Swiss Intl Air Lines

JFK-GVA A330. I had been wait listed for Business from my full flexi economy ticket however all ground staff I talked to simply fobbed me off with 'only if there is a no show'. I had blocked 40k miles for this. Upon boarding was told business was full and was not going to happen. Strangely enough there was over 4 empty seats in Business when all passengers were seated. FA when asked said it was out of her control. In Economy - cabin was full and seat space is very compact. IFE is on demand however I found the screens even at the lowest brightness to be still very bright. Earphones painful after an hour. Food was acceptable however there was no choice only chicken provided. Breakfast was a croissant and yoghurt and the FA did come around again with a second batch of croissants. FA on our aisle was young and very friendly. However on occasion some of the older crew would come by barking orders at customers. Seat quality for sleeping is terrible new Recarro seats they should not be used for long haul. No possible way to get comfortable. The cabin temperature dropped massively during the night. Eventually the crew when torn away from their chatting at the back turned the temp back up. This was my first and last time using Swiss Long haul. Much better products out there.

NBO-ZRH. I was really looking forward to C class on Swiss and while it was fine it was not quite what I expected. Seats are full flat but getting into the flat position is awkward. Staff nice. Entertainment was only fair. Food was a let down. There was a late night supper with a less than exciting macaroni and cheese but dessert was quite good and the chocolates are a nice touch. Breakfast was decent. The arrival lounge at ZRH was great.

ZRH-CPH-ZRH in C and ZRH-BCN and MUC-ZRH with LX in Y. Nothing noteworthy and the typical efficient Swiss flights in Europe as one could expect. Slight delay to BCN but on time from MUC and CPH. Staff a mix of friendly and cold but still better than some other airlines. Breakfast in C to and from CPH which was cheese with a fruit salad and warm bread and choice of sandwich between ZRH-BCN which is a nice change in Y. Swiss offers a consistent product but could improve on the cabin staff friendliness as this aspect is the inconsistent factor with Swiss and always has been. Staff in C is usually much friendlier though which is expected of course.

Zürich-Bangkok on A340 on 21 October. Business class lounge in Zürich is very comfortable and has good facilities but a limited range of food and drink. Boarding was smooth and the flight on time. The quality and availability of food and drink on board were excellent. Staff were friendly and efficient. In lay-back mode I found the seat to be very comfortable and it seemed longer than the one on the A330; however in seated mode there is a hard area on the flat part of the seat that is a bit uncomfortable. Overall a very pleasant experience.

GVA-LCY-GVA. Received an SMS as arriving at GVA to be informed that flight was cancelled due to technical problems with the plane. Offered a switch to LHR but opted for morning flight to LCY instead. SWISS arranged for a nice 4* hotel with dinner and flew next morning. Full flight but good service chocolate croissant etc... Return flight not so busy. Problems can arise with any airline due to aircraft technical problems but it is how the airline deals with it that counts.

Florence-Zurich: unbelievable boarding procedure. Even though the flight was not fully booked Swiss had all passengers checking in any trolley hand-baggage including all those ones within permitted size and weight. All impacted passengers 80% of the flying ones including me got really upset. Swiss personnel were not really polite to passengers. One of other passengers told me that this procedure is common at Swiss Florence desk.

JFK-Zurich-London City in A330 and RJ100.Smooth online check-in and bag drop at JFK. The lounge was pleasant but a limited range of food. Onboard the seat to Zurich was comfortable though when fully laid back was a little short for my 188cm length. The food and drink were excellent and service was exemplary. The transfer at Zurich airport was easy. On the RJ100 our bulkhead seats were comfortable enough and the cabin attendant was very attentive. A pleasant light meal was served and our suitcases arrived promptly. I recommend Swiss.

LCY-BSL. Comment written bearing in mind that LX is selling themselves as a premium airline. Flight operated by Swiss European former Crossair aircraft. Instead of having a hand luggage baggage and a laptop bag decided to have everything in once piece of hand luggage. Resulted in a bit heavier rucksack but compared to other trolleys of other passengers still considerably lighter. (As I assisted fellow passengers placing their luggage). Maitre de Cabin decided that my rucksack had to go into the overhead bin which I agreed to and offered to assist. She declined assistance but when placing it in the bin she screamed down the whole aisle if I was carrying stones in it. Upon take off asked her very politely if that was professional and only got a sarcastic smile and a I dont care body movement. My fellow passengers around me where not amused as well. On top of that she talked about me and my rucksack with her colleague in Swiss German while serving food not considering that I might even speak Swiss German which I do. Snack was a weird cheese in "curry" sandwich that was left aside by many passengers. Usually they serve decent sandwiches though. Full bar service. In all slightly delayed but efficient flight. Let down by unprofessional FAs.

Flew on 5 September Zurich to Los Angeles on LX40 Business Class a day flight of 11 hours. Shortly after lunch the cabin staff proceeded to close all the window blinds making the cabin dark as if it was a night flight and stopped people opening them until two hours before landing. This made it even harder to cope with jetlag as the plane arrived at around 5pm Pacific time and we were expected to go to sleep again. Complained to Swiss who basically said "it's policy". The selection offered in the entertainment system is poor and the food not brilliant when you consider what you pay for the ticket.

Overall a terrible experience. Two months before the flight I requested a bassinet for my daughter and asked Swiss to reserve seats for us close to bassinet. When I got onboard I found our seats far away from bassinet. We needed to ask people sitting in front to change their seats with ours. Additionally the cabin crew were very rude. When I requested a toy for my daughter the hostess reacted with an angry tone and said 'do not you see I am busy?'. She continued to show the same disrespectful behaviours during the flight. Moreover the food was an awful pasta dish.