LondonAkis
First-Class-Member
18 July 2004; LX333 LHR-ZRH; A321, seat 5A
I decided to break my trip report per flight leg as I thought it would be too long to read under one subject. The following is the first leg of a short European tour I did on business.
Arrival at LHR Terminal 2 at 13:00 hrs and I am rushing as usual to cut the queues for check-in. I was quite excited to travel on Swiss Airlines again. It has always been my favourite European airline. Last May I travelled to Lisbon via Geneva on LX and I was seriously disappointed that service in Economy has been reduced to the low-cost concept. In any case, this time I was booked on C-Class so my expectations were high. Check-in was quick but rather unfriendly. Other than the security questions, the guy at check-in did not advise boarding time, gate, directions to the lounge and he didn’t even bother to smile. A weak start to the whole flight experience. It is depressing to think that Swiss service is not the award winning formula any more. Security check was fast track and I made my way to the lounge. It is not a dedicated Swiss lounge but a Serviceair one. Sad, that’s the only way to describe it. Smelly old couches, chipped furniture and a dirty carpet. Oh, guess which other airline uses this lounge…Olympic! Boarding was 30’ late and at the gate there was a huge queue. So far the LX experience was not going well at all. Once inside the A321, my mood starting picking up. Polite flight attendants offered champagne and soft drinks, they picked my hand luggage and neatly placed it above my seat and they went as far as calling me by my last name (nice touch). Push back and a few interesting sightings: Kuwait Airways B777, Kenya Airways B777, Air Canada A330-300, Emirate of Bahrein B747SP as well as the A332 of Etihad Airlines! Take-off was 14:20hrs, again 30’ late, however the captain explained that he would fly at max. speed in order for us to land on time. A cold meal was served and although the portion was small, presentation was excellent. Some sort of cold penne with a sauce and a selection of Swiss cheeses. Don’t ask me what it tasted like, you know me by now. Coffee was plentiful and all three crew members in Business Class referred to me by name throughout the flight! The flight itself was smooth and the views started becoming clear once we were above Basel and the Black Forest. We followed the trail of the River Rhein and then landed in ZRH at 16:35hrs, the exact designated landing slot! The aircraft parked on the main terminal instead of the new one and within the time I needed to walk to the luggage reclaim area my suitcase was already rolling on the belt. I didn’t actually get to see any aircraft movements at the time other than the LX A319 that was parked next to us. Hopefully, my way out of ZRH will allow a bit more time for the pleasurable spotting habit. Flight rating: 9/10 just for the negative introduction to the whole flight experience at LHR.
I decided to break my trip report per flight leg as I thought it would be too long to read under one subject. The following is the first leg of a short European tour I did on business.
Arrival at LHR Terminal 2 at 13:00 hrs and I am rushing as usual to cut the queues for check-in. I was quite excited to travel on Swiss Airlines again. It has always been my favourite European airline. Last May I travelled to Lisbon via Geneva on LX and I was seriously disappointed that service in Economy has been reduced to the low-cost concept. In any case, this time I was booked on C-Class so my expectations were high. Check-in was quick but rather unfriendly. Other than the security questions, the guy at check-in did not advise boarding time, gate, directions to the lounge and he didn’t even bother to smile. A weak start to the whole flight experience. It is depressing to think that Swiss service is not the award winning formula any more. Security check was fast track and I made my way to the lounge. It is not a dedicated Swiss lounge but a Serviceair one. Sad, that’s the only way to describe it. Smelly old couches, chipped furniture and a dirty carpet. Oh, guess which other airline uses this lounge…Olympic! Boarding was 30’ late and at the gate there was a huge queue. So far the LX experience was not going well at all. Once inside the A321, my mood starting picking up. Polite flight attendants offered champagne and soft drinks, they picked my hand luggage and neatly placed it above my seat and they went as far as calling me by my last name (nice touch). Push back and a few interesting sightings: Kuwait Airways B777, Kenya Airways B777, Air Canada A330-300, Emirate of Bahrein B747SP as well as the A332 of Etihad Airlines! Take-off was 14:20hrs, again 30’ late, however the captain explained that he would fly at max. speed in order for us to land on time. A cold meal was served and although the portion was small, presentation was excellent. Some sort of cold penne with a sauce and a selection of Swiss cheeses. Don’t ask me what it tasted like, you know me by now. Coffee was plentiful and all three crew members in Business Class referred to me by name throughout the flight! The flight itself was smooth and the views started becoming clear once we were above Basel and the Black Forest. We followed the trail of the River Rhein and then landed in ZRH at 16:35hrs, the exact designated landing slot! The aircraft parked on the main terminal instead of the new one and within the time I needed to walk to the luggage reclaim area my suitcase was already rolling on the belt. I didn’t actually get to see any aircraft movements at the time other than the LX A319 that was parked next to us. Hopefully, my way out of ZRH will allow a bit more time for the pleasurable spotting habit. Flight rating: 9/10 just for the negative introduction to the whole flight experience at LHR.
