Just received my copy of "Thoughts about details." Have to say I was disappointed - so much philosophical discussion and biographical info (not to mention endless pages of "The Whisper Story") with hardly any details about the service itself. I was hoping for some interior shots of the cabin, maybe more close-ups of the seats (in their various configurations), sample menus and wine lists, etc. None of that. For those of you who have flown the "new" SR First Class (on long haul flights), how does it stack up against the ideals discussed in the book? How would you compare/contrast SR's First with the First Class products of other airlines?

Thanks,

Bill

I flew in the "new" SR first class last year and was highly pleased with the service, the space (bed), and found the food to be excellent. This was on MD-11s, so the in-flight entertainment was only adequate, but with all that food and wine I was content to just relax. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

djbaruch:

Thanks for your comments. I am considering using some of my AAdvantage miles for a First Class award on SR. I have to believe their long-haul First is superior to that of AA but wanted to hear from someone who has actually experienced it. I appreciate your input!

Any other FTers out there who have flown in the "new" SR First Class on long-haul routes?

I think the 'new' First service is about as good as it gets in the air.

There are some deficiencies, maily ground service at all locations (including Zurich) is dredful - that queue at the First Class transfer desk is dreadful, and all the alternatives dissapear if their is a problem. There is a lack of First Class lounges and the lounges that exist are tired. The in-flight crew are in my opinion not as helpful as they used to be - I think SwissAir have invested too much in technology and concepts and not enough in people.

In overall terms, Swissair is no longer up-there with the big-boys like Qantas, BA, Cathay, Singapore... but it is on a par with the serious players like Lufthansa, and is certainly in a league above any of the American carriers.

Swissair First is still (just about) as good as it gets. They offer a true First product and not a hybrid Business product, which is sadly now, very much the norm.

Nick

Thank you, Nick, for your comments. I agree...it is encouraging to see some airlines still offering a true First Class product and it appears that SR's is not trying to fully replicate a flying office environment as in the case of UA and AA. If I wanted that, I'd stay at work! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Bill

I would have to agree about the ground service/lounge status in ZRH. The First Class lounge IMO should have showers and internet access, and it did not when I checked-in after my transatlantic flight.

The flight crew were quite professional (available but unobtrusive). When I told them I was meeting my girlfriend in ZRH they gave me the remaining roses on board (used for meal service),a bottle of champagne and a box of chocolate truffles to present to her when I disembarked.

I flew Swiss Air First Class from Zurich to SFO in February of this year. It was the best seat and best service I have had in the 20 years I have been flying. I found the First Class check in at Zurich to be superb. The lounge at Zurich is a lot like an old Red Carpet lounge. I was able to figure out how to connect to the Internet, but the connection speed was 14400. However, once on the plane, the seat and the flight attendents were the best in the air.

SR First is only slightly behind Cathay in their first product. I have flown them from LAX-ZRH and ZRH to BOS . The new seats are fabulous. Their entertainment options are the only minor disappointment. However, a truly great experience.

What are the entertainment options. I remember a while back the A330's had personal TV's, while the tv's in the MD-11s were disactivated and only the main video monitors were used, plus Sony Videomans in First (and maybe biz too). These were disactivated in the aftermath of SR111. I then heard that personal TV's were now in MD-11 First Class with the new seats as it had an entirely new, safer system. Can someone explain what's going in with SR entertainment? Thanks.

Thanks, everyone, for your replies...I appreciate your comments!

Bill

How about food/caviar/champagne, etc.?

Having just done ZRH-SFO in First, and having flown on the likes of BA, CX, QF an LH in recent months, I have to give SR a C rating behind IMHO 1)CX, 2)BA. I found the seats to be too "open" and maybe it was my luck that the ottoman did not work. There doesn't seem to be enough inflight entertainment, but the food is better than BA's but CX's various Asian/Western fares are better.

But then again, I could be just bias! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

didn't read the "book", but flown 6 times in the new F/C transatlantic. My rating is A, above LH ,BA, AF, NG and DL(only C-seats). Very good service, excellent food and matching wines (the best I had in 10 years), unfortunately no more Caviar since January (with a nice flyer explaining the shortage), perfect seats, you can dine face to face, sleep well and have DVD-players with 50 movies. check-in is done at my departure in NCE and boarding cards are thru-issued. The lounge (up the spiral staircase) has showers and fine stuff. My kids (9-11) were also impressed (and they know alot about F-class), and able to upgrade from business with their STC-mileage, once the door was closed and 2 F-class seats remained unsold.
LH has good seats but the usual arrogant service, and much lower food standard, even though , they own the caterer (LSG). But WTACH out SR bought some MD11's from LTU, and those DO NOT feature the new First Class. They have the old seats in 2-2-2 configuration, the new config is 1-2-1.

[This message has been edited by DeClipper (edited 04-23-2001).]