The last time I flew with Lufthansa was probably back in primary school, so I was a bit afraid of the quality of service I would receive. I know Germans are top notch when it comes to efficiency, but when you add the Nigerian factor, things tend to get a bit muddled.
Truthfully, I purchased the ticket because it was the cheapest available…yet not so cheap. #sigh #nairaIssues
My Experience
Checking In:
Checking in was not a big hassle, I usually arrive at the airport by 5pm latest even for 12am flights. I’d rather get there on time, face the struggle of checking in, find a spot to relax with a book until it is time to board the plane. You never know what madness traffic in Lagos can decide to send your way. A friend once left Lekki at 3pm for an 11pm flight (a 30 – 45 minutes commute time). Home boy missed his flight because of traffic!
The only issue I had at check-in point was with my Turkish Miles and Smile card (Star Alliance affiliate with Lufthansa) that was supposed to be gold, which would have given me lounge access, but Turkish Airlines are in different messy world of their own. So the card issue caused a bit of delay, but once Turkish properly disappointed me, I checked in and kept it moving. Once you’ve been spoilt by lounge access, it really is difficult to go back to reality. #sigh
Their customer service at the check in point was also pretty good. Despite the issues I had with my alliance membership, they treated me with respect unlike some others that would rudely inform you to bounce because you are wasting their time. Nigerian customer service can finish human pikin’s pride oh.
Boarding the Plane:
Boarding a plane in Nigeria is always a terrible experience, and it was the same ol’ that happened here. Pre-security physical check and hand luggage check-in hassle where they make up rules about things that are not allowed on board. I used to pack plantain chips for layover snacks, but after one too many “madam, we do not allow food on the plane”, I stopped wasting my money.
A funny/tragic bit that happened when about to board; a man who managed to get in through check-in got caught with too many hand luggages. My people, come and see fight oh!
When they told him he could only carry two hand luggages, this man wanted to scatter the airport with craze. When one man behind him did over sabi by saying, “oga, why are you even carrying these many luggages” it turned into a physical fight real quick. I caught on to the drama too late or I would have done amebo and taken some pictures.
Lufthansa’s staff quickly stepped in and kicked the man off the boarding area. Asta! In a period where paying for an international ticket is like paying in tons of gold, I almost felt pity for him. Almost.
In Flight:
The flight experience was okay. Many people laud Emirates for having top notch food on board…I totally disagree. I flew on a total of 3 Lufthansa branded flights and I was doing Oliver Twist all through…”abeg, do you have more of that chicken dish?” If I was not in public, I would have licked off the sauces from the bowls.
In flight service was good, but not outstanding like Virgin Atlantic…still pretty good.
Usually, flights going in or out of Nigeria come with terrible flight crew (Delta and Alitalia are the biggest culprits), it’s almost like they send the angry ones to us. I know we try you guys sometimes, but seriously, no need for the rudeness.
So when I receive the expected level of customer service in flight, I am like ‘oh yay! they realize we are paying customers’
Layover in Frankfurt:
5 hours lay over was punishment in the airport. The chairs here are not comfortable, not all the electronic charging stations work, and the food options were pretty terrible. For such long layovers, I like to spend that time in a lounge in order to get some proper work done, eat, and rest comfortable during the wait. The terminal was pretty much for Lufthansa or Star Alliance elite only. There was no option to pay for entry, so without Gold or higher elite status, no lounge access. Darn.
They do have other terminals that offer paid lounge access, and as an American Express holder, some would have been free or at a discounted rate, but the distance and process to get there was too much. You have to go through the long line of border control to gain access and security check point, then walk quite a bit to find the lounges. It would have been a waste of money to go all the way to gain paid lounge access for less time, then spend the rest of the time running to get back to my departing flight’s terminal.
Codeshare with ANA to Ishigaki and from Sapporo to Frankfurt:
I may end up posting a separate review on ANA, but Lufthansa sold me the ticket with ANA included, so I’m going to lump them together in this post.
Lufthansa flew me to Haneda then I got on an ANA flight to Ishigaki, Japan. This was a frantic experience! I had to check out at the airport, get my luggage, then run to ANA’s counter to check in! If I was informed of this at the booking point, I would not have booked this ticket at all. I only had 1hr layover time to get this done, and anyone with experience of international border control checkpoint will tell you that it may take from 30mins – 1 hour to get the bags checked out and pass through security. Luckily, I was traveling only with my backpack so as soon as it came out and I was cleared by customs, I raced to the check in counter for ANA in the arrival terminal. I almost missed the flight by 10 minutes.
The in-flight experience within Japan with was ok. Only got a snack and an option of tea, soup, or water. Airlines in Nigeria offer much better than that.
My biggest issue with ANA was during the flight from Tokyo to Frankfurt. How can they think it is okay to starve their passengers?
How can any airline think it is okay to serve a meal ONCE during a 12+ hour long flight at the 8th hour?! I could not believe it! I thought maybe I’d dozed off and missed the food crew, so I went to the kitchen area to ask if I missed any meal…the lady gave me a confused look of ‘how can you be hungry?’ What the hell? It’s not like I’m a hobbit that expects a meal every 2 hours of the day…I asked this question 6 hours into the flight. Let me clarify also that we were served a sandwich, which I thought was their own version of the snacks you get 1 hour before the airline starts the food service. This sandwich is not the sort that keeps one filled up for 6 hours. (I can’t find the picture I took of the miserable sandwich, but I will update as soon as I find it) The snacks they had available were pretty much the sugary stuff, and I do not like eating sugary food.
I am definitely NEVER flying ANA for any international flight if they expect me to bring my own food for a long haul flight. Madness! Lufthansa should not put their customers on flights that would make us suffer like this. Biko. When the actual meal came out, I wanted to throw it away. It was so terrible but hunger made finish the very dissatisfying meal. Chai, this people suffered me small.
I do not even know how best to describe the hunger…have you ever gotten so hungry that watching tv or listening to music made it even worse? I tried to sleep through it, but the hunger pangs kept waking me up, so I couldn’t even force myself to sleep through it and wake up once they started serving us. Yeah…never again.
I was already mad at myself for not paying the N20,000 extra for a ticket with KLM because of the lounge access I would have had with my elite status, but the hunger pangs made me even lament more about it.
Arrival in Lagos:
It took 1 hour and 45 mins for my luggages to make it out. This is a norm at the international airport in Lagos. At least the air conditioner now semi-works if you position your body at the right angle.
I flew business class for my last flight with Delta (September 2015), and my luggages showed up 2 hours late. There really is no rhyme or reason on the order of arrival for luggages in Nigeria. All we can do is hope that the luggage made it to the right country.
[rwp-review id=”0″]
