While my SWISS Airbus A220-300 flight from London to Zurich was pleasant in one distinct way, the reality is you’re paying a huge premium to fly SWISS out of Heathrow versus a budget carrier from another London airport and won’t get a lot out of it, at least onboard.
SWISS A220-300 Economy Class Review (LHR-ZRH)
At the outset, let’s revisit my discussion on why SWISS can charge a premium over budget carriers that serve the same route.
It’s not for the onboard experience, which other than the free chocolate and water bottle is not much better than a budget carrier. Legroom is similar (in some cases worse) and there is no Wi-Fi or power outlets.
No, it’s for the ease and connectivity of flying out of London Heathrow and being able to connect onto other SWISS or Star Alliance flights, with lounge access and business class upgrades for frequent flyers or others willing to pay up.
I start with this because if you’re just buying a point-to-point ticket, I really do question the value of SWISS at 2-3x the cost over its competitors, especially if you are traveling light.
> Read More: SWISS Charges A Premium In Europe, But For What Exactly?
But we did take advantage of the Lufthansa Lounge before the flight, which was a nice benefit and not something we could have enjoyed had we flown out of Stansted or Luton.
Boarding commenced only 25 minutes prior to departure from the Queen’s Terminal (2).
SWISS 325
London (LHR) – Zürich (ZRH)
Wednesday, March 25
Depart: 5:10 PM
Arrive: 8:00 PM
Duration: 1hr, 50min
Aircraft: Airbus A220-300
Distance: 491 miles
Seat: 17D, E, F
Lagging in the lounge, we were among the last to board, so I don’t have a lot of cabin shots, though I’ll include several from a previous flight.
Seat
SWISS has placed 145 seats on its A220-300s, arranging them in a 2-3 format and utilizing EC-00 slimline seats from ZIM. Seats are 18 inches wide and recline two inches. Per AeroLopa:
- Rows 2 to 11 – 32 inches of legroom
- Row 12 – 39 inches of legroom
- Seats 14 to 20 (ABC) – 28 inches of legroom
- Seats 14 to 20 (DEF) – 29 inches of legroom
Seats have no power outlets (USB or A/C), but there are personal air vents.
Wi-Fi + IFE
The flight had no Wi-Fi Internet or streaming IFE and no screens, other than the small overhead screens which displayed a flight map in-flight and information on connecting gates prior to arrival.
At least it was a beautiful evening to look out the window.
Food + Drink
The last time I flew this route, a delicious complimentary sandwich was served. Those days are over, but a buy-on-board menu is offered called SWISS Saveurs. It includes a variety of fresh foods (like the sandwiches that used to be free), packaged snacks, soft drinks, wine, beer, and spirits. The menu has hot items as well like burgers or pasta, but those are only available on longer flights: LHR-ZRH is too short.
Bottled water (still) and chocolates are still complimentary.
On this flight, I tried a glass of Alpine Essence, the SWISS signature cocktail. It was refreshing and served in a real glass…a nice touch. The cocktail is a riff on a Negroni, but lighter and less bitter than a traditional Negroni. It was jointly developed with bartender Sarah Madritsch and Zurich’s IGNIV by Andreas Caminada Bar.
I give more details on the drink here. It cost 10 CHF (almost 13 USD at current exchange rates).
> Read More: A Perfect Aperitif At 35,000 Feet: SWISS Alpine Essence Cocktail
Lavatories
Economy class passengers have access to two lavatories located in the rear of the aircraft. They are well-designed not to be as claustrophobic as the tiny bathrooms you now see on the 737 MAX, but are still small.
CONCLUSION
We landed on-time in Zurich, where my in-laws were waiting to meet us outside baggage claim. Our flight on SWISS was as expected: clean and punctual. Don’t expect a marginally better onboard product than British Airways or any budget carrier, but do try the Alpine Essence and it was certainly nice to fly from LHR.
Having lounge access on a flight like this does help, I suppose, in that at least you can fill your belly as needed before the flight.
Just curious, but how do you entertain your kids on a flight like this with no WiFi/TV?
Books and paper + colored pencils
If you wish, you can also introduce them to chess during the flights; this is certainly one of the best ways to prepare them for life’s challenges.
Greetings to the ‘SWISS Alpine Essence’ cocktail! Barely a year old, but already a legend of air travel!
Great airline, garbage plane. 2-3 was probably useful on this flight, but it should have died with Douglas. The only other plane with 2-3 is primarily flown by the world’s worst and most evil airline. Proof positive.
For foodies → The complimentary inflight chocolates have been distributed on all SWISS services since 2015. These sweet temptations (‘SWISS Schöggeli’ bars) are produced in Buchs in the canton of Aargau under the Chocolat Frey brand by Migros subsidiary Delica AG.
Thank you, Googlepedia.
For aviation enthusiasts → LX currently has 21 A220-300s (average age: 8.1 years) in its fleet.
Interesting split left-right seatback mesh pockets – don’t think I’ve seen those before. Looks like they’re perfectly designed to hold kneepads (and with the tight seat pitch, probably needed!). They should hand everyone a pair of knee-cushions as they board…
Ha! I also had the knee pad thought
I’ve actually found the rates to be pretty comparable or even cheaper on Swiss from LHR, at least for O&D trips. LCY is usually where see the big premium.
Another flight in coach?
Times are bad.
Not much money in blogging eh?
Are you flying economy to avoid high UK APD?
I know it must be rough to cough up £100 or more for premium class.
The short haul APD isn’t anywhere near as extreme as the long haul rate.
its not swiss charging, its the stupid passenger tax that LHR levies on
For connecting flights, there is also the peace of mind that LX will ensure your bags get where they are supposed to go.
How on Earth does Swiss not offer wi-fi and power outlets on this flight. People really shouldn’t be giving them money. GVA and ZRH are almost entirely business markets. How are people based there putting up with that? BA is a better option on this route by every metric.
LHR can be a useful (if annoying) airport to fly into. On the way home, go elsewhere.
I don’t mind LHR any longer…I’m used to it.
I think that there’s a big difference between the passenger experience at T2 and the other terminals (admittedly I haven’t used T4 in a long time, not sure whether I ever have actually!). T2 is a very pleasant place to be and the only real issue is the risk of delays snowballing at the airport due to runway overutilisation. T5 is nowhere near as nice (last time I flew from there I spent 15 mins in the business class check in queue and the BA lounge was filthy), while T3 is nasty, particularly if you don’t have lounge access.