Luxembourg is an interesting destination in the SWISS network for several reasons. The fairly short flight time makes it an ideal route to use up slots to prevent other carriers from getting them. As a result, the schedule to and from tends to vary. The other reason is that SWISS tends to send anything they have in their fleet to Luxembourg, from the A 321 to the Embraer 190.

Getting to the Airport

My flight back to Zürich isn’t until 19h20. However, by 16h30 we’ve concluded the course so I figure I might as well make my way to the airport slowly. I just miss the first tram heading to the airport, which is no big deal really because the next tram is just four minutes later.

SWISS Business Class Check-In

I’ve already checked in online. At Luxembourg Airport Luxair does the handling for most of the airlines, including the Star Alliance, which has its its own, dedicated counters. For a change it’s surprisingly quiet.

Airside

Security is very quick today. Usually, it’s a bit of a mess in Luxembourg. My original idea is to head for the lounge to get something to eat and wait for my flight there. However, as the sliding doors open, it’s patently obvious that the lounge is bursting at the seams. I do one tour around the lounge to confirm that there’s literally not a single empty seat left. So, I leave the lounge again and park myself by the windows on the A concourse. Ironically, it’s much quieter here than it was in the lounge.

SWISS Business Class Boarding

The inbound from Zürich is running thirty minutes late. Since I booked this flight, there have been no less than six aircraft changes. The last one came this afternoon, replacing the Airbus A 220-300 that was scheduled this morning with an Embraer 195-E2 operated by Helvetic Airways. Unfortunately, the aircraft is parked in a spot that makes it difficult to take pictures. At least while we wait for boarding to start I get to witness two Cargolux B 747-400s executing very, very late missed approaches and going around. The B 747 really is gorgeous. It’s such a shame they’ve become so rare.

The SWISS Business Class Seat & Cabin

I’m seated on 1A, which is my favourite seat on the Helvetic E2s because it’s just so private. In the forward cabin the rows are slightly offset, which means that there is no row 1 on the starboard side. The seat pitch on row 1 is good, better even than on the SWISS A 320 and A 220. On this evening’s flight there are seven rows before the cabin divider, for a total of thirteen seats. I can‘t see exactly how many passengers there are, but the load in the forward cabin is looking healthy.

SWISS Business Class Service & Crew

There are three crew in the cabin. The purser is a young man who looks like some pubescent kid holding off on shaving his downy facial fluff for fear that it might come back stronger if he does. He‘s friendly enough, but as is so often the case with the Helvetic crews, his announcements are near incomprehensible.

The doors close and the crew dish out bottles of still water and packaged towels. And then we push back, ten minutes behind schedule. Strangely, there’s a China Southern B 787-9 standing on the ramp that looks like it’s just arrived.

By the time we take off it’s 19h40. Our flight time to Zürich is 45 minutes, which means we should be landing in Zürich about ten minutes late.

SWISS Business Class Meal

As soon as the fasten seatbelt sign is off, the young man appears at my seat and plonks a tray with food on the tray table next to me. I guess that means I’m joining for dinner… which is a poke bowl. It’s a large portion of horribly dry white rice with ginger, wakame, and some kind of sesame dressing. As a side there’s a bowl with salmon in a sesame oil dressing. I like the idea, even if the execution is lacking a bit. And for dessert it’s just a small Weck glass with pieces of pineapple. All in all, it’s a rather lovelessly presented tray and the food is bland, even for plane fare. But there’s always a silver lining – in this case in the form of the usual SWISS chocolate.

Arrival in Zürich

We obviously don’t spend much time in the cruise and then we’re already descending into Zürich. It’s a gorgeous summer evening. We touch town and taxi to our stand on the B pier.

By the time I step off the plane it’s 20h25. By 20h34 I’m on the train on my way to Zürich Hauptbahnhof. The connection is rather tight at the main station. Even so, I stop dead when I spot the Roter Pfeil – the Red Arrow – two platforms before mine. It would be irreverent not to stop and take a photo: this here is the Winston Churchill, which was commissioned in 1935.

Conclusion

And so another trip with SWISS/Helvetic ends. Helvetic is okay, I guess. The experience tends to come across as amateurish. And I find it increasingly annoying with SWISS that you’re never really quite sure what aircraft you’re going to get until you’re literally standing in the cabin.