>LX147 DEL-ZRH, A330, C-Class, 7K, 0200 departure

I took my seat the first row (7 on a LX A332) and found my seatmate was a blue-blooded Manhattanite with a Park Avenue Penthouse and an extensive fine art and rare pottery collection. She was very snippy with the FAs (who were excellent) and became perturbed when she was refused champagne before the flight departed and was told that she would have to stow her oversized Louis Vuitton bag in the overhead compartment. She complained to me that the seats on LX were not like Virgin Atlantic’s and that the only reason she was using LX was so that she could visit a friend near ZRH. We talked for quite a while during the flight and she was actually a very nice person.

In addition to top-notch service, the meals were also excellent. Prior to departure, we were given breakfast cards to fill out—much like the room service door hangers in hotel rooms—indicating whether we wanted to be awakened for breakfast prior to landing and what we wanted. I ordered a smoothie, orange juice, fruit, yogurt, and an omelet. I was also not quite ready to go to sleep so I partook in the light meal after takeoff. The chicken burrito and cold chicken breast was very tasty (although after three days of chicken tikka, I did not exactly need any more chicken!). I started to watch a very disturbing German movie about a woman who goes into depression after giving birth to her child, but I fell asleep and was out for about four hours. Not bad for a recliner seat.

An observation that I quickly picked up on is that although UA and LX have very similar recliner seats in some of their aircraft, LX has kept the seats clean (as well as the whole plane) and in working order. That makes a difference. On my last UA international Business Class flight, the foot rest was broken and the cabin was filthy…

We landed early in ZRH and I bid my new friend goodbye then proceeded past passport control to the arrivals lounge.