Well - I have to say that the new Swiss Air has continued the excellent tradition begun
by Swissair. This was my first flight long-haul on Swiss and only my second time in the
comfort of their ultra-luxurious sleeper cabin.
Whatever they say about the poor seats in Biz Class, the same cannot be said about the
front cabin. In fact, the layout of the seats is far superior to any 'herring-bone' layout, and the sense of space and privacy was amazing (and didn't we love the plush red
carpet).
And so to the report:
LCY-ZRH
Suffice to say that this was operated by a Saab 2000 - therefore notable only for the
window in the lavatory (and that the lavatory must be at least three times bigger than the WCs on Swiss' MD'11s).
Seating for Biz class is 1+1, so leaving the middle aisle seat free out of the possible
1+2 arrangement.
Food was ok, small salad with roast beef, plus the usual pieces of fruit and the cheese
board. Champagne was Pol Roger NV.
As for London City airport - nice to use and I was given a 4 pound voucher for use at the bar.
Zurich
I had a four hour layover here - at my request. I'm not really comfortable with the
permitted 40 minute connections. Have been caught by this before when we were delayed at London by 1 hour and 50 minutes! Not worth the worry.
However - had a delightful surprise in that airOli came out to meet me, and we proceeded to the First Class check-in island to recheck my bags through to MEL (this was not possible ex London as I was on two separate tickets, however the kind Swiss people managed to arrange it once in ZRH).
We went into Zurich by train and then met up with another friend of mine for more drinks before heading back out to Unique at around 7.00pm.
Went to collect my hand-luggage from the check-in island and we were offered champagne - so we all sat there for another half-hour chatting and feeling quite jolly in
the afternoon sun.
ZRH-BKK-SIN
Scheduled departure time: 2045
Actual departure time: unable to determine as hand with watch on was occupied with Pol Roger Vintage and canapes!
Take-off roll time: too busy looking out of 5 windows of space - however being in First Class I have to say that this was the only thing they didn't come to consult you on!!
The flight itself: superb.
Cuisine: pretty good. Presentation excellent. The veal was... well... really good (what more can I say - I've run out of superlatives...).
Amenity kit: high-quality (although not presented as well as some other airlines). La
Prarie miniatures offered with a choice of hand, eye and face creams.
Now - for the Biz Class cabin. I agree that the recline is not so good on these seats -
but hey - it looked a lot better that Eco class! However, where you may be surprised is
with the menu. It was more extensive than that offered to First and it looked good.
Two full meals were offered on the ZRH-BKK sector, with a choice of four mains
(choice of two entrees) for each. I think with the new seats they will have a top-class
product.
But I digress...
Little lost lamb goes for a tour of the plane...
Just a word of warning - be prepared if you decide to take a tour of the aircraft! Upon
returning to the front cabin I was greeted by the waiting Maitre-d and the 2nd in charge wanting to know if I was ok. They had noticed one of their flock had gone missing and were worried! Bless.
Arrival in Bangkok: due to our slightly later than scheduled departure (waiting for
connecting pax from London no less) the advertised turn-around in BKK was going to
be only 40 minutes (like when has that ever happened?) and all passengers were told
they needed to remain on board. No smoking, seat belts unfastened. Well - I jumped
up at this point and was making my way to see the Maitre-d (who thought I was going
to the WC) and she said - 'oh, Mr X, just to let you know, before you go to the bathroom, that the announcement only applied to our Business and Economy passengers. Of course as First Class you are invited to disembark!'. Bless.
BKK-SIN
More of the same excellent service - 'light' meal served this time (I tried to play spot-
the-difference between this and the full meal but had no luck).
In summary
You may be wondering why I referred to Swiss First as the 'intelligent, thinking person's First Class' - well - it's a bit hard to put into words but this is exactly how it was. Not so much an emphasis on grandeur as fine food, fine wines, the anticipation of your every need - even putting a blanket over me while I was asleep and tucking me in! - (so those advertisements ARE true
), the good conversation from the crew... this is one return flight that I'm really looking
forward to!
Cheers
WG
(edited for formatting problems)
[This message has been edited by LHR/MEL/Europe FF (edited 06-25-2002).]