[Anonymous]

[JohnHarper]

A few weeks back Mrs JH decided we would have a weekend away in Bavaria. Without any problem at all she booked two award tickets in C on Lufthansa to Munich and back and a nice family run hotel we’ve stayed at several times before and we sat back and looked forward to it.

On the morning of Friday 19th April we flew to Munich, took the train to where we were staying and about an hour after we checked in to the hotel, we got a message from Lufthansa saying there was to be a strike on Monday 22nd April and our return flight was cancelled. That was not good news! Had we known earlier, we would not have set off and just cancelled our plans. It was all further complicated as I had to be back to head off to Singapore later that day.

A phone call to Miles & More resulted in what we expected, they could not change the tickets for any other time in the coming days, all award availability had been blocked. A similar call to the BAEC got the same result. There were a few tickets for sale on Sunday but strangely both LH and BA only appeared to have full fare C available – LH were charging €650 and BA €848 single and returns were more! We thought about it and then discounted it.

We’ve always talked about making the journey by train to Munich so with a bit of thinking and the excellent DB website it didn’t take too long to see we could get home using the train and arrive back at about the same time on Monday as we had planned to. We had to leave our hotel at 04.45 for a train to Munich Hbf where we had twenty minutes to change for a train to Frankfurt Hbf where we changed again, this time with only twelve minutes to make it for Brussels.

On arrival in Brussels we had two options, one was to take Eurostar which would have got us to St Pancras at 16.00 and the other was to fly to LHR arriving at 15.35. As we live in Windsor and I had to get packed and back out again we chose to fly but there wasn’t much to choose. We made a booking on BA using points, interestingly no card surcharge when leaving Belgium and the tickets with DB in F cost us €265 each so not a cheap journey but a bit of an adventure and something we’d always fancied doing, probably under less pressure but we set that aside and looked forward to the trip. It also offered us the opportunity to compare LH & BA short haul C in a very short space of time which I will come to.

We were up at 04.00 and ready to leave the hotel on time, a short walk to the station which was where the train started so we boarded on arrival. Others joined the carriage we were in and off we went. The service was operated by DB Regio and was just like any morning commute though perhaps more comfortable than the comparative service to Waterloo.

We arrived in Munich on time and had just a short walk to our connecting train. Lots of staff were on hand on the platform which I understand is normal for ICE services and we were quickly aboard. I was amazed at the comfort and roominess of the seats which had power and wi-fi. We left on the dot and crew started serving drinks and offering food from the menu. We had a light breakfast which was very reasonably priced.

The train was almost silent and the journey was an absolute pleasure. We sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the countryside passing by. The route took us to Inglostat, Nuremburg, Wurzburg and Frankfurt. Then we got a message saying we were running late and we might miss our connection. We stayed calm and plotted an alternative route to Paris and home from there which would still have allowed me to catch my flight to Singapore. I spoke with one of the ticket collectors who assured me we would make the connection and it could be done in two minutes if necessary.

We arrived in Frankfurt five minutes late giving us seven minutes which was more than enough to change platforms for one which was quite a way from then one we arrived on, we did board the train by the first door that was open and heaved a sigh of relief that we were on the second train which again left on the dot.

Service was similar but we decided to skip lunch and just had some drinks. The route took us Aachen, Liege and then Brussels. Again, the ICE train was superb, it beats anything that is operated in the UK by a country mile and was an absolute pleasure to travel on.

We left the train at Brussels Nord though it continued to Midi where we could have easily connected to Eurostar. In all, our journey time to Brussels was about eight hours so for speed it doesn’t compete with flying but it was fun. Within ten minutes of leaving the ICE we were on a Belgian Railways service to the airport and back to commuter trains, it was noisy! It did the job and we arrived there at 13.50 for our 15.25 service to LHR. We left BRU about ten minutes late but there were no delays on approach to LHR and we landed at 15.25 and were in the taxi on the way home at 16.05, our flight from MUC would not have been due to land for another twenty minutes.

So, to compare the two experiences of LH & BA short haul on roughly similar journeys:

Check in:
We had two hold bags to check in the LH person (I think it’s Menzies) at LHR never spoke, we said good morning and where we were going, she scanned the boarding passes, tagged the bags and gave us our documents back without saying a word. 2/5

The BA contractor at ZRH was I think Swissport, the experience was not that different, we did get a word out of the agent when I asked where the lounge was and was told ‘upstairs’ I asked where upstairs and was told ‘by the gate’. We decided we could find it, it was a while since we’d been to BRU but it’s not that big. 2/5

Security:
Both LH & BA granted us access to Fast Track Security. On the way out LHR was relatively quiet. We put our bags on the scanner and walked through the arch which did not beep which was just as well as the staff were having a group huddle and took no notice of us at all. Why bother? 0/5

Security at BRU was relatively busy, we were interrogated about liquids and had to take out laptops, staff were attentive to their work if somewhat brusque. Interestingly, the whole team were women. I noted that Etihad had a departure coming up and there were a lot of women clad in black so whether that had something to do with it I don’t know. 4/5

Lounge:
The *A lounge in T1 is, I always think a depressing place. It was difficult to imagine that after BA had it it could be worse but *A managed it. It is at least clean and the fittings and furnishings are in good order and condition. There was a comprehensive breakfast offering and a good range of drinks and it was not too crowded. People appeared to be head down and getting on with things. We were not there for very long and it was pleasant enough. 4/5

There is a dedicated BA lounge in BRU, it is upstairs and has big windows and good views of the apron. The furnishings look rather tired and worn with marks in quite a lot of the fabrics. The food offering considering it was lunchtime was poor with a small bowl of pasta salad, some chopped tomatoes and cucumber and some sliced meat and cheese. The drinks selection was OK. The lounge seemed to be populated by a mixture of DYKWIAs and chavs who were having a competition to see who could make the most loud and inane comments into their mobile phones. 3/5

Boarding:
LH managed priority boarding very well with people who were not entitled being asked to stand to one side until all C class passengers and *G card holders were aboard. Only then were the masses allowed to come forward. 5/5

Priority was strictly enforced at BRU and again those not eligible were sent back however we walked down a rather long zigzag ramp to find a locked door where we stood. I was told this is normal for BRU. I think it’s probably the way you might expect to be treated if you were flying with FR, it was just not good enough. The door eventually opened and the crowd surged, we were almost pushed forward in a way that was not really very safe. 0/5.

On board:
The LH purser was very welcoming, he was one of those crew who you can tell enjoys his job and throughout the flight he addressed us by name, it’s a long time since that happened to me on short haul. His enthusiasm was matched by that of his two colleagues. 5/5
The BA crew were rather wooden, things were done but without a flicker of warmth or interest. 2/5

Seats & Cabin:
LH had NEK seats which would compare badly for comfort next to a park bench. The cabin was bright and very clean passing Mrs JH’s wipe with a moist towel with flying colours. It looks attractive but is ruined by the seating. 5/5 for cleanliness, 0/5 for the seats.
BA seats were the original CE seats they were rather worn but comfortable enough for the length of the journey. The cabin failed Mrs JH’s wipe with a moist towel badly. My tray table was stained and the armrests could have done with a good clean. 1/5 for cleanliness, 3/5 for the seats.

Food:
The LH offering on a mid-morning flight was a tasting menu which was interesting and had five different things on it, some hot, some cold. There was a full range of drinks and coffee and tea. The quality of food was very good and we both enjoyed it. 5/5

BA offered afternoon tea. The sandwiches were unwrapped on the tray so they can manage it in CE but not in F! There were scones and preserves, including marmalade offered from a tray. I did wonder who would choose marmalade at that time of the day. There was also a piece of Do&Co lemon cake which was very good indeed. The three finger sandwiches were acceptable though I’m unsure what one of the fillings was, the scone was light but more like cotton wool than scone but it passed the time well enough. 4/5.

Arrival:
Arrival in Munich was fifteen minutes early, there was no queue at passport control and when we arrived at the luggage carousel our bags were there. 5/5

Arrival at LHR was ten minutes early, the queues at passport control were long and we waited ten minutes to clear through an egate. We then waited a further ten minutes for our bags which were priority tagged and came in the first ten. 4/5.

It would be difficult to say one was much better than the other leading me to conclude again that there is little to choose on European short haul between the airlines. The LH crew were stars and their food offering probably had the edge but they get a major fail on the NEK seats.

So, we had a bit of an adventure, I made it home with enough time to pack and be back at LHR in plenty of time to fly to SIN that evening but once aboard the A380 where there is no problem with the F seats I did sleep very well indeed waking only over Thailand and about two hours out of Singapore and now I’m wondering, did we really travel back from Munich the way we did!

[Flyboy18]

Interesting read but the sandwiches in F are unwrapped in the galley by the galley operator. So would never go out wrapped to the customer. Are you thinking of Club?

[BigDog.]

Excellent trip report John. Thanks.

[AMcWhirter]

Hello JohnHarper

I enjoyed reading about your air and rail marathon.

I was interested to read your comments on the new Lufthansa NEK seats. I’ve heard similar feedback from business class passengers who have tried them too.

Glad that DB lived up to its reputation for punctuality.

One question, though. DB’s website (bahn.com) is great, I rate it along with the Swiss Rail website (sbb.ch) as being amongst the best in the world for rail travel.

But although DB’s website will quote prices for its own ICE services from Munich to Brussels, it fails if you ask it to quote prices if your journey were to include Thalys (Cologne-Brussels) on part of the trip.

It also fails if you were to ask bahn.com to quote you a price from Munich to London via Brussels.

I assume, therefore, that you were intending to book a separate Eurostar ticket for the final leg between Brussels and London.

I’ve written a number of pieces about international rail travel in Europe. The product continues to be let down by ticketing issues when crossing international frontiers and especially when Eurostar is involved.

Otherwise I am glad the rail portion ran smoothly.

[JohnHarper]

AMcWhirter, we didn’t try to book all the way to London on the DB website as I already knew it was impossible to book Eurostar on it. I didn’t know about the Thalys but then it wasn’t part of our journey on this occasion.

We did look at the cost of the journey on the Eurostar website and it was about £140 each single in whatever their mid-class is called. At that point being practical took over and landing at LHR at 15.35 as opposed to St Pancras at 16.00 was far more sensible given that I had to go to Singapore that night.

I agree, the failure of through ticketing is a big let down for rail travel. I haven’t tried the Rail Europe site, is it possible there?

[FrDougal]

BA offered afternoon tea. The sandwiches were unwrapped on the tray so they can manage it in CE but not in F! There were scones and preserves, including marmalade offered from a tray. I did wonder who would choose marmalade at that time of the day. There was also a piece of Do&Co lemon cake which was very good indeed. The three finger sandwiches were acceptable though I’m unsure what one of the fillings was, the scone was light but more like cotton wool than scone but it passed the time well enough. 4/5.

You do realise that’s Club World you discribed….not First?

[AMcWhirter]

Thalys would be an option only for the Cologne-Brussels part of the trip. In other words, you would change at Cologne rather than Frankfurt.

But it is better, as you experienced, to take DB’s ICE services right the way through.

Raileurope.co.uk does not list any daytime trains at all between Munich and London. Instead all you can book is an overnight service from Munich to Paris which links with the Eurostar to London.

Raileurope will quote fares with DB’s ICE from Munich to Brussels via Frankfurt. It will also quote a fare from Munich to Brussels via Cologne using ICE and Thalys.

[EugenBL]

If only…..the service standard in first is not consistent. Sandwiches still wrapped is a real experience.

[LuganoPirate]

Hi Alex, it may be of interest that the Swiss Rail site, sbb.ch as mentioned by you, not only gives times, but fares as well, including Thalys and Eurostar. I checked the fare from Munich to St. Pancras in 1st with a special offer of CHF 380 (many fare options are shown) which is about €315 so just slightly more than the Munich – Brussels fare alone paid by JohnHarper.

Not only can you book online, but you can also choose seats and have the ticket sent by post or DHL to your home. In some cases you can even have the ticket sent to your mobile phone. Of course the post option would not have been possible for John but it would have given him an idea of price. The local station could issue the ticket.

It’s also worth noting the Rail Plus card which gives a 25% discount on rail travel throughout Europe as long as a border is crossed. The Swiss Half Fare pass gives 50% off Swiss rail travel and 25% on German rail tickets if starting in Switzerland. All this can be bought online and sent.

For European train travel I think this is one of the best sites going and I use it regularly.

Edited to add: The Swiss Half Fare card gives 25% off all tickets in Germany and Austria without the need to start the journey in Switzerland or cross the border. Frankfurt – Munich or Munich – Salzburg would both have the discount for example.

[AMcWhirter]

Hello LP

Thanks for all the info. Yes you are correct. I checked sbb.ch for a trip between Zurich and London and the display along with the price is probably the fastest of any rail booking site I’ve ever seen.

What is also good is that the booking conditions are also displayed.

I also checked raileurope.co.uk and it too will display Zurich-London with prices and so on. But this site is not so fast and clear as is sbb.ch

The RailPlus card is a good tip. But note that certain high-speed trains (including Thalys and Eurostar) will not grant the discount to RailPlus cardholders.

http://www.b-europe.com/Travel/Promotions/Discounts/Railplus%20Card

[Henkel.Trocken]

Excellent post JohnHarper and very interesting. Another one who thinks LH NEK needs radical overhaul.

FWIW, I’ve also had wrapped sandwiches in BA F – consistently inconsistent! (I’m sure JH knows the difference between F & C on BA. Both are overcrowded but half the seats face backwards in C!)

I think both DB and SBB have excellent booking sites, I have found that using the SBB site to book a fare from London makes a very expensive ticket as opposed to booking Eurostar as a separate booking. Is that the experience of others?

I’m getting more and more tempted by the train for shorter journeys.

Does anyone know when DB are going to start operations to London?

[AMcWhirter]

Hello Henkel.Trocken

I covered the issue of DB’s Channel Tunnel services in ‘Platform’ last March.

Basically, DB has encountered problems with the special ICE trains which it intends to run through the Tunnel.

There are technical issues at Siemens (the ICE manufacturer) and in addition the inter-governmental Channel Tunnel body has still not given its permission for the ICE trains to operate within the Tunnel.

The issue is that each complete DB train set will be formed of two trains linked together.

This differs from the existing and planned newer Eurostar trains which consist of one complete unit.

DB’s idea (and one which is commercially more viable, I believe) is that one train would depart London and then split into two sections upon arrival in Brussels. One set would proceed to Amsterdam with the other heading for Germany.

DB had planned to run its ICEs from London to Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne and Frankfurt this year.

Now DB has issued a tentative start date of 2016.

But nothing is certain until a) the technical issues can be resolved and b) the ICE trains are certified to run through the Tunnel.

[LuganoPirate]

I think you’re right Henkel, but that’s more for leisure tickets and the like. If travelling 1st there’s not much in it. What I did not so long ago was buy a cheap 2nd off peak from Ebbsfleet to Lille, then changed and went 1st from there on. The saving was substantial for what was little more in time than my old commuter run into Charing X.

[Henkel.Trocken]

Thank you Alex for the clarity about DB in the tunnel. I presume the issue is something to do with it being two train sets then.

LP, I’ve never booked a business ticket beyond Paris or Brussels so only looked for leisure tickets. We’ve used the train to get to a few different places now but always on two tickets.

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