SWISS Archives - TravelSkills

Routes: Swiss to SFO + Lufthansa, Aeromexico, Hainan, Delta/KLM, Air Canada

March 1, 2017

Economy class on SWISS’s new 777-300ER. (Image: SWISS)

In international route developments, Swiss will increase San Francisco service and lay on more 777-300ERs to the U.S. this summer; Lufthansa sets the date for its first new A350 service to the U.S.; Aeromexico brings a new route to San Jose; Hainan Airlines adds a pair of routes from Los Angeles; Delta code-shares on more KLM flights; Air Canada adds a new Vancouver route and reshuffles Ottawa service.

Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss International’s newly issued summer schedule calls for an increase in San Francisco-Zurich frequencies from the current three 777-300ER flights a week to daily service beginning April 22. All the flights will use the carrier’s new 777-300ERs. Swiss already uses the new aircraft on its Los Angeles-Zurich route, and said that between June and October of this year, it will also deploy the new aircraft on six of its 12 weekly flights between Zurich and Chicago O’Hare. Take a tour of “the new SWISS flagship” here.

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its second A350 from Airbus and it’s headed to Boston. (Image: Lufthansa)

Lufthansa has taken delivery of its second brand-new Airbus A350-900, and it has set March 14 as the date when that aircraft will start flying between Munich and Boston. (The first one recently started flying from Munich to Delhi, India, and the third will go onto the Munich-Mumbai route starting in late April.) Innovations on the Lufthansa A350 include an in-flight entertainment system that lets passengers create their own programming playlists from an app before leaving home, and LED technology that makes it possible to provide two dozen different lighting schemes in the cabin.

The latest international carrier to announce new service to San Jose is Aeromexico. The Mexican airline set a July 1 start for new service between SJC and its Guadalajara hub, operating six 737 flights a week (not on Tuesdays). The flight will depart San Jose at 10:15 a.m.

Hainan Airlines is adding two 787 routes from Los Angeles. (Image: Simon Auger/Flickr)

China’s Hainan Airlines has started taking reservations for new service from Los Angeles to two destinations in western China. On March 15, it will begin service between LAX and Chengdu, followed on March 21 by new flights from LAX to Chonqing. Both routes will operate twice a week, and both will use 787-8s.

Delta continues to expand its roster of code-share flights with joint venture partner KLM. Beginning March 26, according to Routesonline.com, Delta’s code will go onto KLM’s flights between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Amsterdam. Also getting Delta codes will be KLM flights beyond Amsterdam to Milan Malpensa; Graz, Austria; Gdansk, Poland; Freetown, Sierra Leone and Monrovia, Liberia; Split, Croatia; and the Italian destinations of Catania, Sicily, and Cagliari, Sardinia.

Air Canada’s Jazz unit has started new daily non-stops between Vancouver and Dallas/Ft. Worth, using two-class CRJ-705s. On the east coast, meanwhile, Air Canada said it has ended its three daily flights between Ottawa and New York LaGuardia, but will add three flights a day between Ottawa and Newark beginning March 26. (Meanwhile, Delta is poised to pick up the slack from LGA, starting twice-daily service to Ottawa as of April 2.) In other news, Air Canada will use a 787-9 on one (AC737/738) of its six daily San Francisco-Toronto flights for the summer season, beginning June 1.

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New aircraft coming on key global routes: LAX, Boston, SFO, Chicago, Houston

December 27, 2016

Qantas’ first 787-9 will enter service to LAX next year. (Image: Qantas)

Several airlines have scheduled the introduction of brand-new planes on key international routes to the U.S., including Qantas, Lufthansa, Swiss International and Singapore.

Qantas announced that its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will enter service on December 15, 2017, flying the Melbourne-Los Angeles route. The new 236-passenger, three-class Dreamliner will fly the route six days a week, replacing a 364-seat 747, and will supplement Qantas’ daily A380 flight on the route. That will give Qantas 13 flights a week on the route, up from nine today. Even though the 787 is smaller than the 747 it will replace, the larger plane is only flying twice a week, so that’s a net capacity increase on the route of 1,400 seats a week. The Dreamliner will have business class, economy class, and a new premium economy section that the airline will introduce early next year.

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its first A350 from Airbus. (Image: Lufthansa)

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its first brand-new Airbus A350-900 which will begin regular commercial service February 10 between Munich and New Delhi. But the carrier announced last week that its second new A350 will start flying in March 2017 on the Boston-Munich route. Lufthansa said its first 10 A350s will all be based at its Munich hub. The aircraft will have 48 business class seats, 21 in premium economy and 224 in regular economy. The airline will introduce a new in-flight service for A350 business class flyers: a self-service area offering snacks and cold drinks. The new aircraft will also have larger video screens and “the latest FlyNet technology and improved web surfing,” Lufthansa said. The plane will offer a variety of lighting schemes and improved cabin pressure so travelers will arrive “feeling more rested,” the airline said.

Economy class on Swiss’s new 777-300ER. (Image: Swiss International)

Swiss International, a Lufthansa subsidiary, has been rolling out new 340-seat Boeing 777-300ERs as the flagships of its long-haul network. It has six already, with three more coming online in 2017. This year, it started flying them to Los Angeles in June and Miami in October. And they’ll soon be coming to San Francisco and Chicago. According to the Swiss website, The 777-300ER will begin flying between Zurich and San Francisco three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) starting February 16. And the airline will reportedly boost that 777 schedule to seven flights a week starting April 17. Meanwhile, Routesonline.com reports that Swiss will put the new 777-300ER into service between Chicago O’Hare-Zurich beginning June 1, flying that route six times a week. The new 777s carry 340 passengers, with eight seats in first class, 62 in business and 270 in economy (in a 3-4-3 configuration). Check out a photo tour of the Swiss 777-300ERs that we ran last year.

Singapore Airlines A350 Premium Economy is a good option for those who can’t bear the thought of 17 hours in economy (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Singapore Airlines continues add new Airbus A350s to its long-haul feet, and the next deployment of the aircraft will be on its Houston-Manchester (UK)-Singapore route starting January 17, according to Routesonline.com. The Singapore A350s have 42 business class seats, 24 in premium economy, and 187 in regular economy (in a 3-3-3 configuration). Two months ago, Singapore put one of the new A350s into service on its Singapore-San Francisco route. Chris was on board for one of the first flights, and you can read his comprehensive report here about seating and in-flight service aboard the Singapore A350.

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Routes: LAX, SFO, Seattle, San Diego, Boston, New York, Atlanta + more

June 16, 2016

SFO’s latest arrival from the exotic South Seas! (Photo: Peter Biaggo/SFO)

In international route news, American next week adds new transpacific flights from Los Angeles; Swiss brings its fancy new 777 to the Los Angeles-Zurich route, while Emirates doubles down on LAX service with a big sports sponsorship; San Francisco gets a new route to the South Pacific; Germany’s Condor Airlines unveils some new U.S. routes, including Seattle and San Diego; TAP Air Portugal adds two U.S. gateways with upgraded aircraft; Delta trims service to a South American city from Atlanta; and two U.S. airlines start selling tickets for scheduled service to Cuba.

American Airlines next week will kick off its newest transpacific route: On June 23 it will start flying a 787-8 Dreamliner between Los Angeles International and Auckland, New Zealand as part of its growing joint venture partnership with Qantas, ending Air New Zealand’s non-stop monopoly on that route. The aircraft’s business class offers personal suites with 77-inch lie-flat seat-beds, direct aisle access for every seat, and a walk-up bar stocked with drinks and snacks. The economy cabin offers a Main Cabin Extra seating option with five extra inches of legroom, and both cabins have Wi-Fi and AC/USB ports at every seat.

Also at Los Angeles International, Swiss has started flying the LAX-Zurich route with its new 777-300ERs, the flagships of its international long-haul fleet. The aircraft boasts redesigned and upgraded interiors with first, business and economy class. Take a look here at some photos of the plane that we ran last year when the carrier introduced them. Swiss had planned to start flying the 777-300ER to San Francisco in August, but as we reported last month, that introduction has been postponed until February 2017.

Emirates flight attendants visited Dodger Stadium to promote the airline’s expanded LAX service. (Image: Emirates)

Meanwhile, Emirates is due to lay on a second daily A380 flight starting July 1 between Los Angeles and Dubai, and it is counting on a new sponsorship deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to draw attention to the airline in that big market. The airline even brought some of its flight attendants onto the field during a recent game at Dodger Stadium to promote the tie-in.

At San Francisco International, Fiji Airways this week kicked off seasonal service to Nadi, Fiji, using a two-class A330 for the 10-hour flight. It will operate twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, through mid-August, then will resume from mid-December through mid-January.

Germany’s Condor Airlines, a leisure-oriented carrier that belongs to the Thomas Cook Group, plans to add some U.S. routes in 2017, including the only non-stops between Seattle and Munich. That route will begin in July 2017 with twice-weekly service. Condor already flies between Seattle and Frankfurt, and recently extended that to year-round service. Also in Condor’s 2017 plans: twice-weekly seasonal flights between Frankfurt and New Orleans from May through September; three flights week starting May 1 between Frankfurt-San Diego; and twice-weekly service beginning May 2 between Munich and Las Vegas.

TAP Portugal is using upgraded A330s on new Boston and New York routes. (Image: Airbus)

TAP Portugal just started new daily service between Lisbon and Boston Logan, and will add daily Lisbon-New York JFK service July 1. Both routes are using A330s that feature TAP’s new executive class cabin with lie-flat seats. The aircraft also features a new, advanced in-flight entertainment system; and the economy cabin has two kinds of seating, offering 34-inch and 31-inch pitch. The airline already serves Newark and Miami from Lisbon.

At its Atlanta hub, Delta on August 30 will reduce service to Medellin, Colombia, cutting back from the current daily frequencies to just three a week. Delta uses a 737-700 on the route.

Following the Transportation Department’s recent award of Cuba route rights (except Havana) to U.S. carriers for regular scheduled service, some of them have started selling tickets to the island nation. American will start flying once or twice a day from Miami to Cienfuegos and Holguin on September 7; from Miami to Camaguey and Santa Clara September 9; and from Miami to Varadero September 11. Silver Airways will start service September 1 from Ft. Lauderdale to Santa Clara, followed by flights out of Ft. Lauderdale to Camaguey, Cienfuegos and Holguin in October; to Santiago and Cayo Coco in November; and to Varadero, Cayo Largo and Manzanillo in December.

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Routes: San Francisco, Portland, Atlanta, Houston, Washington D.C. + more

May 31, 2016

United this week kicks off San Francisco-Singapore non-stops. (Image: Grand Hyatt Singapore)

There’s a lot of news about international air routes this week. United is due to start a record-breaking transpacific service on June 1, and will increase frequencies on another long-haul route out of San Francisco; United is also launching seasonal Europe routes from the East Coast and dropping its only service to Africa. Meanwhile, Delta will revise its partnership arrangement with Virgin Atlantic in 2017, and will add a new transatlantic route from Portland; Atlanta welcomes new service from a Middle Eastern carrier; Swiss delays the deployment of its fancy new wide-body to San Francisco; and low-cost carrier Norwegian adds a Las Vegas route.

On June 1, United is due to begin the longest scheduled route by any U.S. carrier – an 8,446-mile flight from San Francisco to Singapore. United will use a 787-9 Dreamliner for the new service, which will save travelers an estimated four hours in each direction compared with existing one-stop or connecting flights. The schedule calls for an 11:25 p.m. departure from SFO for the 15.5-hour westbound flight (16.3 hours eastbound). In another long-haul development from San Francisco, United said that starting October 8, it will increase frequencies on its SFO-Tel Aviv route from three a week to daily service; United also uses a 787-9 on that route.

In other international route news at United, the carrier is blaming a slump in global energy markets as well as government currency restrictions for its decision to terminate its daily flights from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Lagos, Nigeria after June 30. Meanwhile, United has started seasonal summer flights to Europe from the East Coast, offering daily service from its Newark hub to Athens (using a 767-300), and daily flights from Washington Dulles to Barcelona (with a 767-400) and to Lisbon (using a 757-200).

Portland International will get its first London non-stops from Delta next spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

Delta just announced a new transatlantic route for 2017, with plans to start operating seasonal service between Portland and London Heathrow effective May 26-October 29. It will fly the route four days a week with a 767-300ER. Delta said it will also revise its joint scheduling arrangement with partner Virgin Atlantic next year. The existing Delta flight from Seattle to London will switch over to a Virgin Atlantic 787-9 starting March 26, increasing capacity by 50 seats a day; on the same date, Virgin’s single daily fight from Detroit to London will be replaced by a second daily Delta flight. And on May 25, Virgin will take over Delta’s New York JFK-Manchester route, with Delta picking it up again the following winter; and Delta will take over one of Virgin’s two daily Atlanta-London frequencies, giving Delta a total of three a day and Virgin just one.

In other news, Delta last week kicked off new year-round service from New York JFK to Edinburgh, Scotland. Delta started the route with a 757-200ER, but will switch to a larger 767-300ER for flights from June 8 to September 5.

Qatar Airways will use an A380 super-jumbo for its Atlanta inaugural flight.(Image: Qatar Airways)

As we’ve mentioned before, June 1 is the launch date for new Qatar Airways service from Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson to Doha, Qatar – a move that has seriously irritated Delta. Although Qatar’s plans call for a 777 to fly the route on a regular basis, it reportedly intends to use an Airbus A380 for the maiden voyage. So far, Qatar is still a member of the Oneworld global alliance, which should make for easy connections at ATL with American Airlines flights.

According to Routesonline.com, which tracks airlines’ official schedule filings, Swiss has decided to push back the deployment of its fancy new 777-300ER on the San Francisco-Zurich route. Instead of bringing the new aircraft into SFO service on August 30 as previously planned, the aircraft won’t start flying the route until February 16, 2017. Meanwhile, on October 30, Swiss will put a 777-300ER into service between Zurich and Miami on four of its 14 weekly flights in that market, replacing an A330-300.

Low-cost European carrier Norwegian plans to expand its presence at Las Vegas on October 31 when it begins new twice-weekly flights to London Gatwick, using a 787 and offering introductory one-way fares as low as $199 (plus add-ons, of course). Norwegian already flies from Las Vegas to Copenhagen and Stockholm, and plans to add LAS-Oslo flights in November.

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Routes: Sydney, Tokyo, Zurich, Addis Ababa

February 15, 2016

Look for more United 787s on transpacific routes next year. (Image: United)

All Dreamliners all the time on SFO-SYD starting this spring. (Image: United)

In international route developments, American kicks off a new transpacific route; United changes aircraft on its flights to Sydney; Swiss sets a date for the introduction of its fancy new plane on San Francisco-Zurich service; and Ethiopian Airlines will add a new U.S. gateway.

At the end of March, United Airlines plans equipment changes on its San Francisco-Sydney and Los Angeles-Sydney routes, replacing the 777s it currently uses with 787-9 Dreamliners. United already uses a 787-9 on its Los Angeles-Melbourne route. United’s 787-9s have 48 flat-bed BusinessFirst seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, 88 in Economy Plus and 116 in regular economy. The planes have in-flight Wi-Fi as well as power and USB ports.

Following up on its December introduction of Los Angeles-Sydney 777-300ER service, American Airlines has now started up new daily service between LAX and Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport, using a two-class 787-8 Dreamliner. The new flight is operated as part of AA’s transpacific joint venture with Japan Airlines; both JAL and American continue to offer LAX-Tokyo Narita service as well. Through the end of April, American is offering passengers on the new Haneda route a promotional bonus of 5,000 to 20,000 AAdvantage miles, depending on fare category. In other international route news, American will increase service to Bermuda from New York JFK starting February15, operating a second roundtrip six days a week (increasing to daily March 3).

A representative of Lufthansa subsidiary SWISS tells Travelskills that the airline is targeting August 30 for the introduction of its new 777-300ER on the Zurich-San Francisco route. The aircraft will have eight first class seats, 62 in business class and 270 in economy. In addition to providing in-flight Wi-Fi, SWISS is reportedly planning to experiment with in-flight phone service on its 777-300ERs. It will go onto the Zurich-New York JFK route four times a week starting February 21, but only until late March, when it moves to Zurich-Montreal. The aircraft is expected to debut on the Zurich-Los Angeles route in June. It will replace SWISS Airbus A340s.

Ethiopian Airlines has started taking reservations for new service beginning July 3 between Addis Ababa and New York JFK, operating via a stop in Lome, Togo, according to Airlineroute.net. Ethiopian will use a 787-8 on the route. It hasn’t flown to New York since it halted Newark service a dozen years ago; its current U.S. gateways are Washington Dulles and Los Angeles.

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SWISS schedules brand new Boeing 777s (photos)

July 9, 2015

First class seats on SWISS’s new 777-300ERs have 32-inch video monitors. (Image: SWISS)

Lufthansa subsidiary SWISS will make a big upgrade to its long-haul fleet next year with the delivery of nine new Boeing 777-300ERs. San Francisco and Los Angeles are among the routes where the planes will first be deployed.

SWISS said the new widebodies will start flying from Zurich to both West Coast cities when its summer 2016 schedule takes effect; it currently operates A340-300s on both routes. The new 777s will carry 340 passengers, with eight seats in first class, 62 in business and 270 in economy.

First class seating transforms into a private suite with a 32-inch video screen, electrically-adjustable window blinds and a “personal wardrobe,” the airline said. Business class seats convert into a fully flat bed six feet seven inches long and have cushions whose firmness can be set to the passenger’s preference. Economy class will get new seat cushion technology and big touch-screens.

Economy class is fitted with 10-abreast seating arranged 3-4-3, a tighter but increasingly common configuration on new B777s.

Business class seats recline to fully flat beds. (Image: SWISS)

“In addition to the regular cabin service, all SWISS Economy guests will be able to make use of a self-service kiosk offering a wide range of drinks and snacks,” a spokesperson said. And the new 777s will have Wi-Fi throughout.

In addition to its LAX and SFO routes, SWISS will operate the new 777-300ERs to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Sao Paulo and Tel Aviv. A SWISS representative told TravelSkills that the SFO-Zurich route will initially get the new plane three times a week, offering an A340 on the other four days, while the 777-300ER will fly the LAX route seven days a week .

Passengers will also get the benefit of SWISS’s incredible in-flight cuisine. See our recent Trip Report on what that’s like. And scroll down to see more of the interiors on the new 777-300ERs.

A first-class dining experience in first class. (Image: SWISS)

Economy class on SWISS’s new 777-300ER configured 3-4-3. (Image: SWISS)

Another view of business class seating. (Image: SWISS)

Here’s a video fly-through of the nice new bird:

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Trip Report: A heaping helping of SWISS inflight food

July 2, 2015

First course: Marinated prawns, salad and cheese plate. (Chris McGinnis)

First course SFO-ZRH: Grilled shrimp w cilantro, anise daikon, celery & fuji apple salad, and cheese plate. (Chris McGinnis)

Last month I flew on the SWISS “Roche Coach” between San Francisco and Spain in business class. I posted my first report about that journey here.

But since I get such a kick out of the food and wine onboard (and taking photos of it) I’ve decided to start splitting my trip reports into two parts– one about the plane and service, and a separate one about the food.

See how I split up my SFO Dublin trip into two reports here: Aer Lingus flight | Aer Lingus food in flight

The SWISS inflight dining experience is, as expected, very European. It’s also very Swiss, which to me means it’s very filling and satisfying, heavy on cheese and cream, and served in a very sophisticated way.

Meals in both transoceanic legs were really outstanding, but I liked the service on the return (ZRH-SFO) flight best because it’s a long, spread out, relaxed and convivial experience. While the food on the flight to Zurich was great, I always feel in a bit of a hurry to eat lightly and try to get in some zzzz’s on the way to Europe.

So let’s take a look at these tasty morsels!

First off, take a look at that shrimp starter above… then move on to the next courses…

My economy class roundtrip fare was $1,380, but my contacts at SWISS were able to finagle last minute business class upgrades in both directions for this review.

Main course: Spaetzle. Heavy, hearty-- more sleep inducing than Ambien! (Chris McGinnis)

Main course: Swiss spaetzle gratin w mushrooms, leek, fried onions, Gruyere. Heavy, hearty– more sleep inducing than Ambien! (Chris McGinnis)

I chose to go native and have the spaetzle- but other main course choices were seared beef tenderloin or grilled chicken with mushroom cream sauce, rosti and green beans.

A nice light berry tart for dessert. (Chris McGinnis)

A nice light berry tartlet for dessert. (Chris McGinnis)

What seemed strange to me is that the cheese course was served with the appetizer at the beginning of the meal instead of afterwards with liqueurs and coffee. Is that a Swiss thing? To eat the cheese first? I’m not sure. In any case, the berry tart for dessert was delightful and light after that creamy spaetzle.

And of course, a selection of fine Swiss chocolates to end the meal service (Chris McGinnis)

Fine Swiss chocolates served after the meal– which I declined, sadly, because I think chocolate might affect my sleep on the plane. But they sure look good, don’t they?

On this flight I was able to get several hours of sleep on the nice SWISS lie flat business class seat. Details on the SWISS seat here.

Breakfast eggs, mushrooms, tomato and asparagus (Chris McGinnis)

After some good shut-eye, I awoke to a service cart in the aisle with a pile of french pastries, bircher muesli, fruit and these nice little cups of eggy delight. However, I was still full from the night before, so got by on a few bites of muesli and some coffee.

A lovely light supper salmon salad on Zurich-Madrid leg (Chris McGinnis)

After the overnight flight from SFO to Zurich, I changed planes for the trip to Madrid. While it still felt like morning to me, it was about 5 pm in Europe. This light salmon salad was perfect as I was now getting hungry. Note the ever present strip of Swiss Gruyere 🙂

A light spongy and delightful strawberry something-or-other SWISS ZRH-BCN (Chris McGinnis)

That’s it for my flight over. After getting off the plane in Madrid, I spent 4 days there and in Barcelona. Here’s my story about taking a new type of tour in Barcelona here.

Now, let’s take a look at the meals on my Barcelona-Zurich-San Francisco flight, which began at about 9 am in Barcelona and ended around 5 pm in San Francisco.

It was a very long day of eating SWISS food- and taking photos of it!

A very Euro breakfast: Meat, cheese, bread, fruit and bircher meusli (Chris McGinnis)

Breakfast on BCN-ZRH– perfect portions, and yep, more gruyere! 😉 Then it was on to a SWISS A340 in business class for the Zurich-San Francisco leg.

Breadsticks and Bordeaux to start (Chris McGinnis)

Why not try all three of the reds? (Chris McGinnis)

The flight attendant could tell I was very interested in the wine list, so he pulled out two more glasses and said, “Why don’t you try all three?” And I said, “Why not?” We have nine more hours to go 🙂

I tried: Oro Rosso 2011 Tenimento dell’Or – Arzo (a Swiss blend); Red 2013 Heinrich-Gols from Burgenland Austria and Chateau Lauriol 2011, a French Bordeaux.

I really wanted to like the Swiss red the best, but the French Bordeaux clinched the competition.

Starter: Salmon trout tartare with horseradish cream, beetroot and goat cheese (Chris McGinnis)

Corn-fed chicken with Sbrinz sauce, potato puree w truffle, gnocchi & green asparagus (Chris McGinnis)

Other choices for this all day flight included a braised lamb shoulder with dumplings or perch meuniere with lemon and sun-dried tomato butter.

Cheese plate and dessert to finish- that jammy looking item packed a punch w horseradish (Chris McGinnis)

Cheese plate, natch, and dessert to finish- that jammy looking item is a super hot fig mustard (Chris McGinnis)

In the background is Tiramisu Tentazioni with salted chocolate crumble. YUM!

My sophisticated European dining experience was marred by this site (Chris McGinnis)

My sophisticated European dining experience was marred by this sight (Chris McGinnis)

Just as I was feeling like I was dining at a classy European restaurant, these feet popped up across the aisle. I could not resist taking a photo.

After a few hours of digestion, a nap and some work, flight attendants rolled out a cart of ice cream. I’ve had ice cream sundaes, but never a cone inflight.

A few hours later…. Ice cream cones! (Chris McGinnis)

A little mid flight strawberry ice cream, then back to work on the blog (Chris McGinnis)

After all that, flight attendants fit in one more very nice meal service just as we were flying over northern California before landing at SFO.

Final meal: Sliced cold beef over a bready arugula salad (Chris McGinnis)

Final meal: Panzella salad with cold sliced roast beef (Chris McGinnis)

What do you think? How do you think the SWISS meal service you see here compares to your business class dining experiences? Please leave your comments below!

Last month I flew on the SWISS Roche Coach between San Francisco and Spain in business class. I posted my first report about that journey here.

–Chris McGinnis

Disclosure: Paid economy class fare on this flight was $1,380 and SWISS provided Chris with a complimentary standby upgrade to business class.

Trip Report: The SWISS “Roche coach” to Zurich

June 24, 2015

Starting July 6, there will be two SWISS A340 flights per day at SFO (Chris McGinnis)

Starting July 4, there will be two SWISS A340 flights per day at SFO (Chris McGinnis)

Last month I flew SWISS International Air Lines in business class from San Francisco to Madrid via Zurich, and returned three days later from Barcelona via Zurich to San Francisco. I was super excited to give the airline a try since it had been since Swissair days that I’d flown a Swiss airline!

My economy class roundtrip fare was $1,380, but my contacts at the airline were able to finagle last minute business class upgrades in both directions for this review.

SWISS is a member of the Star Alliance, and is a subsidiary of Lufthansa.

Here’s my report:

First off…. why “Roche coach?” Well, back in 2009 South San Francisco-based Genentech was acquired by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche. Roche is based in Switzerland and wanted a daily nonstop to San Francisco for its executives, so it signed a guarantee with SWISS to buy a certain number of business class seats each year- enough to keep the route in the black for the airline. That had locals in San Francisco chuckling that the daily A340 flight should be dubbed the “Roche coach” due to the company’s support.

With or without the support of Roche, the flight has done very well– so much so that SWISS is doubling its daily frequencies between SFO and Zurich for the summer season. My flights in both directions were sold out.

SWISS deploys it flagship Airbus A340 on the SFO-ZRH route, which is an older, four engine jet, but its business class seat and cabin are new as of 2009. The plane has 219 seats: Eight in first class, 47 in business class, and 164 in economy. There is no premium economy section. (When SWISS gets its new Boeing 777s in 2016, the San Francisco route will likely get one.)

For those who plan to sleep or work in flight, the best seats in business and economy class are in two forward cabins that are much smaller and quieter than the larger aft sections. See seat map here. I suggest booking seats in the forward cabin for the overnight flight from the US to Switzerland, and in the larger, more convivial larger rear cabins (and ice cream cones) for the long daylight flight back.

Unfortunately, wi-fi is not available any SWISS flights yet. But I bet it will likely be on those new 777s when they come into service next year.

I will report on the food and drink offered on my SWISS flights in a future post so stay tuned…UPDATE: Here’s our report on inflight dining onboard SWISS

Seat 4K on the bulkhead row between first and business class (Chris McGinnis)

My seat on the overnight SFO-ZRH flight was 4K- a bulkhead business class seat on the right side with a good view through the curtain into the first class cabin and no seat next to me. Since I was in the forward business class cabin with just nine seats, it almost felt like flying private and was very good for sleeping on the nice flat bed seat.

A blueberry sunset over San Francisco (Chris McGinnis)

A blueberry sunset over San Francisco from a SWISS A340 departing 7:30 pm (Chris McGinnis)

From SFO to Zurich, flight #39 departs very late– at 7:30pm and arrives at 4:00pm the next day. That was perfect timing for watching a lovely blueberry sunset out the window at takeoff. The summer seasonal flight #37 departs SFO at 2:30 pm and arrives at 11 a.m the next day.

SWISS A340 business class (Image: SeatGuru)

Note the unusual staggered seat configuration & single seat along the windows (Chris McGinnis)

SWISS uses a staggered layout in business class, similar to that used by Aer Lingus (See Aer Lingus Trip Report). This means that there are some excellent, private options for single travelers– with five “Captain Kirk” style seats on each flight: 4A, 6A, 8A (no window), 10A and 12A.

The best seats for couples traveling together are 7AB, 9AB, 11AB, and 14AB (there is no row 13 on this plane.)

The best single seats along the right side are those with a console protecting the passenger from the aisle– 5K, 7K, 9K, 11K and 14K.

The best economy class seats are on row 23, a bulkhead row that offers extensive legroom and no lavatory nearby.

Business class seats are dark brown with pleasant pale blue stitching (Chris McGinnis)

Single seats with consoles on both sides are the best seats on the plane! (Chris McGinnis)

The seatback entertainment system felt a bit outdated, but offered a robust selection of good movies (Chris McGinnis)

The inflight entertainment system on this SWISS A340 felt a little dated compared to some of the newfangled offerings I’ve experienced lately. Nonetheless, the movie selection was good (Big Eyes, Still Alice, Interstellar, Birdman in May) and I really liked that nook under the screen for easy access to items needed during the flight, like my notebook, camera, phone, headset and water.

Sleep is easy in the quiet forward section in business class- just 9 seats (Chris McGinnis)

The best part about the lie-flat seats on SWISS is that when fully extended, the are very close to the cabin floor, which felt quieter, darker and more removed from the hubbub at higher cabin altitudes.

Seat controller on SWISS A340 business class– note the cushion firmness control & massage function (Chris McGinnis)

A smart, spartan amenity kit (Chris McGinnis)

And of course, a selection of fine Swiss chocolates to end the meal service (Chris McGinnis)

I’m going to create a separate post about inflight dining on my SFO-ZRH-MAD-BCN-SFO journey so stay tuned for that. For now, here’s a look at the Swiss chocolates offered at the end of meal service. 🙂

I will report on the food and drink offered on my SWISS flights in a future post so stay tuned…UPDATE: Here’s our report on inflight dining onboard SWISS

My seat in lie-flat position ready to whisk me away to dreamland (Chris McGinnis)

With the help of a hearty serving of spaetzle with cream and gruyere cheese, I was able to snag about five hours of pretty good sleep on this lie-flat bed somewhere between Canada and Ireland. (Stay tuned for future post about food on these flights)

Unlike many foreign carriers, SWISS kept the cabin nice and cool all night long, which helped with sleeping. There’s not much more irritating (and regrettably common) that an overheated cabin on an overnight flight. Yuck!

Economy class on on a SWISS A340 is configured 2-4-2 except at rear where fuselage narrows (Chris McGinnis)

The best economy class seats are on row 23, just behind the business class section. On SWISS, you must pay a premium to reserve these seats ahead of time. The worst seats in economy are those with inflight entertainment system boxes interfering with legroom. These boxes are in all economy class rows seats A, D and K. You’ll get the most legroom in aisle seats B and J.

I fell asleep somewhere over Canada and awoke over Ireland (Chris McGinnis)

Breakfast eggs, mushrooms, tomato and asparagus (Chris McGinnis)

After a heavy dinner I could not fathom eating breakfast, but these looked nice. There were also croissants and bircher muesli on offer for breaky. Stay tuned for a separate Trip Report about the food on my SWISS flights.

Guten morgen Zurich! Well, it’s actually 4 pm in Europe (Chris McGinnis)

Our SWISS Airbus A320 at Madrid Barajas airport (Chris McGinnis)

SWISS Airbus A320 that I took from Zurich to Madrid Barajas airport (Chris McGinnis)

Intra-European style business class on the short flight between Barcelona and Zurich on an Airbus A321 (Chris McGinnis)

Tarmac transfers at ZRH via Mercedes-Benz (Chris McGinnis)

SWISS provides Mercedes tarmac transfers to first class, HON Circle members and VIPs to/from flights at the open stand at Zurich Airport.

Since Zurich airport is so small and so efficient, there is very little connection time between flights, so I was unable to take a look at the SWISS lounges located there. The biggest problem for me at Zurich Airport was the unwieldy process one must submit to to access wi-fi. It requires logging on, filling out a form, then waiting for a special code to be sent to your mobile phone in order to get online. In the few short minutes I had in Zurich, I attempted this twice to no avail.

Barcelona El Prat's big bright and gorgeous international terminal (Chris McGinnis)

Barcelona El Prat’s big bright and gorgeous international terminal- first leg of my flight back to SFO (Chris McGinnis)

Here’s our follow up report on inflight dining onboard SWISS

–Chris McGinnis

Disclosure: Paid economy class fare on this flight was $1,380 and SWISS provided Chris with a complimentary standby upgrade to business class.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Free airport parking? + San Francisco mistakes + More JetBlue Mint + Cool gasoline price heat map + More!

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Factory flight + Drenched flight attendant talks + Star Alliance fast lanes + Best coach food + Frequent flyers fed up + more

May 10, 2015

TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis flew SWISS to Madrid this week! Stay tuned for several reports (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis flew SWISS from SFO to Madrid this week! Stay tuned for several reports (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

TravelSkills’ 12 most popular posts over the last week… plus a few newsy nuggets we missed.

1> Not many flyers get to experience this: From factory to Hong Kong on a brand new B777

2> Yuck. Just yuck: Drenched in raw sewage at the airport- twice Flight attendant Tina Brock (the one who was drenched) emailed us with this comment– we have not verified its authenticity, but assume it is legit:

Dear Chris – I personally would like to thank you for writing your report – I would like the media to know that I only asked for an apology and my medical bills to be covered – after 2 years – no one did so – They wanted to shove it under the rug – Other reports mention that I sued due to lack of sex with my husband – these people are very sick who twist things around – you did not do so and I appreciate you as a wonderful human – The media can be very cruel – My insurance company says that workers comp should pay my medical bills – workers comp refuses to pay – I have had to pay all of my medical bills out of pocket for almost 3 years – The real reason for my personal lawsuit was due to no apology and not covering my medical bills – I want to save and fight for others who get abused by the system – People blog such horrible things – These people have no clue what we are going through and have no respect for other humans – I strongly believe in Karma – Thank you for telling the real story without trying to hurt the ones that hurt most – I admire and appreciate you – Tina Brock.

3> Special treatment for Stars: Star Alliance adds fast lanes

4> What’s notably missing? Airlines with best economy class food

5> Why do we keep going back for more? More frustration with frequent flyer miles

6> Now that’s a long flight: Boston to Hong Kong now 16 hours nonstop

7> Can’t beat this bonus- won’t last: United’s 50,000-mile bonus is back

8> We all love more room, right? Roomier widebodies on domestic flights? We hope so

9> Nice new additions New routes: Aer Lingus, SWISS, Air France-KLM, Air China, Turkish

10> Two new Hyatts plus more: 5 shiny new hotels in Washington, DC

11> Hotel size suite on a plane: The most outrageous luxury suites in the sky

12> American gets a big new plane: A big news day for American Airlines

Our favorite reader comment this week:

Note the double arm rests between seats in Cathay’s premium economy (Cathay Pacific)

From reader C.C. regarding Cathay Pacific’s premium economy section: “Did you notice the nice double armrests in premium economy? Delta PLEASE give us those on the long hauls!!!”

Juicy nuggets of news from other sources that we missed on TravelSkills this week:

These airports make arriving a pleasure

Air Canada adds PreCheck

Hawaii’s Island Air sputtering

Profile: How does TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis like to travel?

New Godzilla themed rooms in Tokyo

SF taxi driver video: What it’s like to compete with Uber

United sued for not disclosing wi-fi limitations

New York Times special business travel section

–Chris McGinnis

6 must-see spring travel flash sales

March 10, 2015

How will Hawaii be affected by the drastic drop in foreign currencies? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Now that we are approaching the slower shoulder season, which runs from roughly Easter to Memorial Day, I’m starting to see some nice last minute deals pop up– quite good bargains for those flexy enough to travel in April or May.

Take a look and please note that these rates are subject to rapid change in price and availability:

Hawaii. The plunge in the value of world currencies compared to the US dollar has Hawaii nervous that it will get fewer visitors from abroad, and that its American base might be more interested in a flight to Europe instead of down to the islands. So fares are dropping for spring trips. For example, Hawaiian Air has nonstops between San Jose and Honolulu for as little as $358 round trip. Fly from Oakland or San Jose to Maui for just $388. To me, any West Coast-Hawaii roundtrip fare for less than $400 is a good deal. Hawaiian Air Deals Alaska Airlines is offering similar deals from San Jose or Oakland to Hawaii. Plus it has Los Angeles to Anchorage for just $320 round trip. Alaska Airlines deals

Emirates amazing 2-4-1 deal for economy class seats like these on a new A380 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Dirt cheap to Dubai: Book two round-trip tickets to Dubai on Emirates for just $1,299 in economy (all in). This means just $650 per person, roundtrip from the US to Dubai. Yes, you read that right, only $650 round trip from any of Emirates nine US gateways: New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Washington DC (IAD), Houston (IAH), Seattle (SEA), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO) and Dallas Ft. Worth (DFW) to Dubai (DXB). Travel must take place between March 24 and December 10, 2015. And you must book the trip by midnight March 12 PDT. I’ve never seen fares that low from the US to Dubai. Must have something to do with this! Emirates 2-4-1 special

The SWISS flower power A340 appeared in San Francisco in 2010. I miss it! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Europe! The euro continues to plunge against the US dollar, hitting a new low today of $1.07. Some observers think that we could see parity by this spring or summer (1 dollar = 1 euro), down from about $1.40 per euro last May. This means that Americans will find Europe a relative bargain bonanza when it comes to hotels, meals, local transport, gifts, etc. While airfare has remained stubbornly high, I’m now seeing some cracks, such as a flash sale (book by March 11) from SWISS with April/May round trips as low at $789 between Boston and Switzerland or Germany. New York and Budapest just $757.Roundtrips to Istanbul from San Francisco or Los Angeles are in the $1,100 range. SWISS sale fares.

Delta ekes out some good SkyMiles news

Virgin America & JetBlue launched a two day sale (book by March 11) with fares as low as $128 round trip. Some nice examples from JetBlue: Roundtrip New York to Charleston to watch the flowers bloom for just $128. Long Beach to Oakland or Las Vegas roundtrips for just $99. Seattle or San Diego-Boston for just $188 roundtrip is dirt cheap for a transcon. JetBlue sale site. Virgin America’s sale is good through March 12 for travel April 7-June 10– with blackout dates and only good on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Some examples: Dallas-Washington DC is a super low at just $108 round trip. SFO-LAX roundtrips at $140; SFO-Vegas, Seattle & San Diego roundtrips $189. SFO-Palm Springs $199 roundtrip. Virgin America deals.

Alaska Airlines today announced a new nonstop between Seattle and New York JFK with fares as low as $298 round trip PLUS double miles if you purchase your ticket by March 16 and complete your trip by Nov. 18, 2015. Alaska Air to JFK

Why you should change the credit cards you carry

The view over the Venetian from my room at the Palazzo in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Las Vegas: Now here’s an interesting deal for folks who have a lot of IHG Rewards points. For today only, you can book the nice Venetian or the The Palazzo, in Las Vegas just 25,000 IHG Rewards Club points. That’s a big 50% discount on points required AND the deal is good for stays all the way through December 28. Must book today or tomorrow (March 11) by noon.

Please note that these rates are subject to rapid change in price and availability:

–Chris McGinnis

In Case You Missed it…

>Which cities worldwide have the best (and worst) quality of life?

>United renovates airport clubs, boosts food quality.

>Virgin Atlantic will boost San Francisco schedule with a 787.

>Hilton finally jumps on the free Wi-Fi

Did you missed TravelSkills Weekend editions? No probs! Here they are:

Don’t buy Gogo onboard + Virgin to Hawaii? + Clever Delta ad + LaGuardia slots

$64,000 roundtrip + Bevy of new flights + Southwest bag fee + Lufthansa update + Kimpton nightcap

World’s 10 highest (and lowest) quality cities
How to enjoy dining alone
+++
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4 ways foodie culture impacts our trips

October 17, 2014

This hamburger served on a Delta ATL-SFO flight was really good! What's the best Delta meal you've ever had? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This hamburger served for lunch in first class on a Delta ATL-SFO flight was really good! What’s the best Delta meal you’ve ever had? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The newly fervent foodie culture has truly defined the last decade, primarily fueled by a big increase in coverage across all media. So it was inevitable that airlines would soon come around to using food experiences as a differentiator.

Following that trend, airlines have jumped on board in an effort to provide a culinary offering that at least attempts to match what travelers enjoy at home. Here are a few of the most recent rollouts of interest to any traveler interested in enhanced culinary experience. Hungry? Then read on.

Pop-ups at 35,000 feet

The popup concept has changed the way we eat by allowing chefs the creative license of a limited run in a temporary space.

There’s nothing more limited than a flight from point A to point B, and SWISS has laid claim to be one of the first airline pop-ups. The airline has hired Michelin-starred Swiss Chef Andreas Caminada, of Schauenstein Schloss, to create a meal for passengers traveling in SWISS first, business and even economy on November 21 from Zurich to New York.

One of Chef Caminada's creations (Photo: SWISS)

One of Chef Caminada’s creations ready for the oven (Photo: SWISS)

The Chef will bring his own crew from his restaurant to cook in the pop-up galley. This means that the kitchen staff will personally serve the one-off creation to the flight’s passengers. Providing this personalized culinary experience can also build demand for a specific routing – for example, a Chef could be brought in each week on one route to serve a temporary pop-up meal to travelers, creating a brand-new route differentiator for foodie-focused airlines.

Would you alter your travel plans to get a popup meal onboard a flight? Leave your comments below!

Delta’s farm-to-tray movement

If there’s one airline that is pursuing a pure path straight into the heart of foodie heaven, it’s Delta. Earlier this year Delta enlisted top Atlanta chef Linton Hopkins (Restaurant Eugene, Holeman & Finch) to deliver on a “farm-to-tray” ecosystem, where each ingredient is sourced in the vicinity of the Atlanta airport from small purveyors.

The idea here is that airline food must also adhere to local, small-batch principles in order to support the surrounding vendors and farms. For flights originating outside of the Atlanta hub, chefs are encouraged to consider the local environment when designing menus.

For the fall, the first class menu on flights from Atlanta to Paris, London-Heathrow, Amsterdam and Frankfurt includes African squash soup, Sunburst Trout Farms smoked trout, and Gulf shrimp with heirloom white grits, among others. Certain flights will feature meals created by Chef Hopkins, while other routes headed south will come from Miami Chef Michelle Bernstein. On domestic flights in first class the fare is not as high falutin’, but still satisfying… like the burger pictured above.

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had on Delta? Please let us know in the comments below.

Order your meal to carry onboard in one of these "hampers" from Heathrow (Photo: Gordon Ramsay)

Order your meal to carry onboard in one of these insulated “hampers” from Heathrow (Photo: Gordon Ramsay)

Or…a picnic, perhaps?

London’s Heathrow airport is experimenting with a way to boost business in-terminal by providing passengers an easy way to grab a meal to eat on-board. The initiative provides passengers with a veddy-British-sounding “bespoke hamper,” a non-disposable cooler bag containing a variety of meal items, which can be ordered from all 188 food vendors at the airport.

49 brands are participating in this foodie-forward service, meaning that transiting passengers now grab a wide selection of on-the-go food options. By providing a means to deliver a culinary experience on-board, the airport is slicing business away from on-board retailing and making food taste better.

To promote the new service, Heathrow has built a “pop-up park” in the brand new Terminal 2 (home to Star Alliance carriers) for travelers to sample the meals. So stop by and listen for the sound of birds and a enjoy a full-on faux park experience. 🙂

Bringing groceries home

In the “now-that’s-a-good-idea” department, some companies are now targeting homecoming travelers with empty fridges. Passengers arriving into Finland’s Helsinki airport can now pre-order groceries online that they pick up at the airport and to take home upon arrival. This ensures that a traveler is able to avoid the dreaded “empty fridge hunger” syndrome that plagues many business travelers, especially singles with no one home to buy the groceries.

Would you like to pick up groceries at the airport? Please leave your comments below!

–Nick Vivion

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New aircraft coming on key global routes: LAX, Boston, SFO, Chicago, Houston

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Routes: LAX, SFO, Seattle, San Diego, Boston, New York, Atlanta + more

Routes: San Francisco, Portland, Atlanta, Houston, Washington D.C. + more

Routes: Sydney, Tokyo, Zurich, Addis Ababa

SWISS schedules brand new Boeing 777s (photos)

Trip Report: A heaping helping of SWISS inflight food

Trip Report: The SWISS “Roche coach” to Zurich

Factory flight + Drenched flight attendant talks + Star Alliance fast lanes + Best coach food + Frequent flyers fed up + more

6 must-see spring travel flash sales

Don’t buy Gogo onboard + Virgin to Hawaii? + Clever Delta ad + LaGuardia slots

$64,000 roundtrip + Bevy of new flights + Southwest bag fee + Lufthansa update + Kimpton nightcap

World’s 10 highest (and lowest) quality cities

How to enjoy dining alone

>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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4 ways foodie culture impacts our trips

Please join the 80,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you.

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you!

>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

Like what you just read? Then say so! Scroll back up to the top and LIKE the post on Facebook, post it on Linked In and/or tweet it!

Please join the 85,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

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