FlyerTalk Forums - ORD-ZRH in LX Y!!

LX 9
ORD-ZRH
715pm-1055am (scheduled)
7:24pm-9:47am (actual)
Seat 31B

I arrived at ORD at 445pm for my 715pm departure. There was only 1 person in the Y line and me and my 2 - 50 pound bags were checked in by 552pm. My dad, a Str Gold who flues International J or F 6-8 times a month said it was faster than F. The security line was empty and 510 had me at the ate looking for something to do for 2 hours. I wandered around searching for a Starbucks, but the only concession in the terminal was a pre-security Haagen Dazs. I bought a book at the gate side store but ended chatting with my travel companion the whole time.

Around 635pm was the first boarding call for F, J, and Star Gold. I was surprised that the next boarding call was row 40 to the back and then they boarded front of Y. I usually fly BA J when I fly internationally so LX Y was somewhat of a reminder to me. My first impression of the seat is that it was small. The pillow and blanket were also really small. As I'm both tall and obese I was surprised I fit in the seat. Pilot announced that the load factor was 216 (out of 236). Flight time was announced at 7 hours and 20 minutes. One thong I immediately liked was that there was a USB port next to the IFE screen.
BA J On 777s has a USB port located inconveniently far from the seat. I was surprised that no menu was handed out on the ground. We were airborne at 7:24 and climbed totally to a total altitude of 37,000 feet.
The IFE controls were built into the seat, making it hard to navigate. One annoying factor I noticed at the beginning was that cabin lights were on at full brightness. Some of us wanted to skip the meal and sleep. Especially because in-flight kosher food tends to be disgusting. It seems Swiss doesn't offer print menus in Y. The first carts rolled down the aisle at 756pm.
My kosher meal consisted of a bread roll, some salad, a jelly cake, and a small piece if chicken with a few few pieces of pasta. Chicken and pasta was ok. I drank Heineken with my meal. The non-kosher option was pasta or beef. My seatmate got the beef and it didn't look a whole lot better than the KSML. I asked the FA for a glass of water and she says "is it ok if I give you the bottle?" Wow, I'm surprised to see personal water bottles in Y. They also offered personal bottles of red wine. When the FA served me my entree, she told me she didn't touch it. According to Jewish law, it wouldn't have mattered, but it was nice to see that the FA had respect for my religious customs. Y had an all female crew. They were Zurich based and wonderful people. The Y lavatory had hand cream from a company called Valmont. I was surprised to see amenities in a Y bathroom. Cabin lights were turned off at 9:43pm. I didn't get a minute of sleep, but I've always had trouble sleeping upright. I also had a rather annoying woman behind me who screamed at me for leaning my seat back. Breakfast carts rolled down at 815am, Zurich time. Another thing I noticed about the Swiss A330 is that there were only 4 bathrooms for the entire Y cabin, all located in the middle with a rather large galley in back. I think that Swiss could have added one or two inches of legroom in each row. My legs were jammed in for 7.5 hours and it didn't make them feel good. Kosher breakfast consisted of a muffin, bread roll, frozen orange juice, and an unidentifiable orange glob. The coffee was delicious and was grown in Switzerland. Unlike the dinner service, breakfast did not begin with the FA asking each passenger if they spoke English. The FA on the drink cart ran out of coffee and she flailed her arms and tried to signal to the FA handing out breakfast boxes. I think crew communication should be improved. The non-kosher meal was a breakfast box. Other than yogurt and croissants from the bread basket, I couldn't tell what it contained. While drinks were not topped up during either service, 2nd croissants were offered. I was surprised that Swiss didn't top up drinks. In 2008, I flew JFK-TLV via VIE on OS, and as I recall, my cup was never empty.

The IFE could use a bit of work. While the selection was nice, having remote and headphone jack built into armrest was a bit odd. I didn't watch anything because of my unsuccessful attempt at sleeping. Having WiFi on board would also be a nice additional touch. I brought my netbook, though it had no movies or TV shows on it.

Inflight service concluded with an offer of hit towels, another nice touch. They also offered mini 2-square bars of delicious Swiss milk chocolate. And the knowledge that in Zurich you don't need to fill out a customs declaration. The airshow was very nice as well. The graphics were much better than the BA moving map.

Due to strong tailwinds, we landed jet over an hour ahead of schedule at 947am. Deboarding was thru 2 airbridges, a first for me.

Verdict: Swiss has a pretty good longhaul Y product. The emphasis on service adds more to it. I would recommend that Swiss offer larger pillows and blankets as well as more room between seats. Two I've seen in other longhaul Y products could be added to make Swiss a stellar experience.

Frequent top up of drinks (OS)
Wheel chair accessible bathroom, so your not crammed in (CO)