Today I continue my journey. I’m travelling with SWISS to Zürich and then onwards in First Class, also with SWISS. Most of the flights between Oslo and Zürich with SWISS are operated by Helvetic Airways these days. Actually, generally speaking, I think it’s quite noticeable just how rarely I end up on SWISS on short-haul when I book a flight with them. Most services are either operated by Helvetic Airways or Air Baltic. It’s not a complaint, I don’t mind either carrier.

Getting to the Airport

The flight to Zürich departs from Oslo at 13h55. I leave the hotel at 11h30 for the short walk across the footbridge from the hotel to Oslo Central Station, right next door. A single to the airport costs NOK252. It’s a standard fare and there is only one class of service. The journey is only 22 minutes to the airport.

The Flytoget, or airport train, departs from platform 13, which is located one floor down from the main concourse.

Six minutes ahead of departure, the train pulls into the station, arriving from Drammen, and I’m left wondering if I’m the only one who sees a striking resemblance between the front of the train and the face of a baboon? You know, the windscreen is the eyes with the heavy brow, and the headlights are the nostrils. See it?

Check-In

The Lufthansa Group checks in on rows 5 to 7. There is a dedicated queue for Business and First Class passengers. I’m seen to straight away.

I exit through international departures and make my way to the lounge. I have one hour before boarding starts.

SAS Gold Lounge

In Oslo, SWISS still uses the SAS Lounge. The lounge agent informs me that I’m entitled to use the Gold Lounge, which is a lounge within the lounge. I’m not sure if that’s because of my SEN status, or because my onward connection will be in First Class.

The lounge is busy. I think I’ve already mentioned this before, but this lounge looks so much like an IKEA showroom to me – however, I suspect that may also be my cultural bias at work. What I particularly like about the lounge, is that there are several booths for people wanting to make phone calls. As a result, the main lounge area is pleasantly quiet.

The lounge has an attractive buffet with cold dishes, mostly salads, bread and cheese. It’s rather a nice set up they have.

Boarding

The inbound from Zürich arrives slightly ahead of schedule. Even so, I receive an SMS from SWISS informing me that the departure from Oslo has been delayed from 13h55 to 14h25, and that therefore, boarding will not start until 14h00. I’m guessing it’s either a network issue over central Europe or a more local problem in Zürich.

Eventually, boarding starts at 13h50 for groups 1 and 2. However, once boarding is completed at 14h15, the captain comes on the loudspeaker to inform us that we will have to wait on the ground for over an hour due to severe weather in southern Germany and in Zürich. As I only have ninety minutes in Zürich anyway, I’m wondering if this means I’ll miss my connection.

The Cabin & Seat

There are three rows in Business Class on the starboard side of the plane, and four on the port side, for a total of seven passengers (the adjacent seat is unoccupied in Business Class).

I’m seated on 1A, which feels rather private. I can’t see any of the other passengers. The seat pitch is not bad either.

The Service & Crew

The purser is a middle aged woman of American origin. She’s friendly and kind of motherly. Once boarding is completed, she hands out the packaged towels and the bottles of water.

Later on, when the captain announces that we’ll be spending an hour on the ground in the aircraft, she passes through the cabin taking drink orders. I have a Coke Zero, which is served with savoury rosemary biscuits.

At 15h00 we finally start our engines and taxi to the runway. We take off at 15h07, and our flight time will be two hours and ten minutes.

The Meal

For the meal service, there is a choice of a vegetarian and non-vegetarian dish. The vegetarian one doesn’t really sound appealing, so I reluctantly decide to try the meat dish, which is beef. The tray is served directly from the galley. On it, there is the hot main dish, a salad, the cheese and dessert. The main course is rather nice. I don’t eat all the meat, but the sauce is rich and fragrant. As sides, there are sautéed snow peas with onions and thick, creamy polenta.

The quinoa salad is a bit heavy on the mayo. Other than that, it’s not bad.

The cheese is great. The long rectangular slice is a piece of Greyezer. The other I don’t recognize, but I like it as well. With that, I have a Silser roll.

The dessert is a nice seasonal pistachio cheesecake with strawberry sauce and fresh strawberries. This is quite nice too! To conclude the meal, I have a Sirocco mint tea.

Arrival in Zürich

As we approach Zürich, the turbulence picks up considerably and the weather turns variable. One moment it’s sunny, and then the next we’re passing through a rain cell. We break through the clouds just as we’re passing the famous Rhinefalls of Schaffhausen, which are clearly visible from above.

Eventually, we land in Zürich on runway 14 at 17h16 and slowly make our way to our stand at the far end of the A pier. It’s a bit inconvenient that no information is provided by the crew about the status of onward connections. I turn on my iPhone and wait with bated breath for a signal, hoping for a message from SWISS with an update on my connecting flight, which should be departing in 35 minutes. But there are no messages. I’ll take that as a good sign. So far, though, there hasn’t been anything really First Class about the experience, which is a bit of a let down.