filmwill

If given the opportunity to fly biz class transatlantic and your choices were:
-Swiss (A340-300)
-Lufthansa (A340-600 and/or 747-400)
-Virgin Atlantic (A340-600)

Which would you choose and why?

Have never traveled on the 1st two in C and have had mixed experiences with Virgin Atlantic.

simpsonc510

I flew ZRH to ORD in business class on Swiss. It had a lie flat bed, which I liked a lot. I've flown LH a number of times, but always in economy. Never tried Virgin Atlantic.
Carol

filmwill

thanks, Carol! do you happen to know if you flew on the "new" Swiss business class? I've heard a lot of hub-bub about the new product, but I'm pretty positive that's not installed on the routes from LAX yet (on their A340s.) How would you say your experience on Swiss ranks against other int'l biz class flights you've taken?

Melnq8

I flew Business Class from Zurich to LAX in April on a Swiss 340-300 and I thought it was awful.

Some comments from my trip report regarding this flight on Swiss:

"We had bulkhead seats in the center of a small Business Class cabin on an Airbus A340-300. Lack of storage near our feet was certainly no hardship, but we immediately missed those little cubbies you often find in Business Class; our seats were completely devoid of any storage areas.

We were quite comfortable when semi-reclined, but our seats were downright awful when fully reclined. There was no way to elevate our legs, so we slid right down the seat. It was impossible to sleep, but fortunately we didn’t need to as it was a daytime flight. We also found the entertainment system awkward. The screens were big and there was a good selection of programs, but we had a few issues......I asked a flight attendant for assistance, but he was completely unhelpful, saying he was too busy with drink service. We always travel with our own headsets, which was a good thing as theirs were complete crap.

As far as the food goes,....my vegetarian meals were completely uninspired; the first consisted of rice, green beans, carrots and cooked spinach, the snack consisted of cucumbers and tomato on soggy bread and the second meal consisted of plain lentils, carrots and more cold vegetables. It just wasn’t good and not what I expected in Business Class.

After the meal service the flight attendants vanished and we had to go back to the galley several times to ask for water. They were neither helpful nor friendly and I don’t really have much good to say about Swiss. I guess I’ve gotten spoiled by Singapore Air.

Grousing aside, we took off and we landed, for which I’m always thankful."

simpsonc510

For me a flight is good if I can sleep!!! lol I slept almost the entire flt from ZRH to ORD. If I was uncomfortable, I didn't realize it. Food was OK. Airline food isn't what it used to be, period! And since I slept, I didn't play with the video gadget or the headphones.

Bill, you probably want comments from those who stay awake and partake of the various gadgets!! haha

Carol

Melnq8

Different seats make all the difference simpsonc510. Our flight had the old business class seats. We'd read about the seat issues before we flew, but figured we'd try them out for ourselves, and we were curious about Swiss. Now we know.

travelgourmet

The A340 does NOT have the newest Swiss seats. It has angled flat seats that slope to the floor. Lufthansa has similar seats.

Virgin will have a better seat for sleeping, better lounges, and better IFE. Lufthansa and Swiss will probably have better food and, possibly, better service. For me personally, food and service don't begin to outweigh the benefits of a true flat bed, so I would go with Virgin, even if I had to bring McDonalds on board.