ZRH-BOS-ZRH odd Business class experience
Jan 24, 2020, 2:37 pm
#1
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ZRH-BOS-ZRH odd Business class experience
Hi there,
So I just did a RT ZRH-BOS-ZRH in Business class over the holidays.
As an infrequent LX flyer I have to say I was incredibly underwhelmed (read= disappointed) in both directions. I am really questioning myself as to how I used to consider them my favorite carrier 6-7 years ago....
--On the outbound ZRH-BOS it was an A340. Business seat was *extremely* uncomfortable, not 180 degree lie-flat. The food was meh and insufficient (and I don't eat a lot!). Lunch service took about 2.5 hours- painfully slow with a junior FA that served literally 5 cl of wine each time until I showed the purser (who was great and laughed about it, sadly she only appeared once). I am a *A Gold customer and was offered a meal choice literally LAST.
In late December there was a Christmas menu, presented as a separate sheet, which managed to confuse practically everyone in the cabin for several minutes (items A B C which replaced D E and F on the subsequent pages of the menu... far from Swiss... why not just have ONE menu???) And the entire Christmas menu was a truffle oil extravaganza... for those of us who detest truffles it was quite limiting.
Pre-landing snacks from Europe tend to be pretty bad but this one was terrible (only slightly better than BA's and that doesn't say much!).
--On the return, BOS-ZRH it was an A330. The seat seemed to be far more comfortable. This time the entire dinner service probably took 30 minutes. The flight attendants were practically taking trays from me as I finished my last mouthful and turning the lights off (yes, I get it, it's a 9:45pm departure but definitely not a midnight one!)
Consistent with almost all of my LX experiences... on both legs, the cabin was uncomfortably warm. I don't travel on US carriers so I am not comparing this to the frigid US cabins. But this was hot even by European standards. I couldn't use a blanket at all. It was probably 26c in the cabin. What is the problem with Swiss?.
On arrival in ZRH the lounge was so incredibly packed there was hardly a seat available...the food very bizarre (I have been to CH a hundred times and I've lived in Europe for many many years)... THE dish being served at 11:30 am by the chef in the Senator lounge was a mystery to me... some sort of inedible-looking dish of french fries and something else with a chef pouring a ladle of sauce over... ?? ... maybe someone can enlighten me as to what that was?
Are these observations consistent with others' experiences on LX?
So I just did a RT ZRH-BOS-ZRH in Business class over the holidays.
As an infrequent LX flyer I have to say I was incredibly underwhelmed (read= disappointed) in both directions. I am really questioning myself as to how I used to consider them my favorite carrier 6-7 years ago....
--On the outbound ZRH-BOS it was an A340. Business seat was *extremely* uncomfortable, not 180 degree lie-flat. The food was meh and insufficient (and I don't eat a lot!). Lunch service took about 2.5 hours- painfully slow with a junior FA that served literally 5 cl of wine each time until I showed the purser (who was great and laughed about it, sadly she only appeared once). I am a *A Gold customer and was offered a meal choice literally LAST.
In late December there was a Christmas menu, presented as a separate sheet, which managed to confuse practically everyone in the cabin for several minutes (items A B C which replaced D E and F on the subsequent pages of the menu... far from Swiss... why not just have ONE menu???) And the entire Christmas menu was a truffle oil extravaganza... for those of us who detest truffles it was quite limiting.
Pre-landing snacks from Europe tend to be pretty bad but this one was terrible (only slightly better than BA's and that doesn't say much!).
--On the return, BOS-ZRH it was an A330. The seat seemed to be far more comfortable. This time the entire dinner service probably took 30 minutes. The flight attendants were practically taking trays from me as I finished my last mouthful and turning the lights off (yes, I get it, it's a 9:45pm departure but definitely not a midnight one!)
Consistent with almost all of my LX experiences... on both legs, the cabin was uncomfortably warm. I don't travel on US carriers so I am not comparing this to the frigid US cabins. But this was hot even by European standards. I couldn't use a blanket at all. It was probably 26c in the cabin. What is the problem with Swiss?.
On arrival in ZRH the lounge was so incredibly packed there was hardly a seat available...the food very bizarre (I have been to CH a hundred times and I've lived in Europe for many many years)... THE dish being served at 11:30 am by the chef in the Senator lounge was a mystery to me... some sort of inedible-looking dish of french fries and something else with a chef pouring a ladle of sauce over... ?? ... maybe someone can enlighten me as to what that was?
Are these observations consistent with others' experiences on LX?
Last edited by bostontraveler; Jan 25, 2020 at 4:24 am
Jan 24, 2020, 3:07 pm
#2
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As I said elsewhere, I no longer book SWISS Business, Economy or whatever. It's just so inconsistent and more often than not it has been downright bad. So I choose other carriers.
Jan 24, 2020, 3:22 pm
#3
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--On the outbound ZRH-BOS it was an A340. Business seat was *extremely* uncomfortable, not 180 degree lie-flat. The food was meh and insufficient (and I don't eat a lot!). Lunch service took about 2.5 hours- painfully slow with a junior FA that served literally 5 cl of wine each time until I showed the purser (who was great and laughed about it, sadly she only appeared once). I am a *A Gold customer and was offered a meal choice literally LAST.
Staff: yeah that's bad luck, it happens.
--On the return, BOS-ZRH it was an A330. The seat seemed to be far more comfortable. This time the entire dinner service probably took 30 minutes. The flight attendants were practically taking trays from me as I finished my last mouthful and turning the lights off (yes, I get it, it's a 9:45pm departure but definitely not a midnight one!)
Consistent with almost all of my LX experiences... on both legs, the cabin was uncomfortably warm. I don't travel on US carriers so I am not comparing this to the frigid US cabins. But this was hot even by European standards. I couldn't use a blanket at all. It was probably 26c in the cabin. What is the problem with Swiss?
On arrival in ZRH the lounge was so incredibly packed there was hardly a seat available...the food very bizarre (I have been to CH a hundred times and I've lived in Europe for many many years)... THE dish being served at 11:30 am by the chef in the Senator lounge was a mystery to me... some sort of inedible-looking dish of french fries and something else with a chef pouring a ladle of sauce over... ?? ... maybe someone can enlighten me as to what that was?
I'm also curious about the mystery dish, could've been Poutine?
(Personally I tried to avoid LX because their seats vary so much, I'd much rather have a known experience with UA's Polaris window seats than a random selection of either great private seat, or very open seat on Swiss, with potentially tiny footwell but maybe not if I booked early enough and their IT didn't kick me out for no good reason. But IME Swiss have the best food TATL, and their cabin ambiance is quite nice if you ignore the variability in privacy between seats.)
Jan 24, 2020, 4:05 pm
#4
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Seat: odd, sounds like something may have been broken? They're the same seats as in the A330, but modernised, and should work in the same way (the newer ones in the A340 have inflatable padding, and a massage function. ONE BIG NOTE: if someone left an item behind the seat, it might not recline fully. Someone dropped a clotheshanger in mine, which I discovered when reclining - had to move back up, remove it, then I could go fully flat.
Staff: yeah that's bad luck, it happens.
That sounds about right. Short flight, I don't understand why anyone would even want to eat on this flight - last time I did it more than a few people were in bed-mode and asleep as soon as legally permissible.
They're definitely warmer than UA (where I regularly freeze), but I was perfectly comfortable with the blanket. Probably depends on an individual's metabolism and insulation. Never actually heard anyone complain about the temperature before.
I do get the impression LX has outgrown their lounges - fortunately there is a new lounge in A which almost no one uses, so this might improve - but IME no one knows about the new lounge so no one uses it.
I'm also curious about the mystery dish, could've been Poutine?
(Personally I tried to avoid LX because their seats vary so much, I'd much rather have a known experience with UA's Polaris window seats than a random selection of either great private seat, or very open seat on Swiss, with potentially tiny footwell but maybe not if I booked early enough and their IT didn't kick me out for no good reason. But IME Swiss have the best food TATL, and their cabin ambiance is quite nice if you ignore the variability in privacy between seats.)
Staff: yeah that's bad luck, it happens.
That sounds about right. Short flight, I don't understand why anyone would even want to eat on this flight - last time I did it more than a few people were in bed-mode and asleep as soon as legally permissible.
They're definitely warmer than UA (where I regularly freeze), but I was perfectly comfortable with the blanket. Probably depends on an individual's metabolism and insulation. Never actually heard anyone complain about the temperature before.
I do get the impression LX has outgrown their lounges - fortunately there is a new lounge in A which almost no one uses, so this might improve - but IME no one knows about the new lounge so no one uses it.
I'm also curious about the mystery dish, could've been Poutine?
(Personally I tried to avoid LX because their seats vary so much, I'd much rather have a known experience with UA's Polaris window seats than a random selection of either great private seat, or very open seat on Swiss, with potentially tiny footwell but maybe not if I booked early enough and their IT didn't kick me out for no good reason. But IME Swiss have the best food TATL, and their cabin ambiance is quite nice if you ignore the variability in privacy between seats.)
My comments.
- You may be right on the seat but I couldn't get the darn thing to resemble anything comfortable... sadly I didn't have a baseball bat because that was my feeling lol
- Eating- 12 is late... 9:45 is not late in my world... Dinner in 'Latin' Europe is 8-9 depending on the season. Definitely NOT American or Germanic 6pm. That's cultural and I get it but painful for me... I simply can't fall asleep at 10 :-) I'm an 11:30/12 person. Splitting hairs I guess. All good!
- Maybe true in terms of temp but I have seen lots of posts here that LX cabins are very warm. Agreed that US carriers have freshly pumped air from what's left of the Arctic circle :-) I guess you can hide from the cold but when it's too hot you're SOL.
- The lounge (I think??) was the new one in Terminal A... I didn't see much of an improvement from the previous one... au contraire... it's awkward and still crowded. I get the desire for a "chef concept" but the execution in my opinion is terrible. It pales in comparison to that of Asian carriers. IMHO LX, if you want to do this, do it right.
- As for the "mystery meat" lol no, it wasn't poutine... it was something from some long-lost orbit :-) The problem was that everything else was curry this or that which I have seen LH/LX/OS seem to love (memories of the chicken curry at VIE which I think is still boiling yellow since last year). Last thing I want to eat, or smell, after not sleeping. That said, I disagree on LX having the best food though. AF and AZ are far better IMHO. US carriers are not bad ex-Europe but ex-US catering IMHO is pretty awful and pumped up with every pesticide, herbicide and hormone known to man, thus inedible in my book.
Jan 25, 2020, 1:05 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2006
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Not that agree or disagree in most of your comments, but hilarious post bostontraveler, thanks.
What it is becoming ridiculous it is how packed the lounges @ A terminal are lately.
On Thursday afternoon, after some search, I found a tiny seat on a bench at the Alpine lounge.
What it is becoming ridiculous it is how packed the lounges @ A terminal are lately.
On Thursday afternoon, after some search, I found a tiny seat on a bench at the Alpine lounge.
Last edited by more4less; Jan 25, 2020 at 1:11 am
Jan 25, 2020, 4:20 am
#7
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Jan 25, 2020, 4:24 am
#8
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Hi there,
So I just did a RT ZRH-BOS-ZRH in Business class over the holidays.
As an infrequent LX flyer I have to say I was incredibly underwhelmed (read= disappointed) in both directions. I am really questioning myself as to how I used to consider them my favorite carrier 6-7 years ago....
--On the outbound ZRH-BOS it was an A340. Business seat was *extremely* uncomfortable, not 180 degree lie-flat. The food was meh and insufficient (and I don't eat a lot!). Lunch service took about 2.5 hours- painfully slow with a junior FA that served literally 5 cl of wine each time until I showed the purser (who was great and laughed about it, sadly she only appeared once). I am a *A Gold customer and was offered a meal choice literally LAST.
In late December there was a Christmas menu, presented as a separate sheet, which managed to confuse practically everyone in the cabin for several minutes (items A B C which replaced D E and F on the subsequent pages of the menu... far from Swiss... why not just have ONE menu???) And the entire Christmas menu was a truffle oil extravaganza... for those of us who detest truffles it was quite limiting.
Pre-landing snacks from Europe tend to be pretty bad but this one was terrible (only slightly better than BA's and that doesn't say much!).
--On the return, BOS-ZRH it was an A330. The seat seemed to be far more comfortable. This time the entire dinner service probably took 30 minutes. The flight attendants were practically taking trays from me as I finished my last mouthful and turning the lights off (yes, I get it, it's a 9:45pm departure but definitely not a midnight one!)
Consistent with almost all of my LX experiences... on both legs, the cabin was uncomfortably warm. I don't travel on US carriers so I am not comparing this to the frigid US cabins. But this was hot even by European standards. I couldn't use a blanket at all. It was probably 26c in the cabin. What is the problem with Swiss?
Curious to hear your experiences. Thanks.
On arrival in ZRH the lounge was so incredibly packed there was hardly a seat available...the food very bizarre (I have been to CH a hundred times and I've lived in Europe for many many years)... THE dish being served at 11:30 am by the chef in the Senator lounge was a mystery to me... some sort of inedible-looking dish of french fries and something else with a chef pouring a ladle of sauce over... ?? ... maybe someone can enlighten me as to what that was?
Are these observations consistent with others' experiences on LX?
So I just did a RT ZRH-BOS-ZRH in Business class over the holidays.
As an infrequent LX flyer I have to say I was incredibly underwhelmed (read= disappointed) in both directions. I am really questioning myself as to how I used to consider them my favorite carrier 6-7 years ago....
--On the outbound ZRH-BOS it was an A340. Business seat was *extremely* uncomfortable, not 180 degree lie-flat. The food was meh and insufficient (and I don't eat a lot!). Lunch service took about 2.5 hours- painfully slow with a junior FA that served literally 5 cl of wine each time until I showed the purser (who was great and laughed about it, sadly she only appeared once). I am a *A Gold customer and was offered a meal choice literally LAST.
In late December there was a Christmas menu, presented as a separate sheet, which managed to confuse practically everyone in the cabin for several minutes (items A B C which replaced D E and F on the subsequent pages of the menu... far from Swiss... why not just have ONE menu???) And the entire Christmas menu was a truffle oil extravaganza... for those of us who detest truffles it was quite limiting.
Pre-landing snacks from Europe tend to be pretty bad but this one was terrible (only slightly better than BA's and that doesn't say much!).
--On the return, BOS-ZRH it was an A330. The seat seemed to be far more comfortable. This time the entire dinner service probably took 30 minutes. The flight attendants were practically taking trays from me as I finished my last mouthful and turning the lights off (yes, I get it, it's a 9:45pm departure but definitely not a midnight one!)
Consistent with almost all of my LX experiences... on both legs, the cabin was uncomfortably warm. I don't travel on US carriers so I am not comparing this to the frigid US cabins. But this was hot even by European standards. I couldn't use a blanket at all. It was probably 26c in the cabin. What is the problem with Swiss?
Curious to hear your experiences. Thanks.
On arrival in ZRH the lounge was so incredibly packed there was hardly a seat available...the food very bizarre (I have been to CH a hundred times and I've lived in Europe for many many years)... THE dish being served at 11:30 am by the chef in the Senator lounge was a mystery to me... some sort of inedible-looking dish of french fries and something else with a chef pouring a ladle of sauce over... ?? ... maybe someone can enlighten me as to what that was?
Are these observations consistent with others' experiences on LX?
I feel with you on the westbound flights meal length.
This is the real weakness of LX. Those services are never-ending in J. I don't get the point to offer such a long cheese service when they could propose cheese and dessert together. I wonder why everything takes always so long with LX...not enough cabin crew for such a large cabin maybe? They run back and forth down the aisle but everything remains slow. AF does a much better job on that matter.
However, I really like the before landing option, quick service, everything on a tray, I recall when the crew was preparing the plates in front of you in the cabin. THAT was cheap, long and useless.
On the way back I would consider you lucky to have been able to eat within 30 minutes. What I want after take off on those red eye flights is to eat as soon as possible after take off and recline.
Regarding the temperature, I find LX always temperate. Try UA (you freeze) or Edelweiss (you land completely dehydrated due to heat in the cabin). So maybe it was just a bad experience.
Jan 25, 2020, 8:06 am
#9
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I am not an AF regular but flew a few months ago between Paris and Nairobi and the biz seat(787 IIRC), food and service, in both directions, were outstanding, and they offered some sort of basic wi-fi for free.
Jan 25, 2020, 11:21 pm
#11
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- Eating- 12 is late... 9:45 is not late in my world... Dinner in 'Latin' Europe is 8-9 depending on the season. Definitely NOT American or Germanic 6pm. That's cultural and I get it but painful for me... I simply can't fall asleep at 10 :-) I'm an 11:30/12 person. Splitting hairs I guess. All good!
.
.
I feel with you on the westbound flights meal length.
This is the real weakness of LX. Those services are never-ending in J. I don't get the point to offer such a long cheese service when they could propose cheese and dessert together. I wonder why everything takes always so long with LX...
This is the real weakness of LX. Those services are never-ending in J. I don't get the point to offer such a long cheese service when they could propose cheese and dessert together. I wonder why everything takes always so long with LX...
One cannot criticize one one side the "early" dinner because it is too american/nordic and on the other side the long duration of a meal, because it's too "Latin".
Jan 26, 2020, 1:33 am
#12
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Jan 26, 2020, 3:51 am
#13
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Taking the timezone of the arrival airport in account, you have dinner at 3.45 am. That's even late for Mediterranean lifestyle. Taking into account the departure airport timezone having dinner at 9.45 pm, when one lands at 5am and gets woken up by 4.30 am latest, is not a bad deal neither, isn't it?
I do not understand why the OP likes the comment of "milesfixed". Living and loving the "Latin" lifestyle meals lasting several hours should be a desire and not a point of criticism.
One cannot criticize one one side the "early" dinner because it is too american/nordic and on the other side the long duration of a meal, because it's too "Latin".
I do not understand why the OP likes the comment of "milesfixed". Living and loving the "Latin" lifestyle meals lasting several hours should be a desire and not a point of criticism.
One cannot criticize one one side the "early" dinner because it is too american/nordic and on the other side the long duration of a meal, because it's too "Latin".
You are thinking in absolutes.
First of all, when one gets on a plane at 9:45pm it is 9:45pm. The clock doesn’t magically change at the point of departure. It changes on arrival.
Second, I wasn’t talking about loving and living any Latin lifestyle. I was just saying that n my opinion there is no need to be pulling the trays away in a mad rush. I don’t know where you understand that I felt It was too early... what I said was that it wasn’t so late to justify a mad rush.
Third, by the same token, I am sitting on a plane, not by the ocean in Sorrento. No, I don’t want to have my tray in front of me for 2.5 hours. (And in fact, no restaurant in the Mediterranean would take several hours to serve a lunch. That’s silly.)
There is a concept of reasonableness which was not applied in either case.
Jan 26, 2020, 4:03 am
#14
Join Date: Feb 2013
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Taking the timezone of the arrival airport in account, you have dinner at 3.45 am. That's even late for Mediterranean lifestyle. Taking into account the departure airport timezone having dinner at 9.45 pm, when one lands at 5am and gets woken up by 4.30 am latest, is not a bad deal neither, isn't it?
By your logic, they would have to serve an early breakfast on SQ231 soon after departure from SIN, because it is almost morning in Sydney.
Jan 26, 2020, 7:59 am
#15
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
Posts: 149
Completely opposite experience here lately :
Flew ZRH-SFO-ZRH in J with husband and 2 y.o. kid early January and both flights were simply suberb :
- ZRH lounge E : the only big dispointement, E biz lounge is sort of plain, very low privacy, mainstream (no-)design, just nothing to be excited about
- flights / seat : very nice and quiet cabin although its is massive with about 11 rows in main J cabin, good temperature, nice sort of private double seats by the window, private enough without being cought in a coffin like some herringbone seats, good for travelling as a duo or trio (booked 1 seat in center across from 2 window seats), comfortable bed (bedding could be improved with a matress to match other direct competitors offers like UA, AC, BA).
- Food / food service : excellent in both ways, service flow adapted at flight times and duration (longer for westbound and faster for eastbound), perfect in terms of service, friendlyness, refills, did not feel like an assembly line like LH J. big note for hotel-style pre arrival breakfast on SFO-ZRH (you fill a hotel-style breakfast form and your own brakfast is brought to you when you desire, very nice touch.
SFO Polaris lounge : really superb. one of the best lounge in US - dining room is nice for J travels.
Service : that is the best point ! Service on both flight was simply amazing. Seemed back to the golden age of aviation when crew took pride in what they were doing and the airline they were working for. Attentive, warm, happy, professional, multi-lingual and just happy-to-be-here-and-work FAs, directed by extremely well trained and professinal Maîtres de Cabine. They delivered a truly amazing experience on both flights.
Let me point again how service made the big difference - way better than all competitors.
Flew ZRH-SFO-ZRH in J with husband and 2 y.o. kid early January and both flights were simply suberb :
- ZRH lounge E : the only big dispointement, E biz lounge is sort of plain, very low privacy, mainstream (no-)design, just nothing to be excited about
- flights / seat : very nice and quiet cabin although its is massive with about 11 rows in main J cabin, good temperature, nice sort of private double seats by the window, private enough without being cought in a coffin like some herringbone seats, good for travelling as a duo or trio (booked 1 seat in center across from 2 window seats), comfortable bed (bedding could be improved with a matress to match other direct competitors offers like UA, AC, BA).
- Food / food service : excellent in both ways, service flow adapted at flight times and duration (longer for westbound and faster for eastbound), perfect in terms of service, friendlyness, refills, did not feel like an assembly line like LH J. big note for hotel-style pre arrival breakfast on SFO-ZRH (you fill a hotel-style breakfast form and your own brakfast is brought to you when you desire, very nice touch.
SFO Polaris lounge : really superb. one of the best lounge in US - dining room is nice for J travels.
Service : that is the best point ! Service on both flight was simply amazing. Seemed back to the golden age of aviation when crew took pride in what they were doing and the airline they were working for. Attentive, warm, happy, professional, multi-lingual and just happy-to-be-here-and-work FAs, directed by extremely well trained and professinal Maîtres de Cabine. They delivered a truly amazing experience on both flights.
Let me point again how service made the big difference - way better than all competitors.