Coming soon to Terminal B at Frankfurt International Airport: a new Senator Lounge that will also become the largest Lufthansa lounge in the world.

Today I received the following e-mail from Lufthansa:

Dear Mr. Klint,

Here is some terrific news for you: on 5 July 2011, in departure area B at Frankfurt Airport, a new Senator Lounge opens – as the largest Lufthansa lounge in the world!

With a floor area of 1,800 square metres, it certainly gives ...

Today, in a Senator's Lounge in Munich, I decided to chat up a cute-enough agent to try to get free Wi-Fi.  In the German Senator's Lounges, Wi-Fi is free to First Class and Hon Circle members, and pay access for everyone else.  T-Mobile runs the service, and it is priced much like it was when Delta, United, and American were charging for the service in the US.

Here's the conversation, translated from German:

Me: Hi there, gorgeous.  Is Wi-Fi free for Star ...

For those of you wondering why I was missing in action the last couple days, stay tuned for a fascinating report that will cover my time in Dubai and Oman, but primarily Iran--yes, Iran.

And there was drama in Iran. Lots of it.

I am back safely in Dubai and am now trying to figure out how to get back to Frankfurt tonight--I missed last night's flight and because it was such a cheap ticket, bmi (issuing carrier) and Lufthansa (operating carrier) have both refused to change the ticket for tonight.

Happily, award space (albeit only in economy class) is available on the n/s Lufthansa flight, so I have that as a back-up.

To top it all off, I have another cold--a lingering cough that I cannot seem to shake and a runny nose.

Trust me, you're going to want to check back here in the coming days to read what the last few days have been like.

This evening I arrived at Frankfurt at around 2015 from Munich after a long day of flying. I had a separate ticket from Frankfurt to Dublin booked months before, and I chose not to check my bags all the way through to Dublin because I planned to use the long layover to drop a bag off in my office and only take one carry-on bag to Dublin.

It took a little while for the luggage to arrive and when it did, I found that one of the wheels had broken off my American Tourister rollerboard. I ...

At Star Alliance Gold check-in at Frankfurt earlier today, the smiling female Lufthansa agent glanced at my passport, pulled up my ticket, then asked, "Have you ever been to our First Class Terminal?"

For a brief moment, I thought I had been op-upped to first class. After all, why else would she ask that question?

But alas, no.

I responded that I had been to the First Class Terminal on numerous occasions, most recently in January, and she responded with a nod and said, "I recognize you."

Nothing like getting my hopes up...

Even without first class it turns out I was well-taken care of on the flight, but I'll leave that for another post. It is always nice to be recognized, I suppose, but I was hoping that conversation would have ended differently!

Well, actually I am already in Paris. It was all the way back in 2006 when I was last here and it is nice to be back in this bustling hub of French commerce. The flight over, a quick one on Lufty Friday night, was fine--and I got to experience Charles de Gaulle Airport for the first time. I have heard some bad stories about CDG but I got a kick out of the airport--the downward sloping (rather steep) moving walkway, fluorescent lighting, and popcorn coated walls and ceiling looked straight out ...