I still remember that fateful day in 2008 almost as clearly as I remember yesterday. After all, it is not every day that one boards a Lufthansa Airlines A380 bound for San Francisco in the US of A. Given that this was my first overseas trip, and I was headed to the US of A, of which I had seen enough of in movies and TV series, I was literally over the moon with excitement.
What I didn’t expect though, and what came as a pleasant surprise was the fact that although I had mentioned ‘Vegetarian’ in my meal preferences the pleasant flight crew served me what they called an ‘Asian Veg Meal’ which was sheer elegance in terms of and mixed Indian and Chinese cuisine meal and which was literally ‘finger-licking’ good.
And while I was fed horror stories about the ‘lame’ in-flight entertainment system of Lufthansa in those days which was supposedly biased towards European movies in general, I was in for a pleasant surprise yet again when the movie portfolio featured more than its fair share of Hollywood, Bollywood and even Regional blockbuster movies from Telugu and Tamil as well.
And as if these experiences were not pleasant enough for me, one of the senior flight attendants seemed to have noticed that I was a first time flyer as far as long haul flights were concerned. She therefore gently urged me to get up every three hours or so and take a small walk up and down the aisle of the aircraft.
This was at least six or more years ago, all the way back in Feb 2008 and I am sure by now things would have improved even more by leaps and bounds when it comes to Lufthansa’s famed customer service. I mean, you take German efficiency and combine it with the natural hospitality and warmth that the Indian cabin crew exudes, you automatically have a winning combination as far as customer experience goes. What’s more, you even have the Lufthansa Welcome Service available in Hindi, Tamil and Punjabi at Frankfurt which will ensure that you will not miss out any information important and relevant to your travel experience.
I have also heard that the Asian Vegetarian food option has undergone a massive upgrade. Considering that I absolutely loved it back then, I am more than sure it is quite a gourmet meal nowadays. With chef Surender Mohan and Kunal Kapur teaming up to provide customers with the best of their dishes, I am sure that Lufthansa fliers, and especially the vegetarian ones among them, will have quite a ball of a time enjoying all their onboard meals.
And one area which I particularly enjoyed during my travel was the intuitive in-flight entertainment system that the aircraft had. With the addition of Indian newspapers, magazines, Indian TV shows and the continuation with an awesome portfolio of the latest Bollywood and Regional blockbuster movies, all fliers who love to indulge in the best of entertainment are bound to have a rocking flight.
For all you naysayers out there who seem to think that Lufthansa is pure German efficiency and nothing more, here’s a gentle reminder – Believe it or not, Lufthansa is more Indian than you think, my friend.
Go ahead and click on this link http://bit.ly/MITYTIndiblogger and you can verify all of my above claims to your heart’s content.
Or if you are the person who would like a smaller quicker dose of convincing, go ahead and see the TVC below and I am more than sure you wouldn’t think twice before opting for Lufthansa for your next overseas trip.
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This post has been written for the Indiblogger contest – Lufthansa, more Indian than you think.