ZRH-EWR Privatair- awkward seats and regular onbaord service
Nov 6, 2007, 6:57 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: IRL
Programs: AF: Plat BD: Gold ICH: Plat Royal Ambassador
Posts: 599
ZRH-EWR Privatair- awkward seats and regular onbaord service
I recently took the Privatair BBJ from ZRH to EWR and decided to share my opinions as there isn't much on FT about it.
As my connecting flight to ZRH was late arriving I was a little concerned that I might miss the flight, had that been the case I'd have had to overnight in ZRH. However, it's a small plane and even though it was only 10 or 15 mins before departure I wasn't the last to board.
This was my first trip on a BBJ and the cabin is just as you see on the cheesy film on the swiss website.
http://www.swiss.com/web/EN/services...ice_movie.aspx
It's fresh and airy inside as the seats themselves aren't very high. As it's a 737-800 I was expecting it to seem small, but I was still amazed at how short it seemed. This is probably accentuated by the fact that there are only 14 rows of seats.
I was impressed with leg room in row 1- Swiss are claiming 1m52 between seats and you really have so much space in front of you. It means of course that you can never reach the pocket in the bulkhead to put things into while you're seated, but it's not a complaint! You could almost lie on the floor in front of the seat. The other rows in comparison, are tighter once seats are reclined but no worse that normal longhaul business class (AF, LH, BA).
The seats themselves are where this service lets the passenger down. First of all- width is ok but not any better obviously than 737 in European C. The switches to operate the seats aren't intuitive and located in the frame of the seat, under the arm rest, which is also where the power socket is for the DVD player. When in recline mode the seat snakes forwards and downwards towards the floor. The most comfortable position for sleeping is actually not fully reclined, but with the leg section slightly upright so your body doesn’t slide onto the floor. Otherwise your feet are literally on the floor. With some practise, perhaps frequent flyers can find comfort but it didn’t strike me as a fantastic seat. It also feels strange to be on the floor of the cabin.
Food service was only ok. They served pax in what seemed a random fashion- obviously LX elite first, * Gold etc. It was annoying because usually if you sit at the front, you expect to be served first or last. Instead the crew were zipping up and down past us carrying plates to other pax. Also the menu offered a choice of starters- plain green salad and some other more tasty looking fare that was the special ‘chef’ preparation. Of course by the time we were served, we were just handed the salads and not offered a choice. I can see that LX elite deserve recognition, but if Swiss is making a big deal of their chef inspired food, they should be able to offer it. When my main course came, it was announced as ‘chicken’-it was actually guinea fowl and rather good. Considering that the Swiss menu has translated each item into English the FAs have no excuse for incorrectly naming it.
There was also a long time between coming along offering drinks and water. Afraid that I was just drinking too fast (!), when I looked around I saw that all my companions had also drained their wine and water glasses. The speed of service was very slow- while I like dining leisurely- this was just slow because they didn’t seem organised enough. This might seem critical, but consider that there is no IFE to pass the time while waiting for the food to arrive so it doesn’t make time go any quicker.
It also took a considerable time to tidy up after dinner. One person tidied away his own table and put the table cloth, glasses and plates on the ground in front of him and they remained there for hours, even during subsequent visits to him by FAs to serve him beverages.
After dinner- ca. 4hrs into the flight they pass through with personal DVD players, with a folder of around 8 DVD discs. My first player did not work (I was not the only one) and my replacement player did not have the movie I had originally selected. This was no problem but shows how haphazard the ‘IFE’ is.
EWR was deserted at that hour and we cleared immigration very quickly. There was a very short wait for bags.
In summary, the flight times, fast boarding and deplaning are very convenient. Onboard- the seats are subpar and the food service and IFE weren’t as good as longhaul business on other airlines. I have never travelled LX business long haul before, so I can’t compare the Privatair service to the Swiss J longhaul.
As my connecting flight to ZRH was late arriving I was a little concerned that I might miss the flight, had that been the case I'd have had to overnight in ZRH. However, it's a small plane and even though it was only 10 or 15 mins before departure I wasn't the last to board.
This was my first trip on a BBJ and the cabin is just as you see on the cheesy film on the swiss website.
http://www.swiss.com/web/EN/services...ice_movie.aspx
It's fresh and airy inside as the seats themselves aren't very high. As it's a 737-800 I was expecting it to seem small, but I was still amazed at how short it seemed. This is probably accentuated by the fact that there are only 14 rows of seats.
I was impressed with leg room in row 1- Swiss are claiming 1m52 between seats and you really have so much space in front of you. It means of course that you can never reach the pocket in the bulkhead to put things into while you're seated, but it's not a complaint! You could almost lie on the floor in front of the seat. The other rows in comparison, are tighter once seats are reclined but no worse that normal longhaul business class (AF, LH, BA).
The seats themselves are where this service lets the passenger down. First of all- width is ok but not any better obviously than 737 in European C. The switches to operate the seats aren't intuitive and located in the frame of the seat, under the arm rest, which is also where the power socket is for the DVD player. When in recline mode the seat snakes forwards and downwards towards the floor. The most comfortable position for sleeping is actually not fully reclined, but with the leg section slightly upright so your body doesn’t slide onto the floor. Otherwise your feet are literally on the floor. With some practise, perhaps frequent flyers can find comfort but it didn’t strike me as a fantastic seat. It also feels strange to be on the floor of the cabin.
Food service was only ok. They served pax in what seemed a random fashion- obviously LX elite first, * Gold etc. It was annoying because usually if you sit at the front, you expect to be served first or last. Instead the crew were zipping up and down past us carrying plates to other pax. Also the menu offered a choice of starters- plain green salad and some other more tasty looking fare that was the special ‘chef’ preparation. Of course by the time we were served, we were just handed the salads and not offered a choice. I can see that LX elite deserve recognition, but if Swiss is making a big deal of their chef inspired food, they should be able to offer it. When my main course came, it was announced as ‘chicken’-it was actually guinea fowl and rather good. Considering that the Swiss menu has translated each item into English the FAs have no excuse for incorrectly naming it.
There was also a long time between coming along offering drinks and water. Afraid that I was just drinking too fast (!), when I looked around I saw that all my companions had also drained their wine and water glasses. The speed of service was very slow- while I like dining leisurely- this was just slow because they didn’t seem organised enough. This might seem critical, but consider that there is no IFE to pass the time while waiting for the food to arrive so it doesn’t make time go any quicker.
It also took a considerable time to tidy up after dinner. One person tidied away his own table and put the table cloth, glasses and plates on the ground in front of him and they remained there for hours, even during subsequent visits to him by FAs to serve him beverages.
After dinner- ca. 4hrs into the flight they pass through with personal DVD players, with a folder of around 8 DVD discs. My first player did not work (I was not the only one) and my replacement player did not have the movie I had originally selected. This was no problem but shows how haphazard the ‘IFE’ is.
EWR was deserted at that hour and we cleared immigration very quickly. There was a very short wait for bags.
In summary, the flight times, fast boarding and deplaning are very convenient. Onboard- the seats are subpar and the food service and IFE weren’t as good as longhaul business on other airlines. I have never travelled LX business long haul before, so I can’t compare the Privatair service to the Swiss J longhaul.
Nov 9, 2007, 4:14 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2007
Programs: LH SENATOR
Posts: 1,040
Those DVD layers are anccient they were originally on the MD11 in C and F class. They could at least offers those Digi players or however they are called that have a ig selection of Audio and Video material. Think the KLM service from Privat Air has those players. Yeah the seat is not that great I prefere the seat in the A340 it seemes to me less steep when in fully flat position.
Nov 13, 2007, 1:52 pm
#3
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 290
The biggest issue for me is the aircraft itself - the mere thought of a TATL crossing in a single aisle mini-airplane simply gives me the creeps. Bad enough on a CO or AA 757 but on a 737 ? No way for me, do not care one bit to experience rough air off the Canadian coast on such a one
Nov 13, 2007, 2:02 pm
#4
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ZRH / MUC / VIE
Programs: M&M basic / happy Wizzair+ user :-)
Posts: 6,490
I think turbulence aren't really an issue for a 737 compared with a larger bird. Do they really shake more? (I have never been on a 737 and on an A340 at the same time 
)
I emptied recently my cup of coffee over the whole meal on a LH-A346 during clear air turbulence over the yellow sea (sitting in the front), and had an amazingly smooth flight on a CRJ 100 during a horrible automnal sturm here at MUC (sitting in the back, and could balance my cup).
)I emptied recently my cup of coffee over the whole meal on a LH-A346 during clear air turbulence over the yellow sea (sitting in the front), and had an amazingly smooth flight on a CRJ 100 during a horrible automnal sturm here at MUC (sitting in the back, and could balance my cup).
Nov 13, 2007, 2:14 pm
#5
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: BTS/VIE
Programs: LH MM**, HH Silver
Posts: 2,282
I think turbulence aren't really an issue for a 737 compared with a larger bird. Do they really shake more? (I have never been on a 737 and on an A340 at the same time )
I emptied recently my cup of coffee over the whole meal on a LH-A346 during clear air turbulence over the yellow sea (sitting in the front), and had an amazingly smooth flight on a CRJ 100 during a horrible automnal sturm here at MUC (sitting in the back, and could balance my cup).
)I emptied recently my cup of coffee over the whole meal on a LH-A346 during clear air turbulence over the yellow sea (sitting in the front), and had an amazingly smooth flight on a CRJ 100 during a horrible automnal sturm here at MUC (sitting in the back, and could balance my cup).
Nov 13, 2007, 2:57 pm
#6
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Bern, Swiss-o-land
Programs: M&M (LX/LH) Silver, Marriott Platinum, Accor Silver, AF/KL Silver, Swiss Railway
Posts: 791
The biggest issue for me is the aircraft itself - the mere thought of a TATL crossing in a single aisle mini-airplane simply gives me the creeps. Bad enough on a CO or AA 757 but on a 737 ? No way for me, do not care one bit to experience rough air off the Canadian coast on such a one
Apr 9, 2008, 5:44 am
#7
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 2
Privatair ZRH - EWR
I fully agree with Typhoon. I am flying LX 18 / LX 19 regulary for the past 2 years.
The great thing is easy boarding and fast immigration at EWR.
Sears are horrible (they are obviously the old Virgin Atlantic seats from the mid 90's).
The service is lousy. However, it is not about Swiss Elite being served first, it is plain uncoordinated.
I do not know who trains the FA's, but it seems they are all new and not trained at all - combine this with an attitude and you got the feeling.
The funny thing is that Privatair EWR-DUS is a different story. Better seats in the Airbus and better service (though on LH standard....)
LX should look into this.
The great thing is easy boarding and fast immigration at EWR.
Sears are horrible (they are obviously the old Virgin Atlantic seats from the mid 90's).
The service is lousy. However, it is not about Swiss Elite being served first, it is plain uncoordinated.
I do not know who trains the FA's, but it seems they are all new and not trained at all - combine this with an attitude and you got the feeling.
The funny thing is that Privatair EWR-DUS is a different story. Better seats in the Airbus and better service (though on LH standard....)
LX should look into this.
Apr 9, 2008, 12:40 pm
#9
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: In the heart of Europe
Programs: some
Posts: 1,114
On the other side I have no issues at all with the seat - OK, it's kind of strange to sleep on the floor but I sleep comfortable.
The private air crew really should be retrained - needing 3-4h for dinner service on a 48 pax plane is not acceptable and an annoyance every-time I take the BBJ.
Apr 9, 2008, 1:47 pm
#10
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: DL PM, FB Plat, LH SEN, Amex Cent
Posts: 240
I was on the 737 flight a month ago, during a big storm with lots of turbulence. While lying on the seat it was actually more pleasant than turbulence experienced on bigger planes.
Apr 9, 2008, 10:45 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: NYC/PSP
Programs: AA EXP, A3 Gold
Posts: 4,106
My biggest complaint! I was ready to scream it was so painfully slow. I liked the whole BBJ concept, seats on the 737 were average, but the service was atrocious. And the icing on the cake was when I attempted to use the bathroom at no less than THIRTY minutes before landing, and was told it was too late. Are you serious?! I was so disappointed with the whole experience.
Apr 11, 2008, 9:33 pm
#13
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Maryland
Programs: United GS 1MM, WN A-List, Marriott LTPPE, CLEAR
Posts: 533
Lx 018
I flew on LX 018 tonight from ZRH-EWR. We left almost an hour late as it was raining in ZRH, we were waiting for 5 late passengers and there was traffic over England.
Dinner tool 2.15 from start to finish. I timed it to see.
I asked for and received a portable DVD player right after take-off. They distribute them after dinner, but if you ask they will give you one whever you want.
The ice cream mid-flight was a nice touch.
The seats were kind of fun...a little low. I had 1A, the legroom was amazing. I thought they were better than the seat I had on an older A330 JFK-GVA on the outbound.
The FAs kept my glass of wine and water filled throughout dinner. They circulated with bottled water twice during the flight, in addition to the bottle on your seat at boarding.
All-in-all, a great flight that I would do again.
Dinner tool 2.15 from start to finish. I timed it to see.
I asked for and received a portable DVD player right after take-off. They distribute them after dinner, but if you ask they will give you one whever you want.
The ice cream mid-flight was a nice touch.
The seats were kind of fun...a little low. I had 1A, the legroom was amazing. I thought they were better than the seat I had on an older A330 JFK-GVA on the outbound.
The FAs kept my glass of wine and water filled throughout dinner. They circulated with bottled water twice during the flight, in addition to the bottle on your seat at boarding.
All-in-all, a great flight that I would do again.
Apr 12, 2008, 3:15 pm
#14
Join Date: Jan 2007
Programs: LH SENATOR
Posts: 1,040
Are there any issues on the ZRH-EWR leg with the B737 regarding tech fuel stops. Then somethimes especially during the winter the flight has more than 10 hours Gate to Gate time according to the Swiss Arrival and departure info and usually flying time is between 8h to 9h? So I doubt that the B737 flies that much slower than an A330/340.