Swiss Zurich - JNB Review
Flight Time: 10 hours 5 minutes
Business Class
General Impression: 
Before the Flight :
Check-in Process:
Security Control :
Lounge:
Information:
Boarding @ Gate:
Staff @ these points:
Boarding in Cabin:
Welcome Drinks:
Punctuality: , 2min early
, 2min early
During the Flight :
Food presentation:
Food quality:
Drinks:
Service Procedure:
Amenity Kit:
Entertainment System:
Seat Quality:
Legroom:
Lavatories:
Cleanliness:
General Atmosphere:
Announcement Pilots:
Announcement Cabin:
Cabin Crew: 
After the Flight :
De-Boarding:
Baggage Delivery:
—-
= bad, a lot of work needs to be done
= poor, you will be busy with corrections
= good & normal, nothing special
= high level, but the icing on the cake is missing
= topnotch, leave me here!
= Half a Point/sheep
—-
On the Ground:
Thanks to our current senator status we were allowed to check in at the first class counters.
There was no queue at all and the agent was super friendly and efficient.
The Security Check once again was simply awesome. No queues at all and many lanes open. You could basically just walk through.
Staff was very friendly and efficient.
We went to the Business/Senator Lounge prior to departure.
Unfortunately only the lounge in terminal A is open in the evening. The lounge in Terminal E is closing at 14:00 and all other lounges at 17:00.
This is very strange as after 20:00 only Longhaul flights mostly from Terminal E are departing.
The Lounge wasn't full at this time of the day.
The selection of Food (salads, different hot meals, desserts) was great and also all sorts of Drinks were available.
Our flight at first was rescheduled 10 minutes earlier but at the end we departed at the indicated time. Boarding started around 10 minutes after the indicated time.
Boarding announcements were made according procedure and boarding was conducted nicely by respective groups.
Announcements at the gate were super clear and the staff was friendly, helpful and attentive.
At the aircraft door we were greeted by the senior cabin crew member (Maitre de Cabine).
He was super friendly and attentive and spread some happiness whilst boarding.
The other crew members were in the cabin and helped with the boarding process. The crew was super present and friendly whilst boarding.
The seats were already equipped with headphones, amenity kits, disinfectant towels and a bottle of water.
The crew came by with the welcome drinks (champagne or Flauder) and distributed the menu cards for dinner and breakfast.
They were also able to take the order prior to departure.
Inflight:
The Swiss business class is okay but it isn't the newest product anymore. The seats are rather cramped and tight compared to other carriers. Our aircraft had 47 seats in business class. Each
row is equipped with 5 seats. Either in a 1-2-2 or 2-2-1 abrest.
Luckily we were able to get 2 sears in the little business section in front of the Galley.
There are only 9 seats and it is the most quiet zone in Business Class.
If you get the 2 seats by the window, the person sitting by the window has no direct aisle access and every time you need to go to the bathroom you either have to climb over the person next
to you or ask them to stand up.
If you are traveling with friends and family that is okay. If you are sitting next to a stranger this is a complete no go nowadays.
The seats are fully lie flat but you are almost sleeping on the floor. They go down very low. As said the space by the shoulders is very limited. I was not able to lay down on my back and
keep my arms on the side.
Never the less I was able to get some rest.
After take off the cabin crew started with the service.
As departure is scheduled at 22:40PM there is no real aperitif which is great as most people simply want to sleep.
The tray table was covered with a tablecloth and drinks were offered right away from the trolley.
Shortly after dinner was served.
The crew distributed a fullsize tray containing all items (first course, main course, cheese and some bread and butter) except for the dessert which was distributed separately with coffee
/tea. With every passing in the cabin the crew offered actively additional drinks.
This service was much more efficient than on the last two flights and it seems that the crew has adapted to the new service procedure.
The Cabin Crew itself was great on this fligh. All crew members were super friendly and chatted with the passengers. You could clearly see that they worked as a crew hand in hand.
Bathrooms were checked throughout the flight and always refilled. They were always super clean.
The amenity kit is OK and offers the regular content. (socks, toothbrush, earplugs, eye mask and some lipbalm and cream). Todays amenity kit can be reused as... Honestly I don't know for what this little bag could be used.
The inflight entertainment is good and the screens worked fine. They have a good size and resolution for business class. The screens are touch screens but you can also choose the handheld devices to navigate.
The aircraft would have been equipped with wifi. As it was a complete night flight we haven't tried to connect.
Around 2 hours prior landing a second service, the breakfast was served.
The menu card was distributed prior to take off and you could tick all the items you wanted for breakfast (see pictures). The card was recollected by the crew.
They then served a full size tray containing your chosen items.
Breakfast was good and all items were fresh.
Baggage delivery in Johannesburg worked fantastic.
First bags were on the belt around 15 minutes after arrival.
First class and Hon bags were delivered first, followed by Priority bags.
All in all finally a very good flight on Swiss Longhaul again.
The lounge was good. The seat was good and worked fine as well as the Inflight entertainment system.
The cabin crew was great and they interacted with the guests. In addition they seem to have adapted to the new service.
Notes:
- Paul the Sheep does not get any benefits from the Hotels/Airlines etc.
- Paul will always pay for the services in order to be able to rate freely and truly about the experiences.
-If you are interested in more details, please send me a private message and I will be happy to share