Swiss Intl Air Lines

We flew in march from Johannesburg to Zurich. The flight quality overall was very low. The entertainment system was very old (prehistoric) small screen very few movies and almost half of my leg room was cut due to the entertainment system “box”. Food was poor quality and service very rough. I used to know Swiss from the past and had much better memories than my recent findings. The flight ticket price was ok but far from cheap.

BKK-GVA A340-300. The seat pitch is ridiculous and seats are too hard. Legroom very small and IFE box takes some space. IFE average. Food excellent service good on time. Zurich airport very good little lines fast transit. Swiss will replace the A340 by Boeing 777 soon. I hope they will privilege seat comfort and legroom for these long haul carriers the current ones are not good at all.

We just finished flying LAX-Zurich-Rome and Venice-Zurich-LA on the way back). Several of those legs were delayed but only by a few minutes each and they were honestly apologetic about even that much so I'm not complaining. All the cabin staff was friendly and helpful. Food was decent by ground standards but mind blowingly good by economy seat on a plane standards compared to other airlines I've flown. We got a full meal and a sandwich going one way and a meal a sandwich and ice cream going the other way - all several steps above edible. Free booze on the longer legs too! (Various little bottles of spirits plus the house red/white wines. Wines merely drinkable spirits were fairly classy considering we were in coach and they were free. If you want Campari though I learned you have to grab it quickly as they always ran out. Checking in our bags at LAX was the most painless experience I've had checking in. Zurich airport by contrast is surprisingly a bit of a madhouse but while the lines there were long once we figured out which line to stand in it also moved remarkably quickly so we weren't in line for too long. I would definitely fly with SWISS again unless one of the other small handful of respectable airlines were way cheaper. That said not everything was perfect: their website was having issues all the time (we had to call to get our confirmation numbers and to reserve seats because their web reservation system was all kinds of buggy). Our seats on the transatlantic flights were quite cramped (I'm extremely thankful we got seats that were only 2 across or the flight would have been hell. It was still a bit cramped even just me and my wife.) The transatlantic flights also didn't have individual seat-controllable air and as a result got rather stuffy one of the flights.

Clean plane. Pleasant crew. Food and entertainment are good. Seats were narrow and not well padded but considering that planes are designed as mass public transport in the air - can't complain too much. We really liked Zurich Airport as a transit point to other destinations. It is small modern and not at all chaotic like some of the bigger transit airports. If you land during the day and have a window seat you get a fabulous view of the Alps. Would use this airline again.

Zurich-Montreal return in A330-300. My first experience with the SWISS long haul business product and very impressed. On the outgoing flight the Maitre de Cabine personally came around addressed every passenger in C by name and wished everybody a most pleasant flight. The meals on long haul flights leaving Zurich are prepared by starred chefs accompanied by good quality Swiss wines which are hard to get outside of Switzerland. Of course on the flight back meal quality is not in this luxury range though adequate. The new business seat converts to a fully flat bed I couldn't wish for more. Flights were punctual as a clock too.

I was pleasantly satisfied with Swiss Airline the flights were always clean and on time the crew very friendly and always smiling. Another highly positive aspect of flying with Swiss airline is that you get plenty of leg space (compared to other airlines) and the seats are very comfortable even on short distance routes which shows that Swiss airline is one of the few airlines these days which doesn't compromise quality. We got free Swiss chocolates from the crew as well as sandwiches and drinks. However the sandwiches contained either meat or cheese and that was disappointing for a vegan like me so I would like to see animal-free meal choices next time I fly with Swiss. I would definitely fly with Swiss again and I would definitely recommend Swiss airline to everyone.

ORD-ZRH on an A330. Pros: Flight was on time. Cabin service was performed with the usual Swiss efficiency - meal service was quickly served and cleaned up which allowed plenty of time to sleep without interruption. Food was actually very good - dinner was choice of chicken and rice or Swiss dumplings with vegetables and cheese sauce. The dumplings were quite good served in a generous portion with a salad roll and dessert. Also offered a nice variety compared to usual economy fare. Cons: Seats were very narrow and a bit hard though the legroom was adequate. It was tolerable for this flight but would have been very cramped had the flight been any longer. IFE was OK had average selection of TV movies and music.

LX 288 ZRH-JNB May 6th 2014. Business class. A really good flight in an A330 with the now excellent flat beds and space. The food wine and the service were excellent with a 30 minute early arrival at JNB. The starboard seats are the ones to go for as they are single. The only criticism I have - a Swiss IA responsibility though the service is subcontracted - is that in the business lounge there is free wi-fi but only for 60 consecutive minutes. After that there is a charge. As I had a 5hr wait this was very inconvenient. Surely having pitched up a business class fare they could at least emulate many high street coffee shops and provide unlimited wi-fi without charge. it's not a big charge in the context of the fare more a matter of principle.

Thai Airways late arriving into Zurich and missed LH connection to FRA. Swiss rerouted ticket ZRH to ORD and I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how improved the Swiss Air service was (used to fly them regularly 10 years ago). The Tuscan red wine was superb and chicken cardon blue was excellent even for air travel. Staff were very friendly and helpful to both my wife and I. LX008 on 29 April.

On a flight from Boston to Zurich I have been upgraded to Business Class. My very first experience in this class. Overall it was a very good journey of course. The 4 year old A330 was clean and comfortable. Staff friendly helpful and professionally. Sometimes maybe not so charming as they could or should be. Flight was very pleasant and we landed as scheduled in Zurich.