Every time you qualify or requalify as a Senator with Miles & More, you receive two evouchers. In theory, they are intended for you to use to make an upgrade to the next higher cabin. In Europe you need only one voucher, whereas on long-haul you need two. In practice, though, most of my evouchers end up expiring unused. It’s not for want of trying. It’s just that the way the whole scheme is set up, with your evouchers you can only make an upgrade request. You are then waitlisted and, apparently, don’t find out until you’re at the gate if it worked or not. In my case, it mostly doesn’t. It rarely happens that an evoucher upgrade is confirmed straight off the bat.

Check-In

The Lufthansa Group recently updated its app. I’m guessing this is part of their announced plan to streamline the corporate identity of the group across its member airlines. If that is really the case, then good luck, because the new app has issues. Since the update, I can no longer use it as long as I have the VPN active on my phone. And in this particular case, even with the VPN off I’m unable to complete the check-in process due some alleged technical glitch. That leaves me no other option but to stop at a check-in counter for an agent to check me in the old-fashioned way. While he‘s at it, he informs me that the upgrade request with the evouchers hasn’t come through. Who would have guessed…

The SWISS Senator Lounge on the E Pier

In preparation for the A pier to be torn down and reconstructed a bit further north from its current position, aircraft stands tend to be in short supply on the main ramp at Zürich airport right now. As a result, more short-haul non-Schengen flights are being serviced from the satellite pier E. That is also why my flight to London today will be boarding from gate E 22. Previously, this flight would board from one of the D gates. Which isn’t a bad thing, as this will be the first time I get to visit the SWISS Senator lounge out on the E pier.

The shuttle taking me across to E is quite full, mainly because the second track is currently out of service for maintenance. The E pier itself is busy. There’s the Boston and Bangkok flights which will be leaving soon. And for the holiday period Edelweiss is deploying its A 350-900 to Pristina in heavy rotation for the end of year holidays.

The Senator lounge is located one floor up from the main concourse, off towards the eastern end of the pier. It’s not full when I get there. It is rather a nice lounge. And it’s nice to have so much space after experiencing the overcrowded KLM Crown Lounge in Amsterdam on my way to and from Budapest.

Boarding

At 16h40, which is the boarding time on my boarding pass, I exit the lounge and make my way to gate E 22. When I get there, most of the passengers have already boarded and the waiting area is deserted. I really am having an unlucky streak right now: the way the aircraft is parked makes it impossible to get any decent photos.

The Cabin & Seat

I know that the A 220-300 has turned into something of a nightmare for most airlines due to the ongoing issues with the engines. As far as the passenger experience is concerned, though, I still think it’s a very lovely aircraft.

I’m seated on 2A, the window seat on the row of two in the first Economy Class row. Which means that there is one row of Business Class for a total of three passengers. The seat pitch on row 2 is very good. However, unlike KLM, which at least has adjustable headrests on the first few rows, the SWISS seat is about as plain as can be. It’s the same Economy Class seat throughout the cabin. At least the cabin divider on the A 220-300 is a lot more substantial than the flimsy one that KLM has on its aircraft.

The Service & Crew

The crew on this flight are remarkable only in how unremarkable they are. Interactions with passengers are purely perfunctory. They’re not rude or impolite, but they’re just rather bland and nondescript. Another thing I’ve noticed recently, is that while Air France KLM are increasingly going out of their way to acknowledge passengers with FlyingBlue status, SWISS and Lufthansa are going in the completely opposite direction.

In SWISS Economy Class short-haul the catering is a buy-on-board hybrid. Each passenger gets a complimentary bottle of still water and a small Swiss chocolate at the end of the flight. In the run up to Christmas, SWISS is serving a dark chocolate with nougat instead of the usual milk chocolate. More substantial items can be purchased on board. The airline has teamed up with Sprüngli, a chocolatier confiseur from Zürich that produces some of the best chocolates (my humble opinion) and pastries in the world.

Arrival in Gatwick

Our flight time to Gatwick is eighty minutes. Just as we approach the French cost, the pilot in command eases back the throttle and we start a slow descent into Gatwick.

We arrive in Gatwick on time and make our way to our stand on the main concourse of the North Terminal. From our stand it’s just a short walk to immigration. And just like that, I’m back in the UK.

Getting into Town

In London I’m staying near the Tower of London. From Gatwick there are frequent trains to London Bridge that make the journey in 29 minutes.

Conclusion

This was a pleasant enough flight with SWISS, even if the crew were a bit nondescript. Gatwick is a very pleasant airport and much more convenient than Heathrow. It’s just a shame that SWISS only operates the one daily flight from Zürich.