garfield5

My quickreports will not describe every detail (as others do) I hope they are informative though...

In this quickreport the benchmark is LH as I usually fly either LX or LH over the pond...

Check-In in ZRH
Efficient as always (on par with LH)

Lounges in ZRH
Busy as always but still better than the SEN lounges in FRA as far as seating avail. is concerned. Standard lounge offering of drinks and snacks

Equipment & Seating
'Old' MD-11. Interior looked quite fresh though. Many dislike the LX C-Class seats... to be honest, I'd rather have a space bed to, but LX can still compete with LH's C-Class seat and its horrible footrest.

F&B
Classes better than LH. The service started with a first drink service and some sort of butter-pastry snack. Liked it a lot. Menu transcript below:

Lunch

Thinly sliced poched veal marinated with a walnut vignaigrette
or
King prawns served with asparagus marinated with a herb vinaigrette (my choice: A+)

***

Roast guinea fowl in a creamy sauce served with gnocchi, carrots and broccoli
or
Lamb medaillons with a Mediterranean crust served with a Merlot sauce, noodles and green beans (I can still remember the tender lamb)
or
Fillet of trout and sautéed diced tomatoes in a lemon sauce with boiled potato and spinach in olive oil
or
Polenta with walnuts and a vegetable brunoise served with an onion confit and Gorgonzola

***

A selection of cheeses from Ticino (swiss canton)

***

Amaretti mousse (can I have another one?)
or
Pear poached in red wine accompanied by cream flavoured with rosemary

***

Swiss chocolates


Light Meal

Tuna and rice salad with peas, peppers and artichokes
or
Ticino-style vegetable salad with Mozzarella

***

Ravioli filled with spinach and cream cheese in a vegetable bolognese

***

Lemon swiss roll and rhubarb mousse

Again, food was A+ even compared to NG and SQ let alone LH. Quite surprised that LX offers 4 (four) different entrée choices.


IFE & Misc.
We almost hit an AF A340 somewhere over the canal (so I thought) but still safe according to the Maitre D'.
DVD players - quite OK compared to LH's low resultion-little-choice-screens but not wiseman.


Verdict
After this flight I decided that I will do my utmost to direct my business to LX not because they are struggling but because (after three years of flying 75% LH) LX superior service opened my eyes. IMHO LX will have the best north-atlantic product once the introduction of the C-Class sleeper seats (and A340s) is completed.

nick.imrie

Post deleted

cesco.g

I have not flown them a whole lot lately, but a few times on the same route on SR as well and found their catering to be always absolute tops (tasty appetizers such as "Buenderfleisch Tartare" make my mouth water). The new seats will really help.

Thanks for this timely report, as I was wondering how LX these days was on this route.

f4free

Thanks for the comparison to LH. I also generally like Swiss, and am looking forward to the new seats.

pallensf

Thank you garfield5 for the concise and comparitive LX report.

Blessings...

------------------
Patrick A. Inouye, LMT
volunteer trip reports moderator

airoli

Merci... IMHO, C class on the A330 is a tad more comfortable already than on the MD11, especially due to the better legrest.

------------------
truly yours. airOli.

Mats

Thanks for your trip report. I'm going to have to figure out a way to take Swiss business class across the Atlantic. It sounds impressive.

Shareholder

Interesting report. A couple of small items:

Do they provide noise reducing headphones and if so, what brand?

What are the amenity kits like?

Do they provide socks or slipper-like sockettes?

How was the wine selection? Anything stand out? Any Swiss labels?

garfield5

1.) No noise-reducing headphones
2 & 3.) Amenity Kits are nicer than the ones LH provides with ear-plugs, lip balm, moisturiser
4.) let me have a look for the winelist

Uli

yes please enlighten us on the winelist!
thank you for the report!

JohnG

Great report...

Could someone enlighten me regarding the seats ? Are they really bad ?

Will probably be doing ZRH-ORD first week of August in J

Thanks
J

garfield5

ZRH - ORD is on an A330 which has decent seats. And I found the winelist... details are to follow tonight.

garfield5

Champagne Brut
Nicolas Feuilatte
Réserve Particulière

Lively champagne with even bubbles and intense bouquet. Until 1986 owned by Nicolas Feuilatte and his brother, before moving to the largest union of champagne makers, Centre Vinicole de la Champagne

2002 Donaggio Giglio
Bianco Ticinese DOC
Luigi Zanini

A white wine with an ample palate, soft extract and apricot bouquet. Quality assured by one of the most famous Ligoretto winemakers, Luigi Zanini. Wonderful as an aperetif or with a tangy cheese.


2002 Grüner Veltliner
Federspiel Terassen
Domäme Wachau

A spirited Green Veltliner that beguiles with subtle fruit and delicate honeydew melon tones. Made by the Freie Weingärtner Wachau in one of the oldest agricultural areas in Europe. Ideal with starters, salads and fish. *** Had to stop myself after the thrid glass ***

2001 Chardonnay Clare Valley
Annie's Lane

An Australian Chardonnay with a fantastically ripe fruit bouquet. Expansive palate bursting with rope Chardonnay fruit. Annie's Lane is a small exclusive winery not far from the Barossa Valley. The ideal accompaniment to freshwater fish and hard cheeses.

2001 Donaggio Merlot del Ticino DOC
Luigi Zanini

A Ticino Merlot with a fruity bouquet laced with blueberries. Rich palate with velvety tannins. Assembled by star wine grower Luigi Zanini. Excellent with risotto, pasta, and dried meats.

2001 Blaufränkisch Burgenland
Weingut Josef Leberl

A velvety red with notes of cherry and elderberry. Delicately spiced. Josef Leberl is one of the best-known wine growers in Austria. A good match for roasted meats and hard cheeses.

2001 Metala Shiraz-Cabernet
Langhorne Creek Saltram Metala

An Australian red with an intense blackberry and eucalyptus bouquet. Velvety on the palate with elegant tannins. Metala is a top-quality Australian wine belonging to the Saltram Estate Winery. Great with all types of red and white meat.

***
A perfect wine selection for my taste. Matches well with the meal service. One could argue that there is no Bordeaux. Other than that it sets the benchmark IMHO.