Swiss International Air Lines Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

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TLV-ZRH-MAD and back, flights between TLV-ZRH on A330 and A340. Cramped seating, terrible crew, poor food and the A340 is well past retirement age. Cabin worn out and inflight entertainment very old with analog like screens. ZRH-MAD-ZRH on newer A320, slightly more comfortable and nicer leather seats. ZRH airport is nice and transfer was easy and straightforward. Would not fly them again. Should consider sticking to short haul inter-European flights as long haul aircraft's are too old.

Long haul on Swiss is certainly different than flights within Europe. Flew ZRH-BKK-ZRH and all I can say is that service is average. A340 rather old, however kept clean. Service on board also average at best, just one or two flight attendants smiling, the rest just doing their job. Food ok with limited availability. Especially on the routes to Asia Swiss has to improve significantly if they want to compete with ME-carriers and such as SQ, CX, TG and nowadays GA. AVOD with limited selection and working with problems on the outbound leg. Positive that flights ex ZRH are non-stop so interesting for shorter trips.

SIN-ZRH in economy. A343 was kept in a very clean and good condition despite being old. Cabin was quiet during flight and the seat was comfortable. Flight was very smooth. Only gripe was the cramped leg space due to the metal IFE box below the seat in front. The SWISS.com website didn't reflect correctly which seats had those nasty metal boxes. The metal box occupies about half of your leg space. Food was not to my taste unfortunately. On both legs (SIN-ZRH-SIN), I couldn't use the AVOD screen properly. Once the person in front reclines fully, the screen is very dim even at maximum brightness. No matter how I titled the screen, I couldn't watch the movies properly. The IFE system hung 2x on me. Crew was attentive on the SIN-ZRH but not the other way round. Pressed the call-for- attendant button 3 times on 2 occasions and no flight attendant came by. I would say, if you want a smooth and quiet flight without much frills, go for it. The SWISS chocolates handed out at the end of each flight were tasty though.

CDG-ZRH-CAI return. Seat quite comfortable specially the ZRH-CAI leg. Airbus 340 is 2x4x2. What was disappointing was the food, no choice on the long haul with a lack of French speaking staff on board. Switzerland is at least a bilingual country, and announcements should be done at least in the 2 languages (German and French) plus English. Another bad point is the transfers in Zurich airport. Rail shuttle and miles to walk. Nevertheless, the ratio price service was good.

Recently flew from Bangkok to Zurich and returned Zurich to Singapore. Both flights were excellent and could not find anything to complain about. The food and wine was fine, the service good and I found the lie flat seat comfortable. I wouldn't hesitate to fly Swiss again.

Manchester via Zurich to Singapore. Leg room on each of the Manchester Zurich flights was quite good but both long haul flights to and from Singapore were very cramped. The food was reminiscent of package holiday food (very poor and no choice). The crew were not helpful and very sparing with drinks (even water). Shall not use Swissair again and will in future use one of the excellent Asian companies.

Flt LX180 from Zurich to Bangkok on 31/5/13. It was one of the best flights we have had in a long time and we travel a lot. Aircraft was clean and very well maintained, the staff were friendly and efficient and always ready to help. The FA responsible for our section was excellent and nothing was too much trouble. The best bit was when we got off the aircraft in Bangkok the Captain was there thanking all the passengers.

ZRH-CDG flight, CDG-ZRH business trip in Economy - both flights on time and web check-in worked perfectly and saved a lot of time as travelled only with hand luggage. Both flights uneventful and short (50min). First Outbound flight nearly full but received a good service from the SWISS staff. Coffee and croissant ok, but nothing special. Flight back to Zurich a (very) small sandwich was served and (complimentary) alcohol was served (Beer, wine etc)! Great little chocolates as always. Seats good - but if you have the possibility to have a seat within a empty row go for it as comfort is substantially better. No IFE but necessary as short flight. All in all very good experience and good European product.

DXB-ZRH-BCN. I am a frequent flyer and always use this airline within Europe. However, yesterdays long-haul experience made me decide to never fly Swiss again. After appalling management from Dubai offices staff who has been unable to manage correctly a change of date for my return flight (outbound flight had been made in January), I was finally booked on the right day for a EUR 250 change fee. This has been a very bad flight: chaotic check-in made by rude ground-staff, boarding was made in the same atmosphere. Sets were narrow, on-board service nearly non-existent, no interaction with cabin crew. Food was awful and poor. Temperature was cold, with no personal air system. Transfer at Zurich was awful. However, ZRH-BCN flight was excellent. If Swiss provides a good service within Europe, transatlantic and intercontinental flights are overall a very bad product. Never again.

Was going to visit a friend in Trier, Germany in the late July. Flew ARN-ZHR-LUX. A320 and BAE-146. Seats had a great leg space (I'm 174 cm tall), nothing wrong on the "Italian Snack" sandwich I got. Beverages were free to order. Happy and friendly crew, no screen but who needs that on a 2hrs 45 minutes flight. No delays, no hard landings.

ZRH-AMS-ZRH on A320 in Economy. Overall a good experience with good standards from A to Z for an intra Europe flight. FA a bit formal. One can clearly see that LX is part of LH-group those days.

Flew Dusseldorf to Zurich return. Onward flight was full, but crew did their best. Pilot kept us informed during flight, even when we were put on hold before landing in ZRH. Got a nice croissant as well as juice and a cup of coffee. Return flight was full again, but at the boarding gate, agent forced us to give one of our handbag up to be checked in. Agent was rude and was not polite at all. Once on board I asked the purser to get our bag, as there was plenty of room in the bins. She approved to take our bag into the cabin. It fitted easily into the bin. Other passengers who had the same rude agent and did not complain, their bags were checked into the belly. Flight crew did their best. Flight staff excellent, gate staff very poor!

Flew outbound Geneva to Mumbai C-Class and return in First. The outgoing flight in C-Class was nothing special. The lounge in Zurich E terminal is lousy and cramped. The seating onboard is too narrow for me. Have been used to better food. Overall the Gulf airlines give you a better C-Class experience. First Class is a whole different story. Great seating and bedding. Personal transfer in Zurich between the two terminals and wonderful lounge. Definitely the best in the airline industry. Unfortunately Swiss are let down by the horrible feeder flight between Zurich and Geneva. Always cramped, full bulkheads and stressed staff.

CAI-ZRH-LCY-ZRH-CAI. Flight and services were on time and of good quality. Transferring at ZRH can be tedious on a a short connection. In Flight moves were better on the A330 than on the A340, on the latter the screen was very poor. My only criticism, is that I checked in with no hand luggage, but a hold baggage that was 2.8 kilos over. I was charged 85 for this, I thought very high as a silver star alliance member!

Flew HKG via Zurich to BHX. Overnight flight which was excellent especially bed made up to a great standard. Pyjamas were top class comfort. Highlight was FA asking me if she could get me my clothes when I woke! Crew were superb and very professional. Low light was waiting 20 minutes for only toilet in First Class while lady was oblivious to anyone else wanting to use it. Excellent food - huge portions. Wonderful check in at HKG with lady escorting me through security and immigration in minutes and again repeated on return to HK. Biggest disappointment not being able to use FC lounge in Zurich on either leg.

I flew from Budapest to Delhi via Zürich, economy class. 29 April, 2013. First flight on a brand new A320, slim seats to give space for the legs. Nice service, nice croissant with coffee. Zurich airport is spotless, nice design, automatic train under the airport from one terminal to the other. Second flight to DEL, brand new A330. Nice meal, working entertainment system with consol for kids. The system got frozen, they had to restart it two times, but at the end we were able to watch the movies dedicated for first class too. During flight they offered water many times. Before landing light sandwich was ok. The staff were very friendly. Five star service.

A340 from Los Angeles to Zurich and return. Major complaint we have is that in economy class the video screens were difficult to see when the passengers in front of us reclined their seats. The screen doesn't tilt enough to compensate for the angle change created by reclining seats. We were unable to watch movies due to poor visibility. The video system seemed old and mine froze on me a couple of times and had to be rebooted. On a long flight the lack of satisfactory video was a huge drawback for us.

Geneva-Athens in an A319. A very smooth and pleasant flight. We had exit row seats, but even the ordinary seats seamed to be comfortable and have adequate legroom. A small and tasty hot meal was served with beverages. The crew was polite and efficient. The plane was on time and the luggage appeared fairly promptly (albeit a little damp on the outside from having stood in the open during a connection at Geneva while it was raining). The proverbial nice touch - a chocolate - was appreciated.

CDG-ZRH-LAX return. Economy. Legs on A320 were fine for such short flights: thin seats which leave surprisingly good legroom, a bit of decent food and nice FA. A340 very ageing with sad brownish colours. Food was average and not very plentiful, though I could get a true gin tonic. Most FAs were nice and some even very smiling or a bit funny. IFE screens surprisingly large for Y class, with good selection and many languages, yet unfortunately on both legs not working very well. Long delay on first flight, no apologies and not any word from the captain (but the FAs tried their best to manage the situation). ZRH airport is spotless. All in all, not too bad, good value for the money.

Swiss C Class ZRH-BKK quite disappointing. Airplane rather old A340, seats okay but atmosphere quite cramped, Entertainment system took several restarts to finally work and is very slow and old - if you stop a movie and restart it starts from beginning. Service efficient, food complete disaster! They had beef, Gnocchi or a soup - gnocchi were a disaster. Flight on time, Baggage delivery okay. However, whole experience on long haul even worse than Lufthansa, far below Austrian or Thai! Seats are full flat but very very narrow.

Prague to London-City with a layover at Basel/Mulhouse. Both flights on the Avro RJ100, soon to be retired, although still a nice aircraft with good seats and reasonable personal space. With both flights full, carry-on storage was an issue, but otherwise a problem-free journey, aided by the quick and efficient staff and handling at all three airports. Swiss still provides drinks, snacks and the signature chocolates on their flights, making the experience all the more pleasant.

Very unpleasant experience with Swiss on a flight from Rome to Kiev stepping over in Zurich: First flight was very late for the fog in Rome (no complains on that) but the assistance of Swiss personnel was terrible: the lady didn't have a monitor and was asking by phone other flight possibilities. On the flight to Zurich I had to insist with the hostess to check the connection and give me assistance to arrive quickly to the gate for the flight to Kiev. Arriving in Zurich with very tight connection nobody assisted me and I had to run end to end in the Zurich airport. This company is cheap but it seems it is not able to manage problems.

EWR-ZHR and ZHR-ORD in Economy. Clean, new planes with great IFE. Food out of EWR was average, but the food out of ZHR was outstanding. FA's were friendly, and restrooms were clean. I think it has been over 20 years since I have had real silverware in Economy, but Swiss provided it on both flights. Wine, cheese, and chocolate were great. I fly to Europe several times per year, and this is probably the best Economy class experience I have had in many years.

Flew from Johannesburg to Zurich on A340. Didn't have pyjamas in my size on board. The cabin is very dated when compared to the new Swiss First on A330. The seat was very uncomfortable fully reclined as it is not completely flat (the backrest still extended slightly outwards and the mattress cover they provide is not thick enough to iron out all irregularities). When I ordered a coffee in the morning I had to remind flight attendant again ca. 10 minutes later. The cabin was full and the one small bathroom was crowded in the morning with people changing again. I would not recommend the First class product on A340. I also wish the Swiss crew would loosen up a bit more. They come across as very uptight when compared to the Lufthansa crew who often seem happy to serve you.

Friday 15th March, Zurich to Shanghai Pudong in Business Class. A family with a child (supposed to stay on the parent's lap but of course it did not stay there) kept the entire Business Section awake because of the child's loud voice. Cabin crew went out of their way to ignore the problem. Even discounting the anti-social behaviour: when will airlines learn how to do the maths? Introduce child-free sections, and enforce it! Then the seats. Extremely hard, like sleeping on a bunk. To top it off, the captain had announced a quiet flight (weather wise) but over half of the time we experienced turbulence. While the latter is of course not due to the airline, it still counts as the worst flight of my life. I will avoid Swiss Business long haul until they have one or two problems sorted out.

LCY to ZRH April 2013, Business Class. Good service in the air, unfortunately let down by the policy of allocating both A and B seats in business class in a 2-3 configuration. Their competitor on this route only allocates either or in the same scenario. On this flight there were 8 rows of business class, which equals a capacity of 32 seats. There were only 8 passengers, so why Swiss insisted on seating solo passengers right next to each other in the AB seats, and leaving so many rows free, is a mystery.

CDG-ZRH-ATH return. Very disappointing use of business class due to wishing to have large seats, the 3-3 combination but airline had chosen to block the middle seat with a completely hard table that is not removable, this gives the impression that the seat is even smaller than in economy as there is no way of raising the arm rest to expand over into the middle seat - as a large person the idea of having extra space is why I paid for business. Staff did their best to try to move me, which ended up by moving economy passengers around and putting me in economy with a free seat next to me. A solution but not nice when you are expecting a business class experience. Staff were trying to make up for this by being particularly attentive but bear this in mind if you wish to have more space. It would have been cheaper for me to pay for 2 seats in economy. If I were a smaller/average size person it might have been a good experience as food was nice and service was great - but bad seats let them down. On the return journey I had only 10 mins to transfer planes due to the late takeoff and this was a bit stressful.

Leg from EWR to ZRH on an A330-300 in Economy. Flew from Newark to Zurich on an A330-300. Plane seemed to be new, in very good shape, clean and with nice brown colors. Check in very quick and efficient, I had seat no. 28 B with limited recline due to a metal box behind. Space between seats small as in other airlines (I’m 6.4’ tall), but comfortable. Good VOD with a nice screen. The crew were very attentive and discreet, spoke German, English, Italian and French. Served food wasn't very tasty (maybe because it was an US-Outbound fly and the food wasn't prepared by Swiss) but sufficient. They serve real cutlery even in Economy, not plastic as the other airlines do. I travel a lot between North America and Europe. It was the first time I tried Swiss on this route and I'm sure, I will try to fly them again in future. The price was very good.

Travelled Business Class on Airbus A330, Muscat - Dubai, Dubai - Zurich. Overall not impressed. The business class cabin had a distinct "Premium Economy" feel to it, it simply does not compare to other experiences I've had on British Airways, Virgin Upper Class, or Cathay Pacific. The flatbed was the most uncomfortable I have ever experienced travelling business class. The bed was narrow, very hard, the pillow miserably thin and the blanket straight out of economy. I distinctly recall lying awake angry thinking this is not a business class bed. I felt like I had slept on a park bench for the night. Regretfully until it has a refit I won't be choosing this airline again.

MUC-ZRH on March 31st. Swiss is going downhill. First it is time that they get this Avroliners up. Very noisy airplane. Crew consisted of 2 young female flight attendants with rude attitude. Service was abysmal. This is my 2nd bad experience on flights within Europe and I really don't know if I would fly with them on a long distance flight. Flight left late and arrived late.

ZRH-LAX in economy. Boarding was on time, but flight left with 45 minutes delay. Plane was a very old A340, worn out miserable seats. I had 23D, which offers extra legroom, but the seat is very narrow due to the remote being on the side taking about 1 inch from the seat width. Tray was broken and did not come out. Several panels were loose as well. Remote for the entertainment system was worn out and I needed 10 or more tries to get to the movie I wanted. Flight attendants were unfriendly, they were hardly visible. When I asked for a Coke I was told had to come to the galley in the back to pick it up. Food was very bad. Arrival delay also 45 minutes. One of the most miserable transatlantic flights I have had in years. I will endure the flight back but then look for alternatives in my future travel.

Zürich to Hamburg in Business Class. Nice welcome onboard as always, when flying with them. Shortly after a bottle of mineral water and a refreshing towel was offered. Good announcements made by Captain as we had lots of morning traffic in Zurich. Seats in between window and aisle were empty for more Comfort. As soon as we were on our flight level the morning meal was served. Nice tablet with 2 Slices of Swiss cheese, butter and marmalade and a fresh yoghurt was offered. Fresh OJ and good coffee. A good and on time flight with a professional and smiling crew and a good breakfast.

Two excellent long hauls in business class: JNB-ZRH and ZRH-ORD. Aircraft's were clean and the crews professional and friendly. The AVOD was slightly slow in responding but good choices. While seats were a little narrow, they still allowed for some good sleep. Nice fresh choices for each meal, including the Movenpick ice cream, and gourmet plate (instead of usual tea and scones). Definitely recommend Swiss.

Airbus 340 SFO-ZRH-SFO, Dec 2012. Excellent service both ways and no delays, in-fact early arrival! Business Class was superb and Flight Attendants excellent. The food was great as was the entertainment. I only fly SWISS from/to Europe/North America.

Zurich to Los Angeles and return in A340. Both flights on time. Cabin crew on both flights not very present in cabin during the 12+ hour flight. Service slow but friendly, smiles were rare. Food was ok. Wine selection very good. IFE on both flights not working properly. Ticket too expensive for what was offered. I fly with Swiss quite often and do miss the most important asset they had in the past: the personal touch.

Flight from JFK to ZRH in economy. Great seat with plenty of legroom in 29A. Flight perfectly on time in spite of the adverse weather. Ground crew and cabin crew very efficient, calm, and nice. Good meal for economy, good flight entertainment. Overall a very good experience!

ZRH-JFK v.v. Food was fantastic and excellent service. Seat for outbound flight was very comfortable. Inbound flight was upgraded to First class seat - excellent experience.

ZRH-TLV-ZRH. Purser welcomed every passenger on board and directed them to their seats. Shortly after taking my seat a flight attendant came with refreshing towels and a bottle of water. On time departure with good announcement of purser and pilot. Short after take off nuts and aperitif were offered and shortly after the meals were served (of course after giving out the menu card and selecting the meal). Lots of nice bread offered with the meals as well as the selection of drinks. The seats are very good despite being a little narrow if you are a bit bigger than the "normal". Return flight was also very good. Crew handled a moaning passenger professionally and with a smile. Great to fly with them!

Compared to Lufthansa the cabin crew is not as well trained. The service is very basic for business class standards. Usually if you name a wine the staff doesn't know which one you mean which is ridiculous because they only have two to three different ones on board. Swiss FA's don't call you once by your name.

Swiss from JFK to Zurich and from Zurich to Copenhagen 27th and 28th Feb with family. First flight on an A330 and second on A321. Both planes looked brand new with nice interior. "Normal" legroom and seat comfort, wasn't more or less than Lufthansa or SAS. Was impressed how clean they kept cabin and especially toilets during the long haul flight. Nice, service minded stewardesses. Fair food, dinner, breakfast and nice wines. Good working personal entertainment system with a wide range of movies etc. Warm, wet towels before landing. We boarded long haul flight on time but were still delayed due to loading the aircraft. In air one hour behind schedule. Good information from cockpit , landed almost an hour after scheduled time so we only had 25 min in between the two flights but managed it even though arrival and next departure was on different terminals. Flight number 2 also nice experience. Friendly crew, offered sandwiches and drinks. Impressed that they managed to reload all our luggage within so short time but everything, golf bags and suitcases, came as it should on arrival in Copenhagen. Will absolutely fly them again.

Flight from Zurich to Newark on a brand new Airbus A330. Seats comfortable, great service with very attentive and nice flight attendants. The Inflight entertainment is very good. Sleeping on the lie-flat beds is very appreciable. Flight on time. I highly recommend SWISS.

MAD-ZRH-BUD. Departed late from Madrid but we were able to make the connection at Zurich and the crew apologized many times for the delay. On board service was good as well as the snacks served. Overall a pleasant experience and I will happily fly them again.

MCT-ZRH-FRA on 30 Jan 13. Swiss lounge in Muscat shabby! On board experience excellent: Very attentive and friendly staff, best food and wine quality I have had on a plane for a very long time, beds comfortable with cosy linen sheet and pillow covers. Transfer in Zurich swift and again very friendly with private minibus pick-up from plane, accelerated immigration and direct transfer to the 1st class lounge, which was small but excellent. Very short second leg onwards to FRA was uneventful.

Flight MIA-ZRH in First Class. Nice cabin in Airbus A330-300. Very good pre-flight service in Miami. Very good food and wine selection. Comfortable seats with a complete bed.

From Moscow DME to Zürich. Check-in was time consuming. Waiting time was 50 minutes to board an Airbus A321. Seats were not good, first row behind the business class, plane fully booked, no space in the overhead compartments so the space was even further reduced. Cabin crew passive and not overly helpful. Flight was on time, plane not the latest but in an acceptable condition.

LHR-SFO. All flights almost on time which is quite remarkable considering the poor weather conditions. Food and beverage service above average for economy. Staff were continuously coming through cabin with water and if you wanted something a little stronger you could head to the galley where a snack bar was set up and drinks would be dispensed quite freely. Seats are as comfortable as they're ever going to be in economy, leg room not great but once again this economy so can't complain. My only gripe would be that the inflight entertainment is a bit antiquated, not touch screen on the A340 and has a fiddly little remote in the arm rest with a mind of its own. Also the screen quality is brilliant and the headphones awful. All in all a good first impression and will definitely fly Swiss again.

MAD-ZRH-GRU-ZRH-MAD. And GRU-SCL-GRU codeshare with TAM. In MAD fast and efficient check-in. Short hops MAD-ZRH-MAD in 320, clean aircraft's and quite comfortable seats. Snacks served not up to Swiss standards but good choice of drinks. Transit in ZRH very easy and nice. ZRH is a good airport for transferring with many shops and restaurants although a bit pricey. Long haul legs in a bit dated but well kept 340s. Dinner on both flights was tasty but portions too small. Breakfast, like in most flights nowadays a big let down. A box with cold stale bread, croissant and juice and yoghurt with hot drinks. Seats were comfortable but a bit cramped, especially if you are in the window, but still managed a few hours sleep. PTV working well but didn't use it much. All flights on time. All in all a good experience and would fly them again.

MAN-ZRH-BEG, flight from Manchester boarded on time however after door was closed told there was a 40 delaye. This delay turned into 1hr 45 minutes and all we were provided with was water and it was not until after much customer protest was the toilets allowed to be used. Into Zurich an hour late and was informed connecting flight had waited. Again got on board and doors were closed and again informed there would be a delay due to Zurich not giving clearance. We sat on plane 3 hours again with only water and a bar of chocolate to be then informed Swiss had cancelled the flight due to operational reasons. As we queued at immigration we noticed our plane was now being used for a flight to Athens! We got put up in the Hilton which was nice enough but would of preferred to be at my destination.

FRA-ZRH-JNB and return. Short and normal flight from Frankfurt to Zurich. Late departure flight from Zurich to Johannesburg in A340-300. Seat 5K. Rather disappointed, because small space only. Sitting at window - shoulder is touching the window wall all the time. Hard seat, medium selection in IFE. Small but good dinner. Flight attendants not very friendly, except the purser. On the way back same seat in row 7 with same problems. Dinner and wine again tasteful and good inflight attendants. Check in always good, luggage came very fast on to the belt.

PEK-ZRH on A343. Was probably the best long-haul flight I've experienced. Everything was just perfect. Fortunately, that day I flew, the load factor was incredibly low, so there was a lot of room for all passengers. AVOD is oldish, but still can make a good service. Swiss is my European No.1 for long-haul flights.

MAD-ZHR-MAN return. Excellent on-time flights all round with charming and courteous FAs and very good in- flight catering. Smooth check-ins and transfers at Zurich - it's a very easy airport to negotiate. Leg room is perhaps on the meagre side for a full service carrier.

Excellent flight from LHR to JFK via Geneva. Despite leaving London late we were met in Geneva and rushed to the plane where flight attendants appeared to be expecting us. Clean and new Airbus 320 aircraft with good flight entertainment which kept the kids quiet. Food not bad although kids offering unappetising. Courteous and friendly staff, couldn't fault them. Flight came out cheapest on Skyscanner so for the minor inconvenience of going via Geneva offered very good value for a family of four. Only downside was unable to confirm flights on website, very frustrating but didn't seem to matter at check-in. Would recommend this airline.

Route: JFK-ZHR-CPH. First leg was surprisingly good, flight was full, aircraft was 330-200 was okay. Seats were perfect even in economy. Food was good, IFE was excellent with broad options. Staff were not that welcoming, but overall kind and helpful. Second leg - I slept the mot of the time, but everything was efficient and quick. Overall good airline according to price.

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