Swiss and Lufthansa Business Class – advice needed

Back to Forum
Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)

  • Anonymous
    Guest

    DJ_London
    Participant

    Has anyone here travelled Swiss and Lufthansa Long-Haul in Business Class.

    I have booked a non-flexible business class return from London to Hong Kong (outbound via Zurich on an A340-300 with Swiss and inbound via Frankfurt on a Boeing 747-400 with Lufthansa).

    I decided, out of curiosity, to check seatplans.com and a few airline review websites and was horrified to read such poor reviews on both airlines seating, food offering, poor cabin service and over-crowded lounges. So much so, I even went about trying to cancel my flight….

    Do any of you want to share your own experiences of travelling with Swiss and Lufthansa? Is there a particular seat one should pre-book or any other tips about seating, how to get the best service out of the cabin crew, decent food and service and where to find a seat in the lounge?


    OzTraveller
    Participant

    I’m surprised that you only read the reviews, looked at the seatplans, AFTER you booked. And a non-flexible ticket, too.

    Frankly, I think you can ask 10 travellers what they think about such-and such airline and you will 5 for it and 5 against it. Unless its some obscure African or Russian airline perhaps.

    I am about to travel LH long haul from Singapore to Frankfurt based on the fact I’ve always enjoyed my flights with them, the food, the wine, the general efficiency and safety.

    I leave it to others to give you their comments, which will come thick and fast. And I know who one of the first will be …


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    This topic has already been covered here:

    http://www.businesstraveller.com/discussion/topic/SWISS-v-LH-Longhaul-Advice-Please

    In summary, it’s a bit grim with a wedgie business class seat but the food is good.

    MUCH better if you can swing an upgrade to F, which is terrific especially on Swiss. If you get the new Swiss Business Class that would also be a result, though I don’t believe this is being introduced on the A340 yet.

    Take sleeping pills and amply gusseted underwear to avoid wedgie-action!

    http://media.photobucket.com/image/huge%20pants/GrannyPants54/HugeBlueGrannyPants.jpg


    Senator
    Participant

    Dear DarrenJ,

    VK is correct, we have discussed this on the other thread. Couple of points to add:

    LX A340-300s are in the processes of being updated with the same seat as the A330-300s. The new A330-300 busines is very good, and provides a good night’s sleep. The older seat on the A340-300 is very steep and hard I am afraid. I looked at the seatmap for ZRH-HGK on a couple of dates, and it looks like you are stuck with old config. It seems to be available on the SFO and BOS routes already on re-configured A340-300 but nothing on the longer Asien routes.

    I do find the LH seat on the B747-400 better. I recently flew on a LH A340-300 from CAI to FRA and slept the entire way (same seat).

    If I am not mistaken, the HKG-FRA on LH is a day flight so the fully-flat vs lie-flat is less of an issue.

    I would rank the seats in the following order from best to worst:
    LX A330-300 (soon to be across the fleet)
    LH B747-400 (same across fleet)
    LX A340-300 (old, soon to change to the A330-300 seat)
    LX A330-200 (soon to be retired from fleet)

    I would try to upgrade on the ZRH-HKG leg.


    SimonRowberry
    Participant

    Hi Darren,

    I started a thread a while ago on this subject. On the advice of posters I am flying LX to Shanghai in a few days time.

    A few comments:

    I’ve not found lounge capacity to be an issue at either Zurich or Frankfurt.

    The new Business Class product is apparently being rolled out at present across the LX A340 equipment, but it seems to be quite slow.

    Senator – I’m not sure if you can upgrade to F on LH if you have a non-flexible Business Class fare; I know that this isn’t possible with LX non-flex fares.

    Have a good trip – I’ll report back here on the LX product in due course.

    Simon


    SimonRowberry
    Participant

    Hi Darren,

    I started a thread a while ago on this subject. On the advice of posters I am flying LX to Shanghai in a few days time.

    A few comments:

    I’ve not found lounge capacity to be an issue at either Zurich or Frankfurt.

    The new Business Class product is apparently being rolled out at present across the LX A340 equipment, but it seems to be quite slow.

    Senator – I’m not sure if you can upgrade to F on LH if you have a non-flexible Business Class fare; I know that this isn’t possible with LX non-flex fares.

    Have a good trip – I’ll report back here on the LX product in due course.

    Simon


    ivornomates
    Participant

    I think LH biz class is truly awful. First the seat is just not good for sleeping and is on the hard side for sitting in for long periods.Secondly the seats do not go flat they are at very steep angle which actually makes it almost impossible to sleep. Thirdly they dont have any priority boarding for biz class and its a disgrace the way the herd everyone on.Fourth, the food is nothing special and often not very nice. Finally crews can be very cold and simply cant wait to clear up the meal and disappear


    ArturMalzyner
    Participant

    That is correct …Every time I am about to fly Swiss Business class transcontinental I get depressed beforehand ,just to imagine how unconfortable and sleepless my 10 to 12 hour journey is going to be!


    Senator
    Participant

    Simon,

    Thanks for the message. As a Miles & More member, I get two upgrade vouchers for each time I re-qualify for Senator. Furthermore, miles for upgrade is possible on all business class fares to First on LX and LH.

    From most markets, LX offers J, Z, D, C as fare classes in business (J and Z) being cheapest. Lufthansa offers Z, D, C and newly a “super-flex” J fare. If I am not mistaken, Star Alliance upgrades for other FF programmes (none M&M members) can only upgrade D and C with LX, and D, C, J with LH.

    For example, I recently flew ARN-ZRH-JFK for around €1500 and upgraded one-way to First using vouchers. As I had the pleasure flying on the new A330-300, I flew in business coming back as I don’t care so much on the return flight as I don’t have time to enjoy all of the First Class extras.

    When it comes to the overall LH experience, I would say that I have started to use other airlines more. From ARN to HAM, FRA, MUC, and DUS the F&B on LH in business is dreadful. On the long-haul, I agree the LH seat is not great. However, it is no better/worse compared to AF, KL, SK, OS, IB. If we look at European airlines only, I find the BA CW seat the most comfortable followed by the new LX seat. By the way, this is the same seat AY is installing. The one thing you always get from LH however, is very professional crew.

    If you are interested in nice F&B on long-haul flights, I suggest OS via Vienna. Whilst the seat (and Audio/Video) is not at par, the F&B is outstanding. I have used OS on trips to Delhi, and their fares can be mixed with LH and LX. The optimal is OS on day-flight with LX (A330-300) on the return.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    Hi Simon,

    Thinking of your experience on Swiss with the Chinese passenger, I thought this clip from Youtube may bring back a few memories!!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztrOt3OXym8&feature=related

    Hope you enjoyed Shanghai?
    Best wishes,
    Lugano.

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Be up-to-date
Magazine Subscription
To see our latest subscription offers for Business Traveller editions worldwide, click on the Subscribe & Save link below
Polls