I was pleasantly surprised with my stay at the Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor, a beautiful property in a city long overdue for a Hyatt. Although my stay was not perfect, it is definitely a hotel I will return to. I booked the room for 190EUR/night. I could have used points, but I felt 20,000 points […]
First Impressions: Andaz Munich
I checked out the brand new Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor this week and was very impressed. Hyatt’s eighth hotel in Germany is a beautiful stone edifice located in the heart of Munich. The lobby and other common areas are modern and classy. I was assigned a deluxe room (more on that in a later post), which […]
Review: Lufthansa A340-600 First Class Frankfurt To San Francisco
Lufthansa provides a comfortable first class experience with superb food and drink and excellent service aboard the A340-600. First Class service starts on the ground with spectacular lounges in Frankfurt. Leave time for a visit to the First Class Terminal or one of the first class lounges (A or B gates in Terminal 1) before […]
A Chance To Compare Lufthansa And Air France In First Class
After flying Air France First Class last month, I now want to offer a detailed comparison between Air France and Lufthansa. Thus, when I flew from home from Europe last week I chose Lufthansa First Class. That way, we’ll have two very recent reviews only a few weeks apart. I’m not going to give a […]
My Top 10 Lounges In 2018
As 2018 draws to a close, it is time for my annual “Top 10” series. Here, I’ll look back on the 10 best airport lounges I visited in 2018. 10. Marco Polo Club – Venice (VCE) I appreciated that this Priority Pass lounge had very good lasagna and coffee…after driving all day it surely hit […]
The Most Important Thing In An Airport Lounge Is…The Coffee
I have come to the realization that coffee is the most important thing in an airport lounge. Nice food is appreciated. High speed wi-fi is helpful. Comfortable seating is applauded. But if I had to choose just one thing that I consider most important in an airline lounge, it would be the coffee. People love […]
Review: Lufthansa A380 First Class Munich To Los Angeles
My Lufthansa First Class flight from Munich to Los Angeles provided the ultimate gift: uninterrupted rest. I’ve reviewed Lufthansa First Class three times during the last year in the eastbound direction, but this will be my first westbound review in a couple years. I wrote about my first impressions of the flight here and will expand […]
Review: Air Dolomiti ERJ-195 Business Class Nice To Munich
While I did not expect to see Air Dolomiti, a regional Lufthansa subsidiary serving routes in Northern Italy, on a flight between France and Germany, I welcomed the experience. For reasons you’ll read below, I rate Air Dolomiti a cut above the competition in the Lufthansa Group, when it comes to intra-Europe travel. After arriving […]
Review: The Library Lounge Nice Airport (NCE)
The Library Lounge in Nice Airport, a Priority Pass lounge, offers a quiet work environment, but not much in the area of food. I did not deliberately arrive early, but with light traffic found myself at Nice Airport about an hour before my flight. The lounge was virtually empty, with just a couple other passengers. […]
Review: Qatar Airways A380 First Class Doha to Paris
After literally a day in the Al Safwa lounge, I ventured back into the terminal and proceeded to the gate for my connecting flight to Paris. This would be my first time aboard a Qatar Airways A380. Boarding had started early and I found myself one of the last passengers onboard. Stepping onto the aircraft, […]
Review: Emirates A380 First Class Los Angeles to Dubai
Emirates First Class is rite of passage for any aficionado of miles and points. I was absolutely giddy with anticipation for my flight. But were my expectations too high? Check-in was easy at LAX and the the agent did not even bat an eye when she asked me where I was heading and I said […]
Review: Malaysia Airlines A380 First Class Kuala Lumpur to London
As boarding neared completion, I looked around the Malaysia Airlines A380 first class cabin…seven seats remained open: I was the only passenger onboard. A FA walked by and I asked where the other passengers were. “It’s just you today,” I was told. Would my 14.5hr flight as the sole first class passenger be uncomfortably awkward […]
Accessing Lufthansa or SWISS First Class Lounge With a Double Connection
Can you access a Lufthansa or SWISS First Class lounge with a double connection? Depends upon whom you ask. I was traveling on a Lufthansa First Class ticket (LAX-MUC-ZRH-FCO) and had reached Zurich. Per Lufthansa’s lounge access guidelines, first class lounge access is granted for travelers with a: First Class boarding pass for an arriving/departing […]
Review: Helvetic Airways Fokker 100 Business Class Munich to Zurich
Helvetic Airways offers contract flights for Lufthansa and SWISS. This short flight from Munich to Zurich was operated on behalf of Lufthansa. While not in every case, these Fokker 100 flights tend to operate from a remote stand in Frankfurt and Munich and this flight was no exception. Since I was a connecting first class […]
Review: Lufthansa A380 First Class Los Angeles to Munich
This flight review is going to be a bit different than my usual ones. It will be a bit more casual, since I just reviewed Lufthansa’s A380 First Class product last year and (thankfully) very little has changed. But I’ll say at the outset that Lufthansa First Class never disappoints. Always Say YES To An […]
Introduction: A First Class Business Trip
My next trip report will chart my recent trip to Italy and France. As I explained here, I took a rather circuitous route to reach Rome. All for you. All so I could review two first class lounges I had previously never had the pleasure of setting foot in. > Read More: Why I’m Flying Los […]
Stunning: Pictures from the New SWISS First Class Lounge in Zurich
Leave it to SWISS to create a sophisticated, beautiful new first class lounge now open in the A Gates (Schengen) area of Zurich Airport. Like the E-Gates First Class Lounge, the bar design resembles a plane fuselage–made of beautiful wood. Around the corner is seating: A full bar and restaurant offers a la carte and […]
Why I’m Flying Los Angeles to Rome via Munich, Zurich, AND Frankfurt
You know you’re an airline junkie when you fly from Los Angeles to Rome deliberately via Munich, Zurich, AND Frankfurt. I’m traveling through Italy later this week and next on business. This is no vacation–I’ll be spending most days in the car driving from client to client. I could have flown Norwegian direct to Rome. […]
First Class: Lufthansa vs. SWISS
I’ve recently flown both SWISS and Lufthansa First Class. Which product is better? Certainly there is subjectivity in what I value and how I compare the two products, but I’d like to think this is not an arbitrary comparison. I will compare SWISS and Lufthansa in ten different categories. 1. Ground Services In the interest […]
Was SWISS First Class Worth It?
It has been nearly two weeks since my trip from Zürich to Los Angeles in first class. Many have asked me, now that I’ve had time to reflect, was it worth it? Let’s put aside the lawsuit for a moment. Instead, let’s just assume I am paying for this fully myself (which I do not […]
