Review: SWISS Business Class Airbus A330 (YUL-ZRH)

For the second segment of my downgraded adventure to Oman, I flew SWISS’ Airbus A330-300 business class on the roughly seven hour flight from Montreal to Zurich.

In recent years I’ve flown SWISS’ 777 business class and SWISS’ A340 business class, but this was my first time flying SWISS’ A330 business class in about a decade. I’ve gotta say, I really wasn’t impressed at all, and found this to be a pretty underwhelming experience, in terms of both hard and soft product. That’s especially true when you consider that SWISS is supposed to be the premium airline of Lufthansa Group.

The SWISS A330 business class cabin is outdated and feels tight, the entertainment screens are small and low resolution, the service felt mechanical, the food was just okay, and the amenity kit and bedding felt cheap. I wouldn’t say this product is worth avoiding, if SWISS has the best schedule or the overall best value. However, this definitely isn’t a product I’d be seeking out in the future.

How I booked my SWISS business class ticket

I booked my SWISS business class ticket using Air Canada Aeroplan points, as part of a larger itinerary. Specifically, I booked the following award in business class for 110,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points plus $154.44 in taxes and fees:

1/11 AC1207 Miami to Montreal departing 8:00AM arriving 11:36AM
1/11 LX87 Montreal to Zurich departing 4:50PM arriving 6:15AM (+1 day)
1/12 LX1622 Zurich to Milan departing 5:40PM arriving 6:40PM
1/12 WY144 Milan to Muscat departing 9:30PM arriving 6:45AM (+1 day)

Aeroplan points are easy to come by, as the program is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards. On top of that, there’s the Chase Air Canada Aeroplan® Credit Card (review) in the United States, which is quite rewarding.

SWISS business class lounge & boarding

SWISS sends its business class passengers to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal, which I reviewed in the previous installment. It’s a solid lounge, but gets busy in the afternoons.

The SWISS flight to Zurich was departing from gate 58 (it was initially supposed to depart from gate 57, but an Air Transat aircraft was at that gate longer than expected, so the plane was assigned a new gate).

I watched the plane as it arrived at the gate. SWISS only schedules a 1hr40min turn in Montreal, which is quite tight, and doesn’t leave much room for delays. Fortunately in this case the inbound aircraft arrived on-time.

Boarding was scheduled for 4:15PM, 35 minutes ahead of schedule. Those needing extra time were invited to board first, and that seemed to be a good chunk of the plane. It took about 15 minutes for the pre-boarding to be complete, and then general boarding started. Unfortunately that makes my picture taking kind of tough, so I apologize for the lack of good cabin pictures.

SWISS A330 business class cabin & seats

SWISS’ Airbus A330s have a 45-seat business class cabin, which is pretty big. There’s a forward cabin between doors one and two (right behind first class) with nine seats, and then there’s a rear cabin behind the second set of doors with 36 seats.

SWISS has staggered Thompson Vantage seats in business class on its A330s, with the configuration alternating in each row between 1-2-1 and 2-2-1. To explain that in a bit more detail:

• In the center of the cabin there are pairs of seats in each row that are staggered; they’re always equally far apart from one another (so there are no honeymoon seats), but it’s just a question of whether they’re closer to the aisle or closer to the center
• On the left side of the cabin, rows alternate between having pairs of seats, and having “throne” seats; the throne seats are the most popular, as they afford the most space, so see my guide on how to assign these
• On the right side of the cabin, you just have one seat per row, and they alternate between being closer to the aisle and being closer to the window

To explain that in the form of pictures, below is what the seats along the left side of the aircraft look like, alternating between pairs of seats and throne seats.

If you’re traveling as a pair, you might enjoy these seat pairs, as you can sit together while still looking out the window. However, I wouldn’t select one of these if traveling alone, since the window seats here are also the only ones without direct aisle access.

Meanwhile if you’re traveling alone, the throne seats are tough to beat.

Below is an example of what the center seats look like, as they are similar in each row, with the only variation being whether the left or right seat is closer to the aisle.

Below is an example of what the seats along the right side of the aircraft look like, with this being one of the seats closer to the windows rather than being closer to the aisle. I’d definitely prefer the seat closer to the window.

I assigned myself seat 12A, the throne seat in the second to last row of business class, on the left side of the aircraft.

The big selling point of these throne seats is just how much space you have on each side of you, as there’s a huge counter both to the left and the right of your seat. Now, the seat itself is quite narrow, but at least there’s plenty of shoulder space. The seat also lacks padding, I must say, but that’s a whole different issue.

As far as the seat features go, the tray table folds out from the left armrest, and it’s one of those tray tables that you basically need special training to use (IYKYK).

Also to the left of the seat are the seat controls, which are on an exposed panel. The issue with this panel is that it’s quite easy to accidentally hit buttons on this, given that it’s located where you might rest your elbow.

Also on the left side of the seat is the entertainment controller, which you can remove from the compartment.

The seat has an AC power outlet and headphone jack near the top left part of the seat. That’s the extent of the charging options at the seat.

Then the seat back has the entertainment screen, which is quite low quality and small, compared to what you’ll find with other products nowadays. There’s a small shelf underneath the entertainment console where you can place things during the flight.

To the side of the entertainment screen is the literature pocket. SWISS hangs a coat hanger here during boarding with the seat number, which is a smart concept. That way the crew can easily hang your jacket (if you have one), and know which seat to bring it back to later.

One of the downsides to the throne seats is that they have especially small footwells. That’s because the footwells are located to the side of the seat in front, and in this case, that’s between two seats. So while all seats in this configuration have fairly tight footwells, these are especially tight.

The only other thing to note is that unfortunately SWISS doesn’t have individual air nozzles on its A330s, so that’s not great in terms of being able to control airflow to your seat.

This cabin has definitely seen better days. Admittedly the A330 has the challenge of not being as wide as some other wide body aircraft. However, even then, there’s big room for improvement. For example, the A330 and A340 have the same cabin width, and SWISS has introduced a better business class on its A340s.

SWISS business class amenities

Waiting at each seat upon boarding was a pillow and blanket. The bedding wasn’t much to get excited about, with an okay pillow and a rather scratchy blanket. There was no mattress pad, or anything of the sort.

There was also an amenity kit at each seat, or I suppose in this case, an amenity tin. This couldn’t have been more basic, as it had socks, eyeshades, earplugs, and a dental kit. It was also hard to squeeze everything back into the tin after removing it, and I found the tin kept “popping” open.

There were also headphones at each seat, which were okay.

Lastly, there was a bottle of water at each seat.

Late in the boarding process, the crew came around with pre-departure drinks, with the choice of champagne or elderflower soda, which is a unique selection. I chose the former.

Menus were also distributed, along with a pen. This included a menu card you could fill out, to state whether you wanted to be woken up for breakfast or not. The breakfast card also included an invitation to instead enjoy breakfast in the carrier’s arrivals lounge in Zurich.

SWISS A330 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

SWISS offers audio and video on demand in business class on its A330s, though manage your expectations. As mentioned above, the screen is quite small, and the screen resolution isn’t good.

As far as the quantity and quality of entertainment options goes, I’d say it was average at best. The selection wasn’t huge, but it also wasn’t too hard to find something to watch. Usually I try to count how many movies and TV shows there are, but that wasn’t so easy here, due to many entertainment options being listed under several sections.

There was also a map feature, and I think this perfectly sums up how outdated this inflight entertainment system is. I’m pretty sure this system was already far from cutting edge about a decade ago.

One other thing worth mentioning about the entertainment system is that it doesn’t work on the ground. I don’t understand why some airlines don’t turn it on until after takeoff. Is it that they don’t want passengers using wired headphones, or…?

On the plus side, SWISS offers Wi-Fi on its Airbus A330s. Back in the day, SWISS had outrageously high Wi-Fi pricing based on data usage, and that was improved some time back. SWISS now has three pricing options:

• There’s a messaging plan for free, where you can use chat apps, including the ability to send pictures
• There’s a four hour plan, with no data restrictions, which costs CHF 25 or $28
• There’s a full flight plan, with no data restrictions, which costs CHF 35 or $38

If you buy a plan, you’re supposed to be able to reconnect on a different device. That way you could switch between your laptop and smartphone, for example.

The Wi-Fi pricing is still on the high side compared to other airlines, but it’s better than before. One thing I found frustrating is that I bought a plan for the entire flight, and then when I tried to log-in before landing, it no longer worked, and it told me to buy another plan. That’s despite the fact that I created a log-in, specifically to make it easy to reconnect. I’m not sure if this was an isolated glitch, or what.

SWISS A330 departure from Montreal

At around 4:45PM, boarding was complete — business class was around 75% full, as there were about a dozen empty seats.

At that point the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of 7hr20min, which is a bit longer than usual. Unfortunately we’d also have a bit of a delay on departure — we were waiting on some bags to be loaded, and would then need to be deiced before departure, which he anticipated would take around 20 minutes.

As much as other airlines pad their schedules too much, maybe SWISS doesn’t quite pad its schedules enough, as the entire flight was blocked at 7hr25min, which meant our arrival was delayed quite a bit.

At 4:55PM we began our pushback, and at 5:05PM we began our taxi. Around this time the safety video was screened. SWISS must have one of the most unmemorable and old school safety videos out there — that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s quite a contrast to so many other airlines nowadays.

At 5:15PM we made it to the deicing pad. It’s always fun to watch a plane being deiced, and it’s amazing how much ice accumulated on the wings in the short time the aircraft spent on the ground. My seat gave me an especially good vantage point.

The deicing process was complete at 5:30PM, and then we taxied right to the runway, where we were cleared for takeoff at 5:40PM. As is common after deicing, the takeoff roll was a bit unconventional, as the pilots first revved up the engines to near full power a couple of times, prior to releasing the brakes. That makes for quite some vibration in the cabin.

We had a smooth climb out, and the seatbelt sign was turned off about five minutes after takeoff.

SWISS business class dinner service

In SWISS business class, dinner was served after takeoff. You can find the menu and drink list below.

On a short transatlantic flight, I tend to think the correct service procedure for those who want to stay up is to offer everyone a drink as quickly as possible, and then to complete the meal service efficiently. That’s not exactly how the SWISS service procedure worked, though.

35 minutes after takeoff, the crew passed through the cabin to take meal orders. The flight attendant had an iPad she was staring down at, and she simply said “meal order please,” without even looking up. I tried to order the salmon, but they were already out of that, so I instead selected the chicken.

Then a full 55 minutes after takeoff, the first round of drinks was served off a cart. I ordered a glass of champagne and sparkling water, which was served with a tiny ramekin of mixed nuts. Currently SWISS is pouring Jacquart Mosaïque Brut.

Then 90 minutes after takeoff, the crew was back through the cabin with meal trays. For my main course, I selected the herb-roasted chicken breast with mustard and tarragon sauce, roast potatoes, honey glazed baby carrots, and charred spring onions.

That was served with a side salad and a cheese plate, as well as a selection from the bread basket. There was no appetizer, which I found odd (you’d think that if you’re only going to have an appetizer or a salad, you’d offer the former).

Then the only dessert option was the “caramel delight,” which was sweet and tasty (as you’d expect).

The meal was perfectly fine, but nothing special or memorable. The service was only complete around two hours after takeoff, which feels like a really long time to provide such a basic service.

SWISS A330 business class lavatories

SWISS A330s have two lavatories in business class, located by the second set of doors. There was nothing memorable about the lavatories, other than the Soeder toiletries, including face cream, herbal lotion, and face spray.

Across from the forward left lavatory is the “office” of the maître de cabine. It’s funny how a few airlines have invested in having a space like this, while most airlines haven’t.

SWISS A330 business class bed

After dinner, it was time to try and get some rest, so I reclined my seat fully. I appreciate the privacy of the throne seat, though it definitely feels tight, and the lack of seat padding makes for a very firm sleeping surface.

I ended up going to sleep with just under five hours remaining to Zurich…

…and I woke up with around 1hr40min remaining to Zurich, so I got a little over three hours of sleep. For me, that’s not half bad, especially on a flight this short.

SWISS business class breakfast

About 1hr25min before landing, the crew performed the breakfast service. As mentioned above, a menu card had been handed out on the ground in Montreal, so that passengers could pre-select their choices.

As you can see, the breakfast selection on SWISS is quite simple — you’ll get at most fruit, yogurt, and some pastries. It’s interesting, because even on a shorter transatlantic flight, Air France has a full breakfast service, including hot dishes.

Anyway, I ordered plain yogurt, fruit, and a croissant. I also had a coffee to drink. I wasn’t really hungry, but it was a pretty basic breakfast.

Closer to landing, I ordered an espresso, to get another caffeine hit.

Once the breakfast service was complete, chocolates were distributed, as is standard on SWISS flights.

SWISS business class service

Unfortunately the service on SWISS felt similar to the rest of the experience, which is… not great. I think this comes down to a couple of factors.

First of all, SWISS’ service flow in business class is very assembly line-esque. It feels like there’s no personalization to the service, but rather the crew just constantly rolls carts down the aisle, and if you want something, you better hope it’s on that cart.

The lack of personalization goes beyond that, though. At no point was anyone addressed by name or welcomed onboard, and even when my meal order was taken, the flight attendant didn’t even look up at me when saying “meal order please.”

SWISS also seems to have an issue where it has a combination of very junior and very senior crew, and I’m not sure they work that great together. It seemed like the flight attendants working the aisle were pretty junior, and not necessarily the most efficient or experienced. Meanwhile it seemed like the senior flight attendants were working the galley. The maître de cabine also wasn’t as hands on in business class, as I’ve seen on some other SWISS flights.

Now, to the crew’s credit, the flight attendant working the other aisle seemed to have some personality, as I observed her being super sweet with many passengers (a majority of passengers in business class were on the older side, and many required a little extra attention). However, the flight attendant working my aisle didn’t have that same positive attitude. In fairness, she dealt with some pretty annoying things, like the guy across from me complaining about the whisky selection.

Look, the flight attendants didn’t do anything wrong, and the crew wasn’t bad. It’s just that the service on this flight is such a contrast to airlines like Virgin Atlantic, where you’re greeted with a big smile, you’re asked if you’re familiar with the seat, etc.

SWISS A330 arrival in Zurich

At 6:15AM Zurich time (which was our scheduled arrival time), the first officer announced that we’d be descending shortly, and would be landing in around 40 minutes. About 10 minutes later we began a pretty steep descent. It was a smooth approach, and the seatbelt sign was turned on around 6:40AM. At 6:50AM we had a very smooth touchdown in Zurich.

From there we had a short taxi to our arrival stand, where we pulled in at 6:55AM, 40 minutes behind schedule.

From there I headed to the SWISS Arrivals Lounge, which I was looking forward to checking out.

Bottom line

SWISS’ A330 business class disappointed me, plain and simple. SWISS is supposed to be a premium airline, but the carrier’s A330s offer an underwhelming experience. The cabin was outdated, the entertainment screens weren’t good, the service felt like an assembly line, the amenities were cheap and limited, and the Wi-Fi was expensive.

I’m not trying to suggest this was some awful flight, but rather I feel like SWISS can and should do better than this, as the airline clearly isn’t investing in its business class hard or soft product at the moment. SWISS will soon introduce a new business class, so here’s to hoping that comes with a soft product investment as well.

Like I said, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend avoiding SWISS’ A330s if the schedule or price is good, but I also wouldn’t seek out this product. I’d rather fly just about any wide body business class of a US airline, with the exception of Delta’s 767s.

What’s your take on SWISS A330 business class?