Originally Posted by
awestphal
Slightly OT, but if you plan RTW * in C with a European longhaul carrier thrown in the mix, I'd go for SWISS anytime. Their longhaul product (especially the single seat seats of the front C mini cabin) beat LH by miles. Also, the SWISS longhaul Terminal E lounge in ZRH is one of the best business lounges, anywhere (open air dining with full view of the airfield, anybody?) - at least in my opinion and experience which includes The Pier in HKG and Emirates in DXB.
In terms of lounges, if at all possible, it'd go for the FCT in FRA with LH - it's a step beyond anything, anywhere (can't say I've enjoy the residence lounge in AUH given the lack of natural light).
I don't know why LX gets so much praise here. Yes, the "throne" seats are pretty decent, but if you don't pay for them, or are at least SEN, your chance of them being available at checkin are tiny if not existing. And getting an "aisle" seat with the tiny armrest kind of sucks (luckily only got those on op-ups, so won't complain)
Regarding lounges, the C lounge in E isn't really much. Show cooking? Hardly much. 3-4 dishes, almost all now served in bulk, or "prepared" by taking out of a huge wok/pan. Live cooking? only for breakfast. Quality? Not bad, but I know at least a dozen hub lounges that offer better food. The Pier is one of them. SQ in SIN is one of them. DXB is one of them. I even preferred the food in the terrible "Business" lounge in DOH. The view is indeed great (but the balcony often closed), and the bar in the SEN side is great if you've access AND you like Whisky (not much other drinks, though)
Generally, ZRH is a nice sweet airport, but I don't understand all the praise it gets. The new First class lounge in E is great, and with the new checkin in A it will be very good for F travellers Ex-ZRH too, but I can't see why anyone would say that travelling Ex-ZRH in C is great. It's good, better than some airports, but not really outstanding. And the LX C product on European flights has - if you allow my words - quite brutally lost appeal to myself.