Swiss Intl Air Lines

BHX-ZRH-SIN return. Swiss has made some subtle but noticeable improvements to their longhaul inflight product since my last flight with them in 2013. Menus are now provided, proper metal cutlery is now used, meals taste better and the crew on all four flights seemed friendlier than before. Still no amenity kits provided on a 12-hour flight. IFE is still dreadful and the A340 cabin is woefully out of date with no power points and huge IFE boxes under some seats. I recommend seats 24A and 24K to avoid the boxes if you want a window seat. As per usual with Swiss, all flights were impeccably on-time and Zurich is a joy to transit through.

Trip from GVA-ZRH-GRU and return, the Swiss staff, professional and experienced as most airlines could hope for. The A343 seems in good shape when you enter the cabin, really nice the light coloured wood with dark brown seats, very smart. I measure 176 cm so the seats in full flat position were quite good, no worries there, the food was enough and good. The only down side was the inflight entertainment system. They have an ok selection in films but the screen size and resolution is not up to business class standards, some airlines have a better system even in Economy. I do hope that they improve with the new B777 entering next year. The 12 inch is not nearly good enough and the resolution is passable. Films with dark background or with shots from night are not very visible - Swiss will need to improve in this field, especially on long flights.

Last week I flew four sectors with LX all flights were late. Flew LHR-ZRH-LUG (LX333 & LX2912) and MUC-ZRH-LHR (LX1105 & LX326). The excuses were lack of crew even after we had boarded the transfer bus from terminal to aircraft and the late arrival of the inbound. Once onboard the service was always friendly and professional. The leg room was good. However the aircraft always seemed to be hot. Even when in the air. The free chocolate on each flight was a great touch. Baggage arrived at the end of each flight.

MAN-HKG-MAN. Flights went via Zurich and booked exit rows on 3 out of the legs. For some reason I could not book exit row on the Hong Kong to Zurich leg which turned to be the worst of the 4 as passenger next to me had no concept of personal space. Tried to drop hints every time he nudged kicked or used my shoulder as a surrogate pillow but he spoke no English so I just gave up. Despite that I thought nearly all aspects of the product were excellent apart from the inflight entertainment system on the A340 between Zurich and Hong Kong. Decent choice of music and films but the system itself kept stalling when making menu selections (not when actually watching a movie). Seat seemed a touch narrower than other economy long haul flights I have been on but certainly comfortable and not too hard.

Business class Hong Kong to Zurich and Zurich to New York. Despite a lot of negative reviews we found the staff to be very friendly and pleasant. Food choices were quite good also and beverage service readily available after meals. Admittedly the seats are old and as hard as a rock and thus as lay flat beds much the same really need replacing to keep up with other airlines. IFE could do with an overhaul too. But in general a reasonable experience. Flights on time.

I flew to Zurich from Montreal last week. The food that I had was great (chicken and rice outbound chicken meatloaf on the return flight). Flight attendants were great as well. The only problem was the entertainment system. On the flight to Zurich everyone's systems worked except for my row and a few around. They tried individually resetting them but no success. After three and a half hours and a reboot of the entire flight's system it worked. On the way back to Montreal the entertainment worked for only about one hour and a half then three reboots had to be done (each lasting 30+ mins) before they worked again. Flight attendants worked hard in trying to get them to work and did apologize for all of the inconveniences. Movie TV shows and game selection was good. Overall good experience other than the slight problems with the entertainment.

May 5th Flight #7679 to Zurich from San Francisco. May 14th Flight #7682 to San Francisco from Zurich. The flights were smooth on time and we had a non-stop flight from California to Switzerland and back. Check in was seamless. Although busy lines on return flight it was quick and organized. Attendants on the plane were very friendly courteous and accommodating. Never had so much food on a flight and good food! Not enough leg room for my tall hubby and even me but otherwise we will definitely fly Swiss again!

17 May Flight 2277. A short flight from Ljubljana to Zurich on an Avro RJ-100. Even though the flight was only just over an hour we were well looked after. We got a light lunch plus drinks. Crew were friendly and the aircraft was suitable for its purpose. A pleasant flight.

ZRH-HKG-ZRH in Business. Outward journey was fine the single seats are a nice touch although the inflight entertainment needed be reset a couple of times. Food excellent and good selection of wines. The staff on board were very good but the return flight was excellent. Smiling staff for a completely full Business Class section the 'throne' single seat again very comfortable and the massage function rather nice. No problems with entertainment and a good nights sleep. The food designed by the Peninsular Hotel was very tasty. I appreciate that these A340s are getting a bit long in the tooth but they are due to be replaced with B777ERs. Having said that and whilst there are not the gimmicks of other airlines SWISS have got the Business Class product really good. For 12 hour overnight flights I was impressed and think they are good value. Cathay have just started this route again but the SWISS product is top notch and to be recommended.

ZRH-TLS-ZRH. Since May 1st Swiss has a direct flight from Zurich to Toulouse. I was very satisfied with all the services they have provided. Ground and Cabin staff were very courteous and efficient. Both flights left and arrived on time. I am looking forward to my next flight to TLS. The only minor point is that they fly this route with the aging RJ100 - very noisy and not that comfy.