Flight Report - LH 911 : London Heathrow - Frankfurt
10 July 2022

Hong Kong's pandemic restrictions continue to be far stricter than most of the world, imposing PCR test requirements before departure and suspending flights that fly passengers who fail to comply with the documentation or test positive upon arrival. This makes any trip unpredictable. With mandatory quarantine in designated hotels and a shortage of rooms, any denial of boarding or flight cancellations outside the passenger's control can result in a mad scramble to rebook hotels, but the hotels would likely tell you they're full and the next available time would be in several weeks' time.
With that stress overhang, I got even more worried, although not surprised, when Lufthansa was banned from bringing passengers to Hong Kong for July 1-5, just a few days shy of my departure. It was part of the notorious flight suspension scheme that the government has imposed on the few international airlines left that fly to Hong Kong. Luckily, that scheme was scrapped just days before I flew.

But another problem emerged. My LH 911 would have a relatively short connection in Frankfurt of only 1h45. While it's a legal connection, I tracked that flight's daily performance in the lead-up to my departure and was appalled at how badly delayed it usually gets, eating up an hour of that transfer time easily.
Worried I would be stranded in Frankfurt if there is a misconnect since the quarantine hotels probably can't accommodate a 1-day delay, I called the Cantonese call centre hoping they could move me to LH 909, which departs an hour earlier albeit that flight has consistently been delayed as well. The first try didn't work, and the second agent gave a more detailed explanation when I pressed why. Apparently, there is no space in my booking class to move the flight. That would mean I had to get to the airport early and try to standby for an earlier flight.
I could hear from their accent that they're not Hong Kong-based and hence not appreciate the nasty consequences with quarantine should any long delays arise.

.
.
.
Lufthansa sent me an email 2 days before departure reminding me I could use their digital documentation check service to verify I've got all the right documents to board. Hong Kong requires a negative PCR test within 48 hours of departure, a quarantine hotel reservation, and vaccine proof to fly.

While the online check was quite quick with an email reply minutes after uploading the files, I kept getting an error because they are looking for payment proof for my quarantine hotel, and the hotel reservation confirmation was not enough. After a few tries, I gave up and decided it would be sorted out at the airport.
The rule on the Hong Kong government's website is a hotel confirmation, and not payment proof.
Nevertheless, online check-in worked for both my flights and I was able to secure a seat, although the email confirmation noted the boarding pass will be available after my document check. Similar to my inbound flight, I was able to check-in more than 24 hours before my flight, strangely.
I had not paid extra to select a seat early on, so was keen to check-in online as soon as I could to secure my window seats.

.
.
.

Heathrow has been on the news for all the wrong reasons lately with insanely-long security lines, cancelled flights, and missing baggage. These seem to persist from my arrival in the UK 2 weeks earlier. So to be safe, I arrived at Terminal 2 almost 3 hours before departure for the 1-hour hop to Frankfurt.
The Queen's Terminal was busy, and there was a long line snaking out of the Lufthansa check-in counters. However, it moved reasonably quickly, which I presume is because travel in Europe is pretty much restriction-free by now. It was my turn in no time and the agent asked for my COVID-related documents for Hong Kong. She knew what to look for and for every document she called out, I pulled it out of my folder for her, but she only glossed over them. She also asked whether I had submitted them beforehand online for the document check, but I then told her about the system error I encountered. She had no idea why there was such an error either. I also asked about getting on the flight earlier to Frankfurt, LH 909, but she said it was full.
With boarding passes on hand, the next hurdle would be security. I was lucky again, as the wait wasn't too long and I cleared to airside within a reasonable time. The horror from the news did not materialize for me, and even the gate number for my flight was not yet available because I got there so early.
The terminal isn't too big and the big central courtyard was quite full, and restaurants were doing brisk business. I took a walk around to do some plane spotting. Life seems back to normal in Europe.

No flight number yet, but there are many, many flights.

Having arrived so early, I had more than 2 hours to kill at this small terminal. I browsed around the duty-free store to see what food items I could snatch up.

If you forgot to bring any electronic equipment, be sure to visit this vending machine near the satellite terminal exit.

Plane spotting was all right with a good variety of European airlines, although a few international carriers were across at the satellite.
I kept an eye on FlightAware to check whether the 2 inbound flights are arriving on-time. The earlier LH 908 departed Frankfurt half an hour late, which explains why the return LH 909 was sitting at the gate and were not boarding on time.

The inbound flight for my departure, LH 910, actually left Frankfurt on time, which was quite reassuring as LH 911 has been persistently late all week. It pulled into the next gate at 3:40pm, the earliest that week. I was very relieved. My 4:30pm departure seems feasible.

A long line snaked out of Gate 18. It's actually an A/B gate, and the Lisbon flight next door was almost ready to board so their passengers were huddled around as well. Boarding was excessively slow, and I kept hearing one of the staff barking at passengers to force their hand carries into the hold. A few were very dissatisfied and argued, and I was worried I would meet the same fate. Worrying about Heathrow's luggage woes, I was concerned it won't make it to Hong Kong, and I would start my quarantine with virtually no supplies. Luckily, I made it through presumably because that agent was too busy arguing with the passenger to bother handling someone else.
I didn't agree with how she exhibited customer service, but I would shortly find out why she had to be that assertive.
The flight was absolutely full and I had to re-arrange the luggage rack to fit my wheeled hand-carry in. Luckily, I was at the first row in Economy as I expected to make a run for it in Frankfurt in case of any delays. Despite the lengthy boarding, the doors closed at 4:40pm and we pushed back 8 minutes later. With only a short delay, I was hopeful to make my connecting flight to Hong Kong.

I was delighted to see BA's A380 again but mindful these birds will be less and less common going forward unless I'm at a major Emirates airport.

We taxied across the airport to the further runway and took off towards the west.

I chose a left window expecting this departure route as the plane will make a 180-degree turn and I would see London as we head towards the continent.

We looped around and I could see Heathrow again.

However, we were quite a distance south of London so I had trouble trying to spot Parliament and the City despite the beautiful weather.

I could make out Canary Wharf. Apparently, that's Central London out there.

It took about 20 minutes to reach the English Channel. It would take less than 10 minutes to cross it.

I wonder if that's Antwerp in the distance? There is no IFE on board so there was no moving map to track my location. The crew handed out a bottle of water and chocolates, the same as the inbound flight.

Then the sky got cloudier below. Just 40 minutes after take-off, the announcement came that we're 20 minutes from landing. The whole process of getting onto the plane has taken much more time than the flight itself.

Going through the same flight's routing during the week, the prevailing winds would not likely allow me to see Frankfurt's skyline during landing as we would come in from the east.

We landed on a far runway at 7:06pm and it was a long taxi to the terminal. With almost 2 hours to go before my next flight to Hong Kong, I was finally very relieved I made it against the odds with the earliest arrival for LH 911 into Frankfurt that week.
Lufthansa is quite unique as they operate a number of 747 jumbo jets as well as the rare A340.

We pulled into the B pier and I took a glance at the boards upon entering the terminal that the same plane would fly back to London again shortly. My next flight would depart from pier Z, which looked near on the map but was actually a very long walk away. There was even a train ride, so any substantial delays to my first flight would easily jeopardize my connection, especially with an expected detailed documentation check before I could get on the plane thanks to Hong Kong's strict requirements.

I don't have much expectations for an hour-long flight in Europe. Today's focus is to get to Frankfurt on time so I could catch the flight back to Hong Kong, as the consequences of a misconnection and delays to getting home would be immense due to the quarantine requirements and insufficient hotel rooms during the summer peak.
I have very little service expectations flying short-haul in Europe nowadays.
[ Coming Soon : LH 796 to Hong Kong ]


	Hong Kong's pandemic restrictions continue to be far stricter than most of the world, imposing PCR test requirements before departure and suspending flights that fly passengers who fail to comply with the documentation or test positive upon arrival. This makes any trip unpredictable. With mandatory quarantine in designated hotels and a shortage of rooms, any denial of boarding or flight cancellations outside the passenger's control can result in a mad scramble to rebook hotels, but the hotels would likely tell you they're full and the next available time would be in several weeks' time. With that stress overhang, I got even more worried, although not surprised, when Lufthansa was banned from bringing passengers to Hong Kong for July 1-5, just a few days shy of my departure. It was part of the notorious flight suspension scheme that the government has imposed on the few international airlines left that fly to Hong Kong. Luckily, that scheme was scrapped just days before I flew.
	But another problem emerged. My LH 911 would have a relatively short connection in Frankfurt of only 1h45. While it's a legal connection, I tracked that flight's daily performance in the lead-up to my departure and was appalled at how badly delayed it usually gets, eating up an hour of that transfer time easily. Worried I would be stranded in Frankfurt if there is a misconnect since the quarantine hotels probably can't accommodate a 1-day delay, I called the Cantonese call centre hoping they could move me to LH 909, which departs an hour earlier albeit that flight has consistently been delayed as well. The first try didn't work, and the second agent gave a more detailed explanation when I pressed why. Apparently, there is no space in my booking class to move the flight. That would mean I had to get to the airport early and try to standby for an earlier flight. I could hear from their accent that they're not Hong Kong-based and hence not appreciate the nasty consequences with quarantine should any long delays arise.
. . . Lufthansa sent me an email 2 days before departure reminding me I could use their digital documentation check service to verify I've got all the right documents to board. Hong Kong requires a negative PCR test within 48 hours of departure, a quarantine hotel reservation, and vaccine proof to fly.
While the online check was quite quick with an email reply minutes after uploading the files, I kept getting an error because they are looking for payment proof for my quarantine hotel, and the hotel reservation confirmation was not enough. After a few tries, I gave up and decided it would be sorted out at the airport. The rule on the Hong Kong government's website is a hotel confirmation, and not payment proof. Nevertheless, online check-in worked for both my flights and I was able to secure a seat, although the email confirmation noted the boarding pass will be available after my document check. Similar to my inbound flight, I was able to check-in more than 24 hours before my flight, strangely. I had not paid extra to select a seat early on, so was keen to check-in online as soon as I could to secure my window seats.
. . . Heathrow has been on the news for all the wrong reasons lately with insanely-long security lines, cancelled flights, and missing baggage. These seem to persist from my arrival in the UK 2 weeks earlier. So to be safe, I arrived at Terminal 2 almost 3 hours before departure for the 1-hour hop to Frankfurt. The Queen's Terminal was busy, and there was a long line snaking out of the Lufthansa check-in counters. However, it moved reasonably quickly, which I presume is because travel in Europe is pretty much restriction-free by now. It was my turn in no time and the agent asked for my COVID-related documents for Hong Kong. She knew what to look for and for every document she called out, I pulled it out of my folder for her, but she only glossed over them. She also asked whether I had submitted them beforehand online for the document check, but I then told her about the system error I encountered. She had no idea why there was such an error either. I also asked about getting on the flight earlier to Frankfurt, LH 909, but she said it was full. With boarding passes on hand, the next hurdle would be security. I was lucky again, as the wait wasn't too long and I cleared to airside within a reasonable time. The horror from the news did not materialize for me, and even the gate number for my flight was not yet available because I got there so early. The terminal isn't too big and the big central courtyard was quite full, and restaurants were doing brisk business. I took a walk around to do some plane spotting. Life seems back to normal in Europe. No flight number yet, but there are many, many flights. Having arrived so early, I had more than 2 hours to kill at this small terminal. I browsed around the duty-free store to see what food items I could snatch up. If you forgot to bring any electronic equipment, be sure to visit this vending machine near the satellite terminal exit. Plane spotting was all right with a good variety of European airlines, although a few international carriers were across at the satellite. I kept an eye on FlightAware to check whether the 2 inbound flights are arriving on-time. The earlier LH 908 departed Frankfurt half an hour late, which explains why the return LH 909 was sitting at the gate and were not boarding on time. The inbound flight for my departure, LH 910, actually left Frankfurt on time, which was quite reassuring as LH 911 has been persistently late all week. It pulled into the next gate at 3:40pm, the earliest that week. I was very relieved. My 4:30pm departure seems feasible. A long line snaked out of Gate 18. It's actually an A/B gate, and the Lisbon flight next door was almost ready to board so their passengers were huddled around as well. Boarding was excessively slow, and I kept hearing one of the staff barking at passengers to force their hand carries into the hold. A few were very dissatisfied and argued, and I was worried I would meet the same fate. Worrying about Heathrow's luggage woes, I was concerned it won't make it to Hong Kong, and I would start my quarantine with virtually no supplies. Luckily, I made it through presumably because that agent was too busy arguing with the passenger to bother handling someone else. I didn't agree with how she exhibited customer service, but I would shortly find out why she had to be that assertive. The flight was absolutely full and I had to re-arrange the luggage rack to fit my wheeled hand-carry in. Luckily, I was at the first row in Economy as I expected to make a run for it in Frankfurt in case of any delays. Despite the lengthy boarding, the doors closed at 4:40pm and we pushed back 8 minutes later. With only a short delay, I was hopeful to make my connecting flight to Hong Kong. I was delighted to see BA's A380 again but mindful these birds will be less and less common going forward unless I'm at a major Emirates airport. We taxied across the airport to the further runway and took off towards the west. I chose a left window expecting this departure route as the plane will make a 180-degree turn and I would see London as we head towards the continent. We looped around and I could see Heathrow again. However, we were quite a distance south of London so I had trouble trying to spot Parliament and the City despite the beautiful weather. I could make out Canary Wharf. Apparently, that's Central London out there. It took about 20 minutes to reach the English Channel. It would take less than 10 minutes to cross it. I wonder if that's Antwerp in the distance? There is no IFE on board so there was no moving map to track my location. The crew handed out a bottle of water and chocolates, the same as the inbound flight. Then the sky got cloudier below. Just 40 minutes after take-off, the announcement came that we're 20 minutes from landing. The whole process of getting onto the plane has taken much more time than the flight itself. Going through the same flight's routing during the week, the prevailing winds would not likely allow me to see Frankfurt's skyline during landing as we would come in from the east. We landed on a far runway at 7:06pm and it was a long taxi to the terminal. With almost 2 hours to go before my next flight to Hong Kong, I was finally very relieved I made it against the odds with the earliest arrival for LH 911 into Frankfurt that week. Lufthansa is quite unique as they operate a number of 747 jumbo jets as well as the rare A340. We pulled into the B pier and I took a glance at the boards upon entering the terminal that the same plane would fly back to London again shortly. My next flight would depart from pier Z, which looked near on the map but was actually a very long walk away. There was even a train ride, so any substantial delays to my first flight would easily jeopardize my connection, especially with an expected detailed documentation check before I could get on the plane thanks to Hong Kong's strict requirements. I don't have much expectations for an hour-long flight in Europe. Today's focus is to get to Frankfurt on time so I could catch the flight back to Hong Kong, as the consequences of a misconnection and delays to getting home would be immense due to the quarantine requirements and insufficient hotel rooms during the summer peak. I have very little service expectations flying short-haul in Europe nowadays. [ Coming Soon : LH 796 to Hong Kong ]