Review: Swiss First Class 777 Zurich To Los Angeles

Business class? Looks like there's a typo.

FYI At the top it says 2K Business Class

@ Andy @ Dave -- Fixed, thanks!

Kudos on the shot of In-N-Out on landing - had to be tough to pull off.

Whoa, whats that airplane with the US flag on the picture of the taxiing at ZRH?

In my opinion Swiss First is one of the top first products out there. Food is fantastic (that salmon!) and crews strike the right balance between charming and professional. I admit it's a lot a personal choice but it's my fave airline ex-EUR.

Nice review Ben. Thanks for that.

You rather write maître de cabine instead of "maitre d’cabin".

maitre d’cabin neither is swiss french nor is french...

I'm often quick to criticize you when I feel like you're being hypocritical, but I'm also a fair person. This was an excellent, detailed review - nice job

Thanks for the review, very interesting. Again I dont understand why this: "I feel bad for the crew, because I feel like I’m invading their privacy". Isn't it their fault the system was broken, and you had to walk over to talk to them? Why is that invasion of privacy? Is it Americans just being so overly nice, or them being educated to think "why they hate us'? Why is today's mindset of not pointing to the offender/cause but the focusing on supposed victim/reaction?

I had pyjamas offered on LX40 in First on Wednesday. Were they just not offered to you (which I still think is odd), or did they have none on board when you asked?

Second meal not having a menu I agree doesn't feel right, but you can choose as many of those items as you want. I don't think people really neee another dessert course, however you can order a Movenpick ice cream cone whenever you want, in fact my lovely attendant proactively brought one to my seat when I woke up! Lol

I've done three F sectors in the 777 now, including one today. I think the on-board experience slightly edges ahead of Lufthansa, specifically because the food is way superior and the privacy of the new suites. Ben, It is ironic that you didn't work out that the wardrobe doubled as a door until you read readers' comments! That's Swiss practicality for you.

The Swiss ground experience is the let down, very long schleps through the terminal with no personal assistant, and the melee of a boarding process is absurd. How hard would it be to call First Class / HON before Business?
Incidently at LAX on the way home you do get an escort though security all the way to the lounge, then from the lounge to the gate. They should do this at their home port too.

@Ben Holz -- that's a C-40 (essentially a 737 in VIP configuration) -- part of the 89th Airlift Wing based at Andrews Air Force Base outside of Washington, DC. Used for transport of high-level US government officials.

@ Ben Holz: great eyes! The "View after takeoff from Zurich" picture? It almost appears to have the Air Force One livery, but it's not a 747. Blue nose and bottom, white body, blue streak on the tail. Looks like a 757 or 767?

Nice review.

But.."and the one on the exterior side of the plane was larger". I hope you didn't have to go outside for the toilet 😉

On my last flight with them, I couldn't sleep so I kept ordering food during the entire flight. They were quite amused and kept the deserts and hot options coming. It was very enjoyable.

Thanks @JM and @Matt for the answer

Interesting re: the entertainment system not working. I flew Business on the 777 (faces of Switzerland livery) and the seat wouldn't move. I had to get a crew member to man handle it into different positions whenever I wanted to recline, sleep etc. Was a complete pain and perhaps points to a quality control system alongside the issue you had.

I've only flown Swiss business class, but I'd love to try first - realistically that's only happening if they ever make it available on miles. I'd say based on this report that it's very differentiated from business class. Funny enough, the only overlap that I really see is the cheese plate - almost identical to what we had in J last year, just plated nicely. I believe ours in J was on a slate tile, which was in and of itself nicer than the usual AA square-white-to-maximize-plates-on-tray china.

I like flying Swiss quite a bit. For one, the crews are always very professional, but with personality as well. They seem to know the food and wine, to the point of having tasted everything. But the best part about flying Swiss is ZRH. My favorite airport in the entire world. It's clean and calm, actually comforting, despite being a large international hub. We actually skipped the lounge last time through as the terminal itself is strangely relaxing.

While I'm sure Captain Bert was a nice guy, I'd much prefer him to be in the flight deck doing all the prechecks. Yeah I know the FO frequently does that, but just for appearances I'd feel better if the Captain got all chatty with the passengers during mid-flight cruise.

No pajamas on day-time flights would be news to me.... seriously?! Can only be a joke!!

While I do agree the product as such is pretty amazing (I flew LAX-ZRH) it has a few minor flaws, e.g. those reflection of the screen in the big window front (funnily enough, I could see nearly the full screen of the guy in row 1 while sitting in take-off position). Also the wardrobe is a bit weird, etc. First world problems, I know...

Also, apparently there are quite often problems with seats, IFE, etc in LX F... have hardly had a flight where there was no issue (actually, the last on 777 was the first without).

"I was amused when he came up to the lady in 1A, and before he could say anything she said “I’ll have more champagne please.” He responded with a smile and said “I will have the crew bring that, but I just wanted to introduce myself as I am the captain…”"

Hahaha

Ed wrote: "the best part about flying Swiss is ZRH."
REALLY? The best part of flying Swiss is the airport that you can experience with any airline that flies to ZRH?
That doesn't say much about flying Swiss if you think that the best part is Zurich Airport.
It's like me saying that the best part of flying American Airlines (I hate them by the way) is SFO...lol.

"My favorite airport in the entire world."
Definitely not mine. It's one of the few airports in Europe where the airport staff are rude and can't be bothered with answering simple questions. I take vacations exploring Europe every year and find the staff at LHR and CDG surprisingly friendlier than at ZRH.

I was about to whinge about the lack of airshow pics as I really love those then I remembered that ife was broken. Almost enough to make me lodge a complaint with the airline as well.

@ Lucky - they didn't offer you free Wi-Fi given IFE issues? That would've been the best solution, IMHO.

P.S. LX F menus are quite lovely.

"and the one on the exterior side of the plane was larger."

So SWISS has bathrooms on the outside of the plane? 😉

I guess you could have just ordered other items off the menu if you wanted a snack, since the FA did say you could eat what you wanted, when you wanted, etc. Did you notice anyone else doing that?

'I’m just disappointed they didn’t include clogs and a how-to-yodel manual.'

How has anyone not sued you yet for being so disgustingly inappropriate?

@andrew and you're such a bore.

"I’m just disappointed they didn’t include clogs and a how-to-yodel manual."

Loved it! I think that Swiss in general is one of the best airlines. I think that its first class would be at the top of the 2nd tier, i.e. the first tier with the top 3-5 first class products, and then 2nd tier with this at the top. Just my thoughts. It is nice that they did offer compensation for the TV system, 300CHF isn't a bad deal!

I just flew Swiss Business and my god it was good. I love the wooden panelling and the little lamps, makes the plane feel "homey". The food was ok but the crew were awesome, friendly service with a smile beats better food any day in my book. With the compensation, I was suprised they didn't give you another wifi code... But Laderach is good too

Hi Ben,
you can drastically reduce the traffic while browsing the web if you use the Opera browser with activated turbo mode. 50 MB could last for hours - probably the hole flight with normal web browsing.

I had the same seat ZRH-LAX and back in November. The entertainment system worked fine. I only noticed a small glitch both ways- the screen was showing ZRH-ABC and ABC-ZRH in the beginning (ABC instead of LAX).
Huge screen but I had the impression that the selection on the entertainment system was a little limited compared to other carriers. No live TV.
Sadly the headphones are a joke. I really don't understand why they could not spend a few $ more for decent models.
I asked for pyjamas out of ZRH and was given a set. I was informed that they're not actively handing them out on day flights (which surprised me).
Funny thing is that the coffee machine in First was broken as well on the way back to ZRH. Seems to be a common problem.
The seats are pretty nice and offer way more privacy than any other LX or LH F cabins.
In summary a huge step ahead for Swiss (especially compared to their vintage F in their A340) and IMHO (at least) on the same level as LH F.

Did the same tour in October (ZRH-LAX-ZRH). No technical problems, everything as it should be for a flagship product. But compared to LH First Class (recently on A380 to SIN):
+ Seat & cabin arrangement (brandnew design in LX 777), miles away from former LX 1st class product
+ food (especially starters) delicious and well-presented
+ good entertainment system, largest screen I've ever seen on a plane
+/- mood on board always depends on the crew you get...
- wine selection at LH shows more variety and exclusivity
- amenity kit more exklusive (offered in little Rimova bags)
- bathroom facilities offer tremendous space (A380)
- LH First Class Terminal in FRA is on a different level compared to (even new) LX First Class Lounge in ZRH... complimentary Cigar Room, huge Bar, fine-dining a la carte restaurant, own passport & security control inside... different World

So LH still slightly ahead, but both on top level

Worse that a low cost airline

I spend a lot of money for tickets and they lost my baby stroller and I never get reimburse for it.....This company is bad (Swiss is all about making money ) they don't care about customers...... they always lose your baggage ... and you can only talk with a robot at 1-888-715-5551 ...no answer back...just you lose

The flight conditions are horrible
Swiss is all about making money not customers satisfaction

The flight conditions are horrible ,THE CHAIRS ARE VERY INCOMMODE ..very small seats they always lose your baggage

The previous First class product was such a huge step forward, I think this product is just a slight improvement. Thats not a bad thing. Swiss remains my favorite airline overall. In over 50 flights, I've always had awesome service in First or Business in the air or on the ground.

The new lounge is really nice, the fact that you can go outside and watch the planes take off is really a nice touch, but its a little weird not having add least a basic bar/snack area.

Swiss it all about making money they don't care about customers. Old planes, incommode chairs ,basic bad food ...and is too expensive for what Swiss have to offer to customers.

I will always try to avoid and never travel with Swiss and American AirLines (another greedy corporation)

Dear Lucky,

Could you please do a review of SWISS new business class on the Boeing 777-300er. It looks great and I would like to know more about it but there are almost no reviews on it.

Thanks
Kind Regards
Paul

I prefer SWISS First Class, if you are travelling with a companion. The possibility to have dinner together on same table is unique. On B777 the wardrobe divider makes privacy total on a longer flight. Otherwise it is more about schedule, unless you are ice cream fanatic.

A few years ago, I was scheduled for Business class travel from LAX to Zurich. My meetings got postponed and rescheduled often enough that the fees eventually exceeded the first class fare(!). When the trip eventually took place, I got First class on Swiss both ways.
The Swiss equivalent of the Polaris lounge at LAX was wonderful. After a suggestion from the attendants, I sat in the dining area rather than taking buffet options. The service was fabulous (I, too, was the only one sitting there) and the food was delicious.
When boarding time neared, the attendant came by, and walked me to a waiting car at the bottom of a nearby elevator. We drove to a First-only check-in, where I was greeted by name, my documentation cursorily examined, and escorted up to the First-class-only doorway, and thence to my seat, as described above.
The attention and food service on board was great. I was offered, and took, pajamas.
Exiting the plane in Zurich was equally painless.
Ironically, my company's travel policy required me to stay in a 3rd-tier motel about 4 miles outside of Zug, the location of their European HQ. I wound up walking to and fro each day, enjoying the lakeside pathway, and the countryside rapidly being built up with other companies' high-rise buildings. I also had the chance to hike the Zugerberg plateau above the Zug funicular, on the afternoon and into the evening of my last full day there. I also participated in two late-afternoon mountain hikes with a Zurich-based Meetup hiking group in the week preceding.
When it was time to return to LA, I once again enjoyed the first-class experience on Swiss.