want more, haha.
It's nice that you seem to be a true fan of UA...you don't see that too often and it's refreshing, to be honest. UA's been fighting an uphill battle with a poor reputation since the merger, but I'm starting to think that much of that poor reputation is undeserved as UA seems to be making a lot of effort to improve. Maybe the new branding is working on me (oooh pretty colors...yes, I'm basic, haha), but I've gone from completely avoiding UA to being open to flying them again. Baby steps. It would help if they weren't taking a million years to retrofit aircraft with Polaris seats!
It is rather sexy...though I believe technically it's a "sharklet" since it's an Airbus ? #SuperNerd
Well put. The cabin is pretty and the hard product looks very nice, but the meals were definitely for 5* material. I feel like the whole 5* thing is based almost solely on their F product.
Looking forward to new adventures in the future!
Thanks for your comment! Glad you enjoyed it.
There will be more in less than 72 hours ;)
I totally am! United is my favorite airline. Of course, they aren't the best in the world, and I know that, but there's something about United that I love. Whenever I board a United flight, it feels like I'm home.
You should! You'll like it!
Which even I think is overrated.
I'm looking forward to seeing you there!