We flew SWISS business class from Switzerland to Germany on the A 220, one of my favorite planes. Let's look at what that experience was like.
I booked a separate ticket for our Singapore Airlines flight to New York from New York as well as our flight from Switzerland. I booked the following in business class for 15,000 Aeroplan points and a fee of $64.30 per person.
The flight from Lausanne to Frankfurt arrives at 7:55PM.
I booked business class largely because I wanted to review it, but some might not find it worthwhile to redeem for business class. The price was double because Aeroplan would have charged 7,500 points for economy class.
Aeroplan points are easy to get, as the program partners with American Express Membership Reward, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate rewards. The new Aeroplan Credit Card is pretty lucrative in the United States.
I reviewed the SWISS Senator Lounge in the last part. Our flight was leaving from gate D25, which is close to the security checkpoint.
This is a unique setup, as it is a circular terminal without jet bridges. You can walk up the stairs to the planes. It has a cool view with the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Business class passengers were invited to board first at the boarding gate. It was a short walk from the terminal to the plane's stairs.
I loved the chance to walk up to the plane.
The smaller of the two A 220 variant, the SWISS A 220-100 is what we were flying on. There are 125 seats spread across 25 rows in the SWISS A 220. The A 220 cabin feels modern and spacious, but you have to like the 2-3 layout since there is only one middle seat per row.
Economy and business class seats are the same, but the difference is due to seat blocking. The first eight rows of the plane were business class.
We were assigned seats on the left side. On the A 220, you can get the set of two seats to yourself, since the business class usually has a blocked middle seat. I had seats 7A and 7C, while Ford had seats 6A and 6C.
The center seat in business class is blocked because there are three seats on the right side of the plane.
The seat backs of the A 220 feel so sleek.
The overhead bins are big enough for a standard carry-on and the A 220 is somewhere between a regional jet and a mainline jet.
The seatback had a literature pocket and two pouches, which could be used for things like a water bottle, a pair of glasses, or a phone. The tray table folds out from the seatback.
The large windows on the A 220 are a nice feature.
The overhead consoles on the A 220 have reading lights, individual air nozzles, and even small screens that show the safety video and a flight map.
There are two major drawbacks to the modern cabins of SWISS.
These are standard amenities on new jets. This isn't an issue on a 55 minute flight. On a longer flight, I would consider this more of an issue.
The flight was mostly full in both classes. There were 24 business class seats.
There was a bottle of water and a towel at each seat.
The front of the cabin had a spacious and nicely appointed lavatories, which was much nicer than the new lavatories you will find on many planes.
The captain announced our flight time of 55 minutes after boarding at 6:35PM. There are a couple observations.
The cabin manager made a welcome aboard announcement when the main cabin door was closed. We started our engines and taxi at 6:30PM. There is no need to push back because the stands at this part of the terminal are positioned.
It took us a while to get to the runway.
We were cleared for takeoff about 10 minutes later.
On our climb out, we had beautiful views ofGeneva.
We hit a serious chop after leaving the mountains. Some passengers gasped when we hit one big air pocket.
The seatbelt sign was turned off after 10 minutes after the ride smoothed out, because it was a totally different story above the clouds.
After the sign was taken down, the crew closed the curtains between cabins and began service.
A snack was served about 20 minutes after takeoff. Each passenger was offered a tray with two finger sandwiches, a dessert with a berry compote and crumble, and a pork and cheese sandwich. It was not much of a snack since I don't eat pork.
A cart with drinks was brought out. I had a beverage.
Chocolates were distributed after that.
The crew was friendly and efficient, and was quick to clear service items as people finished up.
The first officer told us that we should be landing at 7:50PM. It was nice to see some sunshine despite the clouds.
It was a different story under the clouds just as it was on departure. It wasn't particularly clear evening and the sun was setting.
We arrived in Frankfurt at 7:50PM.
We had a one minute taxi from there to our stand, which might be a new record for me.
I was impressed that there was a separate bus for business class passengers, so there was no long wait for the bus to fill up, and for that matter people weren't crammed in the bus either.
We arrived at the terminal a few minutes later. We had to wait for our bag, but it showed up within 20 minutes.
The comfortable and spacious A 220 is a joy to fly. You have to love the 2-3 layout since you can have both an aisle and window seat to yourself.
The crew was friendly and the flight was on time. The passenger experience on these planes has not been invested in by SWISS beyond the features of the A 220. There is no power or wi-fi. That isn't an issue for a short flight, but on a longer flight it would be different.
What was your experience on a SWISS flight?
All Rights Reserved © 2024
