About a month ago I traveled to Japan for a vacation to the destination that had been at the top of my bucket list for quite some time.
In mid-March, I went to book my flight to Japan by using my United MileagePlus miles for me and my companion in J class. At the time, the only award availability being shown from New York was to travel the long way around, by flying LH from NYC to FRA and continuing on to KIX. Options to Tokyo weren’t any better. This annoyed me; but after checking back day after day to see if anything better opened up, I noticed the flight time to Osaka from NYC was the same connecting in FRA as it would be to connect in SFO, both being 20hrs and 5 minutes. With no better options opening up, I decided to book the LH flight through FRA.
After a lot of anticipation and some very heavy traffic, we arrived at JFK roughly 2.5 hours before our flight. As an NYC flyer that only uses EWR and LGA, my first impressions of JFK were very good. It seemed much more modern than any of the other NYC airports. The LH check-in counters were empty when we arrived, but the security lines were not.
In mid-March, I went to book my flight to Japan by using my United MileagePlus miles for me and my companion in J class. At the time, the only award availability being shown from New York was to travel the long way around, by flying LH from NYC to FRA and continuing on to KIX. Options to Tokyo weren’t any better. This annoyed me; but after checking back day after day to see if anything better opened up, I noticed the flight time to Osaka from NYC was the same connecting in FRA as it would be to connect in SFO, both being 20hrs and 5 minutes. With no better options opening up, I decided to book the LH flight through FRA.
After a lot of anticipation and some very heavy traffic, we arrived at JFK roughly 2.5 hours before our flight. As an NYC flyer that only uses EWR and LGA, my first impressions of JFK were very good. It seemed much more modern than any of the other NYC airports. The LH check-in counters were empty when we arrived, but the security lines were not.
After getting through security, we made our way to the LH Senators Lounge, which was right past security. It was also pretty empty, since our flight wasn’t for another couple of hours. I helped myself to a couple Paulaner Hefeweizens and a couple snacks while we watched the sunset
About 30 minutes before our scheduled departure there was an announcement that it was time to board. We made our way to the gate and got in line for boarding to the 747-8i.
April 20th, 2016
LH 405
New York – JFK (ATD/STD): 22:34/21:55
Frankfurt – FRA (ATA/STA): 11:49/11:34
Flight Time: 07:15
747-8i
Business Class – Upper Deck
Upon entering the aircraft, we made our way upstairs to the stretched out upper deck of the 747-8i. We took our seats and were immediately offered a pre-departure beverage.
My first impression of the seat echoed pretty much what I read about LH’s new business class on the internet prior to flying, in that it is great for couples, but might not be the best for business/solo travelers. The seats angle toward each other and there is no partition or privacy from your neighbor. There is also a general lack of privacy with seats in the row behind. The gentleman sitting behind me switched on his reading light upon the dimming of the cabin lights. It illuminated the entire back half of the upper deck, and caused a huge glare on my personal TV. The seats themselves were on the firmer side, but comfortable. When the seat was fully reclined, my 6’2” frame could lie flay without bending my knees, but I had no room to spare
After a ground delay for some unknown reason, we taxied to the runway and took off right away. While we climbed to our cruising altitude I flipped on the entertainment system to see what kind of selection I was looking at. What I found was that the selection was essentially the same as what I would find on my UA flight coming home, so it was pretty decent.
The meal service started with some warm nuts and more drinks. I opted for yet another German beer. For the main course there were two choices, steak or ravioli. I chose the steak which came with a sad looking side salad. The steak itself was ok, kind of dry, but pretty similar what I found in BA J a few years ago. The service was very good for the duration of the flight, and especially during the meal. Every two minutes the stewardess responsible for us would walk slowly by us, observing whether or not we needed another drink or piece of bread. For dessert I got a cheese plate with some fruit.
The meal service started with some warm nuts and more drinks. I opted for yet another German beer. For the main course there were two choices, steak or ravioli. I chose the steak which came with a sad looking side salad. The steak itself was ok, kind of dry, but pretty similar what I found in BA J a few years ago. The service was very good for the duration of the flight, and especially during the meal. Every two minutes the stewardess responsible for us would walk slowly by us, observing whether or not we needed another drink or piece of bread. For dessert I got a cheese plate with some fruit.
Upon completion of dinner we were somewhere over Newfoundland and the turbulence got really bad for about 15 minutes. I queued up a couple movies to watch as my goal was to stay awake for the duration of the JFK-FRA sector, then sleep on the FRA-KIX leg, so I could calibrate to Japanese time quicker. I got an after dinner glass of Port and reclined my seat to almost flat. I noticed when the seat was flat, my knees kept hitting my travel buddy, who is small at 5’4”; if I hadn’t known the person sitting next to me, it probably could have gotten very awkward.
I managed to stay awake for the entirety of the Atlantic crossing. When we were over Manchester, UK, the cabin crew switched on the lights and began breakfast service. I was pretty disappointed with it, but it wasn’t a big deal since I figured I could get something to eat at FRA during our layover.
I managed to stay awake for the entirety of the Atlantic crossing. When we were over Manchester, UK, the cabin crew switched on the lights and began breakfast service. I was pretty disappointed with it, but it wasn’t a big deal since I figured I could get something to eat at FRA during our layover.
We began our descent into FRA on what looked like a perfect spring day outside. After being put in a holding pattern, we touched down at FRA roughly 15 minutes late
When we deplaned in FRA, we made our way to the LH Senator’s Lounge. It was very large and filled with Americans heading back to the US on afternoon LH and UA flights. I grabbed some breaded chicken and some fruit. We only spent roughly 30 minutes in the lounge since our flight to KIX was scheduled to board.
April 21st, 2016
LH 740
Frankfurt – FRA (ATD/STD): 13:54/13:30
Osaka – KIX (ATA/STA): 07:43/07:00
Flight Time: 10:48
747-400
Business Class – Upper Deck
Upon boarding the 747-400 and heading upstairs, it was clear that this plane was much older than the one we had just arrived on. Having said that, the seats were configured a little differently, as they didn’t angle towards each other, and we each had our own, large foot rests - meaning my partner and I would not have to play footsie on this leg. We were also provided with slippers which was a huge plus. When reclined on the 747-400, I had plenty of space, especially for my legs, and I think we both agreed the 747-400 seat was better thought out. In addition to the rearranged configuration, the seat controls allow you to adjust the firmness of your seat.
The load on this flight, at least in Business Class, was very light, probably somewhere around 35%. Based on the number of people at the gate in FRA, Economy must’ve been pretty empty as well. Prior to push back, the captain gave an announcement saying the flight time would be about an hour longer than usual since they did not get approvals to overfly Chinese airspace, so we had to fly around China and North Korea. During the takeoff roll I noticed that the 747-400 was noticeably louder than the 747-8, you could actually hear then engines roaring. Upon reaching our cruising altitude, we were served lunch that was a tandoori chicken with rice. There was also a Japanese option which I regretted not getting, as it was a lot more food, and looked very tasty as well. I then watched a movie, reclined and fell asleep. I woke up and there was still 4.5 hours left in the flight, meaning I slept for about 5 hours. At this point I was getting restless and I craved some fresh air.
As we neared KIX, the lights were switched on and breakfast was served. I opted for the Japanese breakfast (only half of it is pictured below) which consisted of various fishes, rice, miso soup, Japanese omelet and a couple other things along with some coffee; overall I thought the breakfast was very good.
As we neared KIX, the lights were switched on and breakfast was served. I opted for the Japanese breakfast (only half of it is pictured below) which consisted of various fishes, rice, miso soup, Japanese omelet and a couple other things along with some coffee; overall I thought the breakfast was very good.
When I finished breakfast we were descending over the Harima-Nada Sea. We then crossed Awaji Island and continued our approach over Osaka Bay which offered views of Kobe and southern parts of Osaka
We touched down at on the reclaimed island that houses KIX about 45 minutes late. We disembarked, cleared immigration and had our bags all in about 15 minutes. Shortly thereafter we were on an express train to Kyoto to start our vacation.
All-in-all, our experience on LH’s two variations of the 747 was good, from the service to the seat comfort and entertainment options. The one area for improvement was the food; all the meals were a little underwhelming, other than the Japanese breakfast I ordered.
All-in-all, our experience on LH’s two variations of the 747 was good, from the service to the seat comfort and entertainment options. The one area for improvement was the food; all the meals were a little underwhelming, other than the Japanese breakfast I ordered.