My gamble did not pay off. With Switzerland having just re-opened to U.S. travelers the day before, my hopes of stretching out on an 11-hour flight in SWISS economy class were dashed. Not only was every seat taken, but my son and I ended up with middle seats.
First Impressions: SWISS Economy Class Mini-Review
I took advantage of a particularly good one-way fare to fly the family to Zurich on SWISS. Although I usually use miles to travel back and forth between Europe on family vacations, my supply of miles is not being replenished nearly as fast as it used to be and so I opted to save points and try SWISS economy class, my first time behind the curtain on SWISS.
I booked the ticket over a month ago, during a time in which much of Europe was still closed to American citizens and figured borders would still be closed, meaning lightly-filled flights in which we could stretch out.
But with the United States having made significant strides in its vaccination efforts, most of Europe, including Switzerland, has now re-opened.
Our flight was operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. The flight was not only packed, but oversold (though volunteers were ultimately not needed). During online check-in, I chose a section of four seats in the middle of economy class, hoping that the unassigned middle seat (I took both aisles and a middle seat) would remain open.
Alas, it did not. Thankfully it was just a petite traveler who was the perfect seatmate. She was delighted when I offered her my aisle seat for her middle seat…
We were delayed in boarding due to document checks. When we finally took off about 25 minutes late, the captain informed us our flying time would be over 11 hours due to strong winds and turbulence enroute. Great…
Seat pitch is 32 inches in SWISS economy, which is decent. All things considered, we did okay on the flight. Both kids slept through the whole flight…I could not ask for more.
Service was friendly, dinner was edible (pot roast with potatoes and vegetables or pasta with white sauce), and we did manage to sleep for several hours.
At one point in the flight I woke up and smiled, thinking breakfast would begin soon and we we were close to landing. Sadly, I pulled up my map on the screen in front of me and saw we had not even left Canada yet…
But I fell back asleep.
Breakfast was a disappointment. Sugary yogurt, sugary orange juice, and a cold bread roll and croissant. I’m sure catering is better ex-Zurich, but a natural yogurt and some fresh fruit would have been greatly appreciated. Coffee was also extremely weak.
We made it to Switzerland, had a bite to eat for dinner, then crashed for the next 12 hours. But I’m pleased to report our jet lag seems to be minimal after a long rest.
CONCLUSION
Stay tuned for a full review, but 1.) it wasn’t as bad we thought and 2.) I hope I never have to do it again, though it was nice to save the miles on this trip. Flying in a middle seat is never fun. I hate not being able to get up or not having a window seat (we ate breakfast in darkness, even though it was 3:00pm outside). Still, we did fine. But we’re flying home in business class!
Pro tip: Fly the day before, not the day after, the destination country reopens to US travelers
Lol
My heart goes out to you. However, I must say, for economy class the meal doesn’t seem THAT bad! Anyways, my 2 cents. Have a great and safe trip, enjoy the family and fly safely coming back!
Better than UA domestic F for sure
Were there 4 of you? I’m curious why you didn’t opt to just take the entire center row of 4 seats so the kids can be in the middle and both parents have aisle seats.
Three plus lap infant. I was too cheap!
Breakfast reminds me of my last flight in AF economy: Bread with a side of bread, with attendants walking up and down the aisle offering more bread
@ Matthew — Tip: don’t buy economy tickets that you cannot upgrade at time of purchase.
Did you have the option of selecting one of the 3 seat rows on the side at check-in?
I could see the case for selecting the row of 4 and hoping for an empty. But with that strategy I’d plan to bring a car seat onboard, and then everyone would sleep better.
The sections of three were all full (or blocked…oddly, middle seats were blocked, but not aisle and windows)
We used the car seat for all flights after the kids were >9 months. They are so much happier being strapped in (ditto parentals).
This flight seems like a good result. Economy isnt all that bad. One bad nights sleep is worth saving 150-200k miles IMO… Sometimes… we did norwegian “first” a couple of times which is actually a decent medium if the point flights arent available.
Also USA to Europe is a short flight 😉 try ORD to Sydney… My wife did that a few times with 3 kids under 5….
My husband and I have traveled in the middle seats when we were flying to and from China and Greece. The center seat arrangements are very tight and very uncomfortable for extended periods of time. On our flight to Greece we boarded our flight at 9:00pm and did not leave until 2am because of an issue with the air conditioning. We had to stay in our seats as workers were fixing the issue inside and outside of the plane. It was horrible, it was hot and smelled horrible, we were told that we couldn’t leave the aircraft, and to make matters worse the stewardesses were not giving any water to us. People were getting angry and unruly. Finally, a fellow passenger called CNN to notify them of our circumstances and lodged a complaint with the airline-all from inside the plane. After this, we were finally given some water.
That meal looks a damn sight better than my United transAtlantic Polaris meal last week.
Well, the main course was actually pretty darn good and certainly on par with UA’s short ribs.
Love your blog but your comments about the absence of fresh fruit are kinda head in the clouds. That just ain’t the way it is in the back of the bus. Ditto on premium yogurt brands. If the pastry-like product is edible, it’s a good flight. That was true pre-pandemic and even more so now. Have a great trip. Recently returned from Europe. Number of Americans and other ex-EU visitors is still very low. Enjoy it while you can.
LX catering is much better ex-ZRH, including the better yogurt. UA offers a hot breakfast with omelet, fresh fruit, and Greek yogurt on the same route. LH and BA offer fresh fruit as well with pre-arrival breakfast in economy class.
“LH and BA offer fresh fruit as well with pre-arrival breakfast in economy class.”
Nope. Not even before the pandemic. I’ve flown both and received an egg sandwich on LH and a granola bar+croissant on BA.
That’s just wrong. I have reviews of both on this blog.
Do you currently need COVID tests for both adults and kids when returning?
Just adults. Ridiculous.
So you think that the kids should be required to test as well?
I think vaccination cards should be sufficient for adults and I’m fine with children not testing.
Uh-oh. Don’t tell us you’re a republican! This guy admitted to voting for tr**p and had to resign! https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-06-13-five-nights-at-freddys-creator-confirms-claims-he-has-financially-backed-donald-trump
LX catering ex-SFO is probably identical to UA (minus the piece of gruyère and the chocolate). When things look that bad, recall that LX will, at the check-in desk, sell upgrades to J, for a reasonable fee. And they have large J cabins.
As someone who has flown a lot more coach than anything else to Europe, it’s nice to see bloggers who normally fly up front experience what normal people get all the time. Not that you’re pretentious like some but I think that it provides perspective and hopefully a little empathy for normal people.
I really don’t link flying business or first class to social status or look down on anyone who flies economy class, but I am thankful I can do so an experiment (and for fresh blog content) rather than because I always have to. It certainly makes me appreciate business/first class so much more. But indeed, it is actually just fine. I’m glad I saved the 200K+ points…
He’s not pretentious?
I’d much prefer Business Class for the eastbound redeye for sleep, more important than the food for me
As do I. But, strangely, I’ve only gotten LX OP-UPs westbound. And it’s happened more often than my no-status Miles-and-More card would lead you to believe
@Wilem: You sound like my wife! 😉
But you can’t get $259 one-way fares flying the other direction!
Swiss economy is pretty decent actually. The main meal here looked pretty good (and when I flew them SFO-ZRH the pasta dish was also quite tasty too). I don’t know if they still do this now, but pre-pandemic they also had fresh bread rolls that were warmed up, and was some of the best I’ve had in economy.
That landing meal is also fairly standard in economy for trans-Atlantic, though other Star Alliance carriers like SAS or TAP have a more substantial breakfast.
My main complaints for Swiss are that entertainment selections are relatively small and that the wifi is extremely expensive.
Yes indeed on both. The WiFi was so expensive I did not bother to even try connecting.
How expensive? I am curious. After seeing AA raise its wifi to a whopping $29 for a flight pass (the flight was 6 hours, but I had to work), I am now wondering what other carriers charge. I had just flown QR Business which charged $10, across the globe, for crying out loud!
Also, yuck to the 11 hours in ANY middle seat.
59CHF ($64) for 220MB. Can you believe it?!
HOLY COW! No, I can’t. AA’s increase is a deal after all. Who knew?
Flying economy makes a lot of sense to me; I do it (…used to do it…) all the time; anything under 8 or 9 hours is a piece of cake. But ONLY if I get pre-selected aisle ( and of course never with infants). Overnight can be a PITA, but day flights are very easy ( so long as one doesn’t have to work during the flight).
And you’d love that SWISS always has a vegetarian option available.
Aside from the food, you barely talked about the airline itself. How were the flight attendants, for example? How was the onboard entertainment? Etc.
This isn’t my full review, just my first impressions. Shortly, I’ll publish a full review that will include far more details, including IFE and service.
I find ten abreast 777 unbearable. I go out of my way to avoid ten abreast 777s and the de-rigueur 9 abreast 787s despite being under 140 pounds. How did you think the ten abreast 777 compared to other economy seats?
I flew a Qatar A350 right after a ten abreast Qatar 777 and the single inch of greater width made a world of difference. Will never set foot
Count me in the club. I avoid 777s like a plague when flying Y, 10 abreast on a 777 and on an A380 is really like chalk and cheese in terms of comfort.
You wine a lot
And dine.
I couldn’t sleep after reading this. It was like watching the Exorcist alone at night.
OMG, a middle seat. Never again! More arrogance shining through. I’ve flown economy most of my life and it’s just fine. It’s a bus ride. Point A to Point B. We should all be thankful that we even have the opportunity to explore the world, and the financial resources to take your kids? I never had that growing up, or while I was raising my 3 kids. The 1% attitude is heard loud and clear.
I’m intrigued, how do you get the photos of the empty cabin? Just preboarding because of status, or family, or do you ask to board early to get photos for your blog?
Wow, that experience after the lounge incident. Guess that wasnt a trip to remember! hopefully you like your stay over in Europe! Welcome back
Hi Matthew, new follower here but I like your blog and trip report. Can you suggest a good hotel for award redemption in Swiss? Or perhaps you can share your stay experience via trip report on your blog. Thanks.
Thanks for reading. We began our trip at the new Hyatt Regency at the Circle (on the airport grounds). I’ll have a review up later this week.
Were you able to check in and get the boarding passes online or did you have to check in at the airport?
I checked in online but had to pick up the boarding passes at the airport.
It was my first time flying with Swiss Air and my wife to HK, we had to do a connecting flight from Zurich leaving at Heathrow , both were delayed due to the document checks which is understandable as we could see the Swiss team staff were all working tremendously hard to passengers through quickly. I have been impressed with every single Swiss ground and flight staff, they made everyone feel very welcome, there were eye contacts and a genuine smile from all of them. The hot food on board was also good on the economy class, There was even prosecco available as your welcome drink with the nibbles and ice cream after meal which was a bonus. Overall, I could not fault them at all and certainly they are looking to strive to be with the too airlines very near future. I will definitely want to pay more and fly with Swiss Airline again, Thank you Air Swiss!