Flight Report : LX 316 Zurich - London Heathrow

16 December 2023 The world of aviation fare pricing turns up some anomalies every now and then. No, this is not an error fare, but during my research for Christmas in London from Hong Kong, I noticed Swiss had some interesting pricing combinations. First, the outbound was a steal at only HKD $1554 with a transit in Zurich, which is a very manageable small airport and worlds better than Frankfurt. I still fondly remember the horrors of rushing from one end of Frankfurt's airport to the other to catch my connection. With a checked bag, it was only another HKD $440 more. The return flight was more interesting. The cheapest price was around HKD $5000 with a 2-stop itinerary, which wasn't very appetizing. Focusing on 1-stop journeys, Business came in at $14,222, which was cheaper than Premium Economy and under $4000 more expensive than Economy. While Swiss does offer lie-flat beds, I've read some less than stellar reviews about them. At this price, perhaps it is worth a try for such a long transcontinental flight. Decision made. Economy outbound and Business inbound on Swiss. The London connection times are also reasonable with a fairly short flight. A main reason why Lufthansa and Swiss came on my radar is because they still fly the A340 out of Hong Kong, a rare bird these days and a favourite since the window seat is only 1 away from the aisle. You can check out the pricing decision screenshots on the flight report from Hong Kong to Zurich, my previous flight . After arriving from Hong Kong just after 6am, it didn't take long to walk through a fairly empty terminal, clear security, and find my next gate, which is also in the E pier. What a seamless transfer compared to Frankfurt! Not much was open at this early hour other than a few duty-free shops. I really like Zurich's airport design. It's simple but elegant with concrete industrial walls but warm wood seats contrasted nicely to the dark chairs. A crowd emerged around my gate and this would be a good sneak preview of what's in store. Zurich has an interesting unique processing with small mobile passport check counters set up before entering the air bridge to review your travel document and boarding pass. I had figured this out on my previous visit to Switzerland earlier in 2023 so I knew exactly what to do. The A321neo looked new and had noticeably bigger overhead compartments where even a standard hand carry can stand on its side. It's another full flight and I settled into my window gazing at the fog. With a 7:10am departure, we were still loading bags and cargo past that time and saw the neighbouring plane push back at 7:24am. The cockpit announcement noted we need to de-ice, and had to wait another 20 minutes for that, eventually pushing back at 7:52am. Of course, they didn't give us advance notice of this delay or push back boarding. Otherwise, I would've headed land-side to buy some chocolates before continuing to London. With time on my hands, I browsed through the food menu. On these short European flights, you need to pay for it, but chocolates are free though. I wasn't hungry as I already had breakfast on my previous flight before landing. Prices were not cheap, although it's hard to find something cheap in this country anyway. While storage space has improved, the lavatory got smaller. I could barely wash my hands in that sink without hitting the metal surfaces! Once we left the gate, we taxied over to an open area where a few de-icing trucks were already working. We left the de-icing bay at 8:14am and took off 6 minutes later as the sun started to rise. We rose above the cloud level quickly and it was clear blue sky above. This short flight was uneventful but we encountered some congestion near London even at this hour and did a short hold. It was cloudy down below so I couldn't see much of the city even though we flew right across it from the east, which was why I picked a right window seat. The clouds were actually quite low and we were only able to pierce them just seconds before touchdown at 8:42am, gaining an hour from Zurich. Welcome to the British winter. While there was traffic in the air, Terminal 2 was quiet and it was an easy walk to immigration, where there was no line for the automated gates, and I was out in the baggage hall at 9:08am. Another solid flight on Swiss with good staff although a slightly delayed arrival on this sector. My big case made it through the connection and I wouldn't hesitate to try them again for another reliable journey.