StarMegaDO4: LAX-FRA On A Lufthansa 747-400

Thanks for following along on StarMegaDO4.  Previous posts can be found here:

StarMegaDO4:  Getting Under Way

StarMegaDO4: Sheraton Gateway LAX Review

StarMegaDO4: Lufthansa LAX-FRA Departure And Star Alliance Lounge

After fully feeding and watering ourselves in the Star Alliance lounge, the group headed down to our gate to board our flight.

A friend of mine once said when she gets on a transatlantic flight she’s only willing to fly if she turns left when she boards (meaning she’s in First Class).  That’s a bit more picky then I am, but I sure was happy to be boarding my flight to end up in a comfortable Business Class seat rather then hanging out in the back of the plane.  The 747-400 is a bit of a tired plane in Lufthansa’s fleet, so the seat is not up to the specs of some of the newer generation configurations.  That being said, it was still plenty comfortable.

Last year, on StarMegaDO3, I ended up on the same type of aircraft on our way back from Frankfurt.  That was a flight where I crossed two things off my bucket list.  I sat in the very first row on the lower level where the curvature of the plane actually allows you to see forward to some degree, which is a pretty cool view.  I also ended up getting an in-flight upgrade to First, so I was able to climb the stairs to the top deck.  I wouldn’t be crossing anything off my bucket list this flight, but I was seated in the front section of Business Class again.  As it turns out, our group ended up having every seat but one in the front section.  We solved that problem shortly after boarding when the one gentleman not in our group wanted to relocate, and we had our own mini-lounge in the sky.

Not long before boarding we learned that our plane was equipped with FlyNet, Lufthansa’s satellite based internet system.  That was a huge plus for me as I was able to get some work done on the flight and keep in touch with family.  10 hours is a long time to be disconnected nowadays.  We were handed menus shortly after takeoff and our meal service began.  Since my last flight overseas, the wine selections have changed a bit.  I generally prefer sparkling wine as a starter for any meal, so I ordered a glass of the Jacquart Brut.  It wasn’t terribly pleasing, so I decided to switch to red wines.  With my appetizer of Tuna Carpaccio, I sampled both of the red wines on the menu.

While billed as a tuna carpaccio, this was more a seared tuna dish sliced much thicker then a standard carpaccio.  It was accompanied by a spicy aioli which was a solid accompaniment.  It was pepper crusted, which was a nice touch with the sweet and spicy sauce, although there was a bit too much pepper.

The first red wine I sampled was the Chateau La Roque de By from the Medoc region.  This is not a style of wine I would normally choose.  It was about what I expected, not something I enjoyed.  The description of the second wine sounded interesting. It was Kamptal Zweigelt Weingut Brundlmayer, from Austria.  The description sounded more my style, peppery with fruit on the finish.  The wine turned out to disappoint, though.  While the first taste wasn’t too bad, it had a medicinal flavor and not much in the way of body.  Thankfully, my seat mate had asked the flight attendant to put a Warsteiner on ice for him (one of my favorite European beers) so I stole that and enjoyed it.

For an entrée, I had the tenderloin with sweet potato hash and plum chutney.  Steak is always a tough choice on an airplane since it’s usually cooked more then I like.  But, I wasn’t particularly interested in the other two choices.  There was a shrimp dish with a fennel reduction and an eggplant cannelloni.  Never really been an eggplant fan, and as Tommy777 said, the fennel smell was pretty overwhelming from the food cart.  My steak was decent, maybe a bit tougher then I would have expected but still tasty.  The sweet potato hash was a solid side item for the steak.  The plum chutney was a bit too sweet of a steak accompaniment for my taste.

Dessert was a cheese course, apple spice cake and a fruit salad.  No pictures here, since I was way past tired.  I passed out for 6 hours of restless sleep.  The older generation of the Lufthansa business class seat is not as comfortable as the version I’ve experienced on the A380, so it was tough to get comfortable.  That being said, I was asleep before everyone else in the cabin and managed to sleep right through breakfast.  I had a few moments to freshen up before landing and our quick welcome by Lufthansa in their new terminal at Frankfurt.