introduction
Hello again amigos!
This FR is part of a series, of a trip from Madrid to Helsinki via Frankfurt.
Turns out flying across Europe to Finland's capital from Madrid isn't as straight forward as to other European capitals. There is only one direct flight sold by Finnair (operated by Iberia) at prices that match the hop to NY.
So we are left with connecting flights, Google showed me as options to connect in CDG (AF), AMS (KL) or FRA/MUC (LH). Turned out the Mrs. had a tonne of Lifemiles ripe for spending, the LM app offered a reasonable price through Frankfurt, so it was a no-brainer.
It had been almost a decade since my last LH flight (back in the day LH still offered a legacy service with catering and free seat selection, among other perks)…now it was a bit of a glorified LCC. So let's see how it goes.
At madrid barajas
Because of the very early departure time, we cought a Cabify to the airport, which dropped us in less than 20 minutes in T2.
To the left are UX counters
I forgot to take a pic of LH's counters. It was a bit crowded, tending to both the FRA and MUC departures. Swiss also uses the same counters.
Because of the Mrs' LM status, we were able to check in on the business counter, saving us the queue.
The retro board:
Security was passed in no time, as it was almost empty
We were into the dead terminal. Even if it is horrible compared to T4, I still find the T123 complex to be a decent place (much better than Lisbon for example).
Some of the planes outside
Knowing that no food was to be expected, we headed to the Puerta del Sol lounge for breakfast
We then went down to a fairly chaotic boarding…we were to be bussed to our A321
Into lufthansa's a321
Lufthansa operates some of the oldest Airbus A32Xs…and while they are kept in top shape…one can start to tell their age.
At least the seats aren't as horrible as Iberia's
For IFE whilst boarding, we finished our "This is US" episode
enroute to frankfurt
We took off in the dark from RWY 36L
Sunrise caught us in the air
I slept for most of the 2 hours to Germany… we were handed some water bottles anyways.
When I woke up we were about to land into a cloudy Frankfurt (the Westward approach to FR is one of my favourite, as it grants you amazing views of Mainhattan)
We first flew over the city
And then made a U turn to lign up with FRA's runways
The crew landed the A321 softly back home
Some of the traffic at FRA
The Tintin jet was there…as a huge Tintin fan, I love that plane!
There's no way not to guess who's the boss here
We left our ride and were left with a couple of hours to spare in FRA
And here this FR comes to an end…
Hi Chibcha,
Such a treat to board from the back door. Rarely get to do that these days, at least for me.
Yeah the Iberia one in the last review wasn’t great…
Simply stunning sunrise, goodness me.
You mention there was water provided, but any sort of snack service??
TINTIN!!!! I love Tintin as well. I had no idea there was a livery though. Great picture.
Thanks for sharing this flight report. Sucks to hear about Lufthansa and many others have said the same thing as you regarding it becoming an LLC. I Look forward to reading more about FRA airport.
Hi!
Its quite unusual in America. But it still happens often in Europe. The best part is the JetA1 smell...brings back memories of the good old days boarding 727s from the back stairs.
> You mention there was water provided, but any sort of snack service??
Nope. A bottle of water and a LH chocolate.
Thanks for passing by!
Am very jealous about that, perhaps it's my sign to head back. Woahh, you were flying 727's?? Am even more jealous now!
That's a big shame..
Have a good day Chibcha!
Helsinki, interesting! I'm going there in the fall and really looking forward to it!
Hah, they want to get you ready for FRA where there's also a big chance of being bussed to the next aircraft haha
Just a water bottle on a 2h flight is lame...LH carried on Covid service protocols for way longer than most other carriers in Europe to save a buck (or Euro)! To think pre-Covid this flight would have gotten a free sandwich. At least now they have Buy-on-board so you can get something more to eat if you want.
Thanks for sharing!