FlightDetective

I have never flown Swiss before, but with Aer Lingus cancelling the flight from Nice to Dublin the day I wanted to travel, I thought it high time I try them. Ended up flying Nice to Zurich on a new Airbus A320neo (Swiss only have two) and then finally on the Bombardier CSeries 300 Airbus A220-300 from Zurich to Dublin, both on Sunday 30th August.

Frankly, I was gobsmacked by the experience, the second flight moreso than the first. The first flight, NCE-ZRH, is 50 minutes flight time. The meal and dessert are not as good as BA on a Band 1, as I've had more food on a DUB-LHR (such as the addition of the salad and bread). However, the fantastic crew happily gave me two Champagnes when I was asked what I wanted to drink, then also offered water, which I took too. On the way back to the galley, I had one glass of bubbles left and he offered to refill my other glass. All round, perfect service. Food is below.




Next it was time for the CSeries Airbus A220 from Zurich to Dublin. Quite frankly I had seem some reviews of Swiss food on a sector in business class of this length and was prepared not to be impressed, but impressed I was. The crew took meal orders before we left Zurich. Once in the air, drinks service, followed by the meal delivery. The crew happily let me take a picture of the Champagne bottle as you can see below.



Dinner, as you can see below, was nothing short of amazing. A really delicious salad (the crew shook the vinaigrette before placing trays on the tables), along with the main, a decent sized dessert and cheese. Bread was offered from the basket.

Anytime they passed by they were checking and the Champagne bottle came out again and again. I had a leisurely meal and again great service.



It begs the question why we are flying BA at the moment in Club Europe and accepting the cold food in a box option (let's not mention Club World, but honestly...). While I love flying BA, Swiss surprised the hell out of me. Head and shoulders above Lufthansa in business class on European flights. Drop down screens on the A320s, LCD screens for each row on the A220s... it was like the BA of old. That meal above is better than Band 4 on BA, and this is on a much shorter flight (probably a Band 2 on BA).

Well, I was very, very impressed and thought I'd share.

bisonrav

I think the answer is something about Cuckoo Clocks

cosmo74

Maybe a question to ask BA on twitter. The cheap product offering, disguised as a "safety measure" is getting beyond a joke now.

cvm0093

*A Airlines are a bit different in service stanards, they've always had a very interesting entry criteria for sure which makes them a step above the rest. When I used to work for them that is, since a recent airline joined I've questioned it completley haha (cringe) Ultimatley you could say the soft service is the icing on the cake and that's probably what swayed you.

I don't mean this in a bad way I saw it before at BA too excellent service, well polished etc but since mixed fleet came in and longhaul went out the window on top the new CC that are taking over the skies, modern day people are very awkward especially in Britain compared to before and I think it just reflects in our flag carrier in a nut shell as well the UK is our homebase. On top of the pressure to minimise costs obviously making our flag carrier a laughing stock dosen't help when it's meant to be a legacy airline.

Hey ho that's the world BA just bear the brunt. Money speaks louder sadly!

hearingdouble

My personal answer: Because I would prefer to fly point-to-point with cold food in a box vs. fly via Zürich with hot chicken. For better or for worse, BA has a captive market (at least for those of us in London). I would obviously prefer the option of a good meal, but it’s never going to swing the decision in favour of an indirect routing.

Also, I have BAEC Stockholm syndrome.

ermis177

IMO Swiss has a very good J product. Consistent, good food and this year all the A430 aircrafts have been refurbished with a new C class. Also i remember they serve fresh orange juice in C and even garlic bread ( yes yes i know bad breath).

SH the product is not much difference compare to BA ( pre covid) but i found the food usually a bit better with Swiss, a bit younger aircrafts and cleaner too.

HIDDY

Been wondering the same during my many years on here whenever these threads appear. I do know the reasons but shall keep you guessing.

FlightDetective

Hahaha! I am definitely with you on the BAEC Stockholm syndrome. It is a great programme that happily keeps us captive.

Sure, being based in Dublin, where I connect for the most part isn't that big a deal, so it's more of an option to switch from my perspective.

If Aer Lingus had a business class in Europe, I would probably fly BA much more rarely.

The cheek, I'll be going to sleep tonight wondering about this. If I have an epiphany, I'll let you know
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ermis177

BA fanboy comes to my mind

Are you going to tell us about your average experience with LH First class 10 years ago? I kinda missed it

LCY8737

a.) On short haul, I'd rather not double travel time by stopping over in ZRH.
b.) On long haul, I'd rather not bother with economy style seating for 1.5 hours.
c.) I still haven't forgiven them for not willingly refunding my Covid cancelled ticket (took a small claims proceeding where similar case with BA was a phone call).

Of course I'm cheap, and the moment they do an astonishing sale, I'll be back. But everything else being equal, I'll be on BA.

Prospero

Quick answer to the question although I read it as rhetorical

At the moment BA is doing everything within its reach to constrain its cash burn so if you are travelling on BA, a Dunkirk spirit is called upon.

Swiss received a CHF 1.5 billion emergency loan from the Swiss Government so understandably feels less inclined to constrain its costs to the same degree BA is doing

ISTFlyer

BA is just cost-cutting, we all know that.

If the ticket prices are low, I would have still preferred BA, however, if BA is asking a couple of hundred pounds more than a full-service carrier, unless I have time constraints or want to maximize time at my destination, I would have taken the full-service carrier over BA.

Often1

Time is money. How far out of your way are you willing to travel for a piece of chicken?

But, more importantly, any passenger should always consider alternatives. Price, schedule, hard product, soft product, and so on. You make the choice based on the factors you consider important and the simple answer is that you should fly LX because you value the food more than time and convenience.

On a broader note, I certainly hope that the LX hot meal was served sealed and not opened as it appears in the photo. A real risk for not much benefit.

ermis177

Without being pedantic, LH group (including Swiss) did not stop offering proper C meals without receiving any kind of emergency load in the first few months. Even during the March/April/May the C product remained pretty much the same while BA was offering a bag with a kitkat and a small sandwich, while now, it puts the same products inside a box branded Do&Co.

Also, i hope BA survives without getting any kind of aid from the goverment, but i doubt that they will improve the service if and when they do.

Lets not use the FlyerTalk as a vehicle to misrepresent the truth. “Misinformation warfare” is called right?

Prospero

Come now, surely the news reports haven’t escaped your attention. BA’s schedule for September is in ICU. BA’s priority is on conserving cash, so flights will only be reinstated when they can operate on a cash flow positive basis.