Europe for the Holidays: Lufthansa First Class Los Angeles to Munich

My gate was a quick walk from the lounge, so I took a moment to admire the planes preparing to depart to Europe that evening.

The flight was already starting to board economy, so whatever line there might have been for the premium lane had already cleared out.

Lufthansa 453
Los Angeles (LAX) – Munich (MUC)
Sunday, December 22nd, 2013
Depart:  5:16PM
Arrive: 1:04PM
Duration:  10 hours, 48 minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A340-642 (D-AIHP)
Seat: 2K (First Class)

As I settled in, a flight attendant came by with an amenity kit, pajamas, and a menu for dinner.  After introducing himself (in English), he asked whether I preferred English or Deutsch.  I answered “either,” leading the flight attendants to interpret that as “English” for the rest of the flight.  Answering this in German might lead to better results.

The flight attendants then came by offering water and champagne as predeparture drinks.  My macadamia nuts and rose were somehow overlooked, however.  The purser eventually stopped by with a rose after takeoff.

The menu read as follows:

Obviously, it’s not possible to realize that you’re flying in Lufthansa’s First Class without it being prominently written at the front of the cabin.

The dinner service began with bread and olive oil.

Lufthansa provides small salt and pepper grinders for its meal service.

I had ordered a vegetarian meal in advance, so in lieu of caviar, I was served a small vegetable plate.

The vegetable plate seemed a bit redundant with the salad appetizer.

I had ravioli for my entree.

A bit after dinner, I asked for a turndown.  Lufthansa’s in-flight entertainment left a bit to be desired, so I decided that getting a full night’s rest, even if at an awkwardly time in the evening, was a better choice.

Several hours later, I woke up to a well-lit cabin and one of the flight attendants asking me for my breakfast selection.  When I mentioned that I had ordered a vegetarian meal, she quickly recalled that and returned with breakfast.  Two dishes of fruit, rather than the one on-menu dish of fruit, is an important part of any vegetarian breakfast.

As the breakfast service was wrapping up, our captain came on to announce our imminent arrival to Munich airport.

After reaching our gate, I disembarked and began walking to the center of the main terminal, in search of the Lufthansa First Class Lounge prior to my flight to Vienna.