If you’re following along with our epic family trip to Europe, then you know that we left off after spending a night in Naples, Italy. RELATED: 12 Things I Learned From Traveling to Europe This Summer
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. For an explanation of our Advertising Disclosure, visit this page.
Quick Recap
When I purchased the tickets two weeks before our trip, the cheapest and most direct tickets were on Star Alliance carriers (to get to Europe, we flew Air Canada from Toronto to Barcelona). We then took a seven-day cruise to Rome, spent two glorious nights in Rome, took the train to Naples, a ferry to the island of Ischia and spent two nights in the island’s best hotel, the Regina Isabella Resort.
We had a 6:20am flight from Naples to Munich, Germany on Lufthansa, which meant getting up at an ungodly hour. I came close to rolling the dice by booking the 1pm flight but I didn’t want to chance missing our connection to Toronto with just a 50-minute layover. Besides, having an eight hour layover in Munich not only gave us plenty of time in between flights but it allowed us to go into the city center to have lunch and give the kids a taste of Germany. RELATED: How Long Should a Layover Be When Booking a Connecting Flight?
We arrived at the Naples-Capodichino International Airport (NAP) at 4:35am. The airport was crowded except for the Lufthansa check-in. The friendly agent said we had just missed the rush as they had already checked-in over 100 passengers. I asked the all-important question of when travelers should arrive at NAP for their Lufthansa flight and the agent said travelers should arrive two hours before their flight. That’s much better and half the time than what their website was recommending.
The agent didn’t weigh our carry-on bags, which was a welcome surprise since mine is usually over the limit with heavy electronics. She also told us to use Fast Track. We took the glass elevator up one floor since we had a stroller. Our six-year-old, who was still sleepy, was using the stroller while our three-year-old, who the stroller was actually for, was full of beans.
There was no line at Fast Track but a long one at regular security. We just needed to take our laptops out but that’s it. My wife accidentally sent the kids’ full water bottles through security and the agent flagged them but said it was fine. Another win.
There were multiple places to get food in the airport and they all looked good but had long lines, even at that early morning hour. Since we had business class tickets, we went straight to the lounge, which was directly across from our gate, Gate 16.
The lounge had a decent assortment of hot foods …
… and cold foods.
They also had plenty of fresh fruit.
And pastries.
It was all self-serve except to get hot or cold drinks, which required standing in a long, slow line. It was slow mostly because there was just one person working the majority of the time and everyone wanted a cappuccino.
There was yet another long line to board the plane but not for the priority lane. It was empty.
There was a bottle neck in the jetway, as it turned out they weren’t boarding the plane yet. We just happened to take the elevator because of the stroller and ended up bypassing the long wait in the jetway. Instead, we were third in line to an open door with fresh air and a great view of the tarmac.
We boarded 12 minutes later at 5:59am, using the plane stairs.
The A320-200 was configured 3 x 3. The seats in business class were the same as coach except they blocked off the middle seat. Legroom was ample even though SeatGuru says it’s only 30 inches of pitch, just like coach. I’m not sure if I should trust them though because they say there are seven rows of business class when there are just four. Maybe it felt like plenty of legroom because of the slimline seats.
My daughter jumped in the window seat next to me, which was a first. Usually, she sits next to my wife so I was excited to fly next to her. I’m fortunate, our kids are great little travelers, mainly because my wife packs all kinds of things for them, including washable markers with pads of paper, books and most importantly, their iPads, loaded with their favorite TV shows, and kids headphones. Our trick is not to let the kids use their iPads at home so it’s a special treat when they travel.
Boarding was a bit slow and I got talking to a passenger standing in the aisle with a UCLA shirt. I said, “Go Bruins!” since we live in L.A. and she lit up. Turns out, she was on her way back to Westwood with 26 other people in her UCLA group tour. She said anyone can book it.
Flight time was just one hour and 16 minutes and our flight attendants were seriously some the nicest crew members I’ve ever had, especially the purser, a male flight attendant.
He gave the kids treats and gave us all the leftover chocolates. He even washed the cereal bowl that my wife had packed for our son, since he has food allergies and doesn’t usually eat airplane food.
The kids loved the toys.
Speaking of food, we pushed back from the gate at 6:16am, took off at 6:28am and the flight attendants served food at 6:42am.
They had a kids meal but we didn’t want to take any chances so my son ate the food my wife had packed for him. As far as our food went, they only had one option which, for a short flight, was pretty nice and a generous portion. They served a plate of cheese, deli meat, croissant, yogurt, bread and cottage cheese.
The kids meal, which my daughter enjoyed, was yogurt, muffin, grapes, Nutella, choice of bread, jam and chocolate milk.
There were no electric plugs, just USB ports to charge devices.
Another thing about the flight attendant is that he stood in the aisle facing the passengers when he made announcements. It was a nice touch.
When we landed, he said, “Wait in your seats and I will tell you when your gate checked stroller has been brought up.” We ended up waiting for the whole plane to deplane and we hung out with the other flight attendants …
… and the pilots invited the kids into the cockpit.
All in all, a flight we will never forget.
KEEP READING
–Hotel Review: The Regina Isabella Resort in Ischia, Italy
–48 Hours in Rome and Our Stay at the Rose Garden Palace Hotel
–Fast or Slow Ferry to Ischia, Italy? You Might Be Surprised
–10 Things You Never Knew About Italy
–What It’s Like To Take the Fast Train From Rome to Naples, Italy
Want more travel news, tips and deals? Sign up to Johnny Jet’s free newsletter and check out these popular posts: The Travel Gadget Flight Attendants Never Leave Home Without and 12 Ways to Save Money on Baggage Fees. Follow Johnny Jet on MSN, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube for all of my travel posts.
I love Lufthansa. Have taken both international and domestic flights with them. They are very efficient and as you noted, the domestic business class section blocks off the middle seat so even when you’re “next” to someone you still have plenty of elbow room.
But the airport signage in Munich was almost nonexistent. And there was no baggage claim screen to identify which carousel was used for which flight. People just went from carousel to carousel looking for their flight’s bags.