On long-haul flights, the difference is much more significant with lie-flat seats in business class. Let's now take a look at Swiss' take on European business class on my flight.
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| Short cockpit visit before my flight |
Ground Experience
As I had just disembarked from my previous flight, (also in business class) from Geneva to Zurich, I didn't need to head to the check-in area to drop off my hold luggage. Instead, I stayed airside, as I was a connecting passenger. Zurich is one of the best airports to transit through, especially short-haul. Indeed, all short-haul flights leave from the one same building which is divided into 3 sections (A, B and D). The A gates are exclusively used for flights within the Schengen area (+domestic), therefore, no passport control. However, I was travelling to London that day so I was leaving from the D gates. The A gates and B/D gates are connected by the airside center. B and D gates are located in the same part of the terminal but are used for different purposes. B gates are also used for Schengen flights, as there is no passport control. Essentially, the airport changes the prefix from B to D or D to B depending on the route. My flight left from the D gates, so I had to go through passport control. The design of the building makes connections really simple between A, B and D. On the other hand, if you're travelling on a long-haul flight, you will need to head over to the E gates. The E gates are located in a big satellite building, accessible by an underground train from the main terminal.
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| Hold luggage allowance for short-haul business class passengers |
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| Hand baggage allowance for short-haul business class passengers |
As soon as I got off my flight, I headed towards the A gates business class lounge, as Zurich has the best Swiss business class lounge in my opinion, behind the E gates lounge. Check out my review here. If my inbound flight hadn't have been delayed, I would have had enough time to also review the D gates business class lounge and even the brand new Swiss Alpine lounge.
Zurich Airport welcomed over 31 million passengers in 2019. Swiss is at the origin of over 52% of aircraft movements at the airport with over 100 destinations (including Edelweiss).
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| Conference room in the Swiss A gates lounge |
After my short lounge visit, I headed towards the boarding gate. By the time I arrived, most passengers were already on board. For that reason, I couldn't make full use of my priority boarding perk.
Flight information
Aircraft: HB-IJR (22 years old)
Flight number: LX338
Scheduled departure time: 18:35
Actual departure time: 18:50
Scheduled arrival time: 19:25
Actual arrival time: 19:07
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| Short cockpit visit |
As I entered the aircraft, the crew gave a very warm greeting. Just like on my flight from Geneva to Zurich in Business class, I was met at my seat by a small bottle of water and a refreshment towel. Moments later, I was invited to take a quick look in the cockpit. Following the short visit, pushback commenced.
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| Leaving Zurich Airport behind |
The Swiss safety video started playing on the drop down screens above during our long taxi to the active runway.
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| Safety video |
My seat on this flight was 1F. I chose this seat in advance, during booking thanks to the advance seat reservation possible if you are a business class passenger. On the A320, only four people can be seated per row in Business Class. In fact, the seats featured in Business Class are exactly the same than in Economy Class. The only difference is the seat pitch, and the adjacent seat being blocked out for additional comfort. Seat width is slightly reduced in the bulkhead row, as the large tray table is stored within the large armrest. The proximity to the galley/lavatory area may prove bothersome to some, but I didn't particularly find it a concern. Another problem when seated in the bulkhead row is the legroom... Although the seat pitch is certainly plentiful, the lack of seat in front of you means that you can't stretch your legs under the seat in front of you. SeatGuru also adds that the "floor storage area for personal items is not available during taxi, takeoff and landing". Despite that remark on SeatGuru, I was not instructed to place my camera bag in the overhead bins.
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Free seat selection for all Business Class passengers
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Soon enough, it was time for take off. The sun was also setting around that time.
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| Sunset |
Once the seatbelt sign was switched off, it was time for the inflight service. The curtain divider between business and economy went up to make the business cabin fully enclosed.
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Curtain divider between economy and business
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Meal time was approaching so I decided to deploy the tray table. In the 1st row, the tray table is stored within the armrest.
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| The tray table is stored within the armrest |
I found the tray table to be quite sturdy but also rather dangerous to deploy. Indeed, the tray table is very heavy and there's the risk of trapping your fingers in its mechanism within the armrest.
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| Tray table comes out as shown from the armrest |
You can use the tray table either fully deployed, or just as a small drink table.
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| Half-deployed |
In preparation for the meal service, I fully deployed the tray table and food arrived shortly after.
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| Fully deployed tray table |
No menu card was offered (as with most European business class flights). On today's flight, the only option was an impressive salad composed of meat, bread croutons, mini pieces of orange, nuts, avocado and other unidentifiable vegetables. This was accompanied with Swiss cheese, a bread roll, butter and complimented with a small chocolate mousse. I also ordered a coke as a beverage. I had already eaten quite a large amount of chocolate mousse in the lounge in Zurich, so this small meal was the perfect size for me.
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| Business Class meal (1/2) |
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| Business Class meal (2/2) |
Inflight Entertainment
Just like the A220 I flew on previously, this aircraft offers some form of inflight entertainment. On the A220, mini-screens are available overhead and display a moving map and flight information in different languages (English, French and German). The moving map also featured on my A320 flight until just after meal service, when it switched to a kids cartoon. As much as that was a nice gesture to the handful of kids onboard, most passengers on this plane didn't fall into that particular age group. Indeed, this was an evening flight to London Heathrow, and the only kids I noticed onboard were over the age of 12. Perhaps, leaving the moving map on the screens would have been a better idea, or at least to have shown something a little more appropriate for the vast majority of passengers onboard.
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| Cartoon |
Luckily, once the cartoon program had ended, the moving map came back. Other cities were visible on the map. Information about those cities was also displayed onscreen (tourist attractions...). Unfortunately, as this aircraft was 22 years old, the screen resolution was far from the best quality. On such a late flight, staring at such a screen would probably prove to be quite uncomfortable after a while, if you already had problems with your eyesight!
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Moving map featured on the overhead TV
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Just before the pilots initiated our descent, I ordered a hot chocolate, which was served moments later. I thoroughly enjoyed it as it was a milk hot chocolate, contrary to the hot chocolates made with hot water.
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| Hot Chocolate |
Obviously, as I was flying Swiss, the flight ended with swiss chocolate! This is a really nice touch and I appreciate that they even hand out chocolate to economy passengers.
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| Chocolate handed out by the crew before landing |
Crew + cleanliness
The crew members who operated my flight were absolutely fabulous! I found the service very attentive and friendly on this short flight to London Heathrow. The aircraft certainly was starting to show its age with the low resolution TV screens, but the aircraft seemed extremely well maintained, and I couldn't even find an old coffee mark anywhere in the front part of the aircraft where I was sat.
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| Taxiing at Heathrow |
The flight soon came to an end, and it was time to leave the aircraft behind and go to bed in preparation of my flight to New York the following day.
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| Qantas A380 at LHR |
Final Thoughts
It is always a pleasure to fly Business Class and this time was no exception. I tend to prefer Business Class flights from midday onwards, as I am not such a huge fan of breakfast on a plane or in a lounge, and the meal services at other times are more substantial. This flight was booked part of a two segment journey from Geneva to Heathrow via Zurich in Business Class. If you were to book this one-way flight, it would cost upwards of 374CHF. The cost of this flight drops significantly if booked part of a return flight.
So is it worth 374CHF? Certainly not. In my case (I paid a lot less), I would consider it a good investment. As much as European Business Class isn't such a step up from economy, the lounge access and the meal onboard was more than welcome. As a connecting passenger, I couldn't make full use of my Business Class passenger perks such as priority check-in and fast-track security. If you factor in extras you wish to pay for on an economy class ticket (hold luggage, food, seat selection...), it may work out cheaper to purchase a business class ticket, when a special offer is available. However, I wouldn't recommend booking this business class flight with Miles & More miles, due to the high amount required : 20,000. I would rather save them up to redeem on a one-way business class flight from Europe to the USA, for only 56,000 miles + taxes. If you have quite a large Miles & More balance, why not fly trans-Atlantic in first class for 91,000 miles (+ taxes)?
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