2014年1月8日 星期三

德航紐約-慕尼黑商務艙(Lufthansa Business Class: New York JFK-Munich)




本來這次回程是預定搭聯合航空(United)轉搭泰航到台灣,不過出發前一天晚上才發現班機取消,只能立刻打電話給聯合請他們改訂其他班機。因為是頭等艙哩程票,所以後來改訂搭德航頭等艙到慕尼黑轉泰航。在收到新的行程表和電子機票之後,確認都是改訂到頭等艙,才放心睡覺準備下午出發。

想到能夠意外搭上德航頭等艙,其實也是非常興奮。沒想到到了機場德航報到櫃檯的時候,地勤人員卻說聯合是幫我開商務艙的機票!當下真的非常錯愕,趕快打給聯合的客服專線,不過服務人員卻很堅持我原本的機票就是商務艙機票,也不願意承認凌晨才開出的頭等艙機票,完全是毫無道理可言,而且這樣直接對客戶說謊真的很難讓人接受。本來還想繼續理論,不過因為到機場比較晚的關係,這時候德航已經快要關櫃,只好先接受商務艙的安排,搭上飛機再說了。

Originally, for my return flight, I was booked on United and Thai first class back to Taiwan. But my flight was suddenly cancelled the night before, so I had to call United and get them to rebook me. Since I originally had a first class ticket, I was rebooked on a Lufthansa first class flight to Munich and then Thai first class to Bangkok. I even confirmed with the agent handling my rebooking that I was booked in first class before I went to bed and prepared for my afternoon flight.

I was actually very excited to fly Lufthansa first class. However, when I got to Lufthansa's check-in counters at JFK airport, I was told that United booked me into business class! Naturally I was quite shocked, and called United's customer service line. Yet the United agent insisted that my original ticket was a business class ticket, and wouldn't acknowledge the fact that I was issued a first class ticket just earlier today (which I had a printed copy). That made absolutely no sense, and quite frankly I was very pissed off that they were lying to me. I tried to explain the situation to her, but because I already got to the airport later than usual, the Lufthansa counters were closing at this point. So I had to accept the business class seat to get on this flight.

德航紐約-慕尼黑商務艙
Lufthansa Business Class: New York JFK-Munich

德國漢莎航空 Lufthansa 411(LH 411)
紐約 New York(JFK)- 慕尼黑 Munich(MUC) 
起飛時間 Depart: 05:40PM
降落時間 Arrive: 07:50AM(+1)
飛行時間 Duration: 08hr10min
機型 Aircraft: Airbus 330-300
座位 Seat: 3D(商務艙 Business Class)


好不容易才在登機前趕到登機門,也大約五分鐘之後就開始登機了。還好這次的 A330-300 機型配有新型商務艙,是可以完全平躺的座位,所以對於八個小時的航程來說,還算是相當舒適。只是被分配到的 3D 座位,前面就是頭等艙,想到自己錯失頭等艙體驗,還是非常扼腕啊!

I got to the gate right before boarding, which started in about 5 minutes. Luckily my flight was on an Airbus A330-300 equipped with the new business class, which had lie-flat seats. So it was quite comfortable for an eight-hour flight. The downside was that I got assigned seat 3D, right behind the first class cabin. It was torture sitting there and watching the first class experience that I should have gotten.

三號登機門
boarding gate 3

商務艙
business class cabin

頭等艙
first class cabin

座位前面就有標誌「提醒」我是在商務艙
A sign reminding me that I was "stuck" in business class

座位 seat

座位控制面板
seat control

枕頭和毛毯
pillow and blanket

座位 seat

機上娛樂螢幕
IFE monitors

遙控器和餐桌
remote control and table

在登機們就已經開啟機上娛樂
IFE already turned on at gate

迎賓飲料
pre-departure drink

盥洗包和瓶裝水
amenity kit and bottled water

盥洗包
amenity kit

盥洗包
amenity kit

這趟航程的服務其實相當普通,整體的速度是有待加強的。像是登機之後,大約等了二十多分鐘才有空服員開始發送迎賓飲料跟菜單。等到送餐時也是花了他們非常久才完成,雖然晚餐本身非常好吃,不過好不容易吃完晚餐,都已經起飛兩個多小時了。以大西洋航線來說這真的是一大禁忌,因為扣除吃兩餐的時間,這樣根本剩不了多少時間讓旅客睡覺。另外航程中間雖然會常常有空服員拿著托盤送水或果汁給還醒著的乘客,不過居然是用塑膠杯而不是玻璃杯裝,以商務艙來說還真的是第一次看到!

The overall service on this flight was quite mediocre,. The speed of their service really needed some improvement. For example, I waited for about 20 minutes after boarding before someone started to offer pre-departure drinks and menus. The meal service also took forever to complete. The meal itself was very delicious, but it did not finish until more than two hours after take-off. This was not a good pace for a transatlantic flight, because that would leave the passengers very little time to rest between meals. During the flight, the FAs would frequently walk around the cabin offering water or juice to passengers who are awake (which was nice), but they actually used plastic cups instead of real glass, which was a first in all my business class flights so far.

菜單 menu

菜單 menu

酒單 wine list

酒單 wine list

酒單 wine list

酒單 wine list

酒單 wine list

香檳 champagne

前菜、沙拉、麵包
appetizer, salad & bread

前菜 appetizer

主菜 main dish

甜點 dessert

水果 fruit

巧克力 chocolate

航程中間我有試著睡了一下,不過新型座位的腳部空間有些受限,所以睡得不是很好。後來就決定還是起床,完成一些工作比較重要。

I tried to sleep after the meal service, but found the new seat had really limited foot space, which made it hard for me to sleep. After turning and tossing for a while, I decided to get up and finish some work.

腳部空間
foot "cubby"

廁所 lavatory

廁所 lavatory

廁所 lavatory

廁所 lavatory

廁所窗戶 lavatory window

早餐德航提供的是歐陸式的早餐,只有小水果盤、優格、麵包、起司和一兩片冷肉,所以吃沒幾口之後就放棄了。

A continental breakfast was offered on this flight, consisting of a small fruit plate, yogurt, cheese, bread, and a couple slices of cold meat. I gave it up after a few bites.

早餐 breakfast

早餐 breakfast

咖啡 coffee

準備降落慕尼黑
approaching Munich

降落之後,先到星空聯盟金卡會員可以使用的 Senator 貴賓室,重新打電話到德國的聯合航空客服專線,果然在德國還是有差(美國客服請加油好嗎),大約半小時之後就已經幫我解決問題,確認下一段泰航會是搭乘頭等艙了。我再詢問貴賓室的地勤人員,以我這樣的狀況,是否能通融使用德航的頭等艙貴賓室,因為頭等艙貴賓室通常只有德航自家的頭等艙旅客可以使用(規定跟新航的 The Private Room 差不多):還好在電話詢問頭等艙貴賓室之後,對方就跟我說願意讓我使用,真的非常幸運!

After landing, I headed to the Senator lounge, which was open to Star Alliance Gold members, and decided to call the United service line in Germany again. Not surprisingly, the agent in Germany was much better (US customer service take note!). She took care of the problem in less than 30 minutes, had my ticket re-issued, and confirmed my seat in first class for my next segment on Thai. I then went to the Lufthansa agents in the lounge and ask if they could make an exception and grant me access to Lufthansa's first class lounge, which was only open to Lufthansa's own first class passengers (quite similar to Singapore Airline's The Private Room), since I was supposed to be a Lufthansa first class passenger if United didn't screw up my reservation. Fortunately, after a call to the first class lounge, they allowed me in.

德航慕尼黑機場頭等貴賓室
Lufthansa First Class Lounge, Munich Airport

貴賓室入口
lounge entrance

貴賓室入口
lounge entrance

雖然德航在慕尼黑的頭等貴賓室沒有在法蘭克福的頭等艙專用航廈來得高級,不過裡面也是非常豪華。座位區非常寬敞,而且每個座位旁邊都還有一些小點心可以讓客人直接取用。貴賓室內部也有一間雪茄房,還有四間獨立的辦公空間。另外還有一區非常大的用餐區,除了自助餐和現點現做的菜單之外,也有一整個真正的吧台和非常多酒類可以選擇。

Even though the Lufthansa first class lounge in Munich was not as extravagant compared to its first class terminal in Frankfurt, it was quite luxurious inside. The seating areas were very spacious, and there were small snacks placed right next to each seat (which I thought was a nice touch). There was also a cigar room in the lounge, and four independent work rooms. The dining area in the lounge was also quite large, and offered a separate menu aside from the buffet. The bar also offered a very wide selection of alcohol. 

座位區 seating area

座位區 seating area

點心 snacks

座位區 seating area

座位區 seating area

雪茄房 cigar lounge

酒吧 bar

書報區 reading materials

工作間 work room

頭等貴賓室最大的特色就是有配備按摩浴缸的浴室了!而且沒有規定使用時間,我在裡面可是足足泡了大約半小時才離開。

The best part of the first class lounge was its bathroom (with a bathtub)! Since they did not impose a time limit for using it, I had a nice long bath for about 30 minutes.

浴室 bathroom

浴室 bathroom

浴室 bathroom

浴室 bathroom

浴室 bathroom

浴室 bathroom

浴室 bathroom

浴室 bathroom

這次大約有十二小時的轉機時間,除了吃了兩餐之外,大部分時間都待在辦公空間裡面工作,還有在獨立的小臥室休息。也許也是因為使用頭等貴賓室的關係,讓這十二小時過得特別快,一下子就又到登機的時間了,再次謝謝德航通融讓我使用囉!

I had around 12 hours in the lounge this time. Aside from having two delicious meals, I spent most of my time working in the work rooms and napping in one of their sleeping rooms. Time really flies in the first class lounge, and soon after it was time to board again. Many thanks again to Lufthansa for granting me access!

餐廳 restaurant

餐廳 restaurant

自助餐 buffet


菜單 menu

菜單 menu

菜單 menu

菜單 menu

菜單 menu

菜單 menu

香檳 champagne

香檳 champagne

慕尼黑式香腸 Munich sausages

牛排 steak

干貝 scallops

臥室 
sleeping room

臥室 
sleeping room

臥室 
sleeping room

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