As I mentioned yesterday, my mom is off to Frankfurt today on Lufthansa in first class on an award ticket. I drove her to Orlando airport and went to the check-in counter with her. The process was complete in under a minute, and the agent asked if she wanted an escort to the lounge. She felt weird saying “yes,” so I answered for her, reasoning that this is Orlando in summer and the security lines would probably be long. Boy, was I right. The security line looked like it was at least 30 minutes long, all while she was escorted through the employee security line without any sort of wait.
These are the kind of ground services all airlines should offer their international first class passengers. It seems like so many airlines keep making the in-flight product more opulent, while completely ignoring the ground aspect of service. An escort on the ground that saves 30+ minutes is much more valuable than a marginally better seat or food, in my book. This is something Lufthansa does a hell of a job at. They consistently have excellent ground services for their first class passengers, while their onboard hard product might not be the best in the world.
She called me during boarding and said there was one other couple in first class. So I guess she won’t be flying alone, although I’m sure she’ll be equally well taken care of.
Being an ex-resident of MCO, I remember those horrendous security lines. It was at that time I considered buying a CLEAR membership.
Good thing I didn't. :-)
@ Eric -- I try. She does a lot for me, and I'll do whatever I can for her. The only thing more rewarding than premium cabin award tickets for oneself are premium cabin award tickets for a loved one.
@ weeklyflyer -- I'm sure you'll enjoy your flight!
@ imm2b -- That's quite a trip, enjoy!
@Gary - We have a stopover in CAI, so our only option is MS. Is it that bad huh? :-(
@MatthewLAX - JNB-FRA is on LH, I didn't see availability on SA. Looks like SA is tough to get, especially I'm looking for 3 seats. Any other suggestions on routing that's easier to get on SA? Right now I have SFO-FRA-CAI (stopover)-JNB (destination)-FRA-SFO.
I'll be purchasing separate revenue tickets for the JNB-CPT-JNB portion as well. We're going mid Feb, 10.
@imm2b: Is JNB-FRA on LH or SA? SA has great First and Business Class seats. If you are coming from CAI, it looks like MS is your only option, but if you can find anyway to work in a longhaul SA flight, I doubt you will regret it.
Ouch, CAI-JNB in MS business?
I've just put on hold 3 seats SFO-FRA-CAI-JNB-FRA-SFO all in first except the CAI-JNB on MS in business. After reading your report and the Botswana picture, I think I'm going to call back to book it now :-).
v.cool! :)
3 People in the First Cabin, what a personal experience that will be. Thanks for all the help, we scored 2 seats on this flight next June.
What a good son!