After a light meal in anticipation of the flight, we head for the boarding gate.

Ground experience

The boarding gates at Zurich Airport’s Pier E are very easy to access, with the rectangular design making them easy to find. From the Swiss Senator lounge, our gate is reached in less than 5 minutes, and we arrive in the middle of boarding.

Boarding

Priority boarding is perfectly respected, with the use of a queue available at all times during boarding. After scanning our boarding passes, we are directed to the unfortunately blind jetbridge.

Cabin and reception

The welcome is rather warm and we are sent to our respective seats.

On Swiss, the choice of seat is not always free in Business Class. The so-called throne seats are sold by the airline (even to status passengers) for 89€ per leg. This may seem incongruous, but the level of privacy offered by these seats is such that this amount is totally justified.

Comparatively, here are the seat duos offered at no extra charge:

That’s how Bertrand and I chose a throne, me in 6A and Bertrand in 10A on this A330.

The cabin is starting to show its age, even if the cabin harmony remains very elegant.

The seat is not very wide, but it will be enough for a day flight.

When we arrived in the cabin, the pillow and the blanket were already laid out , as well as a seat protector (it is so thin that I don’t dare call it a mattress topper).

The toiletry kit is distributed by the crew. It has everything one could possibly need, even if it is itself low quality.

During boarding, welcome drinks are distributed (orange juice, water or champagne), but my flight attendant tells me that I can order whatever I want.

We always say that it is during the first minutes of the flight that we feel how it is going to happen: I confirm this adage! Hot oshiboris are distributed:

Before takeoff,  the menus are distributed:

The toilets remained clean throughout the flight, but did not betray the age of the aircraft:

We push back with a slight delay on the planned schedule:

Service and catering

This flight from Zurich to Dubai is a daytime flight, so it is perfect to test the quality of the service.

The service begins shortly after takeoff:

A first pass of aperitif drinks is made, aperitif served with hot nuts:

The starter is served, was excellent, and the presentation perfect:

The chicken, which I chose, was very tasty…

And excellently cooked:

The cheese is served with bread to please the French palate, and the presentation is perfect (no tray):

The dessert is caloric but excellent:

And of course, espresso is offered naturally:

Arrival and disembarkation

The rest of the flight takes place in total calm, with a magnificent view.

Meanwhile, the sparkling water + espresso duos  continued to flow:

We arrived in Dubai on time.

Just before landing, the crew provided us with Fast Track cards allowing us to use the priority lanes at immigration at DXB, always useful during a late arrival like this.

The immigration will be passed quickly for me thanks to the e-gates, and we go out quickly after buying some champagne.

Bottom line

A first experience in long-haul Business Class on Swiss:

• A more than perfect crew, totally attentive to the passengers and with an equal warmth for all,
• A high quality catering, with simple products but a very qualitative service protocol,
• A full flat bed rather comfortable for lounging
• A very sweet fare

We’ll return!

• Paris-Zurich : Swiss Business)
• Zurich-Dubai : Swiss Business (it’s here)
• Dubai-Zurich : Swiss Business
• Zurich-Paris : Swiss Business (not interesting and too tired…no review)