LondonFlight

Hi everyone,

I have been looking for reviews, photos and videos of the Economy Max cabin on the Edelweiss a340 but there is very little available.

Would someone care to share what the experience on this particular aircraft and cabin was like? The configuration is quite peculiar, with the Economy Max cabin located between seats 1 and 10, followed by Business and then regular Economy.

https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Ed...r_A340-300.php

Right now row 1 is available on my preferred dates and I was wondering if it actually has more legroom.

I am considering flying Edelweiss to Rio but would love to read your comments first. I look forward to reading your opinions.

​​​​​​Do they sell upgrades at the airport? They don't seem to have online biddings in place. I would book via Swiss with LX flight numbers, wondering if there are any upgrade possibilities from Economy Max.

Thank you for your help!

PS - apologies if I am posting this in the incorrect section of Flyertalk.

Air Rarotonga

Why don't you just google this topic???

https://www.flyedelweiss.com/en/info...x-komfort.aspx

LondonFlight

Hi there, I Googled the topic, of course, but the information available is not great. I am looking for feedback from Flyertalk members who have actually flown this product on the a340.

Thank you.

Nic33

I have not flown this company so I cannot report any experience. But it appears that you can either book directly in that class with a CHF 149 surcharge per leg or at check-in:


https://www.flyedelweiss.com/EN/info...servation.aspx


It also appears that the seats are regular economy seats of a width of 17-inchs (to compare: LH premium economy seats have a width of 19 inchs on the a380). With respect to seats' pitch, Seatguru reports a pitch of 36-inch (to compare: LH premium economy seats have a pitch of 38-inch).


You can compare the Edelweis Max economy product with the premium products of many other company in terms of seat width and pitch:


https://www.seatguru.com/charts/premium_economy.php


It appears that Edelweis product would rank in the lower tier.

LondonFlight

Thank you for your reply and for the link, Nic33. Very interesting comparison chart.

I have been flying from LHR to GIG in business for almost seven years but this time the budget is tight and I am obliged to downgrade. I need to go around May 19th/26th and fly back between June 05th/12th - there is no availability for upgrades or full redemption through my ffp during this period, or any other alternative dates that I checked. The few airlines that still fly to Rio are cutting frequencies so the fares have gone mad. I have checked fares ex-EU but they are not great either - by the time you add the positioning flights the fares become like-for-like so I am still better off leaving from LHR.

The idea of enduring what regular economy has turned into in the past years fills me with horror so I am looking for the best fares in "economy decent", the premium economy cabin. BA is charging £1,395 (£44 per way to select seats) which is a rip-off in my opinion (I read that the second meal service for this 11-hour flight is a wrap or a slice of pizza so for that price I will need to bring food with me). There is also a great chance of being met with their old WTP seat - I tried it on my way to Sao Paulo last year and thought it was dreadful. I would be very disappointed and upset if I ended up in a seat like that for £1,400.

I paid around £1,500 for a return ticket in business in July last year so the prices charged now are really crazy in my opinion.

Lufthansa's premium economy product looks attractive and the possibility of paying EUR25 for access to their Business lounge is a plus, but the average fare is still around £1,300 depending on dates. Regular economy with pre-assigned seats with extra legroom cost around £1,000...

Alitalia and Air France charge around the same or more and have those fixed-shell seats that slide forward but seem to remain upright, very uncomfortable based on the various reviews and trip reports I read.

Edelweiss Air is charging around £1,200 after assigning seats in the Economy Max cabin. The fare is not great but it's one of the lowest. Similar seats in Economy Comfort with KLM cost the same or a bit less, around £1,000 depending on dates. As per Edelweiss, the seat is the same as in regular economy but has a few more inches of legroom and recline.

These fares seem a bit too overpriced considering what one actually gets.

Thank you again for the link.

Nic33

If the difference is only £100, the "true" premium economy products are probably preferable as the width of the seat is increased and, more importantly, you do not have to share an armrest with your neighbour which, to my view, is the worst aspect of long haul Y (it looks like Alitalia's PE does not have improved armests in PE though).

LondonFlight

You are very right, I was not looking at the width and distance between seats. Based on that it should be either BA or Lufthansa then. BA is a gamble though, too expensive to risk getting the old seat.

I hope that someone who has flown Edelweiss in Economy Max long haul can still share their experience. The Economy Max cabin looks very empty on both ways, after all they charge CHF149 per sector for the "privilege" . Bulkhead, row 1 is available on both legs so I wonder if it actually has more than the standard 36 inches of legroom, or if it's obstructed by the wall. Empty rows in the middle would also be a welcome plus for a stretch...

Nic33

You may wish to check Swiss offers. There is a current promotion on Edelweis to Rio in C that does not look to bad...

LondonFlight

That's great, Nic33. Thank you very much for sharing, I had not seen this offer. It seems to be available from ZRH only though so I'd need to add the positioning flights from LHR. I will check availability with Avios for the short hops into and out of Zurich.

Thanks again!

Nic33

Yes, it appears that the offers are out of Switzerland. From GVA (connecting in ZRH) CHF 1749 and direct from ZRH 1899.

Nic33

Yes, it appears that the offers are out of Switzerland. From GVA (connecting in ZRH) CHF 1749 and direct from ZRH 1899.