Boarding began promptly at 12:45pm for the flight over to Delhi and it was almost a free for all because of there really not being any division in boarding groups among business class passengers.
We somehow navigated through the chaos and managed to board earlier than most people in business class. Lufthansa operates the Airbus A380 on flights to New Delhi, which has over 78 business class seats on the upper deck. It’s hardly a personalized product and you can really feel part as if you are part of a production line given how big the cabin is on this aircraft. However we lucked out with a super nice FA (her name tag said N. Singh) who pretty much made sure we were comfortable throughout the flight.
The main difference between the A330’s business cabin and the A380’s is the extra storage on the side. The storage space in these bins is so vast that they can fit huge pillows, let alone my tiny laptop. Slippers and a holiday inspired amenity kit were already available at the seat.
The menu was handed out with the usual welcome drink (choice of champagne or orange juice). I really didn’t look through the menu because I had already ordered an Asian Vegetarian Meal (AVML),
At approximately 1:45 pm we began our push back from the gate and took off shortly thereafter. Interestingly enough we were parked next to a TAM 777, and there were no other Lufthansa planes to be seen nearby.
The views along the way were gorgeous as we flew over Eastern Europe and Romania:
It was winter so the sun was already pretty low on the horizon even with us being just 3 hours out of Frankfurt.
About an hour into the flight, meal service began with the usual choice of drink and mixed nuts. Shortly thereafter the food came out, which was among the best AV meals I’ve had, I skipped desert and tried to skip the meal before landing, but the FA insisted that I eat something. The second meal felt a little repetitive with them serving a rice dish once again and I ended up not eating much. It was also all served on one tray, which made it seem more like a re-plated economy class meal. The crew left some holiday themed gingerbread cookies and water bottles after lunch service was through, which was a nice touch given the holiday season.
Service throughout the flight was incredibly fast and since I looked like I was busy working on the laptop, the FA was more than happy to clear the trays as soon as I was done. This can’t be said for the rest of the passengers because I even heard one guy complain loudly that his tray was never cleared. My parents said they had a horrible experience with the service themselves so clearly I lucked out with a super nice crew member who came by and checked up on how I was doing every so often.
I worked on my pictures and blog posts throughout the flight with some heavy drinking of Diet Coke, and before I knew it we began our descent into New Delhi. We landed just before 1 AM local time to an extremely foggy airport. I have no idea how the landing was done at all 🙂 I’m always surprised because this seems to be the norm when landing in the Indian capital, during the winter.
One of the truly incredible transformations in India over the past decade or so have been the airports. They have truly become some of the finest anywhere in the world with regard to design, decor, and even cleanliness. The sculptures and ambiance of the New Delhi airport is an especially nice touch because of it symbolizing the richness of Indian culture. When you enter a new country, you want to know you are in for an unique experience. And there is really no doubting where you have arrived when you see the Mudras sculptures while going down the escalator to the immigration halls.
Passing through immigration was a quick and easy affair, which was not always the case a few years ago when they didn’t have this many counters. It did take us a while to realize however, that our luggage hadn’t arrived. Lufthansa didn’t manage to transfer our bags to the new flight, departing a day late, from Frankfurt. Surprisingly reporting the missing bag was extremely easy given the airline staff going around with iPads, assisting customers with baggage issues. They were immediately able to locate the bags on the system and issue us a baggage form.
While filing the missing baggage reports at Delhi, we noticed that everyone had left and that this dog had not been picked up yet. The poor thing was probably starving having been in the cargo hold by itself for many hours. One of the airport staff gave it a few dog biscuits while they figured out who the owner was and whether the dog had to return home. I didn’t see who ended up picking up the dog.
A hotel car was waiting for us after leaving the baggage claim area and we were on our way to the Holiday Inn New Delhi Airport. Stay tuned for that review…..
Bottom Line:
Lufthansa business class may not be the most special of experiences in the sky, but it does the job quite well. The food, service, lounges, and timeliness of the airline always seem a little above its European counterparts in my experiences. The service on this particular flight was a bit of an anomaly really, which is probably due to the completely full business class cabin. However this might just be because I don’t fly on Lufthansa A380s very often (DFW is only served by the A330).
The one major downside of LH business continues to be the seat. It is the least private lie flat of any carrier. With that being said, I will most certainly fly Lufthansa again given the chance because they release the most number of award seats out of any transatlantic carrier. And in case of emergencies, business class seats are always available using Miles and More, which is a SPG transfer partner.
What’s your opinion on Lufthansa Business Class? And of course should the dog have been left in the cargo hold without anyone to tend to it?
TRIP INDEX
Introduction: Incredible India
Focal Point: Incredible India in 8 Pictures
AMEX Centurion Lounge – DFW
Lufthansa Business Class Lounge DFW
Lufthansa A330 Business DFW-Frankfurt
Lufthansa Business Lounge Gate B21
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Frankfurt
Lufthansa A380 Business Frankfurt – Delhi
Holiday Inn – New Delhi Int’l Airport
Air India Economy Delhi – Udaipur
Taj Lake Palace – Udaipur
Focal Point: Lake Pichola
Hyatt Regency New Delhi
Air India Business Class Lounge – Intl Departures T3
Plaza Premium Lounge – Intl Departures T3
Air India 777 Business Class Delhi – Hyderabad
Westin Mindspace – Hyderabad
Focal Point: Golconda Fort
Focal Point: Raitu Bazaar
Plaza Premium Lounge – Hyderabad Intl Airport
British Airways Club World Hyderabad-London
No. 1 Lounge London-Heathrow T3
BA Galleries Lounge Heathrow – Terminal 3
AA 777W Business Class London – DFW
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