The OLD SWISS First Class Lounge Zürich, Concourse A

After making my way from the gate to the airside center, I directly went to the entrance of the old First Class lounge in Concourse A, which was scheduled to close the next day to be replaced by a newly constructed First Class lounge at which I’ll have a look when I’ll arrive back in Zürich in two days.



Somehow, the entrance already looks like they are already waiting to tear it down after the last passenger has left tonight.

When I arrived, the lounge (as well as the reception) was quite busy, and they instantly asked whether I wanted to be driven over to E. I declined, explaining that I actually wanted to bid farewell to the old lounge (which the receptionist acknowledged with „oh yes, of course“) and that I would report back to them when I was ready to be driven over.

Basically, I tried to take a picture of every feature that was still available (they had already shut down parts of the lounge due to the ongoing construction of the new Business Class and Senator lounges) without disturbing anyone, before settling down in one of the backrooms which was empty, so as not to disturb anybody while posting the next part of this report.

I will just post the pictures I took without further commentary, as you can probably recognize quite easily what’s depicted in them

















After approximately one hour, I reported back to reception for my limousine ride over to concourse E. Even though I was the last person in the lounge at that time (everyone else had magically disappeared), they seemed to have a shortage of drivers, and discussed several options for a few minutes. In the end, one of the receptionists decided to drive me and another passenger who had turned up a few minutes earlier to the E concourse. The passport check at the limousine counter was quick as usual (by the way, the new F lounge has an exit right next to the elevators where you go down to the tarmac level, so nothing will change here with the opening of the new lounge), and while we were driven over in a Mercedes Viano, I had a nice chat with the lounge attendant driving us.

The SWISS First Class Lounge Concourse E

After being led right up to the E lounge reception, I also had a quick talk to the concourse E lounge attendant and then settled into my „lounge suite“ in the E lounge.



For those who are interested, those are the opening times of the concourse E lounge:



There really is a huge difference between the old A lounge and the much newer E lounge. I actually doubt that the new A lounge can really live up to the atmosphere of the E lounge, and a few people who have attended the pre-opening event have already said that they think there will still be a significant difference between A and E. One of the lounge attendants told me that SWISS has actually issued a statement like „we still regard the E lounge as the primary lounge for our First Class customers, so we don’t need anything similar at concourse A“

I still particularly like the design of the E lounge, which is typically Swiss - elegant, but very straightforward and without any fussy elements. Here’s an overview about the different sections, from the meeting room to the bathrooms:













Oh, by the way - don’t be fooled by the number of wine bottles in the wine „wall“ next to the entrance. Most of the bottles are actually the same, I think there about 20 to 30 different wine varieties in there.

Then, there is of course the terrace, which was initially closed when I arrived in the lounge. About an hour later, a supervisor appeared and exchanged the „closed“ signs with „open“. However, they didn’t set up the seat cushions, so the terrace is more like a place to catch some fresh air than to sit and eat or drink. What I really appreciate is the fact that they have introduced umbrellas on the terrace — when I was here in early summer last year, it was so hot outside that you simply couldn’t stay on the terrace for longer than 5 minutes. With the umbrellas, that shouldn’t be a problem any more.







As I was getting hungry, I went straight to the restaurant area, which is probably the highlight of the lounge.



After a few minutes, I received a menu (unfortunately, I only received the german version which you can find below):











While I appreciate the idea of also incorporating the „Taste of Switzerland“ concept into the lounge menu, I have the strong feeling that the selection on the menu has decreased every time that I were here. They are still offering favorites like the Tatar, but I think the menu which they were offering two years ago was much more comprehensive. I mean, I don’t really care as long as the quality is fine (and that’s definitely true), but I can see an issue coming up here (compare that to the path the front cooking stations in the concourse E business and senator lounges took).

I ordered some water, a glass of rosé champagne, the Tatar to start and the Fondue as my main. After some quite long time (particularly as there were only me and one other person in the restaurant), the water was poured, but the champagne never arrived. I was under the impression that the waitress, who seemed to be quite shy for someone with this job, didn’t properly understand what I was saying, and I didn’t want to ask again so as not to embarrass her. Both the Tatar and the Fondue were top-notch, and I was extremely stuffed after the meal:





I weren’t sure whether I should also try some of the dessert displayed next to the entrance, but I decided it might be better to pass on that in order to save some room in my stomach for the dinner on the plane.



Unfortunately, I really have to tell you that the service part (the „soft“ product) of the lounge is much worse today than it used to be on my previous visits. Since I have been here, nobody has approached me to ask whether I wanted to order something (with the exception of when I sat down in the restaurant), and even though at some point I was the only person in the lounge, the service team would rather stand around the bar and chat instead of checking on me. I took my water with me from the restaurant, and as soon as it was empty, I was left high and dry. Maybe the serve-yourself beverage fridge in the new A lounge is not a bad idea after all.

Verdict
Design and food wise, the E lounge is almost unbeatable. As long as the service can live up to the expectations (so far, this was always the case, and today is my first visit that leaves me disappointed), I would say the E lounge ranks among the top 5 airport lounges in the world. However, I am a bit concerned that the lack of good service will actually render this product worse than it deserves to be. For example, I always found the lack of any personal service in the old FCL A always to be sub-par, and there, you could at least help yourself to drinks which is not possible in the E lounge. I really hope they won’t ruin the product.
Speaking of the old A lounge, not having been there for quite a while, I really have to say that it’s about time it gets replaced. We will see whether the new A lounge will meet expectations, but from what I’ve seen on the press releases, it will definitely be an improvement, particularly with the new integrated security check.