ZRH-LHR
I was welcomed at the reception of the FCL E and advised my flight would be departing from a remote stand, and that I would therefore be driven to my aircraft from FCL A. I’m not sure why Swiss aren’t able to drive passengers directly from FCL E (to non-Schengen destinations) as this would be a much smoother experience.
That first world problem aside, my first stop in the lounge was one of the two day rooms. These are available solely on a first come first served basis, and you’ll want to try and snag one if you can, because they really are quite special. Forget the claustrophobic windowless bedrooms of the Qatar Airways Al Safwa First lounge; the Swiss day rooms (or at least, the St Moritz one I used) feature floor-to-ceiling views of the airport, a Hästens queen size bed, and an ensuite shower room to rival those of top hotels (featuring the same Soeder amenities as the washrooms). Whilst the bed doesn’t have bedside tables as such, there is an easily accessible shelf with reading lights, still and sparkling Elmer water, chocolates, universal power and USB sockets. A suitcase stand, clothes hooks, hangers and small TV are also provided.
Whilst the bed was supremely comfortable, as is almost always the case with ‘hotel rooms’ there were a few things not quite right; no slippers were provided, the toilet paper was hard (is that too much information?), there was no hook near the shower for a towel, and the shower door didn’t clear the shower mat when opened. All that being said, the day rooms are a truly impressive addition to an already impressive lounge – just don’t forget to close the curtains, as the lounge terrace is immediately outside!
After a nap and a shower, I headed over to the FCL E’s dining area for a light second breakfast – the granola was beautifully presented and tasted just as good.
For lunch, I opted for the tasting menu with recommended wine pairings – a concept I hadn’t seen in an airline lounge before, but one that definitely worked.
Each course was a delight – but notably the beef main course and jelly-based dessert. Totally unique, fabulous flavours and brilliant presentation meant I overlooked the slightly stern waiter neglecting to serve my champagne with the sorbet. I was offered a coffee to conclude lunch.
Swiss don’t offer an escort within the terminal, and so I took the automated people mover over to A Gates, passing through immigration on the way to enter the Schengen part of the terminal.
Aside from its entrance from check-in, the FCL A has a very discreet entrance off the main departure lounge concourse, down a long clinical corridor. On entering the lounge, I was advised the transfer to my aircraft had been booked for 15:05, 25 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of my flight. A document check was completed at the dedicated desk within the lounge, before I then headed through to the main lounge area.
The FCL A shares the design of the FCL E and Check-in Lounge and has all the same amenities as its E-based cousin, minus the day rooms, terrace – and, sadly, any sort of a view.
Over by the windows overlooking the check-in hall is the main seating area, including three pairs of armchairs, three semi-private TV nooks seating four each with a sofa and two armchairs, two L-shaped sofa pairs in the corner which would be great for families, and a stocked literature stand.
The rear windows are home to the dining area, behind the lounge’s centrepiece tended bar. The dining area has a small semi-open kitchen, and a very limited self-serve buffet of soft drinks, beer and a small selection of snacks. The menu is the same as that in the FCL E. The friendly staff will offer to serve you whatever you want anywhere you’d like in the lounge, and I was approached as soon as I sat down with the offer of a drink.
Opposite the bar and to the left of the entrance is some open luggage storage, behind which are some individual work booths, a printer and the lounge’s washrooms.
Up the stairs at the rear of the lounge is a smoking room with small external area, meeting room for 6 people (known as ‘Bern’ and featuring an Eames lounge chair in the corner) and the walkway to the transfer (or ‘limousine’) service.
Whilst the FCL A is undoubtedly stylish, it lacks the wow factor of the FCL E, primarily due to its position in the terminal building and consequent lack of views. This is entirely understandable, however, given most First passengers are just passing through on their way to what is undoubtedly Swiss’s flagship lounge in the E Gates, with those staying in A Gates travelling short haul either as an HON Circle member or connecting from a long haul First flight.
The transfer to my flight back to Heathrow was one of the highlights of this trip – and my first time ever being driven privately to an aircraft. The Mercedes E-Class was a supremely comfortable way to cross the apron, and it was just downright cool drawing up at the foot of the stairs to my A220 and being met at their base by the Maître de Cabine. I could certainly get used to that, although was somewhat relieved that the rest of the passengers hadn’t made it to the aircraft yet to witness my ostentatious arrival.
HB-JCN was the 4-year-old A220-300 flying us the 1h20 over to Heathrow that afternoon. This was my first time flying on the A220, and I was impressed. Configured 2-3 throughout (although with a sold configuration of 2-2 for the 10 rows of Business on today’s flight), the smallest Airbus with its oversized windows is a super little aircraft. One particular innovation is that each window blind has foam on its side closest to the glass, acting (whether intentionally or not) as a sort of automated window cleaner. Small screens built in to the overhead passenger service units show basic flight information, an inflight map, and the video for the safety demonstration.
For such a small aircraft, the washrooms are surprisingly spacious. Unlike the Helvetic-operated E190 on my outbound flight, I was pleased to see that mainline Swiss short haul aircraft feature Soeder hand lotion in the Business washrooms (together with additional wipes).
Seat 1A had the expected amount of bulkhead legroom, and as I settled in, the first of two buses of passengers arrived outside, and the crew started handing out bottles of water and wipes.
Once airborne, and with great views of Zurich off our port side, dinner trays were served from the trolley (beef salad was the choice that afternoon), warm bread was offered from a basket together with a choice of drink. An offer of hot drinks and chocolate from a basket concluded dinner. I was addressed by name throughout the flight, which is impressive for a short haul business class product.
We landed onto Runway 27L at Heathrow, and parked at Gate A17 in Terminal 2, very close to immigration. As is more often than not the case, the eGate I used didn’t like my passport, and so I had a short queue to see a real Border Force officer.
That concludes my trip to Dubai, and with it my first experience of Swiss First. Despite a slightly dated onboard product (a function of the A330 versus the A340 or B777) and inconsistent ground escorting, I was impressed with the superbly designed and catered Zurich lounges, friendly and professional staff at all stages of my four journeys, inflight catering (particularly outbound from Zurich) and the overall effortless nature of the experience. One to remember – and hopefully, repeat.