S.W.I.S.S. = So What, It's Still Swissair?
Written: Jul 06 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Mostly new Airbus aircraft; personal DVD player on MD11
Cons: Food portions small; limited movie choice on MD11, some crew could be more friendly.
The Bottom Line: No it's not Swissair.
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| vodkaboy's Full Review: Swiss International Airlines |
So What, It's Still Swissair.
Or is it?
I was lucky to fly Swissair several times when they were still around. I just now flew with the successor, Swiss International Airlines. Same aircraft, probably the same people; the washbags were almost the same, the meal choices, the shopping, but it didn't feel quite the same.
Some would argue that is a good thing, as Swissair are no more. Also we must remember, this is not Swissair, it is Swiss. They shouldn't be just a copy of their predecessor, they need to set their own identity.
I flew two flights with them in Business class; the first was intercontinental, a 10 hour flight on an MD11 and the second was a European sector which they operated with the large A330 and sat me in a First Class seat! That was a novelty, a shorthaul service and meal, enjoyed from a First Class seat!
CHECK IN
Unlike many of the other airlines around when I got to the airport, there was no queue at the Swiss counter - but then I was there two and half hours before, and how many people do that!
The lady beckoned me up to the counter, checked me and my bag in for the main flight and for the onward connection. I got the window seat I wanted and, she was cheerful and chatty, and it was all over way too quick!
I proceeded through to the lounge, which is shared with several other European airlines; it was very busy indeed so it was almost a relief to go out into the relative calm of the main terminal for some shopping!
BOARDING
Boarding was called half an hour before departure and was called twice before they actually opened up the gate and began letting people through. They tried to board by seat row, with the rear rows first.
THE SEAT AND CABIN
I was in Business class which was configured with two seats on either side and three in the middle, between the aisles. My seat was F, the right hand of the centre three. The seat next to me was empty.
I stuffed my carry on into the locker above my head, which was large and spacious, and sat myself down to look around.
The seat was fairly comfortable while upright. Later when I reclined it, I found that the recline was average, but remained a long way from horizontal. The legrest was sadly disappointing, somehow it managed to not support the leg very well even fully extended. It was better than nothing but i still felt that my legs were dropping and not held.
In the seat pocket there were two magazines, the airline magazine which had a few articles and some information about the cabins, in flight entertainment etc, and other standard airline information. The other magazine was the in flight retail range which was quite extensive but not cheap.
We had the usual pre take drink choice, water, juice or champagne, and a selection of newspapers which were mostly American or Swiss, plus the FT. They also handed out the amenity kits, which contained socks, eyeshades, lip balm, moisturiser, ear plugs, toothbrush and toothpaste.
The doors closed and we departed five minutes late.
IN FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
Shortly after take off there was the bar service, which had all the usual drinks of course. Then they started the in flight entertainment.
On the MD-11 aircraft they have withdrawn the central in flight entertainment system, and it is now offered by individual DVD player. The crew came round distributing small, heavy bags which contained an individual DVD player and seven DVDs. The choice was Catch Me If You Can, Red Dragon, Tuxedo, Minority Report, Harry Potter 2, Two Weeks Notice and The Truth about Charlie. This didn't represent a great choice as I had seen four of them, was not interested in one and had never heard of the other two! However, I watched one over dinner and it kept me awake until I finished my port. Just.
FOOD, DRINK AND SERVICE:
On this overnight flight there was a full dinner service shortly after take off, followed by breakfast 90 minutes before we arrived in Zurich.
The menu promised great things:
A starter of salmon and smoked beef salad with coriander sauce followed by a main course choice of beef with amarula fruit sauce, chicken with mango chutney, fish in lemon caper sauce or a vegetarian pasta. Desert was a yoghurt mousse or cherry cheese cake. Sounds promising, my mouth is watering and I was hungry then.
They took the dinner order right after take off, then things ground to a halt. Forty minutes after we had taken off they had still not started on the bar service, let alone dinner, not good for an over night flight where people want to eat and quickly go to sleep.
When the food came, the starter was okay, tasty but not very plentiful. I chose to follow it with the beef which was also quite tasty but again a small portion. I skipped desert and just had cheese with a glass of port after which I went to sleep, waking hungry for breakfast.
Breakfast was similar, it sounded quite good but left you wanting more. It began with a fresh fruit selection, with a bowl of bircher muesli. The main course was a choice of a tiny omlette with one mushroom on top, bread and butter pudding, or "cold cuts" which looked like one piece of meat and one piece of cheese. I opted for the omlette which was about two mouthfuls and had a very strong herb taste to it, not very pleasant.
Once breakfast had been served there was another round of coffee then they cleared away. They made good time (or started too early) as everything was cleared before we even started descent into Zurich.
When I visited the toilet I saw that there were some shaving kits, small bottles of mouthwash and wet wipes available in the washrooms. There were two toilets available for the nearly 50 people in the cabin so on approach to Zurich there was something of a queue.
TRANSFER
On approach to Zurich they displayed connecting flight information on the TV screens, stating which gate we were going to use and the gates of all Swiss flights departing within 90 minutes of our arrival, so I quickly saw that my connecting flight would be leaving from a gate near where we would arrive.
Zurich Airport is quite easy to transfer at. Once we disembarked it was a little walk along the pier to the central area where there was a transfer desk with a bit of a queue. Luckily I didn't need to check in again as I already had my boarding card for the onward short European flight, so I amused myself for ten minutes browsing a couple of shops, reminding myself how ridiculously expensive everything is at Zurich airport. There was a big sale on but it was still expensive!
So I went to the Swiss lounge. There are seperate lounges for First and Business class. There is also a small cafe area linking the two. At the back of the Business Class lounge is a business centre with some internet PCs and laptop points,where I spent the next thirty minutes.
Going back to the gate I had to go through another security check, thankfully it was fairly quick and hassle free!
EUROPEAN FLIGHT
I was quite surprised to see a sparkling A330 at the gate, as this is a large, longhaul aircraft and my two hour European flight was hardly longhaul, nor on such a busy route.
However I realised that, being in row 2 meant I would be in the First class cabin - not bad, when I was expecting just a European business class seat!
SEAT & CABIN
The First class cabin on the A330 has mostly individual seats which is great for privacy and space. They are in a 1-2-1 configuration, ie one seat by the window on each side and two in the middle between the aisles.
The seat was quite spacious and comfortable, quite wide and firm without being hard. The only irritant was that the seat upholstery had two seams, and I could feel them quite noticeably on my...er..seat. The seat could be adjusted to recline back to horizontal; there was a leg rest that came up also to horizontal. There was also an "ottoman" padded stool which could be adjusted to come closer to the seat, providing a footrest.
There was plenty of storage space - pockets at the side, receptacles next to the armrest for glasses, etc and space under the ottoman and in a drop box at the side.
Other facilities around the seat were a socket for laptop power, the usual two magazines, and a couple of large switches to one side; I wondered what they were for. I pulled one gently: nothing. Harder: still nothing. I gave a mighty tug, nearly pulled my fingernail off, there was a loud bang and clatter, everyone in the cabin looked at me and the table came rocketing up from the side and hung there, half in half out of its storage hole. The cover was metal so it was particularly loud. Once I had put everything back in place I carefully tried the other switch and got a similar result with the video screen which blasted my newspaper up into the air. The screen was a good size but the entertainment system was not switched on for the two hour flight.
FOOD DRINK AND SERVICE
We were offered a predeparture drink by a steward who seemed to have had a charisma bypass. "Juice or water?" he asked in a monotone thrusting a tray under my nose. He came round with British newspapers but only did the other aisle; when he got to me he had run out. When a rather grumpy woman in the row in front threw hers onto the floor he saw but didn't do anything so I went forward myself and picked it up.
The other two crew in the cabin were stewardesses and much more cheerful and pleasant.
The breakfast consisted of cheese, a small omlette covered in green herbs, rolls and croissants and coffee. The piece de resistance though, a tradition of Crossair and now apparently Swiss, is offering every passenger a large chocolate coin, made of rich swiss chocolate.
We were about 5 minutes late leaving then held up for another fifteen minutes on arrival but the baggage was delivered fairly quick and - hurray - my bag made the transfer!
OVERALL
Final thoughts: there are those who say that SWISS stands for, "So What, It's Still Swissair". Well, from what I saw, there is much that is (was?) Swissair, much that is similar down to the washbag/amenity kit. Where it falls a bit short is in the food, and the entertainment choice. Yes, Swissair gave out personal DVDs on the MD11 aircraft, but I seem to remember a better choice of movies. Also I recall the service being a little warmer.
Of course SWISS was created by Crossair, a former subsidiary of Swissair who did the short regional routes and some of the charters, so maybe they still have a little to learn about providing top notch service. They can make it, but they ain't there yet.
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Recommended:
Yes
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vodkaboy
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