by Lufthansa Flyer | Jun 28, 2015 | Airports, Featured, Lufthansa, Munich, Photography, Plane Spotting |
Last week I spent several days in Europe to attend the Austrian Grand Prix as well as to make stops in Munich and Frankfurt for a bit of plane spotting and LH Business.
Frankfurt was a disappointment due primarily to the lack of progress on their Observation Deck renovation. I only had a few hours free in FRA so I couldn’t go to my favorite spotting site along the North-South runway.
Munich however was fantastic. Weather cooperated nicely and with large white and grey clouds to act as a backdrop, it provided for a solid spotting session. And thanks to Munich, I was able to capture about 26 LH aircraft that were missing from my ‘spotted list’. I am now only 6 LH aircraft away from personally spotting the entire mainline fleet. I suspect the missing 6 will require a bit of stalking and hunting on my part later this year when I return.
Munich’s Besucherpark offers a great view of their runways, and with winds out of the west, creates the opportunity to catch departing flights as they take off. The large viewing hill (more like a pyramid) puts you above the airport and gives a great prespective. Admission is only €1 and is open 24 hours…..a pretty good value!
So for part 1, here are 12 images that I though turned out rather well and include a diverse range of liveries. Part II will focus a bit more on the LH fleet.
Enjoy!
Air Canada’s A330 shortly after arrival.
Speedbird’s A320 departs for Heathrow.
Delta’s 767 departs for the States….
Always an interesting scene when an El Al aircraft departs Germany. The armored police escort is provided at both MUC and FRA.
The usually benign LOT ERJ looks good with the IronMan livery.
One of my favorites of the day, the LH A320 in *A livery looks good against a cloudy backdrop.
An LH’s A346 departing MUC with an efficient angle of attack….
Honestly, the first time that I have seen a non-turbo-propped Luxair aircraft.
Oman’s A330 is towed to the gate for passenger boarding.
Qatar’s 787 is towed to her gate.
Tui and one of their beautiful Haribo 737s
An early United 767 departure.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jun 24, 2015 | Featured, Frankfurt, Plane Spotting |
Normally if I don’t like something, I don’t make it too public since my filters and expectations may be different from others and I don’t want to the taint their perspectives simply because of my opinion. However there are times when an exception is warranted and this is one of them.
Frankfurt’s observation deck had been closed for months for a renovation and had finally opened in May. Since I haven’t been there since the supposed renovation, I was looking forward to seeing the new look of the place.
‘Disappointment’ would be an understatement.
Virtually nothing has changed.
Yes, the check-in area received a minor facelift and a few more light bulbs but the observation area at this point is worse off than it was before. The deck, approximately 200-300 yards wide has about 2/3rds of the platformed fenced off with no access. The only part that has access is an area that blocks the view of the aircraft parked at gates in T2. The only work that they seemed to have accomplished in the last 6 months or so is to install a teak flooring that is already starting to splinter and weather.
I wasn’t expecting a First Class Terminal calibre experience, but I was hoping that it would be as it was before and not worse with the inability to move around the entire deck. The areas that are fenced off have shown no signs of work so I don’t understand the blockades. Those areas are also falling victim to Mother nature as weeds are allowed to grow out of control.
Absolutely no progress after months of renovation…..except for Mother Nature’s reclamation project. The best part of the deck is closed.
I did find a potential reason to the slow pace of the project. Today, as I was hunting down the last 7 LH aircraft that I need to complete my project of spotting the entire fleet (I found 1), I observed a crew show up for 15 minutes, played with their drill and put a few bolts into a chair and left. I was there for 5 hours, never saw them again.
Not sure why you would use Teak in an area that is abused by the elements. There was nothing wrong with the concrete slabs. Notice not even a seat to sit on, they too were behind the fences and unusable.
The other side of the deck fenced off as well, with no signs of progress….except for the new Garbage Can.
As I vent, I remind myself that they have the project split into 2 phases and they claim it will be finished next year. I don’t know why it takes so long to refresh a 300 yd long slab of concrete. So far all thats there is the teak flooring that is going bad, and a few garbage cans and it took 4 months to get to this point.
I hope that Berlin Brandenburg was not used as a template when it came to planning this project……
by Lufthansa Flyer | Apr 21, 2015 | Featured, Miles & More, Payback, Plane Spotting |
A H/T to FlyerTalk’s Oliver2002 for putting this on my radar…..
For those of you participating in the PAYBACK loyalty/points program, an E-Coupon is available for the BodyShop that awards 1,000 points for your first purchase. Of course if you are a PAYBACK member, you know that the points automatically convert to Miles & More miles at a 1:1 ratio if you linked your MM account to your PAYBACK account thus making this coupon worth 1000 miles.
There is no minimum purchase required and there is even a coupon code that provides for free shipping (a €5 savings!).
As Oliver2002 suggested, the most economical way to earn the 1000 points (miles) is to purchase the 60ml size of the Moringa Shower Gel for €2 and then use a coupon code at check out to waive the shipping. The code that needs to be entered for the free shipping is AOGV011515.
Remember that your order needs to be shipped to an address in Germany. Also, if you are going to try and pay with a credit card that does not have a German billing address, you will not succeed. However, there is a Paypal option available which will carry a surcharge of .22 cents so at the end of the day, you’ll earn 1000 miles for only €2.22 or 1/5 cent per mile!
Keep in mind that the coupon expires on April 26…..
