Boy, what a travel. Filled with tons of strange and nice things. Something to remember.
My employer is generous, we get Economy flight tickets but first class train tickets.
So I started this morning my trip from Düsseldorf to Frankfurt. I was standing in Section E of the train station waiting for the fast train.
Then the announcement: The train coaches are reversed today. First class coaches in A & B.
Among some other people I started my walk down the platform. Just to see that when the train arrived the first class coaches rushed past me.
Okay turn around and try to get as much train walking done outside on the platform. Inside it is always bumping into seats and people with your luggage.
Finally at Frankfurt airport I checked the Lost&Found for my book. Lufthansa had mailed me that the FraPort lost and found office handles all items.
Well that was not exactly right :) So they directed me to Lufthansa Lost and Found. Okay I lost the book, but nobody found it so far. So I claim it officially as lost.
I checked in my luggage, surprisingly no queue at check-in. I made my way down passed security and was just in time for preboarding.
A really long line and a very short one. Last time I flew (that flight always departs from A65 at Frankfurt) they had three lines.
I wonder what they tell the people, I never have been there in time to hear it. But the basic principle of the three lines is: the leftmost will check if you have “API OK” on your boarding card. Which means that the Advance Passenger Information is OK.
If its not you are redirected to line 2 or 3. Line 3 ends at a desk, you cannot board from there. It seems that there the codeshare airlines do their API collection.
Afterwards people get redirected to the first line. The second line is collecting the API for Lufthansa.
An odd setup and it seems that it is more wasting time of all people than being efficient.
As the Lufthansa API line was 5 people long, and the first check line about a hundred, I just stood in that line. The lady saw the API OK printing on my boardingpass and said
“have a nice flight”, and I could go in. The worst thing that can happen to you there is that you go in the first line, are redirected to the third, and from there back to the first.
I prefer sitting and reading newspaper in that time.
I was already a bit annoyed, as there were at least 3 babies around which were constantly crying. Boarding call. ah.
“We are Bording Economy… by seat numbers.. calling by… First and Business every time… Families with children can board ahead”
80% of the people jump up and rush to the plane. Okay, I can wait. of course, no rows were called. Before I boarded I was asked a few questions by a typical interviewer-student.
But she was nice and I had anyway only time to waste, so I answered here alll questions. She said quickly, so thats what I did, quite a rush :)
I sat down in row 51, seat H. A fact that will become important very soon. A lady is sitting at 51 K, window seat. Then two people arrive.
One has 51 J, but the other has: 51 K. No you are on my seat blaming, they both had seat 51 K. So the guy went to the flight attended to get this clarified.
I was joking to him: “I can go for you to business if you want to sit with your friend” The issue got clarified. The lady was seated accidentally there she should be seated somewhere else.
The guy took the window seat. Then another man popped up. He had also a seat that was taken: 51 H, he had my seat. He was worried if he would get this flight, as he was rebooked only yesterday to Lufthansa because American had to cancel a flight.
The FA got called back: “Who is Fabian Lange?” “Me” “You are the lucky one: 25G”
Thats right, here the reason for the title of this post. I was upgraded to business class. It is as if you enter a totally different world.
14 people sitting on room that is taken by 30-40 people in economy. A very great meal with great red wine. The seat was great, 4 buttons to change it position + massage feature. You can ly nearly flat.
However the buttons never really did what I wanted to, but I never sat so comfortable and could sleep so good in a plane.
Only a small minus: my seating neighbor was snoring like a pigeon. I never ever heard somebody making sounds like that. It was not really annoying, but so strange, that it woke me up some times.
It seems that my Thinkpad T43 consumes too much power. I tried both power outlets on the seat and neither was making my battery charge.
As Fortuna wanted, the In Flight Entertainment system in Economy was not working during the flight. But in Business everybody has his/her own one, so that worked fine. Entering US was surprisingly easy this time, perhaps because I was here last week.
Getting my bagging was more complicated, took nearly an hour to get it. Kind of slow, isn’t it?
I am only physically present in the meetings this afternoon, hope I survive the first night :)
See ya