Flight Report : LX 138 Zurich - Hong Kong

31 December 2023

This is the 2nd leg of my journey from London to Hong Kong via Zurich.
After 2 weeks in the UK, it was time to head home. Earlier, I had scored an interesting combination with Swiss, flying into Europe in Economy but returning back to Asia in Business. I had explained on my inbound trip report that Business was actually cheaper than Premium Economy, so it made sense to snatch up this offer.
Check-in online was a bit rickety on Swiss' website 23 hours before departure. It asked for a visa number and expiry even though my passport dosen't require one to enter Hong Kong. Nevertheless, after putting in some information, it let me through.
I was delighted to see a few throne seats available on the seat map. I had previously booked a window at the back of the J cabin. Swiss' configuration is quite odd as not all Business seats have direct aisle access. They have buddy seats and the rows in front and behind it become singles although some are closer to the window while others are right along the aisle. The reviews have criticized these aisle-facing seats as being a less private and not desirable. The best seats in the house are referred to as "throne seats", which are equidistant from both the window and the aisle and feel a lot more private. While it is free to select a seat with my ticket, the throne seats command an extra charge if pre-selected before check-in, so I was delighted to score one free when online check-in opened.
Confusing, isn't it?

Having landed at 10pm from London after a 2 hour delay, I only had under 40 minutes to connect to this flight heading to Hong Kong. Luckily, Zurich is a small airport and I didn't need to re-clear security so I surprisingly made it to the next gate quickly. With long lines even for the priority queue and they didn't start boarding yet, I saw a sign for the Business lounge upstairs and went for it. Unfortunately, the lounge closes at 10pm. I guess we'll be among the last international flights to leave for the night.

The airport was closing up with many shops already done for the day.

As I came back downstairs a bit disappointed, boarding has started. Swiss has small passport check counters set up for a document check before boarding, which are located near the boarding area but not the customer service desk at the gate. Not sure whether I needed to do this pre-boarding check, I went for it but was told to go line up for boarding directly. I guess those mobile counters I went to were for the Singapore flight next door?

The premium boarding line wasn't too long and the gate agent checked and correctly refused non-priority customers in front of me and I soon reached my throne seat at the back Business cabin. A pillow, blanket, amenity kit, and small bottle of water were already placed at every seat.

Being a novice flyer in Swiss Business Class, I looked around to check out the buttons and how to operate the seat. A friendly cabin crew member came with champagne and an eldeweiss sparking juice, and helped me figure out how to open my tray table. There doesn't seem to be an obvious place to stash my backpack because the foot space in front of me was slanted but there was plenty of overhead space. So far, I have quite a good impression of the service quality. Crew members were smart and pro-active when they sense trouble.

There was also a hanger with my seat number in case I want to give them my coat to put away.

While London had an unusually warm Christmas, Zurich felt much colder, or more normal.

Then, menu cards were distributed including a breakfast order sheet for us to fill out and submit before departure. Smartly, a pen was included with each order sheet and we could keep the pen. A supplementary Christmas menu card arrived afterwards to replace the chicken on the main menu.

I guess the traditional Christmas dinner in Switzerland won't involve a Turkey like what I'm used to getting in North America.

We pushed back at 10:47pm for an on-time departure. The captain announced a short flight of only 11 hours and we took off into the sky at 11pm. There were more fireworks popping around the city as we climbed. A lot of people seem excited to celebrate New Year's early!

The crew approached each of us to take our dinner order in advance, addressing me by name. I ordered the Christmas menu, but before the trays came out, there was a drinks round and I got an apple juice in a nice glass.

The large appetizer platter tasted good although the corn-fed chicken main tasted a bit too sweet. It seems brussel sprouts are in season as I saw quite a lot of them on sale in Britain.
After the main, a crew came by asking whether I would like dessert and a drink. She placed my tea order in her tablet and soon, another crew member came out of the galley with my piping hot drink. Fancy Lindt chocolates and a water bottle round came after.
Overall, it was a good meal and I could see the crew working together effectively.

We didn't have a countdown on board but I enjoyed dinner somewhere over Turkey as we ticked into 2024.

As I settled after dinner and returned from a lavatory break, a smart crew member noticed I was putting my shoulder belt on. She proactively approached me and suggested I could remove the shoulder belt, which would turn it back into a regular seat belt, a much more comfortable configuration. It's been quite a number of years since I've worn a shoulder belt - back in the reverse herringbone Business Class days on Cathay Pacific.
The lavatory was clean and better stocked than my inbound Economy experience 2 weeks earlier. They have wet wipes and an assortment of bottles, which I didn't use though.

This Business Class seat is reasonably comfortable. However, it felt a bit tight. After reclining to a full lie-flat position, my feet snugged into the narrow footwell. There wasn't enough space to lay both my arms flat with my back because there are 2 seats behind me whose footwells occupy the space to my left and right, so it was more comfortable to sleep sideways. I'm not a good sleeper even in the better Cathay Business Class seat but I managed to doze off for a number of hours until the sun had already arisen and we were over Bangladesh.
A minor improvement point would be to add a thin mattress pad on the seat so it feels a little bit more like a bed.
Our flight path also veered more south than the inbound, heading south of the Himalayas over India. On my flight to Europe earlier, it had flown across China, into the Central Asian ex-Soviet states, then veering south to the Caucauses to avoid Russia.

2.5 hours before landing, breakfast was served, with staff taking out each tray one by one and no carts were used. Having filled out the menu card earlier, I was surprised a very light meal arrived. I thought I had ordered the English breakfast?
Going back to the menu card photo I took earlier in the flight, I soon realized their English breakfast is not the full meal I'd get from a typical English breakfast, but just a celeriac fian with truffled mushroom ragout and edamame beans. It tasted good although salty like the dinner, but perhaps I don't need to over-eat on such a long flight without proper exercise, so I didn't ask the crew to put together something else.
In the end, it was my fault, not theirs. I had ordered too little!

I quite liked the tray table design. It comes out from my right and flips open into a huge space. With the throne seat, the right panel can serve as a mouse pad and my large laptop has plenty of space to lay out.

We had a heck of a tail wind although it didn't feel bumpy at all.

While I've been impressed by Swiss' service quality up front so far, the IFE is the biggest let-down with so few selections for both TV shows and movies.

We entered southwestern China by now and soon the flight would be over. Ideally, I should have flown Business on the westbound flight as it was a few hours longer, but I'm quite happy with this Business Class experience.
We flew over Macau and looped over the South China Sea to return for landing.

While the third runway is in use now, the various terminal facilities are still under construction. I suppose the timelines are not as tight as the post-pandemic recovery continues and the airport is not yet at capacity.

Our A340 parked at a quarter past five, as the sun begins to set against the winter sky.

Swiss' throne seat is quite good. While a little narrow, it turns into a good lie-flat bed and there is plenty of privacy thanks to the setback from the aisle but it also has a window. The crew were great. They're very professional and can sense help is needed before you need to ask. They have a good product overall although you really need to do your homework beforehand to book the right seat in the cabin since not all Business seats are equal. I wouldn't want to pay a fortune to end up being an unfortunate few passengers in a buddy seat and needing to jump over my neighbour for a bathroom break in the middle of the night.
[ Heathrow Terminal 2 Lounge Hopping | London Heathrow - Zurich (J) | Hong Kong - Zurich (Y) ]

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This is the 2nd leg of my journey from London to Hong Kong via Zurich. After 2 weeks in the UK, it was time to head home. Earlier, I had scored an interesting combination with Swiss, flying into Europe in Economy but returning back to Asia in Business. I had explained on my inbound trip report that Business was actually cheaper than Premium Economy, so it made sense to snatch up this offer. Check-in online was a bit rickety on Swiss' website 23 hours before departure. It asked for a visa number and expiry even though my passport dosen't require one to enter Hong Kong. Nevertheless, after putting in some information, it let me through. I was delighted to see a few throne seats available on the seat map. I had previously booked a window at the back of the J cabin. Swiss' configuration is quite odd as not all Business seats have direct aisle access. They have buddy seats and the rows in front and behind it become singles although some are closer to the window while others are right along the aisle. The reviews have criticized these aisle-facing seats as being a less private and not desirable. The best seats in the house are referred to as "throne seats", which are equidistant from both the window and the aisle and feel a lot more private. While it is free to select a seat with my ticket, the throne seats command an extra charge if pre-selected before check-in, so I was delighted to score one free when online check-in opened. Confusing, isn't it?
Having landed at 10pm from London after a 2 hour delay, I only had under 40 minutes to connect to this flight heading to Hong Kong. Luckily, Zurich is a small airport and I didn't need to re-clear security so I surprisingly made it to the next gate quickly. With long lines even for the priority queue and they didn't start boarding yet, I saw a sign for the Business lounge upstairs and went for it. Unfortunately, the lounge closes at 10pm. I guess we'll be among the last international flights to leave for the night. The airport was closing up with many shops already done for the day. As I came back downstairs a bit disappointed, boarding has started. Swiss has small passport check counters set up for a document check before boarding, which are located near the boarding area but not the customer service desk at the gate. Not sure whether I needed to do this pre-boarding check, I went for it but was told to go line up for boarding directly. I guess those mobile counters I went to were for the Singapore flight next door? The premium boarding line wasn't too long and the gate agent checked and correctly refused non-priority customers in front of me and I soon reached my throne seat at the back Business cabin. A pillow, blanket, amenity kit, and small bottle of water were already placed at every seat. Being a novice flyer in Swiss Business Class, I looked around to check out the buttons and how to operate the seat. A friendly cabin crew member came with champagne and an eldeweiss sparking juice, and helped me figure out how to open my tray table. There doesn't seem to be an obvious place to stash my backpack because the foot space in front of me was slanted but there was plenty of overhead space. So far, I have quite a good impression of the service quality. Crew members were smart and pro-active when they sense trouble. There was also a hanger with my seat number in case I want to give them my coat to put away. While London had an unusually warm Christmas, Zurich felt much colder, or more normal. Then, menu cards were distributed including a breakfast order sheet for us to fill out and submit before departure. Smartly, a pen was included with each order sheet and we could keep the pen. A supplementary Christmas menu card arrived afterwards to replace the chicken on the main menu. I guess the traditional Christmas dinner in Switzerland won't involve a Turkey like what I'm used to getting in North America. We pushed back at 10:47pm for an on-time departure. The captain announced a short flight of only 11 hours and we took off into the sky at 11pm. There were more fireworks popping around the city as we climbed. A lot of people seem excited to celebrate New Year's early! The crew approached each of us to take our dinner order in advance, addressing me by name. I ordered the Christmas menu, but before the trays came out, there was a drinks round and I got an apple juice in a nice glass. The large appetizer platter tasted good although the corn-fed chicken main tasted a bit too sweet. It seems brussel sprouts are in season as I saw quite a lot of them on sale in Britain. After the main, a crew came by asking whether I would like dessert and a drink. She placed my tea order in her tablet and soon, another crew member came out of the galley with my piping hot drink. Fancy Lindt chocolates and a water bottle round came after. Overall, it was a good meal and I could see the crew working together effectively. We didn't have a countdown on board but I enjoyed dinner somewhere over Turkey as we ticked into 2024. As I settled after dinner and returned from a lavatory break, a smart crew member noticed I was putting my shoulder belt on. She proactively approached me and suggested I could remove the shoulder belt, which would turn it back into a regular seat belt, a much more comfortable configuration. It's been quite a number of years since I've worn a shoulder belt - back in the reverse herringbone Business Class days on Cathay Pacific. The lavatory was clean and better stocked than my inbound Economy experience 2 weeks earlier. They have wet wipes and an assortment of bottles, which I didn't use though. This Business Class seat is reasonably comfortable. However, it felt a bit tight. After reclining to a full lie-flat position, my feet snugged into the narrow footwell. There wasn't enough space to lay both my arms flat with my back because there are 2 seats behind me whose footwells occupy the space to my left and right, so it was more comfortable to sleep sideways. I'm not a good sleeper even in the better Cathay Business Class seat but I managed to doze off for a number of hours until the sun had already arisen and we were over Bangladesh. A minor improvement point would be to add a thin mattress pad on the seat so it feels a little bit more like a bed. Our flight path also veered more south than the inbound, heading south of the Himalayas over India. On my flight to Europe earlier, it had flown across China, into the Central Asian ex-Soviet states, then veering south to the Caucauses to avoid Russia. 2.5 hours before landing, breakfast was served, with staff taking out each tray one by one and no carts were used. Having filled out the menu card earlier, I was surprised a very light meal arrived. I thought I had ordered the English breakfast? Going back to the menu card photo I took earlier in the flight, I soon realized their English breakfast is not the full meal I'd get from a typical English breakfast, but just a celeriac fian with truffled mushroom ragout and edamame beans. It tasted good although salty like the dinner, but perhaps I don't need to over-eat on such a long flight without proper exercise, so I didn't ask the crew to put together something else. In the end, it was my fault, not theirs. I had ordered too little! I quite liked the tray table design. It comes out from my right and flips open into a huge space. With the throne seat, the right panel can serve as a mouse pad and my large laptop has plenty of space to lay out. We had a heck of a tail wind although it didn't feel bumpy at all. While I've been impressed by Swiss' service quality up front so far, the IFE is the biggest let-down with so few selections for both TV shows and movies. We entered southwestern China by now and soon the flight would be over. Ideally, I should have flown Business on the westbound flight as it was a few hours longer, but I'm quite happy with this Business Class experience. We flew over Macau and looped over the South China Sea to return for landing. While the third runway is in use now, the various terminal facilities are still under construction. I suppose the timelines are not as tight as the post-pandemic recovery continues and the airport is not yet at capacity. Our A340 parked at a quarter past five, as the sun begins to set against the winter sky. Swiss' throne seat is quite good. While a little narrow, it turns into a good lie-flat bed and there is plenty of privacy thanks to the setback from the aisle but it also has a window. The crew were great. They're very professional and can sense help is needed before you need to ask. They have a good product overall although you really need to do your homework beforehand to book the right seat in the cabin since not all Business seats are equal. I wouldn't want to pay a fortune to end up being an unfortunate few passengers in a buddy seat and needing to jump over my neighbour for a bathroom break in the middle of the night. [ Heathrow Terminal 2 Lounge Hopping \| London Heathrow - Zurich (J) \| Hong Kong - Zurich (Y) ]