Swiss Zurich-Singapore Review
Paul‘s Flight Report
Flight: LX176
ZRH - SIN / Airbus A340-300
Flight Time: 11 hours 50 minutes
Business Class
General Impression: 
Before the Flight :
Check-in Process: N/A, in transit
Security Control :
Lounge:
Information: 
Boarding @ Gate:
Staff @ these points:
Boarding in Cabin:
Welcome Drinks:
Punctuality: 20 min delay
20 min delay
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: in Transit
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= 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:
We had an overnight / transit stop in Zurich on this trip before this flight and went back home to sleep. So no check-in needed.
When we arrived at the airport the queue at the security check point was massive for both economy and business.
What I don't understand is, that only 1 lane for crew, first and business class was open and 5 for economy.
The priority queue moved so slowly as crews and PRM's always squeezed in first. Waiting time with almost 15 minutes is super long for Zurich and I haven't seen that in ages. The Airport Guide
who was present to manage the queues was useless and completely unable to cope.
Queue at emigration was short and luckily Zurich has the automated self service counters open. So no queue at all if you used these counters.
We went for the Business and Senator Lounge in Terminal E. Only one side (the Senator side) was open.
The lounge was heavily overcrowded. Some people even started yelling and arguing with each other about sitting space.
Swiss has currently 7 longhaul flights within 15 minutes which use this lounge and there are other star alliance members as well. In current times where you ask to keep distance to other
fellow travelers this shouldn't happen. There is more than enough space in this lounge if they would open up the other side.
The selection of food and drinks is back to normal. Hot lunch was offered as well as different salads and dessert.
The food was fresh and nice.
Also the bar and drink selection is almost back to normal. The Whiskey bar is still closed on the Senator side but otherwise all items available.
A big asset of the Swiss lounges in Terminal E are the balconies which were open. You can go outside, grasp some fresh air and do some plane spotting.
Our gate was very close to the lounge.
Before boarding a very sorrow document check was carried out. You had to reshow all the necessary documents before boarding.
Boarding started around 10 minutes after the indicated time and priority boarding was conducted as per procedures. The plane wasn't full in the front and in Economy around 1/3 of the seats
were occupied.
Gate agents were present and did their jobs. No smiles or interactions.
At the aircraft door we were greeted by the Maitre de Cabine who also checked all boarding passes.
The seats were already equipped with a small but fluffy pillow and a blanket. The headphones were ready and a bottle of water and the amenity kit were ready on the armrest.
The crew was super present and friendly whilst boarding.
Orange juice and flowder were offered as welcome drinks.
Once everyone was on the menu cards were distributed.
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.
We choose two seats in the middle of the aircraft so each of us had direct aisle access.
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 super cramped and I was not able to lay down on my back and
keep my arms on the side.
In addition my seat was completely broken and all cushions were deflated. The responsible crew member offered me some extra blankets and a mattress from first class.
After take off the cabin crew started with the service.
First, they came along to take the orders for the first course as well as the main course.
Then an aperitif was served accompanied by some nuts.
The tray table was covered with a tablecloth and shortly lunch/dinner was served.
The crew distributed a fullsize tray with the first course, cheese and some bread and butter. They offered different drinks and we decided to taste some red wine. Then the main course was
served followed by the dessert with coffee and digestifs. With every course the crew offered actively additional drinks.
Unfortunately after the first course there was a massive break. The hot meal was only served after 2 hours and 15 minutes.
They had a big issue with the catering and you could feel and see that they completely came out of the service rhythm.
The Cabin Crew on this flight was okay. Some of the crew members were super friendly and chatted with the passengers and others had an emotion free botox face.
Teamwork and communication wasn't their main competence as they did completely different things on each side of the aisle.
Whilst on the left we were served the main course, the right aisle got the meal 30 minutes later. 
Bathrooms were checked throughout the flight and always refilled.
The amenity kit is OK and offers the regular. content. (socks, toothbrush, earplugs, eye mask and some lipbalm and cream). As Swiss always has an Idea on how to reuse their amenity kits, we weren't able to figure out for what this kit should/could be reused.
The inflight entertainment is good and the screens are okay with a good size and resolution for business class. The screens are touch screens and you can also yoise your handheld devices to navigate. The system reacts very fast and is super reliable.
The aircraft would have been equipped with wifi. We tried several times to connect us but no chance at all.
In between the two services, the crew passed through the cabin with either drinks or asked the awake passengers if they would like something to drink.
Around 1,5 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 delicious and all items super fresh. I loooove the Swiss Birchermüesli., this is always a highlight on either their morning flights Europe Business class or on longhaul.
Same problem as for dinner. No coordination about the service. I had my breakfast on my side of the aisle 20 minutes before the other side.
If you travel just by yourself that is no problem but if you travel as a couple it isn't nice as you can't eat together.
As we were in transit in Singapore, no info about baggage delivery.
All in all an okay flight with lots and lots of goodwill.
The lounge was a disaster and had more of a cantine feeling than an Airport lounge. In addition with the current situation and so overcrowded we did not feel safe.
Service procedures on board... Oh well, the crew is still struggling with the sort of semi new catering and service procedures.
They run out of first courses in the midst of the service because the info from the caterer was wrong and they are not allowed to check and control the items like they did in the old days.
But... Also the crew had no idea what they did. No coordination at all and no team work. The left aisle was done way before the right aisle. Food is served with around 25 minutes difference.
Dear Swiss, we know that you could do much better. We loved the old classic business class service so why changing something good and working?
Get back to the full old service and reinstate the canceled flight attendant position if you would like to offer some customer service.
Every cut in crew and service will be noticed by your customers. I know your marketing guys always sell it as it was a wish from the customers that less service is offered but this is not
true. Believe me, I have never asked for less service. 
The cabin crew could have been more active and friendly. More interaction with the customers but somehow I do understand their frustration about all the cut backs. But this frustration should not be let out to or being recognized by the passengers.
We are looking forward to our return flight to see if that flight is better or if Swiss has really gone two steps down with their business class product.
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