Lufthansa Flight 419 – Am I Dreaming?

May 21, 2012 

 

I am an American.  I was born in the United States more than 47 years ago.   Though I have traveled outside the United States many times, the vast majority of my travels have occurred within the United States.  Today, the 20th of May in the year 2012, I departed from Washington’s Dulles Airport aboard Lufthansa Flight 419 bound for Frankfurt, Germany.  After less than two hours into the flight, I began to wonder if I had fallen asleep and entered an unusually vivid dream state.  If my recording of this experience actually appears on my computer, then I’ll know I wasn’t dreaming!

 

The trip began with a pleasant and uneventful, 45-minute cab ride from my apartment in Washington, District of Columbia to the Dulles Airport some thirty miles or so to the west.  I was packed and ready ahead of schedule and the cab had arrived early, so off I went.  I arrived at the airport well over two hours before the scheduled takeoff time.  I had flown dozens of times before and the thought of air travel had become a highly dreaded part of my life.  Security procedures had become inhuman, customers were treated more like cattle being herded to slaughter than the assets needed to sustain such a huge business industry, airplane seats had gotten so uncomfortably close together, and flight crews had become salespeople with credit card readers to sell meals rather than servers providing for the needs of their passengers.

 

When I arrived at Gate B49, things began to change from my past experiences.  There were three different entry lanes leading to the gate and there were signs directing passengers to a specific lane based on an assigned seat number.  Though First and Business Class passengers had already been allowed to board, as was customary, the Economy Class was boarded from the rear of the airplane forward.  Yes, I know.  Boarding in that manner was “standard procedure” for boarding commercial airline flights.  However, the use of these lanes actually resulted in the airplane being boarded from the back forward.  It was an unexpectedly pleasant experience getting to my seat without having to wait for a rushing hoard of people boarding before their section is called in order to stake a claim to the very limited and very precious overhead space that is available.  Since airlines began charging for checked baggage rather than excess carry-on bags, the delays had become even worse because passengers were now boarding with oversized baggage that anyone would know couldn’t fit in the overhead storage space.

 

Having arrived at my selected aisle seat, 41H, I had expected the legroom for the eight-hour, trans-Atlantic flight to be a bit more generous than the shorter-duration domestic flights for which I was most accustomed.  I was wrong!  With my backside firmly against the back of my seat, my knees barely fit as they were jammed into the seat in front of me.  My mood immediately began to sink as I started thinking how miserably uncomfortable the next eight hours of my life was going to be.  Boy, was I wrong!

 

Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew began their rounds by offering drinks, which included free glasses of wine.  Yes, I said free and we’ll know soon enough whether or not this was all just a dream.  The first crewmember to serve my little, squeezed-in section of Economy Class was the young Miss Schneider.  I can’t even find words to describe this young woman!  She had a smile that could literally melt the Polar Ice Caps!  Many people have disarming smiles, but hers was different.  Her smile was accompanied by a sense of joy and sincerity that I don’t believe I had ever experienced before.  Though her task was to serve more than fifty passengers, in cramped quarters, she made an outward effort to serve each and every passenger as though their happiness was important to her.

 

Though Miss Schneider was definitely out of the ordinary for a modern flight attendant, she was not alone on this flight.  Less than three hours into the flight, four additional members of the Flight 419 crew came through to provide service to our little section of Economy Class.  Each of them showed an equal level of professionalism and what appeared to be a truly sincere passion for the jobs they were on board to perform.  If this was a dream, I was beginning to hope it wouldn’t end any time soon.  If it weren’t a dream, then I would anxiously await the opportunity to share this experience with the rest of the world!

 

As I looked around the cabin, I saw something I didn’t recognize on the faces of my fellow passengers.  They were faces of contentment.  I was on a commercial airplane, wasn’t I?  I have had a number of experiences flying First Class and Business Class over the years, but none of those experiences could compare to what was happening with this one!  My spirits had been lifted so high by this point that I knew it must have been a dream!  People on planet Earth in the 21st Century don’t care about others like this!  Oh well!  If it were a dream, at least I’d probably feel refreshed by it when it came time to wake up!  Regardless, I will be looking forward to turning on my computer tomorrow to see if I really wrote this.

 

EPILOGUE

 

After my experience on Lufthansa Flight 419, I decided that if I could choose between First Class on any other carrier and Economy Class with this crew, I wouldn’t hesitate for even a second to choose Economy Class with this crew!  I had a First Class experience without having to pay the excessive cost of First Class! 

 

I’m not sure if it would be possible, but Lufthansa should consider trying to bring their brand of customer service into the United States’ domestic market.  As a long-time customer from that market who had forgotten what it was like to be treated like someone who matters, I would certainly seek out opportunities that could turn an anticipated experience of misery into an experience of joy!

 

My eternal thanks goes to the crew of Lufthansa Flight 419 for lifting my spirits on this day and helping me to remember that flying doesn’t have to be a miserable way to travel.  I will go to my grave with fond memories of this flight!

 

This story was written while I was on the flight from Washington, DC to Frankfurt, Germany that is being described.  The flight ended just as it started and was a great flying experience for me.