Bretteee
Jun 13, 02, 11:26 pm
What a difference 2 months can make. When I took my first SWISS rountrip GVA-NYC Y class flight in April, the loads were only between 20% to 25%. However at the end of May the flights were 100% full in both directions.
Check in at GVA was fast but one thing that struck me was that the Agent this time did not ask me 1 question whatsoever in regards to security, packing etc.
This A330 unlike in April had the new colour scheme with a red cross on each wing tip which is quite pretty to look at from inside the plane.
My co-worker with whom I was travelling remarked she felt depressed because everyone in the Y cabin seemed to be under 30 years of age and it made her feel old. Flying with company made the 8 1/2 hour flight go by pretty fast.
We were 30 minutes late departing due to some technical hitch. Because the plane was full it took 2 hours to get our lunch compared to 1 hour when the plane was empty in April. The cheese crackers and pretzels they served us were pretty tasty. However when the hostesses started serving lunch I dreaded it as I had such a bad experience on my flights 2 months before. I knew this time that by hook or by crook I had to order the chicken and avoid the pasta dish at all costs.
By the time the hostesses reached row 39 in the back they were of course out of chicken and we were offered only "spagetti." I learnt my lesson. Sit in the front Y section, not in the back otherwise you get no choice.
When my co-worker saw the sight of the spaghetti she told the hostess not to give her any as it looked so bad.
She gave her the tray without the spagetti but offered to give her also her "crew lunch" as she said she did not want it.
The crew lunch consisted of 1 pear and a tiny ham sandwich with the cheapest quality rubbery ham.
Recently I read that American/AA crews received permission to eat the same meals as Y passengers.
The spagetti was greasy and the basilic sauce tasted of chemicals. The best part was the steamed spinach.
I was so appalled by the sight of this dish that I stared at it in disbelief. It took me a good 5 minutes to realise that they had forgotten to give me a piece of cake! Instead the cake which everyone else got, was replaced by a miniature hard plum.
When I showed this to the hostess she apologised that the kitchen had made an error and had replaced the miniature cheese cake instead with a mini- hard plum!
The salad instead of carrot like 2 months ago, was downgraded to small pieces of green lettuce which to me looked like weeds.
One hour after I finished the meal the hostess popped by my seat with a cheese cake which she happenned to find. I have to say that though it was tiny, it tasted very good and had a rasberry base which was good.
We were surrounded by young Polish students who had changed planes in both Zurich and Geneva. The males did not stop drinking whiskey, cognac etc as it is free. They even wanted to drink as we were landing but the hostess told them the bar was closed.
Now I understand why Continental plans to charge $4 a drink and use the money to improve the food. Some people abuse the free drink policy and it's those of us non drinkers who are subsidising these folks.
Half way we were offered Movenpick vanilla ice cream. 2 months ago we had a choice but no more.
When the snack came by the time they reached row 39 all the cheese sandwiches were gone so we had to eat a beef sandwich but it was very tasty. And because the hostess wanted to be nice to us she offered another sandwich and even a 3rd but I was too embarassed to accept. This came with 2 tasty cookies but again we were offered 2 more.
JFK-GVA return: Unlike in April check in at JFK took 5 minutes vs. 45 minutes. The reason I was told for this was that TAP Portugal with whom SWISS shares the counters with was not operating that day.
My co-worker immediately noticed that most passengers were 20 year old American college kids going to Europe for the summer. Again she mentioned how depressed they made her feel and that she wanted to be "young" again!
The passenger sitting in the aisle across me seemed to be an employee of the airline. He was joking around with the crew as if he knew them. I was amused by his remark that ...."the seats were very narrow." I mentioned this fact in my previous report so I am not the only one who feels that way.
As dinner was approaching we both dreaded what they planned to serve us.One choice was beef and the other the same drab penne pasta I had 2 months before. But this time they improved it slightly with a meat sauce.
The Swiss lady sitting behind me told her husband who was sitting next to me that her beef dish was "disgusting." My sister who had taken the flight 2 weeks before told me the exact same thing. So again it seems that I am not the only one who feels this way. At first I thought that maybe I was a bit of a fusspot.
The salad this time was slightly better as it had a tiny piece of an egg and a tomato in it. The tiny apple cake was identical to the one they served 2 months ago.
Breakfast has been expanded from 1 croissant to also include 1 roll together with the traditional 1 banana and 1 strawberry banana yoghurt. Wow they really are into bananas.
I was trying to figure out why I disliked my breakfast so much. The answer was that the cheap tiny amount of strawberry jam they serve is the lowest quality and tastes of sugar.
Why can't SWISS serve decent jam like on Alitalia. Ironically Alitalia serves Hero jam which is Swiss; cherry and apricot which are my favourite. One would think that a Swiss airline which prides itself on being Swiss would serve at least Swiss manufactured jam instead of that cheap strawberry sugar.
I have to say that the SWISS crews are the friendliest. They are hiring now as young as 18 years old. The ads say they must be able to deal with difficult to please passengers!
The only thing that impresses me about SWISS is the young crews who are full of energy and seem devoted to their job. I give them
10/10.
Comfort: 5/10 and food 3/10.Entertainment 8/10 as they offer more musical channels than other airline I have been on which is also bearable to listen to without going mad!
Check in at GVA was fast but one thing that struck me was that the Agent this time did not ask me 1 question whatsoever in regards to security, packing etc.
This A330 unlike in April had the new colour scheme with a red cross on each wing tip which is quite pretty to look at from inside the plane.
My co-worker with whom I was travelling remarked she felt depressed because everyone in the Y cabin seemed to be under 30 years of age and it made her feel old. Flying with company made the 8 1/2 hour flight go by pretty fast.
We were 30 minutes late departing due to some technical hitch. Because the plane was full it took 2 hours to get our lunch compared to 1 hour when the plane was empty in April. The cheese crackers and pretzels they served us were pretty tasty. However when the hostesses started serving lunch I dreaded it as I had such a bad experience on my flights 2 months before. I knew this time that by hook or by crook I had to order the chicken and avoid the pasta dish at all costs.
By the time the hostesses reached row 39 in the back they were of course out of chicken and we were offered only "spagetti." I learnt my lesson. Sit in the front Y section, not in the back otherwise you get no choice.
When my co-worker saw the sight of the spaghetti she told the hostess not to give her any as it looked so bad.
She gave her the tray without the spagetti but offered to give her also her "crew lunch" as she said she did not want it.
The crew lunch consisted of 1 pear and a tiny ham sandwich with the cheapest quality rubbery ham.
Recently I read that American/AA crews received permission to eat the same meals as Y passengers.
The spagetti was greasy and the basilic sauce tasted of chemicals. The best part was the steamed spinach.
I was so appalled by the sight of this dish that I stared at it in disbelief. It took me a good 5 minutes to realise that they had forgotten to give me a piece of cake! Instead the cake which everyone else got, was replaced by a miniature hard plum.
When I showed this to the hostess she apologised that the kitchen had made an error and had replaced the miniature cheese cake instead with a mini- hard plum!
The salad instead of carrot like 2 months ago, was downgraded to small pieces of green lettuce which to me looked like weeds.
One hour after I finished the meal the hostess popped by my seat with a cheese cake which she happenned to find. I have to say that though it was tiny, it tasted very good and had a rasberry base which was good.
We were surrounded by young Polish students who had changed planes in both Zurich and Geneva. The males did not stop drinking whiskey, cognac etc as it is free. They even wanted to drink as we were landing but the hostess told them the bar was closed.
Now I understand why Continental plans to charge $4 a drink and use the money to improve the food. Some people abuse the free drink policy and it's those of us non drinkers who are subsidising these folks.
Half way we were offered Movenpick vanilla ice cream. 2 months ago we had a choice but no more.
When the snack came by the time they reached row 39 all the cheese sandwiches were gone so we had to eat a beef sandwich but it was very tasty. And because the hostess wanted to be nice to us she offered another sandwich and even a 3rd but I was too embarassed to accept. This came with 2 tasty cookies but again we were offered 2 more.
JFK-GVA return: Unlike in April check in at JFK took 5 minutes vs. 45 minutes. The reason I was told for this was that TAP Portugal with whom SWISS shares the counters with was not operating that day.
My co-worker immediately noticed that most passengers were 20 year old American college kids going to Europe for the summer. Again she mentioned how depressed they made her feel and that she wanted to be "young" again!
The passenger sitting in the aisle across me seemed to be an employee of the airline. He was joking around with the crew as if he knew them. I was amused by his remark that ...."the seats were very narrow." I mentioned this fact in my previous report so I am not the only one who feels that way.
As dinner was approaching we both dreaded what they planned to serve us.One choice was beef and the other the same drab penne pasta I had 2 months before. But this time they improved it slightly with a meat sauce.
The Swiss lady sitting behind me told her husband who was sitting next to me that her beef dish was "disgusting." My sister who had taken the flight 2 weeks before told me the exact same thing. So again it seems that I am not the only one who feels this way. At first I thought that maybe I was a bit of a fusspot.
The salad this time was slightly better as it had a tiny piece of an egg and a tomato in it. The tiny apple cake was identical to the one they served 2 months ago.
Breakfast has been expanded from 1 croissant to also include 1 roll together with the traditional 1 banana and 1 strawberry banana yoghurt. Wow they really are into bananas.
I was trying to figure out why I disliked my breakfast so much. The answer was that the cheap tiny amount of strawberry jam they serve is the lowest quality and tastes of sugar.
Why can't SWISS serve decent jam like on Alitalia. Ironically Alitalia serves Hero jam which is Swiss; cherry and apricot which are my favourite. One would think that a Swiss airline which prides itself on being Swiss would serve at least Swiss manufactured jam instead of that cheap strawberry sugar.
I have to say that the SWISS crews are the friendliest. They are hiring now as young as 18 years old. The ads say they must be able to deal with difficult to please passengers!
The only thing that impresses me about SWISS is the young crews who are full of energy and seem devoted to their job. I give them
10/10.
Comfort: 5/10 and food 3/10.Entertainment 8/10 as they offer more musical channels than other airline I have been on which is also bearable to listen to without going mad!