bostonbali
Feb 5, 09, 8:47 pm
Background
On December 27th, 2008, Swiss had loaded a $0 business class fare to many European countries, as well as a few Asian ones.
I was lucky enough to snag two tickets YYZ-VIE (via ZRH). After several negotiations, Swiss ended up honoring my tickets, only because the travel agency I purchased these tickets from had already issued ticket numbers, and therefore a contract was established. I will mention that many others, who booked directly through Swiss.com, did not get their tickets honored, since Swiss stated that no ticket number was ever issued.
Nevertheless, two of us got lucky, and ended up flying ORD-ZRH-VIE. This is my abbreviated trip report.
ORD Check In
After arriving in Terminal 5 on ORD's ATS train (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9WqOdgCgzD6xLjFaXkl2xA?feat=directlink), our first exposure to Swiss was at the ORD check in area (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cfTbqYqsUxpTZTndYDPQ-Q?feat=directlink). We arrived at the check in area roughly 80 minutes prior to flight time, by which time the check in area was deserted. We were able to walk right up to the counter, and were checked in by an efficient Swissport agent. We were originally assigned two seats in the middle section (Swiss' A343 is arranged 2-2-2), so I asked the agent whether she had any window/aisle seats available. She mentioned that 4JK were available, but had to go to the back office to ask whether she could assign them to us (apparently, those seats are normally held for M&M Senators, though they are also available to snag during OLCI if still available). The agent got the green light to give us these seats, at which point we were off to security.
ORD Lounge
Swiss' lounge is right behind security (airside), which was very convenient. The lounge itself was a disappointment. Not only did it have very basic food offering (aside from cheeses and fruits), but it was also packed. It did have decent drink options (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kQayv8of0S7ZP1TDXnAPmw?feat=directlink). The people who walked in ahead of us were told to go to the Senator/Hon Circle side (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oq3ZyKQh6XXJ5g7SZ_CWCg?feat=directlink) if they couldn't find any room in the Business Class section (which was totally packed). We were told to take over the three-seat 'quiet section (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lR-YyWiPZBt1UmGh283mkw?feat=directlink)' private area, which was actually a nice treat. I noticed the lounge only had one small men's room; not nearly enough for the amount of people camped out at the lounge, which meant one had to wait in line to use the bathroom.
About an hour before the flight, the lounge attendants announced the flight has begun boarding, and promptly started turning off some of the lights in the lounge… Guess it's time to go…
Boarding
By the time we got to the boarding area, they were already boarding Economy Class. They did, however, make an announcement that First/Business class pax may board at their leisure by coming up along the outside wall to the gate area. We did that, and where soon onboard.
Onboard
First thing we noticed was how warm LX keeps their cabin. This theme continued throughout the rest of the flight. I have flown on Korean Air, who are known for keeping the cabin warm, and felt LX kept their cabin warmer. Since we were seated in the 1st row of business class (row 4), I was able to snag a picture of the First Class pre-flight setup (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/o13JMfXA2joJowoXLhHxKQ?feat=directlink). I'll note that FC went out with only 2 pax (Business Class went out with about 40/48 seats filled).
We did like the seats (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/a3BcPrmsLWaxFI2b9t0n1A?feat=directlink), but were not crazy about the cheap-looking amenity pack (which was a satchel made from synthetic material filled only with socks, ear plugs, toothbrush and toothpaste. The amenity pack did mention one could ask for extra items, such as a shoe horn, comb, etc.
We were served the customary welcome drink (water, OK or champagne), and were given a wetnap. Swiss seems to love handing these out – somehow we came back with a handful at the end of our trip… Newspapers were handed out, and it was then time to take off.
Menu Selection
As it turns out, we forgot to grab a menu on the way out. I will point out that Swiss only takes entrée orders appetizer, dessert selection is made at the time the cart rolls by you). We were asked to fill out a breakfast card, and hand it to the FA. The last time I completed a breakfast card on a plane was on a KL-coded PrivatAir flight (IAH-AMS).
We were served very tasty canapés (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/hE1kwmxiHcMozLue3ORcaQ?feat=directlink), followed by a tray that contained the entrée, salad and cheese. I chose the fillet (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MZHYKlKxtR0y2IknBCLS-g?feat=directlink), my wife had the artichoke ravioli (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/z-sVqk-Jn3kNoLeVOY63wg?feat=directlink). Both were excellent (more on the fillet later). Of the three wine (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fHg6WjXaPvkzYOStQEtyVw?feat=directlink)choices, I went with the French wine, which was decent. Dinner was followed by a dessert cup. (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5RYBKAY6tJ9NPbEZRHQpCg?feat=directlink)
Service
Overall, the service onboard was professional yet a bit impersonal. Seemed like the flight attendants were simply going through the motions, with minimal personal touch. It might just be the Swiss/German way of life. They did, however, do something that I very much appreciated. I asked them to pull out my fillet earlier than they normally would, so that it would still be tender and not overdone, as beef on a plane typically is. They did, and my fillet was a perfect medium rare! I won't comment too much about the A340 seat, since much has been written about it, but I will confirm that one slides down while in the flat-but-slanted position. Both my wife and I spent the better part of the night climbing back up in our seats… :(
On December 27th, 2008, Swiss had loaded a $0 business class fare to many European countries, as well as a few Asian ones.
I was lucky enough to snag two tickets YYZ-VIE (via ZRH). After several negotiations, Swiss ended up honoring my tickets, only because the travel agency I purchased these tickets from had already issued ticket numbers, and therefore a contract was established. I will mention that many others, who booked directly through Swiss.com, did not get their tickets honored, since Swiss stated that no ticket number was ever issued.
Nevertheless, two of us got lucky, and ended up flying ORD-ZRH-VIE. This is my abbreviated trip report.
ORD Check In
After arriving in Terminal 5 on ORD's ATS train (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9WqOdgCgzD6xLjFaXkl2xA?feat=directlink), our first exposure to Swiss was at the ORD check in area (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cfTbqYqsUxpTZTndYDPQ-Q?feat=directlink). We arrived at the check in area roughly 80 minutes prior to flight time, by which time the check in area was deserted. We were able to walk right up to the counter, and were checked in by an efficient Swissport agent. We were originally assigned two seats in the middle section (Swiss' A343 is arranged 2-2-2), so I asked the agent whether she had any window/aisle seats available. She mentioned that 4JK were available, but had to go to the back office to ask whether she could assign them to us (apparently, those seats are normally held for M&M Senators, though they are also available to snag during OLCI if still available). The agent got the green light to give us these seats, at which point we were off to security.
ORD Lounge
Swiss' lounge is right behind security (airside), which was very convenient. The lounge itself was a disappointment. Not only did it have very basic food offering (aside from cheeses and fruits), but it was also packed. It did have decent drink options (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kQayv8of0S7ZP1TDXnAPmw?feat=directlink). The people who walked in ahead of us were told to go to the Senator/Hon Circle side (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oq3ZyKQh6XXJ5g7SZ_CWCg?feat=directlink) if they couldn't find any room in the Business Class section (which was totally packed). We were told to take over the three-seat 'quiet section (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lR-YyWiPZBt1UmGh283mkw?feat=directlink)' private area, which was actually a nice treat. I noticed the lounge only had one small men's room; not nearly enough for the amount of people camped out at the lounge, which meant one had to wait in line to use the bathroom.
About an hour before the flight, the lounge attendants announced the flight has begun boarding, and promptly started turning off some of the lights in the lounge… Guess it's time to go…
Boarding
By the time we got to the boarding area, they were already boarding Economy Class. They did, however, make an announcement that First/Business class pax may board at their leisure by coming up along the outside wall to the gate area. We did that, and where soon onboard.
Onboard
First thing we noticed was how warm LX keeps their cabin. This theme continued throughout the rest of the flight. I have flown on Korean Air, who are known for keeping the cabin warm, and felt LX kept their cabin warmer. Since we were seated in the 1st row of business class (row 4), I was able to snag a picture of the First Class pre-flight setup (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/o13JMfXA2joJowoXLhHxKQ?feat=directlink). I'll note that FC went out with only 2 pax (Business Class went out with about 40/48 seats filled).
We did like the seats (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/a3BcPrmsLWaxFI2b9t0n1A?feat=directlink), but were not crazy about the cheap-looking amenity pack (which was a satchel made from synthetic material filled only with socks, ear plugs, toothbrush and toothpaste. The amenity pack did mention one could ask for extra items, such as a shoe horn, comb, etc.
We were served the customary welcome drink (water, OK or champagne), and were given a wetnap. Swiss seems to love handing these out – somehow we came back with a handful at the end of our trip… Newspapers were handed out, and it was then time to take off.
Menu Selection
As it turns out, we forgot to grab a menu on the way out. I will point out that Swiss only takes entrée orders appetizer, dessert selection is made at the time the cart rolls by you). We were asked to fill out a breakfast card, and hand it to the FA. The last time I completed a breakfast card on a plane was on a KL-coded PrivatAir flight (IAH-AMS).
We were served very tasty canapés (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/hE1kwmxiHcMozLue3ORcaQ?feat=directlink), followed by a tray that contained the entrée, salad and cheese. I chose the fillet (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MZHYKlKxtR0y2IknBCLS-g?feat=directlink), my wife had the artichoke ravioli (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/z-sVqk-Jn3kNoLeVOY63wg?feat=directlink). Both were excellent (more on the fillet later). Of the three wine (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fHg6WjXaPvkzYOStQEtyVw?feat=directlink)choices, I went with the French wine, which was decent. Dinner was followed by a dessert cup. (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5RYBKAY6tJ9NPbEZRHQpCg?feat=directlink)
Service
Overall, the service onboard was professional yet a bit impersonal. Seemed like the flight attendants were simply going through the motions, with minimal personal touch. It might just be the Swiss/German way of life. They did, however, do something that I very much appreciated. I asked them to pull out my fillet earlier than they normally would, so that it would still be tender and not overdone, as beef on a plane typically is. They did, and my fillet was a perfect medium rare! I won't comment too much about the A340 seat, since much has been written about it, but I will confirm that one slides down while in the flat-but-slanted position. Both my wife and I spent the better part of the night climbing back up in our seats… :(