Early October, I flew Swiss International Air Lines First Class on the A330-300 from Zurich to Dubai. I used 62500 Miles & More miles and paid €208 in taxes & fees for my one-way flight. The price of a revenue ticket for my flight would have been €4705! SWISS First Class is rather hard to book with miles as you need to be a Miles & More Senator or HON Circle member to have access to the award seat inventory. Both elite status levels require a lot of paid Business or First Class flying to obtain them. I’m still a Senator from back in the days when you earned 3126 status miles with a €99 Brussels Airlines flight…those were the days! ;-)
My layover in Zurich was rather short which made I didn’t get to experience too much of the SWISS First Class lounge. After a quick glass of Champagne, I was ushered to the departure terminal in a black minivan. No fancy Mercedes-Benz or Porsche ride to the plane at SWISS. Overall the transit in Zurich felt less personal than what I’m used to at Lufthansa First Class in Frankfurt or Munich.
SWISS A330-300 First Class Cabin
My SWISS First Class Seat
Upon boarding SWISS flight LX242, I was guided to my seat 2A which offered a great overview of the First Class cabin. All eight seats were taken on this 6 hour flight from Zurich to Dubai.
SWISS A330-300 First Class Seat Controls
SWISS A330-300 First Class Seat 2A
SWISS First Class Dining – Amuse Bouche
After takeoff, lunch was being served. The SWISS ‘Taste of Switzerland‘ menu read as follows: Intro 1, Intro 2, Courses, Cheese, Champagne & White Wine, Red Wine & Dessert Wine, Tea, Coffee.
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Grande Cuvée Champagne
SWISS First Class Dining – First Course cart
SWISS First Class Dining – Balik Salmon
Balik Salmon, a Swiss product, is one of the most expensive salmon in the world. The Balik farm uses a smoking method which was practiced at the court of the Russian tsars. The result is an exceptional product, the best salmon I ever tasted.
SWISS First Class Dining – Apple Soup
Seasonal salad with Mostbröckli dried meat, figs and walnuts
SWISS First Class – Dining in Style Up in the Air
Seared Veal Tenderloin and Braised Veal Cheek in Pinot Noir
Red Wine: Cos d’Estournel 2008 2ème Cru Classé
SWISS First Class Dining – Cheese Platter
Alpine Dream Dessert with Inniskillin Vidal Ice Wine 2013
Sprüngli Collection Swiss Chocolates
SWISS First Class – MovenPick Vanilla Icecream
SWISS First Class – Sit back and relax!
Overall the food and service were good, but not exceptional. The inflight service manager clearly hated the fact she had to greet every First Class passenger in person. I had very high expectations for this flight as SWISS is so protective about their award inventory, but wasn’t blown away by the service level or cabin. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a very comfortable and enjoyable 6 hour flight, maybe a bit short to fully appreciate the product. Early next year, SWISS will start flying their new long-haul flagship: the Boeing 777-300ER. The First Class cabin looks really impressive with private suites featuring the largest IFE screens (32 inch) in the industry. Looking forward to watch movies on that! ;-)
