Swiss Air
 

Hi

I have to go to Germany in May on Business. I found the cheapest rate on Swiss Air. I have never flown Swiss Air nor been to the Zurich Airport. I was wondering if anyone could give me some information.

I am flying from Boston To Stuttgart via Zurich. I have an hour or so to get my connecting flight- is that adequate for this airport?

Also I have not flown on Swiss Air and was wondering how it compared to say Lufthansa or Alitalia? How is the coach seats and service??

Any related information is appreciated.

Thanks Joanne

I often fly Swiss and find them very good in service and in comfort. The crew has always been very helpful. zurich is a nice airport, very clean and efficient. An hour should be ok, longer would be better of course. I've made the connection in an hour.

I fly Swiss business Miami/Zurich very often and it is my preferred airline. Great service. I'm about to TRY another airline (lowcost), because I've recently moved and it flys non-stop from an airport very close by. If this doesn't turn out to be better than expected, I'll switch back to Swiss (in a second) and make a connection from my local airport. Alitalia?? Well, there are many threads on Fodor's about Alitalia.

Adequate? I think it's tight. Swiss is fine as well as Zürich airport though you may have to walk a bit, depending on your gate. I just think one hour layover anywhere is pushing it.

Seeing the name "Swiss Air" has brought back many memories. Back then, Swiss Air was fully Swiss owned and highly reputable. Then they went bankrupt. The new company, "Swiss", was started using the same planes, etc. "Swiss" has been recently bought by Lufthansa.

Swiss is my choice of all airlines. I have flown several times from ORD to ZRH. Also AA then Swiss to and from Nice twice per year- friendly flight attendants and check-in clerks.

I fly most often on AA only because I can get much better airfares flying out of DFW.

Zurich airport is easy to navigate. There is a tram from one terminal to the other. I have only 1 hr.10 minutes to make my connection to Nice.

I rechecked the itinerary and I have 1.5 hours - do you think that will be sufficient? It was my understanding that it was a more manageable airport.

Also how is the coach seating?

Thanks Joanne

Can someone that has been through the Swiss Airport let me know if 1.5 hours will be enough to get my connection.

Thanks Joanne

I think you'll have plenty of time. If the flight attendants do not have a list of gates for connecting flights, just ask any Swiss desk or check a monitor for gate info. Hopefully your connecting gate will be close. If your bags make the connection, the departure gate will wait awhile for you.

On a recent transit through Zurich, our first flight was late and we had a scant 30 minutes to make our connection. The first flight was an intercontinental and the second a regional which meant a change in terminal and a minibus to the second plane sitting on the tarmac. I was sure we wouldn't make it. We even had to go through a carry-on luggage screening. I don't remember if we were the last to board the regional flight, but there didn't seem to be any rush to get going. We really scrambled and then sat on the plane for about 10 minutes before they closed the door. We've connected through Zurich six times, and this was the only close call. I'd like to think they held the flight for us, but who knows?

I really liked the Swiss non-stop flights from/to LAX and appreciated the fact that we never had any trouble with our luggage. Unfortunately, since Swiss has ended its partnership with the American Advantage FF program, we probably won't be flying Swiss again any time soon. And, darn, I'll have to buy my own Swiss chocolates.

Joanne, I thought I answerered your question at 5:18 pm. To be specific coach seats are nice enough for coach seats. The crew is nice. one and one half hours should be fine but if you can change your tickets I would suggest you do so since you are worried, if you can't then what can you do now anyway except look at the airport map in the pamphlet in the seat pouch, check the gates on the screen to make sure and hurry over to your gate.

Joanne, I'm from Boston and live in Switzerland and frequently fly Swiss back and forth to visit family. Unless the plane is late leaving out of Boston, 1.5 hours is enough time to change. I've changed to Geneva with just 1/2 hour. And even if it isn't enough time, Zurich is enough of a hub that there will be other flights to Stuttgart that you would be put on.

A bit of warning, according to AA international web site http://www.aa.com/aa/worldwideSites.do

Switzerland is the other country besides the UK that only allows one carry-on bag, including a purse, computer,etc.... Not part of the EU, this is what they have chosen, follow the link.

I've been to the airport recently and I like it. I'm flying through there in about 6 weeks. Here are some web sites to answer your questions.
http://www.airlinequality.com/Airpor..._forum/zrh.htm
This site also has airline rankings.

This is a web site that shows you the planes Swiss flies and where the better seats are on each type of plane. This site is great for many other airlines also.

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Swi...nformation.php

We prefer Swiss for inter-Europe flights even we no longer earn AA FF miles with them because connecting through Zurich is more timely and pleasant than our alternatives.

I'd think one hour is tight for ANYWHERE, though this terminal is easy to navigate and personnel are extremely helpful. If you are concerned, give them a call.

Planes are clean and staff friendly and responsive.

Go to www.seatguru.com to compare details on airlines and seating configurations. I believe on overseas flights AA economy class has slightly more pitch and seat width than others.

Just back from a long-haul flight and as usual enjoyed the Swiss flight and its services. They are good.....

many swiss flights will show connecting flight gates as near Zurich on the film and information screens.
I believe their on board book at each seat has a diagrahm of the airport to provide transfer info.

the transfer shuttle runs every few minutes to make transfer from terminals easy. Good signage too.
Assuming an on time arrival- you should have no trouble making transfer in time.
You will probably get your boarding card for the onward flight in Boston.

I have often flown swiss business class to Middle east destinations ( better price than some others )- service generally like lufthansa but it does depend somewhat on the cabin crew- I have had some that do as little as possibl.