Introduction

I only found out quite by accident that SWISS operates a daily flight from Zürich to London Gatwick, which seems rather an odd destination in the SWISS network – mainly because it is, to the best of my knowledge, the only service by a Lufthansa Group carrier to the airport. I suspect that perhaps the only purpose of this flight is to retain a slot at Gatwick.

I arrive at the airport at 16h06. I’m cutting it a bit fine, as boarding should start at 16h45, but I just couldn’t make it any earlier.

Check-In

I’ve already checked in online, and I’m happy to report that they’ve improved the app so that the boarding pass now shows up on the lock screen of my app. I manage the security check in record time, even though my backpack ends up going for secondary screening because I forgot to remove my Kindle.

Boarding

My flight is departing from D57 in the non-Schengen part of the terminal. By the time I take a seat, it’s 16h38, so boarding should start soon. Much to my delight, our flight is boarding from a bus gate, which means that the aircraft is parked on a remote stand.

When eventually we reach the aircraft, I happily let everybody else board ahead of me so I can take my sweet time taking pictures.

The Cabin & Seat

Ok, now I’m convinced this is a slot retaining flight. The service is operated by the little A 220-100. And the aircraft is still far from full. What’s more, there are six rows of Business Class, for a total of 18 seats, of which only three are occupied. The back of the bus doesn’t seem overly busy either.

I am seated on 1A. The pitch is okay, but not as good as on 2A, mainly because you can’t really stretch your legs unless you sit sideways.

The Service & Crew

As usual on SWISS, a packaged towel and a bottle of still water are already at my seat. The maître de on this flight is a gentleman in his late thirties, I would say, and he’s great. As soon as I take my seat, he walks up to me and asks, “you must be Mr. A. Welcome back!”. He points out the water and towel and tells me to just let him and his colleagues know if there’s anything I need.

Our flight time is announced as 65 minutes. So, although we push off stand twenty minutes behind schedule, we’ll still be arriving early in Gatwick. As we taxi out, the weather starts to deteriorate rapidly, with dark, ominous clouds looming on the horizon.

We take-off into the murky sky, and immediately the aircraft encounters moderate turbulence that takes quite some time for us to clear.

The Meal – Light Dinner

The meal is served directly from the galley. The tray consists of a main dish, the cheese plate, and dessert.

The main course is rather tasty. It’s a bowl of quinoa with vegetables and pickled cucumber. On it are three shrimps with a dollop of mayonnaise.

With the cheese the crew serve a selection of rolls and crackers. The maître de encourages me to take two rolls. And later on, he returns to check if I’d like some more.

The dessert is a small ramekin with a biscuit base, some sort of chocolate mousse and jam on top.

To finish off the meal, I have a coffee, and I can even choose if I prefer cream or milk. The coffee is served with a small chocolate square. I don’t know if they pass through the Economy Class cabin with the chocolates at the end of the flight, but they don’t pass through the Business Class cabin for sure – which seems a bit unfair on the passengers who didn’t have coffee.

Arrival in London

Very soon, old Blighty comes into view and we’re already well into the descent by the time we make landfall. The approach into Gatwick is smooth, and eventually, we touch down at 17h37, running 18 minutes ahead of schedule.

We taxi to our stand at the North Terminal, and shortly after that, we’re allowed off the plane. The crew inquire whether I enjoyed the flight and then bid me farewell and a safe onward journey.

Conclusion

I really must say, I rather like Gatwick Airport, and I enjoyed this SWISS service. The timing of the flight is great, so you can easily take the flight after work if you’re planning a weekend in London, for example. Gatwick isn’t all that far from the city of London either. The journey by train to Victoria is thirty minutes, and there are frequent services on the line. Other than that, the distances you walk in Gatwick are shorter than they are in Heathrow, where everywhere takes for ever to get to.