Introduction

Today I’m on my way to Lancaster University. I did my third Master’s degree and my PhD at Lancaster – so this feels a bit like going home. The closest major airport to Lancaster is Manchester. From there, it’s about ninety minutes to Lancaster by direct train.

Getting to the Airport

I catch the 14h06 train from Basel. With a change of trains at Zürich Main Station, that brings me into the airport at 15h21. My departure to Manchester is at 17h05.

Check-In

Originally, my flight was supposed to be operated by Air Baltic on behalf of SWISS. However, when I check in on the SWISS app the day before the flight, there’s been an aircraft change and SWISS will be operating the flight itself. And it looks like it’s going to be a full flight, with only one row of Business Class. Which is why I decide to check-in my suitcase. Strictly speaking, I could take it into the cabin with my backpack. But I figure I’ll be more comfortable without it.

The airport is rather busy this afternoon. Initially, I assume the crowds are all passengers, until I realize that most of them are just shopping in the mall.

Security is not too awful, even though I still think the system Zürich Airport has in place is not overly efficient. My gate has yet to be announced, but I figure boarding will likely be from one of the D gates.

SWISS Lounge on the D Concourse

The SWISS lounge for the non-Schengen flights on the D concourse is a strange place. It’s located at the end of a long corridor in an inconveniently remote corner of the terminal. It’s also a strange layout, with several rooms leading off from each other like a labyrinth. One of the rooms is designated as the Vitra Design Showroom. Vitra is a company in Germany, close to the Swiss border at Basel. They specialize in building high end designer furniture, like the Eames Chair, under licence.

Outside it looks like a storm is brewing. I’m just thinking that it’s unlikely we’ll be leaving on time in this weather, when I glance at the screen to see the flight show up as Go to Gate.

Boarding

Boarding starts on time at 16h40, just as the heavens open and a torrential downpour begins, right over the airfield.

The Cabin & Seat

Having just the one row of Business Class looks strange and makes the cabin feel very cramped. It’s also a bit inconvenient that the cabin divider is right in the middle of the overhead bin, which means I have to sneak into Economy Class everytime I need something from my backpack. But these are minor details and the A 220-300 remains a very comfortable ride in its 2+3 configuration. I’m seated on the row of two, the seat next to me is empty.

The Service & Crew

There are three crew on this flight. The maître de is a German guy in his thirties – and he’s exceptional, really good. A woman in her late fifties boards the aircraft and rather offhandedly informs him of some medical device she has on her and that she’ll be using during the flight. The purser asks her for details and explains that he’ll need to check if it’s okay for her to travel because, apparently, SWISS had not been informed in advance. The passenger immediately gets annoyed and starts sulking – which is not a good luck on a grown woman. But the maître de is seemingly unperturbed and calmy talks her down from her tantrum. He’s rather charming, so that by the time she’s calmed down again, he’s got her wrapped around his little finger as she apologizes profusely for having been rude.

Once boarding is completed, he hands out the prepackaged towels and the still water with “guten Abend, Herr A., willkommen zurück”, welcome back. That hasn’t happened to me in a long time on SWISS.

Unavoidably, we’ve missed our slot. The captain informs us of a delay of thirty minutes, which eventually turns into 45 minutes by the time the weather calms down abd we push off stand. The flight time is ninety minutes to Manchester.

The Meal – Light Dinner

There’s a slight delay getting the service started as the captain keeps the seatbelt sign on until we’re clear of the clouds. The maître de inquires if I’ll be having dinner, and returns a short while later with the tray. Today’s main is an interesting take on vitello tonnato. It’s rather nice. The only thing I don’t appreciate, is the thin layer of gelatine on top, but that is easily scraped asides.

Of course, there’s the usual side dish of cheese, although I don’t know what the offering is tonight. Both are good, though.

And then for dessert, there’s a tiramisu with cantucci biscuits on top and a coffee soaked biscuit base. As soon as I’m done, the maître de removes my tray. He’s consistently kept using my family name during the service. As he removes the tray, he asks if I’d like anything else. He returns a short while later with my coffee and a chocolate. He’s also got a small pot of milk with him, “just yell ‘stop’ when it’s enough milk, okay? But not loud enough to cause a panic”.

By the time I’m sipping my coffee, we’re just passing due east of London. We have another thirty minutes to run to Manchester.

Arrival in Manchester

Eventually, we land at 18h30, thirty minutes behind schedule. We quickly taxi to our stand at Terminal 2, where the Ethiopian A 350-900 I took a few weeks ago is just pushing back for her flight to Geneva.

Miraculously, my suitcase arrives on the belt at 18h53, which gives me 14 minutes to get to the airport station to catch the 19h07 train to Lancaster. That’s not bad at all.

Conclusion

This flight was quite pleasant, even though it felt a bit cramped to be sitting in such a mini Business Class with only one row, and despite the delay. I think this experience with SWISS highlights the crucial role of the cabin crew and all frontline staff in an airline’s service delivery. The maître de on this flight was great, and the way he handled the passenger with a medical condition was very professional, a textbook example of manipulation. My issue with SWISS is that there’s so much inconsistency among the crew. Some are like the maître de on today’s flight, but a lot of them are often immature, uninterested and, frankly, inadequately socialized.