Brostman

I was wondering if I could get some views on the risk of transiting ZRH in winter. I will be travelling ORD-LHR in February and looking at two options: non-stop via UA (Polaris) or routing ORD-ZRH-LHR (with ORD-ZRH in F). It's special occasion trip and LHR is a connection to another carrier on my way to SIN where we depart on a SE Asia cruise. I understand that no one has a crystal ball regarding weather, so I am really just contemplating the odds of having a problem if I transit ZRH in winter. I have never flown LX in F and think it is my preferred choice for both the hard and soft product. I also hypothesize that ZRH is substantially experienced in handling winter conditions (as is ORD for the departure). Given I have ~ 5 hr leeway between scheduled LX arrival in LHR and my LHR departure, that except for getting entrapped with a blizzard in ZRH during my arrival/departure window in ZRH, I surmise I should be okay. I know the safe bet is the non-stop ORD-LHR with UA, but feel like I should be upping the game for this trip.

If it matters, my connection in LHR would be Swiss to another Star Alliance carrier, which I think might make it possible to inter-line our baggage in LHR, in which case my leeway in LHR would be ~ 6 hrs, otherwise I am allowing 1 hr for clearing immigration in LHR and re-checking baggage to next flight. But the change in carriers also means neither carrier has any obligation to me if something disrupts our flights and I miss the LHR outbound as a result.

chris63

ZRH expect Snow in Winter & they are very experienced at dealing with it, more likely Summer disruptions due to Thunderstorms & SWISS will through check to any *A carrier without issue.

flospi

As chris63 wrote, ZRH is prepared for Winter. You might have a slight delay on your departure to LHR because of de-icing but that's it under normal conditions. LHR is more prone to having problems with snow though, so that might add to a delay on arrival...
But flying in LX F is definitely a good decision... if you're arrival is delayed in ZRH, you will have a preferred transfer if necessary!

appenzeller

ZRH is one of the nicest airports to transfer and as said by flospi if your arrival is delayed you will have a preferred transfer airplane to airplane

Unterwegs

You don't say if you are on one tickets or a different ticket from LHR. If on one ticket they will get you to SIN somehow. If on two tickets then you might to loose your second ticket depending on the fare conditions.
As others said ZRH is one of the best airports in northern/central euriope to connect and if you get stuck ZRH is not one of the worst places to spend a day or two.

Fabo.sk

Seems to me like OP has the LON-SIN ticket locked in and is considering positioning.

I, for one, would be vary of 6 hours to longhaul between tickets...

some additional to consider
- what is the connection time in ZRH?
- Is there an alternative to LHR in case you miss the first flight?
- would it be feasible to fly to LHR day in advance, and rather than worrying about self-transfer, enjoy a day in London?

LHSEN

I’ve not seen snow much in Zurich the last 8-10 yrs - global warming !! Winter is a lot milder these days, and rarely below zero that last few too. It’s sad but …

Anyway, winter weather isn’t a challenge here, I’d be worrying about a lot more with ORD winter and how inefficient all US airports are rather than ZRH.

GfromNY

I wouldn't worry about a wintertime connection in Zurich.

Zurich airport is very experienced at dealing with snow. It is very rare to get an airport shutdown for snow in Zurich, I've lived there off and on for the last 15 years and think there may have been one or two snow shutdowns that entire time. Part of that is the efficiency of the operation (the de-icing queue approach at ZRH seems to optimize both safety and efficiency compared to US airports) and part of that is the climate. Even during a "snowy" winter in Zurich it is more like 1-2 inches each day (more at the higher elevations in the city, and certainly more in other parts of Switzerland - but the airport is not at a high elevation) as compared to many US cities where the entire season's snowfall comes in 2 or 3 massive storms that leave 12 inches plus and shut down everything.

Brostman

You surmised my situation accurately, I am positioning to LHR to then catch a SQ flight in Suites.... as I mentioned, I am upping the game for this special occasion trip. And the ORD-ZRH-LHR (rev tkt) and LHR-SIN (award tkt) are separate tkts
Connection time in ZRH is only 1hr 20 min, which under normal circumstances should be sufficient given ZRH layout.
There are two other ZRH-LHR flights that would arrive LHR with reasonably sufficient time... the third later flight would be pretty tight, especially if baggage is not inter-lined from LX to SQ
While normally feasible, our trip duration is fairly maxed out as is, because we are already pushing the limit with time that we are asking a nephew to house sit with our pet..... but it is something maybe we need to think about....

Brostman

Thank you to everyone for your insight, counsel and suggestions. Very much appreciated. And it all validates what my thoughts were regarding my situation.

chris63

With 3 later flight options you would be incredibly unlucky to misconnect & as said LX will certainly through check your bags to SQ.

enelym1978

Just make sure you leave yourself a day or two in Singapore, in case of delays, that you don't miss your cruise...

Brostman

Thank you for your advise.... we arrive SIN late afternoon day "1" and the cruise departs early evening day "3"........... so there are 3 SQ flights for LHR-SIN available that would allow us to make the ship's departure achievable..... plus all the other non-SQ options.

jasepl

Honestly, out of the four airports you're potentially going through, the only one with a good chance of a meltdown is LHR. All LHR needs is one snowflake for all hell to break loose.

ORD, ZRH and SIN in my experience manage just fine every day of the year, whatever happens (unless it's a genuinely serious weather event).

Brostman

I do think you assessment regarding ORD ZRH and SIN handling of weather is on target. I really didn't have any experience with LHR in winter, so I learned something new today. Thank you. As long as I make LHR on time, I think I'll be good.... since then I can rely on SQ to get me to SIN.... I know LHR- SIN is a heavy business travel route, but hopefully if there where any issues affecting my specific flight, that they would be able to still accommodate us on another flight the next day.