Lufthasana Business Class Flight

I wanted to tell you about the business class travel on Lufthansa, on the way over (and back) because it was awesome. We paid a big price tag for that, but with 9 hrs in the air I wanted to make sure Eddie was somewhat comfortable. My boss had told me how great it is, and he is right.

The individual seats recline every which way, without one lying in the passenger's lap behind you. One can lean the seat back, lift the footrest, adjust the lumbar support. Each seat has a new pillow and blanket waiting, and a small 'kit' (toothpaste, toothbrush, earplugs, a pair of socks, blindfold, and lip balm). I purchased headphones before leaving, but used theirs instead. There is even a place to put your eyeglasses while you sleep. Each seat has it's own TV monitor built into the back of the seat in front of you...and you select what you want to watch.

On the way over we were so tired that I thought we would fall asleep right away, but we were too busy investigating all the options. Before they brought us a nice meal, the hostess came around with a tray of steaming hot washcloths, offering each of us one (using tongs) so you can wash up before eating... very civilized.

Eddie and I selected different movies to watch (thus wasting 2 hrs of valuable sleep).

I thought about it later and it all seemed a bit surreal. After takeoff, I hadn't given a second thought about actually being in an airplane (at 35,000'), just enjoying ourselves and resting. And, for the first time ever, I was able to sleep on a plane.

That's the good news. The bad news is that I was very upset with the ground crew, both Lufthansa and O'Hare services. I spent some time the other day, composing a complaint using their online form. Probably won't matter to them, but it made me feel better.

When we were in Chicago at the gate, I asked the Lufthansa crew about pre-boarding with the on-board wheelchair. They weren't aware of the request, tho it had been confirmed at reservation, and confirmed again when we got our boarding passes. So she phoned for the little chair from hell. A fellow showed up with it, and then Lufthansa wouldn't let us pre-board. Seems the lady who phoned for the chair, and gave us the go-ahead wasn't "in charge". I truly think they were trying to let me know who the boss was, and it certainly wasn't this old American woman standing in front of them.

Finally, they let us through. It takes a good 5-10 minutes to get someone out of their wheelchair, and all strapped into the little one. So, two guys manuvered Eddie down the aisle, and figured out they were on the wrong aisle. They had to lug him all the way back up front to the galley, and come down the other aisle. By then, passengers were arriving in droves! All of us were being inconvenienced, and Eddie the star of the show. It burned me up! BUT the worse part was still to come. I was nearby, but didn't hear the ground crew fellow grumbling about how he was supposed to get off at 9:30 and they called him for this. He was obviously going to be late getting off work, etc. I say, if he'd been paying attention instead of grumbling, he would have gone down the correct aisle in the first place and be out of there. Eddie may be disabled, but he can hear just fine. How very insensitive! If I had heard it, there would have been a scene, not just an inconvenience.

So, firmly worded complaint to Lufthansa giving them all the information (and our return flight info too), and letting them know how very disappointed we are with Lufthansa and O'Hare. You can be certain that I will be right beside Eddie (or lugging that chair myself) on the way back...any comments, I'll hear about firsthand! I felt I let Edddie down, but he wasn't really upset about it.