Traveling with the Jones

After an amazing flight in Lufthansa First Class from Mumbai (BOM) to Frankfurt (FRA), we connected to another First Class flight to Chicago on Lufthansa flight #430.

Connecting in Frankfurt was a pain, as the planes are parked remotely (a non-gate position) and you have to go down stairs and then catch a bus. In First Class, we had a special van, but the driver just delivered us to the bus stop at Terminal 1. No one there, including at the Lufthansa Customer Service Counter, could tell us how to get to the First Class Lounge where there are direct transfers to the plane. (These conversations were hampered by our lack of German language skills and a lack of English skills of the Lufthansa staff we encountered.)

After following a circuitous route through the airport as directed by the signs, and going through a security screening, then on a train, we eventually got to departure gate Z 52. Boarding at the gate was chaotic.  

Finally, we got on board the Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which has first class in the front nose of the plane, rather than in the upper deck. You can see the full 747- 8 plane configuration here on Seat Guru. 

We chose seats 3 D and 3G, which are good for a couple traveling together, as you can see in the image above (from the Lufthansa web site.)

These seats in the B747-8’s First Class are single seats that convert to a flat bed, rather than the seat with a bed-beside First Class configuration on the Boeing 747-400. 

These newer style of seats have many adjustment controls, so your can configure your seat just how you like it.

Storage is fantastic in this arrangement, with spacious overhead bins, a personal wardrobe locker for each seat, and storage under the foot rest.

Here you can see the foot rest storage in the closed position.

Being in the front section of the main deck is said to be the quietest zone of the plane. (We still prefer the Upper Deck.)

Our flight, LH#430, was scheduled to depart Frankfurt at 10:45 am, arriving Chicago ten hours and 5 minutes later at 12:50 pm.

The purser presented everyone with a personalized menu.

A larger lunch was served just after take-off, with the following menu choices.

Lufthansa excels with its caviar service. I also choose the salad and artichoke ravioli, counting on pasta to induce sleep.

Below are all of the beverage choices for Lufthansa First Class (in April, 2014)

Four different white wines, plus Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995 champagne.

Four different red wines, as detailed above.

Dessert wine, liquors and port, offered in Lufthansa First Class in April, 2014, above

Cognac and spirits offered in Lufthansa First Class in April, 2014, above.

Four different German beers were a nice touch. As this was a daytime flight, no one appeared to be drinking much beyond a glass or two of champagne, and we didn’t either.

The tea selection, above, is nearly as impressive as the one in Air China’s “Hidden Pavilion.”

Shades were lowered after lunch service, and the entire first cabin was fairly dark, which was nice for sleeping on a daytime flight.

About an hour and a half before arrival in Chicago, a snack was served.

The backrooms in the First Class cabin were first class: sparkling clean, spacious, and with a window view.

The toilet seat had a cover (below) that turned into a bench helpful for those changing into the pajamas provided.

One of the very special touches of this flight, which took place the Thursday before Palm Sunday, was a gift for each First Class passenger.

The gift were large, German-chocolate Easter bunnies. No one turned these down.

Our niece was the happy recipient of our bunnies.

If you’ve flown on Lufthansa First Class, do you prefer the bed/seats in the Boeing 747-400 aircraft, or these lie-flat single seats in the B747-8’s First Class?

Other airline-related posts that you may want to check out: 

• Experiencing Air China’s “˜Forbidden Pavilion’ First Class Flight Service
• The #1 Action U.S. Travelers Can Take For a Better Flight Experience
• Mumbai’s New Terminal T2 at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
• A Peek inside the ANA Lounge at Narita Airport, Tokyo
• Two Thumbs Up for Free Live TV on Southwest Airlines

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After we disembarked an 11-day cruise on the Seabourn Sojourn, and rested during the day/evening at the JW Marriott on Juhu Beach, we headed to Mumbai’s New Terminal T2 at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport to begin the long flight home.

Lufthansa flight #757 was scheduled to leave Mumbai (BOM) India at 3:30 am local time. Many flights to Europe and the US leave Mumbai between 11 pm and 3 am, arriving in the morning hours.

Needless to say, we were ready to get on board and go to sleep.

Luckily, we were on a Boeing 747-400 aircraft, in which Lufthansa locates the first class section in the upper deck. You can see the full plane configuration here on Seat Guru (scroll to bottom of page to see first class/upper deck.) In the drawing above, from the Lufthansa web site, you can see that there are eight seats in first class. What’s harder to see is that there is a full two meter bed (which is perfect for Mr. Jones who’s about 2 meters or 6 feet, 6 inches tall.)

We had the two seats in row 2.

This is how the seat and bed beside it look on the plane. It’s designed so that you can work, eat and/or relax while watching online programming in the seat (which reclines significantly), then you can lie down in the bed to sleep.

Here’s another view from behind.

The bed has its own seat belt and duvet.

And a pretty comfortable pillow and mattress. The bed covers the length of four windows.

As we got settled in, we enjoyed champagne and some tasty macadamia nuts, along with water.

This is the champagne that Lufthansa was serving in first class (in April, 2014.)

We also were given Lufthansa pajamas (separate tops and bottoms).  They are German brand van Laack and very nice.

This is the woman’s version of the pajama top. (I didn’t change into the pjs but Mr. Jones found his version quite comfortable.)

There’s also a different amenity kit for men and women. This is the men’s version.

This is the woman’s version. Other than the Le mer Moisturizing Creme and the Lip Balm, the kits seem pretty average compared to other airlines.

Despite the fact that the flight was scheduled to leave at 3:30 am, there was still a full dinner menu offered soon after take-off.

We enjoyed the caviar with more champagne. Then we skipped the main course but enjoyed the lobster and prawn appetizer.

Mr. Jones could not pass up the apple strudel.  I had mine with a decaf cappuccino that was delicious and did not stop me from falling asleep shortly afterwards. 

Breakfast was served about an hour before landing. Fresh fruit and muesli with yogurt made a terrific breakfast, along with a fully- caffeinated cappuccino.

Perfect for a little wake-up jolt before our arrival in Frankfurt, where we transferred to another Lufthansa flight to reach Chicago.

Booked Using United Frequent Flyer Miles

Since Lufthansa is a member of the Star Alliance, we booked this flight using United Frequent Flyer miles. This one-way trip from Mumbai to Frankfurt, and then Frankfurt to Chicago, and then United from Chicago to Kansas City cost us 80,000 United frequent flyer miles per person.

However, our award tickets were booked before United significantly raised its First Class International award levels in February, 2014. Under the new United award levels, this one-way flight in First Class will cost 140,000 United miles per person.

Even at the higher mileage levels, if we had the miles we would book it again in a heartbeat.

What Made This Flight on Lufthansa First Class So Great?

• On this particular Thursday morning, only three passengers were in all of the first class upper deck. Beside us, there was a gentleman in the last row. We decided that he might work for Lufthansa as he kept a low profile.  In other words, it felt like we had the entire upper deck first class to ourselves.
• The two flight attendants were superb; they were always attentive if we needed something, yet invisible when we didn’t.
• The seats are comfortable for eating, reading and relaxing. But for sleeping – a good 6.5 hours of sleep, these sleeper beds are unbeatable.
• Although our flight was scheduled for 8 hours and 25 minutes, it ended up taking about 10 hours, and we didn’t care.
• One note: we hear Lufthansa is moving away from this first class configuration, so grab it while you can.

Have you flown on Lufthansa First Class? How do you think it compares to other airlines? 

Other airline-related posts that you may want to check out: 

• The #1 Action U.S. Travelers Can Take For a Better Flight Experience
• Mumbai’s New Terminal T2 at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
• A Peek inside the ANA Lounge at Narita Airport, Tokyo
• Two Thumbs Up for Free Live TV on Southwest Airlines

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We recently disembarked from a cruise on the Seabourn Sojourn in Mumbai, India.

While we departed from cruise around 9 a.m., our flight out of Mumbai did not leave until 3:30 am the next morning. It’s very common, it seems, for flights to Europe or the U.S. to depart from Mumbai in the wee morning hours between 11 pm and 3 am.

Since we needed a place to rest for the day, we booked a room at the JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai, located on Juhu beach overlooking the Arabian Sea.

Mr. Jones had stayed at this hotel a few years before on business, and knew that it was a luxurious property favored by business people and Bollywood celebrities, as well as being relatively close to the Mumbai International airport.

This hotel is not close to the cruise port. In morning traffic, the drive from the port to the hotel took about 1.5 hours.

Security is tight at the hotel, with each car being inspected and sniffed by the dog before being allowed to enter the compound.

The hotel features a grand lobby that looks out over a lotus pond, the pool grounds and the beach. Seating for the Lotus Cafe fills this inside space.

There are multiple pools. This one features a large slide.

This is the main pool, very close to JuHu Beach on the Arabian Sea. While quiet on a Thursday, these venues are packed with locals on the weekend.

Checking in around 10:30 am, we were given a nice upgrade to a suite – room 244.

The suite features a large living room with an oceanfront view, and large amounts of seating.

The suite also has a dining table, a desk, television and half bath.

In the bedroom, there is nice lighting and plenty of plugs on each side of the king bed. This is a very spacious bedroom.

The bedroom also looks out over the beach and ocean. For a completely clear view, you would want to book a room one floor higher in the hotel.

We appreciated the motorized shades that allowed the room to be completely darkened during the daytime.

The built in closets and vanity area is near the main bathroom.

The marble bath has a glass window looking out to the bedroom, which can be closed with a motorized shade at the push of a button. There’s also a separate shower adjacent to the tub.

The toilet is separated from the rest of the bathroom, but no door.

Fresh flowers in the suite were a nice touch.

Guests with Marriott Platinum status or suite guests get access to the Club JW Executive Lounge. It’s on the top floor of the hotel.

Beer, wine and cocktails are offered after 5:30 pm. It was an opportunity to try an Indian wine. This one was delicious.

Drinking a glass of wine with appetizers in the Club JW is an ideal location to watch the sun set over the Arabian Sea.

As a result of the late night/early morning flight departures, the front desk is super-busy with guests checking out of the hotel around midnight.

Our Bottom Line on the JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai:

• This hotel is an oasis from the intensity of Mumbai; it’s cool, calm, peaceful and luxurious.
• Its location is a long drive from the cruise port and main tourist sites, but is only a 20-30 minute drive to the airport.
• The Juhu Beach location is nice for sunning, shopping and being near Bollywood. Outside of the hotel, there is a Starbucks nearby.
• The hotel staff is hospitable and gracious; however, they are not always efficient by Western standards.
• Suite 244 is huge and spectacular.
• The pool complex is spacious with multiple pools.
• You never have to leave the hotel during a short stay. The hotel features five different restaurants, a bar/nightclub, a deli and a book/gift shop as well as other shopping opportunities.
• We ate at the huge Lotus Cafe in the lobby area that overlooks the lotus pond. The buffet stations were featuring the tastes of Punjab, India, and we enjoyed a tasting our way through diverse Indian foods that were made to order at each station.

What’s your favorite hotel in Mumbai, India? Do you stay for business or for fun? 

For a look inside more hotel rooms, check out these posts:

• A Peek Inside the Four Seasons Hotel-Denver
• A Peek Inside the San Francisco Marriott Union Square Hotel
• A Peek Inside the Prague Marriott Hotel
• A Look Inside the Conrad Centennial Singapore Hotel
• A Peek Inside the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel

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