I’m on my way from Paris to Dubai for my annual visit to the UAE. Usually, I travel on Air France. However, for reasons I can’t fully remember now, I’m taking SWISS this time around. Access to the First Class lounge at Zürich Airport is via the stairwell in the picture below, which leads you to reception for the SWISS Alpine lounge. The entrance to the First Class lounge is opposite reception and only accessible upon request. I approach the reception desk and find one of my former students waving. “Hi Mr. A, how are you?”. We have a short chat and he tells me he decided to continue with the master’s degree once he’d completed his bachelor, which I think is a good idea for any student, if you have the opportunity and inclination. I notice that he immediately starts speaking to me in English when he sees me, even though we could also use Swiss German, which has me thinking that I may have had some lingering effect as one of his former lecturers. He lets me into the First Class lounge and wishes me a safe journey and a nice day.

The next shuttle to the E pier is already full, so the First Class receptionist puts my name down for the one after that and asks me to have a seat while I wait. The lounge is awfully busy today, although I’m not sure if it’s always like this because usually, when I travel SWISS First, I’m on an evening flight to the far east, when there are fewer departures.

At 11h40, six other passengers and I head downstairs and then out to the car to the E pier. I even have enough time to snap a photo of this Canadian beauty before being taken to the lounge upstairs.

The SWISS First Class lounge at the E pier is also very busy. Eventually, I find myself a place by the window in the workspace area, from where I can watch the departures on runway 28. As soon as I’m seated, a young lady appears and asks me if I’d like to see the menu. I decline and just ask her to bring me a drink. The view outside is excellent, and it’s an icy cold but crystal clear day.

At 12h30 I leave the lounge and head for the gate. The main concourse of the pier is very crowded, so progress is slow. I reach the gate area just as a passenger starts having a tantrum with the gate agents for being “forced” to stand here waiting for the flight to board – “Sis is not Swiss Pünktlichkeit”. I mean, he could just as well go take a seat, if he weren’t determined to be the first on board. I don’t get what all the fuss is about. He’s in Business Class anyway, and, therefore, in group 2. I’m also curious why he didn’t just speak to the gate agent in German.

The Cabin & Seat

At a glance, the seat looks just like the ones installed on the A 340 and B 777. It’s only upon closer inspection that you notice there are some major differences between the First Class cabin on the A 330 and the rest of the SWISS fleet.

The first difference is that the seat is a lot less private because there is no divider on the ottoman side. This also means that passengers have no private closet to store things. Also, on the B 777 there is a large and convenient storage area right below the compartment where the table is stored. That is missing here, and it’s quite inconvenient because it means you have to keep shifting things around during the service. Even so, I think the seat is perfectly adequate for this service to Dubai, which has a flight time of five hours and 45 minutes.

Amenities

Already at my seat is a soft pillow, a pair of very fluffy slippers, and the amenity kit. SWISS has teamed up with Swiss textiles brand Zimmerli to provide the amenity kits in First Class. And this lot is really not nice at all. First, because it’s made of some rather cheap looking plastic that looks kind of sticky. It’s also a rather odd shape and way too big for the few items in it. I’m kind of wondering what they had been thinking with this one, because while it’s big, it’s not large enough to use as a cover for a laptop, for example. I’m not even sure an standard size iPad would fit. In addition to the amenity kit, the crew pass through the cabin with a tray with additional items, such as socks. The crew also hand out vouchers for the complimentary wifi access. No pajamas are offered on this flight.

The Service & Crew

The crew on this flight are brilliant. The service in the First Class cabin is done mainly by a male flight attendant in his mid-thirties. He’s very friendly and attentive. He interacts easily with the passengers. He also has a thick accent from Basel, which instantly has me liking him. The service starts with welcome drinks and a bowl of warm nuts. I can’t say I like the nuts much because they are covered in a dusting of rather artificial tasting Provençal herbs. I’m also handed a warm towel.

We push back slightly behind schedule and make our way to runway 16 for departure. Behind us there’s quite a queue of widebodies heading out as well.

The Meal – Lunch

The menus are handed out before departure. The meal menu is quite extensive and there are several choices for every course.

The meal service begins with a lemongrass and curry panna cotta with black mushroom. The taste is good, although I really don’t like the horrid texture of those slimy black mushrooms. Once the amuse bouche is removed, the table is set.

For the first course, I have the balik salmon with blinis and crème fraîche, which is basically the same as what was served on the inbound from Paris. It is good though, so it’s not exactly a hardship.

The salmon is followed by the cream of sweet potato, and this is a really lovely dish. The soup has a smooth and velvety texture and the flavours are sumptuous and very nicely balanced.

And then for the main course, I initially couldn’t decide between the fish and the beetroot. Eventually, I choose the latter, and I’m glad I did because the guy behind me has the fish and it smells very fishy. The beetroot is excellent and served in a nice, thick gravy packed with flavour. The beetroot is served with creamy savoy cabbage and mash. On the side, there’s sauerkraut and green beans cooked in a typically Swiss style.

After that, I have the cheese. The flight attendant tells me he’ll put something together for me, and I just ask him to avoid the goat’s cheese. I’m not a fan.

And then, to conclude the meal, I have the soufflé, which is quite simply divine. Hands down one of the best desserts I’ve ever had on a plane!

After the meal, I ask for a coffee with milk, which is brought to me with a full box of Sprüngli chocolates. But one has to know when to stop, so I beg for clemency, and the cabin crew relents with a laugh. I spend the rest of the flight reading.

Arrival

We land in Dubai after 22h with a slight delay of ten minutes. I disembark and there are two reps there from Merhaba hospitality. One of them is holding up a sign with my name. I’m guessing that this means that there was only one other passenger originally booked in First Class on this flight, and that the other six must have been commercial upgrades. We quickly make it through immigration thanks to the dedicated Merhaba line. Much to my surprise, my suitcase is already on the belt when we reach it. The young lady brings me to the taxi stand and wishes me a pleasant stay in Dubai.

Conclusion

All in all, this was a pleasant trip with SWISS. The food was very good, especially the main and the dessert, and the cabin crew serving the First Class cabin was great. A very pleasant person. On the downside, the very busy lounges in Zürich did not feel very exclusive, and the seat SWISS has installed on the A 330-300 is in dire need of an upgrade. SWISS will soon receive its first A 350-900 and will then start upgrading the cabins on the A 330-300. However, right now it looks as though they’ll also have to put extra weight in the rear of the A 330 to compensate for the additional weight of the new seats. In the current environment, where the public is more and more sensitive to environmental issues, it seems highly problematic for the airline to have to carry 1.5 tons of dead weight around on every flight – which inevitably leads to them needing to upload extra fuel. I wonder if perhaps SWISS may eventually decide to drop First Class from their ageing A 330 fleet completely.