SQ26/25 SIN-FRA-SIN A380 Biz & Suites: Frankfurt Xmas Markets & 2 Weeks in Portugal

[yflyer]

Our first stop was the Lufthansa Senator Lounge...



Seating area right by the entrance...



This was a fairly large lounge...



...with a range of seating options...



It was busy, but not overly crowded...



Some sections had tarmac views...



A wet morning today...



Work tables...



Showers rooms...



...with ensuite WC, and towels...



...and toiletries provided.

[yflyer]

There was a full F&B spread...

Sparkling wines...



Wine (and Rose) wines...



Red wines...



I sampled a glass of La Croix-Barton...



A very impressive liquor selection...



This was a wider selection than I remembered from previous visits to this lounge...



I took the opportunity to mix a cocktail, taking full advantage of the available selection (A friend of mine suggested the recipe, and labelled it the "airport lounge cocktail challenge"!)....

[yflyer]

There was a good selection of bakery items in the lounge...



Croissants and pastries...



Breakfast cereal...



Fruit salad and cherry compote...



Cheese and cold cuts...



Scrambled eggs, hash browns, and delicious sausages...



...with a full array of condiments...



This was a satisfying breakfast spread...

[yflyer]

There was also fresh fruit...



Cake...



Automated coffee machine...



Overall I thought this was a good lounge, with a decent F&B selection and a great selection of liquor.

[yflyer]

After breakfast in the LH Senator Lounge, we headed to our gate.

What was nice about the flight displays in the lounge was that it stated the approximate walking time to get to each gate. Very useful info, especially since the terminal was so spread out.



We arrived at the gate for LH1176 to Porto just as boarding commenced. Interestingly I noticed this flight also had an SQ codeshare flight number, SQ 2110...



This was a bus gate...



The bus took us on a long tarmac tour before we arrived at our plane, Lufthansa A320neo registration D-AINA...



This was in fact, the first A320neo aircraft in Lufthansa's fleet, first delivered in January 2016.



The A320neo (New Engine Option) was an evolution of the A320ceo (Current Engine Option). This aircraft was equipped with advanced, new generation Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan (GTF) engines, which promised greater efficiency, as well as slightly faster cruising speed, and longer range, than the original A320's.

As for pax, though, there wasn't really anything at all that was noticeably different from a regular A320...



Like most airlines in Europe, for intra-Europe Business Class, the A320 cabin was simply regular Y seats, with an empty seat in between, and some additional seat pitch.



On this sector, we were in the Y cabin, laid out 3-3...



...with slimline seats.


Seat pitch was ok. That said, when I looked up the specs later on, I realised that the LH A320neo's had marginally less seat pitch than their A320's.



The seats could recline slightly...



Scheduled flight time for this flight from Frankfurt to Porto was 2 hours 45 minutes, not a short flight by any means. For a flight of this duration, this cabin product was probably ok, but I wouldn't really want to spend more time than that in a narrow-body cabin.

[yflyer]

The seatback had an interesting design, with the magazine compartment above the tray table. This probably helped provide more leg and knee room lower down.



The contents of the seat pocket...



One other change from the A320ceo: rather than 2 toilets in the ear, on either side of the aisle, with doors facing each other, the A320neo had 2 toilets in the rear which were built into the rear bulkhead, with both doors facing forward towards the aisle.

[yflyer]

The boarding process was uneventful, but the aircraft remained stationary on the tarmac for quite some time...



Eventually the Captain stepped out of the cockpit and addressed pax on the flight...



There was an issue around new software or operations systems for flights headed for Porto airport, and this was causing some delays. The crew were working all channels to resolve the issue, and negotiate as early a departure as possible, but we could be looking at an hour's delay before departure.

I thought it was very good of the Captain to keep us updated in this manner. It would have been very easy for him just to sit behind a closed cockpit door and do what he needed to do, while keeping pax more or less in the dark, but he actually came out and addressed pax, and reassured us that they were doing all that they could. I felt that we were in very good hands that day. Thumbs up!



Eventually it was all sorted, out and we departed about 40 min late, at about 10.30am, vs stated time of departure of 9.50am. Flight time today would be 2 hours 20 min...

[yflyer]

After our initial climb out, the cabin crew made a quick pass through the cabin to offer pax any of the for-sale catering items onboard...



There was quite an extensive onboard menu...



Food and snacks were available for purchase...



...as well as a wide range of beverages (just a couple of pages shown here, there were many other items on the menu)...



There were even spirits and cocktails available...



Of course, all those mouthwatering treats were for sale, not gratis.

The cabin crew did go round the cabin to hand out complimentary chocolate...



Each passenger also received a bottle of water.

[yflyer]

This was a great day to fly... a clear, sunny day...



Ambience in the A320neo cabin was fine -- no different from the A320ceo for the most part...

[yflyer]

We were on the ground in Porto just before 12 noon, about 20 minutes behind schedule.



Porto has a very large airport...



I was quite impressed by the architecture and design of the terminal...



Inside, it was bright and airy, with a modern, industrial look...



Flat panel TVs at the baggage claim were showing football matches. I got a bit worried, as it's never a good sign if airports feel the need to keep pax entertained while waiting for their luggage...



...but we needn't have worried as our luggage showed up soon after.



We headed to the taxi rank outside the terminal and hopped into a taxi for the short ride to Porto...

[yflyer]

The Hilton Porto Gaia was, as the name implied, in Gaia, a district across the river from Porto's old town.



The Hilton was a very new hotel, open for just over a year, since September 2021.

The buildings where the Hilton was located were restored port wine warehouses, with the Hilton reception and restaurants occupying the black portion of the building, and hotel rooms in the adjoining white buildings behind it.



In the picture below, the old town is on the left of the Luis I Bridge, over the river Douoro, with Gaia, where the old port wineries and warehouses are located, on the right side of the picture.


While there were many hotels located within the old town on the left side of the picture above, we found it really good to be staying on the Gaia side. It was possible to walk over to the old town from Gaia (Some uphill walking involved), but from Gaia, you had stunning views of both the old town, set on hills overlooking the Douro river, as well as the iconic Luis I Bridge.

There was a also a lot to do on the Gaia side, such as tasting port at the many port wine companies there. In the pic of Gaia below, you can see the Hilton Porto, with it's distinctive black and white buildings, surrounded by the wine warehouses of many of the famous port wine brands, including Kopke, Ferreira, Dow's and Cockburn's.

[yflyer]

The lobby of the Hilton was quite stunning...



...with a dark wood them, and bronze/metal highlights...



The lobby seating had some nice design touches...



...including cool orange smoke/steam emerging from vents which looked convincingly like flames...



The open areas and corridors leading to the rooms were very spacious...

[yflyer]

Our room had a modern decor theme...



This was a fairly spacious room...



King bed...



Large flat screen TV...





Decent sized work top...



Windows that could be partly opened for fresh air...

[yflyer]

The bathroom was large as well, with two basins...



..and a very spacious shower stall with rain shower (No tub)...



Verbena and Lavender toiletries...



WC with bidet...



Large wardrobe (with in-room safe)...



Coffee machine...



Complimentary coffee capsules and tea bags, replenished daily...



Mini-fridge (With no minibar items)...



In addition to power points, there were convenient USB charging points built into the wall sockets.

[yflyer]

There was a casual / informal restaurant on the ground floor...



...and a more upscale bar and restaurant on one of the upper levels...



...where there were great views of the Old Town and Luis I Bridge...



There was also a large, well-equipped gym...



...with state-of-the-art equipment...



Overall, we thought this was an excellent hotel, with wonderful rooms and very good service. We found the location very convenient as well -- close to the old town, but not directly in it.