bruce80

Moderator2

Curious what the fare ran?

Looking forward to more of the report.

offerendum

That are problems Looking forward to it!

bruce80

Düsseldorf to Amsterdam in KLM Economy

Check-in for KL flights opens 30 hours before departure, which, in my case, meant that it would start in the middle of the night. And though I usually try to be one of the first people to check in for a flight for which I don’t have a seat reservation, in this instance I couldn’t really do that without setting an alarm clock for half past twelve in the morning. So I thought it should still be early enough to do the check-in after waking up, particularly as I didn’t expect the plane to be too full on an early Sunday morning.

When logging into the web check-in a few hours after check-in had already started, I was surprised to see that the seat map showed most seats already taken, with only two or three rows (in 2-2 configuration) near the back of the plane still vacant. However, I also noticed that the rows in the „preferred zone“ (or whatever KLM calls that) were still completely empty, and that they wanted a fee of 10 EUR in order to get a seat there. As I know how tight the seating on a „Jungle Jet“ (as someone on the internet has once called the Embraer series) can be - I’ve flown them a couple of times on Helvetic and was barely able to fit my legs under the seat in front of me - I thought that it might well be worth the fee, as (a) they were promising „up to“ (whatever that means) 10 cm more legroom in those seats and (b) I guessed that most people on this flight would probably be day-trip tourists who wouldn’t want to spend the additional money for such a seat, which means there was a high chance of also getting an empty seat next to me. Hence, I selected 4A and proceeded with the payment. The payment process itself (as well as the entire check-in process) proved to be quite circumstantial (particularly on a mobile phone which also caused me to mis-type the credit card number in the first try, having to enter all the payment details again), and I really think that the check-in process of LH group airlines is much easier and more straightforward. But then, it could very well be that I’m just more used to checking in with them.

What really annoyed me a bit was the fact that the boarding pass e-mail didn’t contain any boarding information (for example, seat number or boarding time) - this was only present in the barcode attachment to use for the boarding machine, which I only found out by chance when opening the file accidentally. Unlike most other airlines I’ve flown with so far, they are also not providing Passbook boarding passes which I find to be quite handy, particularly in offline conditions.

The Flight

Flight: KL1852
From: DUS/EDDL
To: AMS/EHAM
Aircraft Type: Embraer ERJ170-200 (E175)
Registration: PH-EXG
STD: 06:10
STA: 07:10

After getting up really early (particularly for a Sunday) and ordering a taxi to take me to the airport from home, I arrived at a surprisingly busy departure terminal around 10 past 5 in the morning.





The first flights are allowed to take off from DUS at 6am, and there is quite a list of flights that is blocked to depart at exactly 6, so it’s no wonder that the airport is already quite busy so early in the morning. I noticed that most passengers seemed to be senior citizens, although there were als a few younger people around. All in all I thought that the airport was much busier than I had expected for a Sunday morning. The line at the security check at concourse B seemed to be quite long and it took about 15 minutes to get through (which has, unfortunately, not been uncommon in the last few months). The gate was located right behind security, and I only had to wait a few minutes before boarding started.



Our plane was parked relatively close to the gate, although we still had to take a bus to drive those 200m.







I was among the first people on board. In the next picture, you can see where the „preferred“ zone ends. The seats with more legroom have a dark blue headrest, while the „normal“ seats have a light blue headrest. This is probably also the maximum number of rows that should be declared as business class.

The legroom was actually much better than the legroom in Helvetics E-Jets, and I guess paying those 10 EUR definitely paid off. Unfortunately, I was the only passenger sitting in the preferred zone who didn’t have a vacant seat next to him (even though there were still two or three rows that were completely empty). Hence, my strategy seemed to have been right, but then it didn’t work out in the end (and the guy next to me obviously also didn’t think of moving one row back in oder to get both of us an entire row to ourselves).



The plane got quite full right on schedule, and we pushed back a few minutes late, with the FO announcing a flight time of approximately 30 minutes, predicting an on-time arrival. We pushed back about 10 minutes late, and made our way to RWY 23L for takeoff. While we were taxiing, I thought I should take a picture of the first plane landing at DUS on that day, as this Singapore A350 could very well be the plane to pick me up at Kuala Lumpur on the next day.



Upon takeoff, I noticed how quiet the Embraer jets actually are, and how big the windows are, compared to older planes, including the A320 series. The CS on the next flight to Zurich will definitely have to compete against that.

Shortly after takeoff, the service began. The 8 people seated in rows 1 and 2 (Business Class) received a paper bag with all kinds of snacks each, while those of us sitting in economy received a very small cup of mineral water, together with „minibite“ cookies - I really don’t know why anyone would call those cookies „minibite“, as this already sounds like it is, well, just „mini“. Still, I think it is quite impressive that they actually serve something to their economy passengers, as the flight time is about the same as Lufthansas Stuttgart to Munich vv. flights, where economy passengers don’t get anything.



A few minutes later, the First Officer came onto the PA again and announced our landing for 6:50 on RWY 18R - of course, I always get that runway when flying to AMS, and the announced 10 minutes taxi time from the runway to the gate turned out to be 13 in the end.

We arrived at our „walk gate“ (which is basically a bus gate that is close enough to the terminal that you can walk) slightly ahead of schedule, and after taking a final picture of the plane at the gate, I started the long trek to the Aspire Lounge.



Verdict

There’s not much I can say about such a short flight. It is exactly what you can expect from a short intra-european hop, but I really like the plane itself for being quiet and the option of getting an „extra legroom“ seat, even if you have to pay for it.

AhogZ

Subscribing

bruce80

The Swissport Aspire Lounge (Schengen) Amsterdam Schiphol

One of the reasons why I’m not a fan of flying via AMS is the size of the terminal building. We were arriving at concourse B (which is the most remote concourse of the Schengen part of the terminal), and in order to get to the partner lounge used by StarAlliance airlines at Schiphol (or the exit), one needs to go back to the center of the terminal which they call „Lounge“ (even though it is just a typical terminal shopping and dining area). Depending on which gate you are arriving at or departing from and the speed of your walking, this may take up to 10 minutes or even longer. The best thing is, as SWISS departs from concourse B as well, you’ll have to eventually walk the entire way back.





SWISS and other StarAlliance carriers use the Swissport Aspire Lounge which is located on the first floor of the central Schengen terminal „Lounge“ (don’t get confused - the terminal areas are called „Lounge 1, 2, 3 and 4“ while the actual airline lounges have two-digit numbers, for example 25 for the KLM Crown Lounge or 26 for the Schengen Aspire lounge. I know, it doesn’t really make sense). Currently, construction seems to be going on in the terminal right in front of the lounge, and the signage is a bit confusing - in the following picture, it seems like the lounge is closed for refurbishment, but actually, you just have to walk around the closed off area in order to get to the main entrance.





The Amsterdam Aspire lounge is a typical contract lounge, which means that you have relatively basic offerings (but including all you might need). Additionally, the AMS Aspire lounge is infamous for being crowded at times and not really being kept tidy, and there are almost always used tableware sitting around - furthermore, the seating is not really comfortable.





While the lounge wasn’t too crowded when I arrived (I mean, it was still relatively early on a Sunday morning), I chose to take the seat in the far right and corner of the „corridor“ in the back part of the lounge, as it seemed to be quite quiet. However, when I tried to charge my phone and my laptop at the provided power ports, it turned out that they were dead (I then used the ones in the wall instead).

In terms of views, the lounge is mainly overlooking the corridor between the Schengen security check and the duty free shops of the Schengen terminal area.





I often say that the restrooms are actually the best feature of this lounge, as they look really nice - however, there are no showers, so that is something that people might miss when visiting that lounge. Additionally, there are no recliners or seats available that are suitable for sleeping in them, and I watched several people trying to sleep in very uncomfortably looking positions on the normal seats.

While the lounge was serving breakfast during my stay here, the full range of drinks was on offer. Basically, there was a soda fountain, bottles of bitter lemon and ginger ale, several bottles of both red and white wine, a very limited selection of spirits, Heineken on tap, and a juice dispenser with apple, orange and vitamin juice.











The coffee from the machine in the last picture was actually one of the worst coffees I have ever had.

Food-wise, they had soup on offer, as well as a basic breakfast selection including cereal, ham, cheese, jam, micro-muffins, ready-made omelette and danish pastry.







Verdict

While I still know this lounge from the times I was commuting between AMS and ZRH, I have to say that it has always been very mediocre. It never found it as bad as many people on the internet were saying, but it was also never really good. This is a lounge that is ok to use if you have to wait anyway (it’s still better than hanging around in the terminal), but I would definitely not pay to access this lounge.

offerendum

Lounge may not be great but I agree I have seen much worse.

bruce80

Amsterdam to Zürich in SWISS business class

I must be producing a lot of bad karma - upon leaving the lounge, I learned that my flight would actually depart from the most remote concourse B gate, so I had to make quite a trek (I always get those remote gates - when flying out of Frankfurt, I almost always get gate A40 as arrival or departure gate, which is also the most remote usable gate at FRAs concourse A). Hence, I made my way back towards the B concourse (which was now considerably crowded) and arrived at my departure gate approximately 5 minutes before the published boarding time



Upon arriving at the gate, our plane was just pulling into the parking positions (I really don’t understand why the Amsterdam rotations are always slightly late), and I was quite excited to see that we’d be flying on HB-JCH, a brand-new CS300 plane that had only been put into service the day before.



The Flight

Flight: LX725
From: AMS/EHAM
To: ZRH/LSZH
Aircraft Type: Bombardier BD-500 CS300
Registration: HB-JCH
STD: 09:50
STA: 11:20

As the plane had only arrived when boarding was scheduled to start, we had to wait another 20 minutes before we could finally board. I had selected seat 6C (which means you can use either 6A and 6C as they will only put one person into each row on the port side in business class, due to the 2-3 seat layout. I had originally (when the scheduled plane had still been an A321) selected 1F but I thought, I might as well get one of the rows where nobody is sitting next to me and blocking aisle access for me. However, when I opened the booking on SWISS.com again to select a different seat (the left sides of rows 1 and 2 were still vacant), I simply couldn’t change my seat reservation. This really seems to be an issue with LX’ booking engine that has been going on forever, because I have never been able to successfully change a seat reservation that I had made at the time of booking (trying this actually caused all kinds of weird effects). Hence, I was forced to try my luck at check-in, at the time of which only the left seats in row 6, the last row of business class, were still available. I was actually quite surprised as to how full both the flights and the airports were on a perfectly normal Sunday (the flight to Bangkok was also displayed to have 8 out of 8 persons in the F cabin).

Upon entering the plane, I was really positively surprised. While the CS had been announced surrounded by the usual marketing hype and accordingly, media coverage, I have learned to be very cautious about the ornate announcements by both airlines and product manufacturers. But in this case, I really have to say that I was extremely impressed by the cabin itself.









The overall design of the cabin and the seats was really nice, and the legroom was surprisingly large, probably even a bit larger than in KLMs paid premium section. The windows were actually larger than on the Embraer (even though the difference is not that big), and I really liked the fact that the aisle-side armrests can be moved by default, which makes it much easier to, for example, access the overhead bins or visit the lavatory while the tray table is folded down.

However, I have to say that while the overhead bins are indeed much larger than on comparable planes, their opening mechanism makes it actually impossible to access (or even open) then bin without stepping out into the aisle. This will probably not really speed up the boarding process (even though most people don’t care about stepping into their rows before putting things into the bins), and it really caused a bit of chaos during deboarding, as you simply cannot take, for example, your coat out of the bins without standing up and stepping into the aisle.



Something else I appreciated about the new plane was the quality of the speakers and the PA system. This was actually the first plane where you could perfectly understand what was being said (both from the FAs and the cockpit), and obviously, someone has put a second thought into where to put the individual speakers and at which angle to attach them (basically, the speakers are located slightly behind each row and are tilted in a way that makes the sound reach your ear just from behind your head).

After everybody had boarded, we had already exceeded our departure time by 15 minutes, and unfortunately, they needed to count all passengers again, as they had a discrepancy on passenger count. All the while we were preparing for takeoff, there was a Finnair A321 standing on the taxiway right next to us, probably waiting for us to vacate the gate.



About 20 minutes late, we could finally push back and taxi to our departure runway 18L. When we commenced our taxi, I noticed that the engines would make a very weird sound upon spooling up, very much like what you could hear on the classic Boeing 737 - just a bit more extreme. While this is not a big issue (this is not going to happen again once in the air), it feels a bit weird when a brand-new plane makes similar sounds to planes that have been constructed 30 years ago.

After takeoff I noticed the second of the two downsides I could identify with this aircraft. The vibration of the entire aircraft during the whole flight was really extreme, about as extreme as an A320 with the spoilers up during approach. While I thought this might go away at some point, the vibration continued throughout the entire flight, and I really wouldn’t want to take a longer flight on this plane, as this is really annoying (at least for me). I thought that it is a bit of a pity to produce an aircraft with such a great cabin which makes for such an uncomfortable flight. In this respect, the Embraer takes a runaway victory.

Well, shortly after departure, the cabin crew was „released“, and we were served breakfast, starting from the front of the cabin. It actually took about 20 minutes until the FA reached my seat row, as she obviously took her time to care quite well about everybody. While I was starting to get hungry, I didn’t really mind, as we still had more than half an hour to go when I finally received my meal.



The food was the usual fare that will be served on those short hops until late morning, and while it is nothing special, it is ok and well edible. It is also probably the most substantial meal you can get on a SWISS flight under two and a half hours flight time.

Shortly before we commenced our descent, I visited the lavatory which was surprisingly spacious and also nicely designed - however, I didn’t take pictures there.

We touched down in ZRH about 10 minutes behind schedule and were assigned a finger gate in concourse A. From there, I directly made my way to the old First Class Lounge A, that had it’s last day of operation on that day.

Verdict

It is actually quite difficult to make me say that I’m impressed, but the cabin of the new aircraft has definitely left me impressed. I mean, there are some very minor flaws, but I believe this is the first time in years that I feel that something new or extended in the field of transportation is actually better than what was there before. Usually, everything gets tighter, uglier and less comfortable, but in this case, I really have to say that the cabin of the CSeries is an improvement in practically all areas. The only thing that leaves me a bit disappointed is the actual plane which, with its relatively noisy and rumbling flight characteristics, leaves a bit to be desired.

YuropFlyer

Looking forward to read more

bruce80

The OLD SWISS First Class Lounge Zürich, Concourse A

After making my way from the gate to the airside center, I directly went to the entrance of the old First Class lounge in Concourse A, which was scheduled to close the next day to be replaced by a newly constructed First Class lounge at which I’ll have a look when I’ll arrive back in Zürich in two days.



Somehow, the entrance already looks like they are already waiting to tear it down after the last passenger has left tonight.

When I arrived, the lounge (as well as the reception) was quite busy, and they instantly asked whether I wanted to be driven over to E. I declined, explaining that I actually wanted to bid farewell to the old lounge (which the receptionist acknowledged with „oh yes, of course“) and that I would report back to them when I was ready to be driven over.

Basically, I tried to take a picture of every feature that was still available (they had already shut down parts of the lounge due to the ongoing construction of the new Business Class and Senator lounges) without disturbing anyone, before settling down in one of the backrooms which was empty, so as not to disturb anybody while posting the next part of this report.

I will just post the pictures I took without further commentary, as you can probably recognize quite easily what’s depicted in them

















After approximately one hour, I reported back to reception for my limousine ride over to concourse E. Even though I was the last person in the lounge at that time (everyone else had magically disappeared), they seemed to have a shortage of drivers, and discussed several options for a few minutes. In the end, one of the receptionists decided to drive me and another passenger who had turned up a few minutes earlier to the E concourse. The passport check at the limousine counter was quick as usual (by the way, the new F lounge has an exit right next to the elevators where you go down to the tarmac level, so nothing will change here with the opening of the new lounge), and while we were driven over in a Mercedes Viano, I had a nice chat with the lounge attendant driving us.

The SWISS First Class Lounge Concourse E

After being led right up to the E lounge reception, I also had a quick talk to the concourse E lounge attendant and then settled into my „lounge suite“ in the E lounge.



For those who are interested, those are the opening times of the concourse E lounge:



There really is a huge difference between the old A lounge and the much newer E lounge. I actually doubt that the new A lounge can really live up to the atmosphere of the E lounge, and a few people who have attended the pre-opening event have already said that they think there will still be a significant difference between A and E. One of the lounge attendants told me that SWISS has actually issued a statement like „we still regard the E lounge as the primary lounge for our First Class customers, so we don’t need anything similar at concourse A“

I still particularly like the design of the E lounge, which is typically Swiss - elegant, but very straightforward and without any fussy elements. Here’s an overview about the different sections, from the meeting room to the bathrooms:













Oh, by the way - don’t be fooled by the number of wine bottles in the wine „wall“ next to the entrance. Most of the bottles are actually the same, I think there about 20 to 30 different wine varieties in there.

Then, there is of course the terrace, which was initially closed when I arrived in the lounge. About an hour later, a supervisor appeared and exchanged the „closed“ signs with „open“. However, they didn’t set up the seat cushions, so the terrace is more like a place to catch some fresh air than to sit and eat or drink. What I really appreciate is the fact that they have introduced umbrellas on the terrace — when I was here in early summer last year, it was so hot outside that you simply couldn’t stay on the terrace for longer than 5 minutes. With the umbrellas, that shouldn’t be a problem any more.







As I was getting hungry, I went straight to the restaurant area, which is probably the highlight of the lounge.



After a few minutes, I received a menu (unfortunately, I only received the german version which you can find below):











While I appreciate the idea of also incorporating the „Taste of Switzerland“ concept into the lounge menu, I have the strong feeling that the selection on the menu has decreased every time that I were here. They are still offering favorites like the Tatar, but I think the menu which they were offering two years ago was much more comprehensive. I mean, I don’t really care as long as the quality is fine (and that’s definitely true), but I can see an issue coming up here (compare that to the path the front cooking stations in the concourse E business and senator lounges took).

I ordered some water, a glass of rosé champagne, the Tatar to start and the Fondue as my main. After some quite long time (particularly as there were only me and one other person in the restaurant), the water was poured, but the champagne never arrived. I was under the impression that the waitress, who seemed to be quite shy for someone with this job, didn’t properly understand what I was saying, and I didn’t want to ask again so as not to embarrass her. Both the Tatar and the Fondue were top-notch, and I was extremely stuffed after the meal:





I weren’t sure whether I should also try some of the dessert displayed next to the entrance, but I decided it might be better to pass on that in order to save some room in my stomach for the dinner on the plane.



Unfortunately, I really have to tell you that the service part (the „soft“ product) of the lounge is much worse today than it used to be on my previous visits. Since I have been here, nobody has approached me to ask whether I wanted to order something (with the exception of when I sat down in the restaurant), and even though at some point I was the only person in the lounge, the service team would rather stand around the bar and chat instead of checking on me. I took my water with me from the restaurant, and as soon as it was empty, I was left high and dry. Maybe the serve-yourself beverage fridge in the new A lounge is not a bad idea after all.

Verdict
Design and food wise, the E lounge is almost unbeatable. As long as the service can live up to the expectations (so far, this was always the case, and today is my first visit that leaves me disappointed), I would say the E lounge ranks among the top 5 airport lounges in the world. However, I am a bit concerned that the lack of good service will actually render this product worse than it deserves to be. For example, I always found the lack of any personal service in the old FCL A always to be sub-par, and there, you could at least help yourself to drinks which is not possible in the E lounge. I really hope they won’t ruin the product.
Speaking of the old A lounge, not having been there for quite a while, I really have to say that it’s about time it gets replaced. We will see whether the new A lounge will meet expectations, but from what I’ve seen on the press releases, it will definitely be an improvement, particularly with the new integrated security check.

757

Great report so far. Looking forward to the rest!

SMART51

Waiting for more

thibderoc

I'm also waiting for more

bruce80

Sorry for the delay, I‘ve been on skiing vacation after coming back from the first part of the trip, and the internet was too slow to actually post something. More will be coming next week, and I can promise you it‘s going to get interesting..

Madone59

Off to a great start, I am looking forward to the rest. Thanks for sharing this awesome run ^