Peachy the Fox - New Frontier A320

I spotted Frontier's new A320, N229FR leased from CIT, with Peachy the Fox on the tail.  I like the new look with animal photos more social media style than Mangelsen style wildlife photography of the old tails.

New Look Fox Airplane

Old Look Airplanes

Lufthansa European Business Class Meals

I ordered the fish and loved it. Yes, on a two hour from from Madrid to Frankfurt I ordered the white fish option.  Risky, except I was flying Lufthansa and they have the best food on airplanes.  It was all really good.  They even serve a full meal on the 189 mile flight from Frankfurt to Brussels.  I wish American carriers fed passengers as well.  There's real food in the lounges too, so be careful not to fill up on the ground.

White Fish Meal from Madrid to FRA

Pork Option on Two Hour Flight

Quick Bite to Eat on BRU-FRA Route

Quick Snack on 737 to Brussels

Hot Coach Meal FRA-MAD on an A321

747 Business Class Dinner Chicago to FRA

747 Business Class Breakfast Chicago to FRA

JetBlue Bags Made From Recycled Uniforms

JetBlue has partnered with Manhattan Portage to transform of crew uniforms into trendy new bags.  The bags look cool, but I don't like the JetBlue brand enough to spend about $100 on a bag I would rarely use.  They are running a contest to win a trip to New York too.

JetBlue A320's

Sensible Germans Use Fewer Titles

Ze sensible Germans at Lufthansa have a simple and practical list of titles for customers to select.  It's a funny cultural contrast to British Airways' title obsession.

Lufthansa A320 at Madrid

Lufthansa titles: Mr, MrDr, MrProf, Mrs, Mstr, MrsDr, MrsProf, Ms.

Budapest Airshow & WIZZ AIR Flyover

The Budapest airshow goes right down the Danube in the center of town and WIZZ AIR's A320 did a cool low lever fly by.  Enjoy some pictures and video from WIZZ AIR.

Photo from WIZZ AIR

Photo from WIZZ AIR

Photo from WIZZ AIR

Photo from WIZZ AIR

Photo from WIZZ AIR

And a video:

Denver Airport Is A Zoo

I enjoy puns, even bad ones.

Frontier Airlines Jets at DEN

United Airlines A319 First Class Seat 1A

I have mixed feelings about United's A319 aircraft.  Seats 21A and 21F do not have a seat in front of them, so you have about 50 in of leg room.  The first class cabin however has only 8 seats.  It's always a difficult flight to clear an upgrade, especially when flying hub to hub or at peak times.  On my most recent flight, my upgrade cleared at the gate (1K on a Q fare flying on a Sunday morning DEN-SFO if you are interested).

United A319 Seat 1A

The first class seat in United's Airbus fleet is very comfortable and has plenty of recline.  There isn't too much legroom, but the bulkhead for 1A and 1B has a cutout for a little more space.  No meal was served (United A319 lunch review) and I was able to get in almost two hours of work on the flight.  The flight went fast and was a nice trip all around with some fun views coming into SFO.

United Airlines A319 Parked at Denver

Good Morning

It's (always) a great day to fly.  I'm grounded this weekend until finals are over.

Sunrise at DEN

Lufthansa Slim Line Airbus Seats

Slim line seats are coming to the US, Southwest is adding narrow seats and extra rows on their jets.  Lufthansa (and Swiss and Austrian Airlines which they own) has updated their Airbus fleet with these seats.  They are super skinny and have almost no padding. They are fine for a one or two hour flight, but I wouldn't want to be stuck in them for longer than 2 hours.  I do like the seat pocket redesign that provides more knee room.

Lufthansa Slim Seats

Leg room and seat back design

Center seat blocked for business class

First Mileage Run of 2013

I'm taking my first flights of 2013 this weekend and am flying just for the miles.  I found and booked a cheap fare to PHL with an out of the way stop in each direction.  I'm not going to leave the airport in PHL, just get on the airplane I took in and go home. The primary purpose of this trip is to inexpensively boost my elite mileage total.  I also hope to do some reading and work on homework.  One day I'll have a job that gets me 1K status with work travel (again).

United A320

More Pictures I Like

I took my new camera (Nikon D7000 with my not as new Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 lens) on my Christmas trip to see the family and kept it handy on the flight back.  I grabbed some fun (mostly US Airways) pictures along the way.

US Airways A320

US Airways A321 Take Off

US Airways 767-200

US Airways A320 First Class Lunch Review

I had a bad first impression with US Airways first class last month.  They got a second chance last week and I had a much better experience.  I was on an older, former America West, A320 and the seat reclined about 1 inch.  There was no wifi (first class has to pay if available) or other form of entertainment offered other than the meal service.

US Airways First Class Lunch - It's Chicken

The meal service was a choice of chicken or pasta.  I went with chicken (too many bad pasta experiences, even though it looked good for my seatmate) and enjoyed it thoroughly.  There was great flavor to the main dish. I also like the Caesar salad and cheese and tomato dish. Desert was a light lemon cake, but I didn't eat much because I was comfortable full from the main dish.  A snack basket with chips, cookies, and other treats was passed around after about two hours and available to pick over until landing. It's a nice touch I hope United will copy and help cement a good experience despite an uncomfortable seat.

US Airways First Class Dessert

US Airways A320 First Class to PHX

Work let me book first class!  This was a first for me.  My corporate travel policy, like most, requires booking the lowest available fare.  For a last minute late night trip from DEN to IND, the discounted first class ticket (A fare class) was cheaper than the full fare coach ticket (Y fare class).  Flying first from DEN to PHX fit the policy.  I have never paid to fly first and was excited to see what US Airways had to offer.

US Airways Airbus First Class Seat - Does Not Recline

As it happens, all they offer on evening flights is Shock Top beer, Cape Cod chips, friendly service, and a seat that does not recline.  The broken seat isn’t a standard offering, but the cabin was full and I couldn’t change seats.  I emailed US Airways and they said they would alert maintenance.  No real (coupon, discount voucher, drink ticket, etc.) apology was offered.  Bummer.

US Airways first class meal review here.

Helsinki – Munich – Tokyo Lufthansa Business Class A340-600 and A320 Review

After an enlightening conversation about customer experience management, I was heading from Helsinki to Munich and then off to Tokyo.  Lufthansa recently implemented a new strategy to upgrade the intra-European flight experience, upgrading seats and meals in business class and coach.  The improvements are a stunning innovation in the inflight experience.  The seats are super slim line; the seat backs have been redesigned to create more room for your knees.  The seats are comfortable too, at least for the two hour flight.  The rows are actually closer together than before (with one or two more rows on board), but it feels like there is more space in the cabin. The business class seats are the same as coach in size in pitch (distance to the row in front), but you have an empty middle seat every time (the flight wasn't full, so I had an empty row).

Lufthansa A320 Business Class Seats

Everyone gets something to eat, even in coach.  Lunch in business class was really tasty and had a great variety of flavors.  The portions were not large, but it felt more filling and satisfying that the standard large United offering.  The meal consisted of tatar of smoked trout on beetroot slices, ragout fin with mussels and basmati vegetable rice, and lime-blossom pudding with mulberry jam (yes, they included a menu).  All were delicious and accompanied by attentive service.  I doubt these are much more expensive or more difficult to prepare than domestic meals and I wish United will follow Lufthansa’s lead.

Lufthansa A320 Business Class Meal

The Munich Airport ground experience (in the new international terminal) has a great visual design with a modern German look, but it also includes an excessive amount of walking.  I first had to walk to customs to leave the EU (there is an elite lane at the far end).  I then walked a bit to the Lufthansa Senator lounge.  I enjoyed some pleasant German snacks and some local beer.  The lounge is a great place to relax even if for only 15 minutes, like my travels for example (tight connection + excessive walking).  I grabbed an ice cream to go, did some duty free shopping (got a cool poster by afm-news.de of all the different planes that fly out of MUC), and arrived at the gate just in time for the start of boarding.

Lufthansa Senator Lounge - Munich

The seat map online showed the rear business class cabin only had four other people in it.  This is great news because the plane wouldn't feel crowded like on my flight from Denver.  I had open seats all around a sense of privacy.  I would be the last for dinner and drink service, so I risked some options not being available, but I think it is worth it for the secluded environment.  

Quiet family on other side of cabin and many open seats

The business class seats (ditto first class) on Lufthansa's fleet of A340's and A330's are dated. So much so that Lufthansa has started to slowly replace them.  I was not fortunate enough to fly in the new layout, but instead became very familiar with angled lay flat seats.  They can be a comfortable chair, but they are awful as a bed.  The seats are a little too firm and are at a ~30 degree to the floor, so you slide out of them.  The tv is a good size and full of movies and shows you actually want to watch (it did break for about 20 minutes, the seat controls are on the same system and were inoperable).  Luckily Lufthansa's service is superb, so the flight was enjoyable.

Lufthansa A340-600 Business Class Seats

Lufthansa A340 Business Class Leg Room

Broken AVOD Screen, the Seat Controls Also Froze

I wanted to start my transition to an Eastern mentality on the flight and (daringly) ordered the Japanese meal to start.  The flight attendants brought me a fork too, I didn't even need to ask.  When the tray arrived I felt a little perplexed with what was in front of me.  I must have looked perplexed too because the flight attendant offered to explain what was before me and how it worked.  I also got a few pretzel rolls (and more Johnny Walker Black) just in case.  The meal was very tasty and there were some new flavors and textures for me.  The eel (upper left) was outstanding.

Lufthansa Business Class Japanese Meal pt 1

After reading the menu to know what I just ate (best done after eating Japanese food, not before), I was looking forward to my next course.  I was hoping to have the Western meal for my main dish, but was told I couldn't switch half way. I was a little disappointed that this wasn't mentioned when ordering, but resigned to a fate of further adventure.  I wasn't keen on the soup, but the fried duck and rice were excellent.  I went farther outside my comfort zone than planned and enjoyed the experience.  

Lufthansa Business Class Japanese Dinner pt 2

After a movie and less than comfortable rest, I opted for the Western breakfast before landing.  It was all very good and my last safe meal (or so I thought) before I landed in LA three days later.  

Lufthansa Business Class Western Breakfast

Once I landed and cleared customs, I headed to buy a ticket for the Narita Express train.  Cabs are crazy expensive, so the train is the way to go.

Narita Express Train

Denver to Frankfurt and Helsinki - Lufthansa A340 & A320 Business Class

“I flew around the world last week” is fun to say. Give it a try, I’ll wait. Earlier in the year I booked US Airways’ around the world award (on the award chart as a round trip to North Asia) and ever since I was patiently waiting for this trip. Once my departure date finally came, I arrived at Denver International Airport early and I was almost jumping with excitement when I saw the aircraft taxi to the gate in Denver.

My Trip Map, from http://www.gcmap.com

The first flight was on Lufthansa’s A340-600 aircraft from Denver to Frankfurt.  I was eager to fly a new airplane model (for me) and this one is special; it is the longest Airbus made.  It looks cool from the outside, but the plane feels crowded, even in business class.  I took a lap of coach and it seemed to be a never ending expanse of seats, all filled. 

Pretzel Roll and Tender Steak Appetizer 

Back in business class, the seat is flat, but at a noticeable angle, 30ish degrees, to the floor (more detail in my MUC-NRT post).  It is more than six feet long and has decent, but not great, padding.  Each seat has its own video on demand system with a mix of music, movies, and tv shows.  A bottled water and amenity kit are waiting at each seat when boarding.  Lufthansa knows this business class seat (First class is a large recliner, even more dated) is at least one generation behind the current marketplace standard and will be upgrading their fleet with the new seats similar to those on the 747-800.  There are a few A340's with these new seats, but I didn’t luck out.

Business Class Steak Entree

Cheese Plate and Another Pretzel Roll

I didn’t sleep well on my flight; I tossed and turned for a while then just watched a few movies before breakfast.  Sun rise came quickly and I had an omelet.  It was a little bland, but the tater-tots and coffee were both great and picked me up.  

Lufthansa's Business Class Breakfast

Once on the ground, I quickly cleared customs (thank you Irish passport) and went straight to the arrivals lounge.  Lufthansa has an welcome lounge for business and first class passengers on the ground floor in FRA (Lufthansa and SWISS passengers only, Star Alliance Gold won’t help).  It has showers, good food spread, and comfortable seating.  It is on the ground side of security, so you’ll need to leave early to clear security and find your gate.  I left a little premature and went to the business class lounge by my gate.  It was crowded, but had a hot dog cart with good German mustard, so I didn’t care.  I also had an ice cream cone and a Scotch.  Not a bad lounge really and not a bad way to circle the globe.

Lufthansa FRA Business Class Lounge Hot Dog Cart

Crowded Lounge in Frankfurt

Lufthansa has invested in their intra-Europe inflight experience with new seats and upgraded meals.  European business class seats are just coach seats with the middle seat empty.  The seats are comfortable for a 3 hour or shorter flight too.  The flight attendants were friendly and very attentive on this flight.  The meal was a delicious currywurst paired with a salmon something and mint chocolate dessert.  It was a very enjoyable flight and I read up on Helsinki on the way. 

All Delicious, But No Pretzel Rolls

Once the flight landed, I headed straight for the tourist information desk to buy a Helsinki Card and then catch the Finnair City bus into town.

Good Morning From IAD

Sunrise is a pretty time to be at the airport, stop for a moment and enjoy it sometime.

Sunrise at IAD