I recently wrote a post asking whether you guys think I hype Lufthansa first class too much, given how much I love them. I’m doing my best to put down my pom poms and #TeamLufthansa shirt, but just had another spectacular flight in Lufthansa first class between Vancouver and Munich, a route they’ve been serving for less than a week.

The flight was operated by an A330-300 with the new first class cabin, similar to the one on the A380.

And the flight was more or less perfect. The cabin couldn’t be more elegant, and in my opinion is the most comfortable A330 first class cabin out there (yes, even nicer than Swiss, as I find their seats to not be the most comfortable for sitting).

The service, was, as usual, spectacular in a German way. The two flight attendants working first class provided just the right amount of attention and personalization. It’s that amazing balance between professionalism, privacy, and personalization that I find few airlines are able to achieve.

And the food was great too. Lufthansa has made some catering changes as of this month, so the first class meal presentation is a bit different than before.

Rather than having a three tiered appetizer display as before, all the appetizers are now displayed on a single level plate. I’d argue the new presentation is even nicer than before. They also added individual salt and pepper mills, though they came at the expense of the larger one used by the flight attendants.

Oh, and the dessert was even amazing. None of the $&^% Lufthansa usually serves like chili crusted chocolate or elderflower soup. Instead just good old bread pudding.

Other interesting notes? Even though the flight was equipped with the Flynet internet service, it wasn’t operational, as I find to be the case far too often. Not sure why it is, though sure is disappointing when you’re expecting it for a 10 hour flight. Most surprising to me was that it was light more or less the entire flight, despite being a 6:45PM departure and 2:00PM arrival. I think that’s my first overnight transatlantic flight where that happened. The joys of summertime, I guess. Lastly, can anyone explain who decides on Lufthansa’s IFE selection? It’s 2013 and I think IFE matters less and less as passengers can bring their own entertainment, but seriously Lufty, what are you guys thinking? If I’m ever interesting in seeing a documentary on a skateboarding dog or a single episode of a 17 year old sitcom, I’ll consult you guys.

Oh, and the best part of the whole experience? After landing I figured we were taxiing to the gate, but nope, we got a remote stand instead. Lufthansa is the only airline in the world that can make me do the happy dance over a remote stand.

From there it was a quick drive to security, where I was brought to the front of the line, and then the First Class Lounge. And in the lounge they have delicious pretzels and Fanta.

Lufthansa, you rock…

I’m heading to Europe tonight for a trip not motivated by miles and points (who knew those existed?). I’m visiting a friend in… well, I won’t tell you guys just yet, but I’ll let you guess when I post some pictures from the destination. It’s place where I’m told siestas are holier than the church.

On the way there I had planned a stopover in a European city for a night, and when I booked this last week the weather forecast was great, with sun and warm temperatures. Now there’s a 70% chance of rain and it’s not looking good.

On one hand I’m saying to myself “oh well, tough luck.” On the other hand I’m realizing that I do have the flexibility to switch around my travels, and can instead spend a night somewhere else enroute. The weather in Milan looks beautiful, for example.

The logistics of rebooking (both hotels and flights) is a bit of a pain, but it’s nothing that’s impossible and wouldn’t really cost me anything, since they’re all changeable.

So am I crazy? Have you ever changed your destination or stopover point on an award just to chase nice weather? There are lots of European cities I’ve yet to visit, so I kind of figure why not choose one with nice weather where I can at least enjoy the day. Thoughts?

Via the Huffington Post:

The Burj Al Arab, the “world’s only 7-Star hotel” is redefining the boundaries of the absurdly luxurious by issuing every guest their own 24-carat gold iPad.

In fairness, the hotel really didn’t have enough gold as it is…

(Tip of the hat to Mike)

Once you’ve flown just about every first class product, you’re probably looking for a new “high.” One such “high” which I’ve experienced a few times in my life is having a first class cabin all to myself. I had it three flights in a row, actually — first between Chicago and Zurich, then between London and Istanbul, and finally between Istanbul and Hong Kong. It’s pretty damn awesome when that happens, if not a bit awkward.

So here’s a mostly theoretical question (and I realize the question is making several assumptions, but play along with me for a minute, please).

Would you rather –

A) Fly Lufthansa’s old first class and be guaranteed to have the cabin all to yourself

or

B) Fly Lufthansa’s new first class with six out of eight seats occupied

What would you do? I ask because my opinion on this is different than everyone else I’ve asked this, so I’m curious to see if I’m totally off base.

Let me know in the comments section, please!

A reader emailed me to ask if I could write a tutorial on searching Etihad award space. I wrote a tutorial back in October of 2011 when Etihad’s partnership with American began, though Etihad has redesigned their website since then, so I realize perhaps it’s not self explanatory anymore.

As a refresher, you can most practically redeem American AAdvantage and ANA Mileage Club miles for travel on Etihad. American has a zone based partner award chart and doesn’t levy fuel surcharges for travel on Etihad. ANA, meanwhile, has a distance based partner award chart, and does levy fuel surcharges for travel on Etihad. It’s worth noting that Etihad has embedded fuel surcharges, meaning it’s not always so easy to tell what the fuel surcharges are, since they don’t appear on the “surface” when doing a fare search. The last time I booked a roundtrip business class award ticket through ANA between New York and Abu Dhabi, the taxes and fuel surcharges totaled about $900.

Anyway, the best place to search Etihad award space is on Etihad Airways’ website. You first need to join their Etihad Guest program if you haven’t yet, which is free and can be done here.

Once you’re logged into your account click on “Your Miles” in the left tab and then “How to Redeem.”

From there, on the left of the page click on “Click here to book flight” under the “How to redeem” section.

From there just enter your origin, destination, dates, and desired class of service, and then click “Select Flights.”

When you get to the results page, you’ll want to look for “GuestSeat” availability. If there’s not GuestSeat availability then you won’t be able to book that flight. As you can see below, there’s no first class GuestSeat availability from Washington to Abu Dhabi on June 9.

Meanwhile on June 16 there’s one first class award seat from Abu Dhabi to New York.

You can easily use the calendar function along the top of the page to search multiple days quickly, and then use the arrows to scroll forwards or backwards a week.

Always keep in mind that the mileage costs listed are irrelevant if you’re redeeming through another program. You do need the GuestSeat availability, though the price you’ll be charged is per the respective award chart of the airline you’re redeeming with.

So the redesigned website is actually an improvement over the old website, as it’s now much easier to search for saver award space. And that’s good, because in many cases Etihad is a great option for award travel.