Swiss Airlines First Class, LX 39

Flight Details:

• Depart: San Francisco SFO 8:00pm (local time)
• Arrival: Zürich ZRH 3:50pm (local time)
• Aircraft 777-300
• Seat: 2A

I didn't intend to fly First Class on this flight.  In fact, I had booked the flight specifically to try out one of the Swiss "privacy" seats in Business Class.  But ... a series of snafus (I blame United, as I booked through United and somehow wasn't properly ticketed, and I wound up the day of my flight without a seat, on an oversold flight.  I was offered "compensation" to downgrade to economy as business was fully sold out, or, I could upgrade to first, for an addition $959.  Sigh.

So, even though I wasn't planning it, I got to experience Swiss First Class out of San Francisco, for the first leg of my journey to Munich.

The flight itself was pleasant, and my flight attendants were very kind.  Our cabin of 8 passengers was full, but everyone did seem to get fairly customized service, which is a hallmark element of the service per Swiss's own branding.

Amenities

Waiting at our seats when we arrived were amenity kits and slippers.  Pajamas were offered as we settled in.

Amenity Kit.

The amenity kit had a few cute touches, like the Riccola (because, Swiss), but otherwise was pretty expected (toothbrush, socks, eye mask, assorted hand/face/eye cream, etc).  It, um, lacked toothpaste however, which at first I thought I had just misplaced, but when I sheepishly asked if they had another, I was told I was the second person on the flight to ask about it, and it seems to just have been missed.  

La Prairie Products.

"And if you'd like to freshen up before landing, we have an amenity kit with La Prairie products for you."

All products were La Prairie, which seems to be high quality.  They had full size La Prairie items in the bathroom as well.

Zimmerli Pajamas.

"On night flights you'll be given some pyjamas that have been specially designed for SWISS by Zimmerli."

I was glad to see they actually had size small pajamas available, although they were still pretty large.  Decent pajamas, lightweight, pockets (only side) on the pants, and a cute little pocket on the chest of the top.

A small pillow was on the seat when we arrived, but no blanket.  It was a little chilly in the cabin, so I asked if they had a small blanket or anything, and a perfect weight throw blanket was provided.  Later on, when ready for bed, a thick mattress pad, bigger pillow, and fluffy duvet were provided.  The bedding was all quite comfortable, although the pillow got super soft really fast.  From what I understand, this was all a big step up from business class were people complain about the blankets.

So, overall, the amenity kits were not extraordinary, no partnerships with well known brands for the bedding for example, but, all reasonable.

Wifi is available on board, but, for a fee, and actually quite expensive, several options available.  No unlimited option, and I blew through my 50MB (provided free for First Class only), within the first hour of my flight, with very, very minimal usage.  This felt kinda stingy, given the flight cost.

Seat

"The seats in SWISS First offer more than first-class comfort. Each one is a personal First Class compartment that adapts entirely to your wishes – from the smoothly and continuously adjustable firmness of your seat to the horizontal bed above the clouds."

Seat Area.

The seat area looked pretty simple, but did have a lot to explore.  There were many bits and pieces to it that I found myself discovering throughout the flight, all of which were quite functional.

TV & Ottoman.

First, the tv screen.  Wowzer.  It was seriously big.  I didn't watch any movies on the flight, but it made me wish I did.  Honestly, such a ridiculously huge screen.  It was bigger than my tv at home (which, isn't saying much, but still).

"Versatile, elegant and generous: there is enough room on the veneered oak table in SWISS First for you to work on, but it is also ideal for spreading out a newspaper to read in comfort or for a fine dinner à deux. The ottoman can be changed into a seat for an additional guest or can be somewhere to put your feet up."

Below that screen was an ottoman, which my feet couldn't reach, so was useless to me while sitting. It was also a companion seat if I had a friend to dine with.  I was able to store things under it as well.

Door / Closet.

"The armchairs in SWISS First are a place for you to withdraw in peace thanks to the adjustable side panels and clever cabin layout. For truly relaxing hours in a mini suite above the clouds."

And then, let's talk about the ... doors-ish.  One wall could be built by pulling out a kinda-closet.  It had hangers, two little compartments (perfect for my eye mask and stuffs for sleeping, and my glasses!), and a mirror built in.  This was kinda cool, but also, when it was open and had stuff in it, felt kinda invasive.  I didn't want to sleep inside a closet!  It did create a private space though.

Lower Door / Drawer.

The rest of the enclosure could be built by extending a panel, operated easily with a button.  There was also a storage space near that where my laptop and menus could easily fit.  Really quite handy.

Window Ledge.

The other side of the seat, alongside the window, had a built in drink table, and just plenty of space to set things down.  It also housed the controller for the entertainment, a slew of seating controls, and places to plug things in.  The HUGE dining table also came out of one of these areas.  Below this was another small cubby, that turned out to be quite useful during the flight.  The dinner table could pull in as close as I wanted, or push all the way back.  Again, very functional.

Oh, and there was a classy, dimmable, lamp and window shades that operated with a button.  

It really was a well designed seat, and I found every cubby and storage area very handy.  It took ages to figure out seating controls though, the pictures didn't help, nor did fussing with them.  The seat itself was very well padded, it barely even needed the thick mattress pad for sleeping.  We also didn't have any control over air, no individual nozzels, which I would have liked.

It was comfortable sitting, comfortable dining, and comfortable sleeping, very, very wide, and nicely private.  Really one of the better all around seats I've flown in.

But overall, a comfortable space, and far better than it appeared at a glance.

Food & Drinks

"Guests in SWISS First can choose their own menus. We offer a selection of several starters, main courses and desserts as well as exclusive wines and champagne. The service is as it would be in a restaurant – you decide when we may serve you your meal."

Ok, time for restaurant dining in the sky!  My flight featured both dinner and breakfast, but I could have customized differently had I preferred.

Dinner

Dinner was a fairly long drawn out experience.  It started with canapes before we even left the ground, and once air born, it took a full hour before the first row even got their starters.  I was in the second row (of only two rows), and seemingly served last (the other side and middle seats served before me).  It was 9:30pm before I got my starter, and let's just say, I was ready for it.  My neighbor seemed to have requested a faster option, opting only for a main dish (the pasta).  She had finished her pasta, and had chocolates and a pot of tea in front of her, before I got my starters.  She had already had her bed turned down before I got my main dish!  Clearly, she was on to something.

Food

I was actually kinda excited for the food, as I thought Swiss was known for decent food on board.  But maybe that is more for catering out of Zurich, not San Francisco?  Overall, nothing really impressed me, and much of it, besides the plating, didn't seem better than most international business class offerings.

Canape: Warm spiced cashews.

Nuts were provided as I settled in to my seat, along with a pre-departure drink (I just had water).  They were served warm, a nice touch.

They were good, quite savory, lots of salt & pepper(?).  ***.

Canape: Crusted tuna with cheesy breadsticks.

The other canape presented as I settled in was a bread square, topped with crusted raw tuna, and a dot of some kind of creamy component under it.  It came with some crispy cheesy cracker-sticks.

Given that I don't particularly care for raw tuna, this was a bit lost on me, but if I had been really hungry, it would have been a nice touch.  The tuna seemed fine, but, the crusting was extensive, the bread part mushy, and overall, just not my thing.

I did like the savory, crispy breadsticks.

***.

Dinner Menu.

After we settled into our seats, the dinner menu was presented.  Orders for the starter and main were taken before we got underway, our drinks not until airborn.

Main Menu.

The dinner menu had 5 options listed for first course, but you could select as many of these as you wanted.  When I originally selected just one, my flight attendant asked if I wanted anything else, and I heard her doing the same to others, "And would you like soup and salad as well?", after they ordered just 1-2 of the other starters.  I think I really could have asked for all 5!  The salmon is the signature item on Swiss, which I knew from my limited research, so I obviously had to get that, and also opted for the other seafood choice, a mixed seafood salad.  I skipped the "cold meat specialties", the salad, and the soup.

The main course section had 4 options, but I was told there was an additional off-menu item (short rib).  The lineup was a fairly standard beef, chicken, seafood, vegetarian pasta otherwise, although the choice of shrimp rather than a fish surprised me a bit. I almost selected the ravioli (cacio e pepe with Parmesan cream sauce and shimeji mushrooms and white asparagus!) as I love all the components, but I knew heavy cream sauces and asparagus were going to feature dominantly in my dining in Munich.  Thus, shrimp & grits it was.  My neighbor did get the pasta, and I'll admit, it looked pretty good (huge portion, tons of cream sauce, plenty of asparagus).

Cheese Menu.

Next up came cheeses, with their own dedicated menu page and two other desserts.  I was very pleased to see non-chocolate desserts (since I didn't want caffeine at night), and, swoon, you know how much I love puddings, and panna cotta in particular!  I was even able to look past the ice cream!

Place Setting.

Tables were set for fine dining, and I appreciated the full size salt and pepper grinders.

Did I mention, these tables are HUGE!  You really could easily have your dining companion with you and not feel crowded.

Bread Basket.

Rather than a single roll, or a bread basket where you select an item, Swiss gives each First Class passenger an entire bread basket, along with butter and olive oil.

The bread was served warm, but wasn't particularly remarkable, and got cold very fast, as it came long before my starter, and wasn't covered in any way.  There was one each of a white, dark, and seedy roll.  The olive oil was nice quality.  ***.

Starters.

My starters came presented together on a platter.  It was interesting to see how every person had customized dishware, depending on which starters the person selected.  Those who opted for soup and salad as well had those served as separate courses.  These elements of service did feel like fine dining, and delivered a customized experience to each guest.

My server even asked if I'd like more salmon when she came to clear my dishes, and asked if I had decided I did want some salad or soup too.  They really were ready to serve us plenty of food!

First Course: Fillet of Balik Salmon.

"In addition to the Sprüngli chocolates, Swiss Birchermüsli other Swiss specialities, there is another delicacy that is served in SWISS First: Balik smoked salmon from Toggenburg. Today, tender back fillets are once again prepared by hand to an old tsarist recipe."

The Balik salmon is the Swiss Airlines signature starter.  Not caviar, sadly, but good quality salmon.  Always on the menu, and always recommended.  It seemed like nearly everyone got it.  

It was presented simply, with just a lemon to drizzle over and a scoop of what I think was creme fraiche (or maybe just sour cream?).  It was good though, clearly quality seafood, nice and firm texture.  I did enjoy it, although yes, I wished it was caviar (can you tell I was spoiled by Cathay Pacific, that serves both Balik salmon and caviar together in First?)!

***+.

First Course: Seafood Salad with lemon vinaigrette.

"Steamed purple potato and carrot shavings."

I had no idea what seafood would be in this, but, I like seafood, so, of course I wanted to try the "seafood salad" too.  It wasn't quite what I was picturing, as it had no greens.  It was light and refreshing though.  A single shrimp was on top, but underneath was bits of octopus and a single mussel.  The carrot curls on top gave it an elegant look.

The shrimp was nicely poached, but entirely uncleaned, and, um, this guy had a bit of a big poo, if you know what I mean.  Besides that off-putting section, good enough.

First Course: More seafood.

The rest was kinda ... eh.  The octopus bits were quite chewy.  The mussel was nicely briny.  The very light lemon vinaigrette worked well.  But, yeah, octopus not great, kinda exactly the kind of octopus people don't like.

**.

Main Course: Pan-fried shrimps with smoked tomato ragout.

"Stone-ground grits with cheese."

I almost didn't actually get a main, as it was a very late very big meal already, but ... you only get to fly in First rarely, right?  Go big.

When it arrived, the aroma was strong.  Smoky, as described.  It smelt really, really good.

I'll admit I was expecting something more classic shrimp & grits ... a bowl of creamy grits topped with shrimp.  This, instead, was more of a polenta cake, although made with white grains, and thus I guess grits?

The grit cake was fine, but I didn't taste the cheese.  It was under-seasoned, but I had my own salt and pepper shakers to fix that.  I really wanted a bowl of creamy, cheesy, rich grits!

The shrimp were actually pretty good.  The portion of 5 was just right.  They were well cooked, not rubbery, and all but one were properly cleaned.  They did have a nice flavor to them, and I liked that they were served tail on. 

I don't really care for cooked tomato, so, while cute, the small roasted tomato was lost on me, and the smoky tomato ragout I didn't particularly like.  It was flavorful, and went well with the shrimp and grits, but just wasn't a flavor I'm particularly fond of.  I really just wanted some remoulade or aioli to drag my shrimp through.

Overall, this was a solid "fine".  Shrimp were good, rest was kinda eh, and seemed more like a business class dish really.  It didn't feel very premium.  Yes, I wished I had gotten the ravioli.

***.

Dessert: Mango panna cotta with fresh berries.

I was thrilled to see panna cotta on the dessert menu. You know how much I love a good pudding, and in particular, panna cotta.

Um ... calling this a "panna cotta" definitely used a bit of creative license.  I was happy to see the ridiculous mound of whipped cream alongside though, as big as the main dessert itself, and some fresh berries.

The berries were pretty flavorless, but appreciated nonetheless, particularly with the whipped cream (which seemed fresh and fluffy, but not sweetened much, which was fine).

The "panna cotta"  actually had 3 layers, all about equal: a crumble base, the pudding layer, and a mango topping.  I ... did not care for the top layer, sorta mango like, but just kinda fake tasting mush.  I removed it.

The base too was rather unremarkable, sweet, crumbly, fine, good enough when combined with whipped cream and berries, but not actually very good.

And finally, the middle layer, the pudding layer, definitely the best element.  Creamy, smooth, lightly mango flavored.  I would have liked more of this.

Overall, this was also kinda "eh".  It didn't feel like a first class dessert - British Airways even wins on this front, and the lack of warm dessert option was notable.  

**+.

I actually had a considerably better panna cotta style dessert on my 40 min Swiss Airlines business class flight from Zurich to Munich (review coming soon!)

Sprüngli Chocolates: Round 1.

After the meal I was presented with a box of chocolates (Sprüngli), and I could take a few of my picking.  Several were missing already.  I picked one white, one milk, and one dark, but secretly really wanted them all.  I'll review these separately.

Drinks

The drink menu, separate, was 5-6 pages long.  We had options, lots of options.

Drinks Part 1.

The drink menu offered standard soft drinks, sparkling water, beer, aperitifs, tea (Sirocco), coffee (Nespresso), and spirits. 

White Wine List.

The wine list, in addition to the necessary Laurent-Perrier "Grand Siècle", contained 3 whites (one each from Switzerland, France, and Italy), 3 reds (same lineup), and a dessert wine.

Red Wine List.

I focused on the red wines, all seemed to be around the $100 price point per bottle (except the Swiss wine, which was cheaper, but, kudos to them for including a Swiss wine?).

The Swiss wine (Brunner Weinmanufaktur, Pinot - Merlot, 2020) was the most appropriate for my seafood based meal, but I opted for the others.

Laurent-Perrier "Grand Siècle".

Ok, ok, so even though I don't really care for champagne, I got a small pour to go along with my starters.  Delicate seafood needed something light, and, it *is* pretty decent champagne.  It did pair nicely with my seafood, and I enjoyed my small pour.

I'd get it again, actually.  ***+.

France: Chateau Pontet-Canet, 2014.

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot

Even though only recommended with meat (or cheese), I opted for the French red.  I hoped it wouldn't over power my delicate seafood.

It was a nice wine.  Not much tannin, no acid, smooth, kinda floral, but it did have some rich tones to it as well.  A very easy drinking wine, again, not super complex, but, good, and I enjoyed it.

***+.

Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos Hetzolo 2008

To go along with my dessert, I did have a little of the dessert wine.  It was a pretty classic tokaji, very sweet, and mostly made me crave some foie gras alongside, not the sweet fruity mango dessert.  Still, a solid offering.  ***.

Breakfast

Business class guests are given a breakfast card before dinner, and they fill out what they'd like, and it is delivered as they wake up in the morning.  In First, we were provided no such thing, nor even a menu of what was to come.  I really wanted to know what was in store for me next!

Before I went to bed I was asked if I'd like to be woken for breakfast, which I said yes to.  It turns out I didn't need to be intentionally woken, because, even with only 5 hours of sleep-ish, I was awake due to the clamor of clanking glassware about 2 hours before landing.

As I pulled myself together, my flight attendant asked if I'd like coffee or juice, and breakfast.  Again, no menu provided, and I inquired what the options were.  It was a big awkward, as she just rattled off some things .... "I have cereal, yogurts, and fruits, bircher muesli.  I can make eggs, or an omelette.  There is bacon and sausage too, some breads ... cheese ...".  I really wished to see a menu, but alas.  I guess this was considered more personal?

I asked for bircher muesli as I really enjoy it and it is far less common in the US, some fruit (if there was anything without melon due to my allergy), and asked if there were any pastries (not something she mentioned).  She told me she'd make up a fruit platter for me, and see what she could find for pastries.  I also asked what kind of yogurt, and was given the option of plain, and two fruity flavors, and I asked what brand it was, knowing it was likely Ciobanni, which I don't care for.  "Let me check, I know it is a US brand," she said.  I told her I'd like yogurt if it was not Ciobanni, and she came back sorta sympathetic and amused, confirming it was Ciobanni, and sharing her dislike of American yogurt too.  The cereal option seemed to be Corn Flakes.

Bircher Muesli.

The bircher muesli was fine, mushy, loaded with shredded apple and coconut, a few berries.  Fairly bitter, and I found myself wishing I had some jam, syrup, or fresh berries to add in.  It was fine, but, not particularly great. ***.

Pain Chocolate.

The pastries she came up with were two very sad pain chocolate.  They were served warm, but were totally shriveled up, gummy, and lacking in much chocolate.  Sorry Swiss Airlines, but these were kinda a disgrace!  I wonder if she took these from business class leftovers?

*.

Fruit Platter: No Melons.

Finally, my fruit platter, which was freshly sliced apple, pear, banana, and some red grapes.  Not really what I wanted, but, I appreciated the effort to make me fruit that was without melons, as the fruit bowl, part of the breakfast lineup normally, looked vibrant and lovely and loaded with berries and citrus, but also had plenty of melon. **+.

Overall, the breakfast was kinda "eh", but, it was just 5.5 hours after my dinner, long before I normally eat breakfast, and I was headed for the lounges anyway.  My neighbor got an omelette that didn't look particularly interesting, and most others seemed to just get cheeses, fruit, and bircher muesli.

Nespresso.

To go with my breakfast, I certainly wanted (needed?) a jolt of caffeine.  I got a black coffee, which was really just a Nespresso lungo, quite strong.  Fine, not great.  

I moved on to a decaf, which was better than most airline decaf as it too was Nespresso, not instant, and it too was quite strong.

****.

Sprüngli Chocolates: Round 2.

I may or may not have asked for more chocolates to pair with my coffee too, which made up for the lack of good chocolate in my pastry.

Parting Gift: Sprüngli Chocolates.

After we finished our breakfast, my flight attendant, who clearly saw how much I liked the chocolates, brought me a little bag to take with me (clearly just using up the end of the box, but a really thoughtful touch).  Swiss really does nail the personalized service.