Swiss First Class – Zurich to Johannesburg. Plus TWO First Class Lounges…

Swiss First Class – Zurich to Johannesburg. Plus TWO First Class Lounges…

So hello, welcome to the video and welcome to the San Maritz room. This is one of two hotel rooms offered by Swiss Airlines at their first class lounge at concourse E of Zurich airport. I just flew in from Oslo and to be honest, I wasn’t feeling brilliant. So I thought I would take advantage of one of these rooms for a couple of hours nap and a shower, which I have just done. And I feel considerably more perky to embark upon my next flight because, well, it’s going to be a good one. As I said in the video I made about my flight down from Oslo, I was looking to go to Cape Town Swiss hair at a very attractive fair. So I jumped aboard and almost immediately after booking Swiss started to tempt me with an upgrade offer to their first class cabin. And this will end up being just about the most expensive airline ticket I’ve ever bought. And I wanted to experience what the Swiss experience was like on a long flight. It’s something like 10 and a bit hours down to Johannesburg tonight. And I believe we’re flying on a relatively rare aircraft, an A340600 series 2. So if you’d like to see what this lounge is like, and I’ll be able to give you a flash view of the other lounge at the other concourse as well because I arrived into that and was able to check it out before transferring over here and you’d like to see what the first class flight experience is like on Swiss, then stick around. Hi, I’m Matt and this is Matt’s Planet. I aim to entertain, educate, and inspire with my travel adventures. From planning to execution, I’ll show you how you can travel in style for a lot less than you’d think. So, subscribe so you can come with me. I’d flown in from Oslo, an experience I reviewed in this video, and it was an unusual flight as neither Norway nor Switzerland are in the EU, but both are in the Shenhen zone, which means there’s no passport formalities on arrival and no security either, as all Shenhen members trust each other’s security screening. So, I was able to walk straight off the plane and into the terminal on arrival. South Africa obviously is not in the Shenhen zone, so I knew passport controls awaited me. I also knew that my flight would be departing from a different terminal, but I’d done my research and I’d worked out that Swiss offers two firstass lounges. One in terminal A, which I’d arrived into, and one in terminal E, where I would be departing from. So, arriving from a Shenan country meant I’d be able to experience both lounges on this transit of Zurich. I’d engineered a 7-hour connection, so I was excited about doing both lounges justice. It was still quite a hike to the Swiss lounge complex in terminal A. A pleasant hike. And if you’re one of those people who develops an uncontrollable need to spend money in high-end boutiques when you’re in an airport, you’ll be well served here. Eventually, you’ll come upon a nondescript door, which promises much, but leads to an even nondescriptor corridor, which makes you feel like you really shouldn’t be there. But head around the corner and you’ll find the entrance to the Swiss First Lounge, which is reputed to be one of the very best in the world. And dear viewer, I didn’t much like it. A tepid welcome. And I guess I was hoping for something more. Perhaps a tour of the facilities or some words about what was on offer. But the agent’s phone kept ringing and it felt like she wanted to get rid of me to take the call. She advised me to let them know when I wanted to be transferred to the other terminal and left me to it so she could answer the phone. There’s a bar in the center of the space and a dining area behind that with an open kitchen. Some selfservice food and drink items are available here up via the stairs or the lift to the next level where you’ll find the cigar bar which I’ll come back to and a corridor. I quickly realized that there was nothing down here, but without guidance, it wasn’t at all clear how the space was laid out and where everything was. Back down again, and there’s a better view of the bar. Behind it was a document check desk. I didn’t really notice this when I arrived, and again, it would have been really handy if its purpose had been explained to me. Behind it was a more relaxed seating area, sofas and the like to the right and to the left. And through that was another way of getting to the dining area. Only six tables in there, though. My first impression was one of real disappointment. I couldn’t see any menus. None of the staff seemed interested in doing anything, and the space was a lot smaller than I expected it to be. I wasn’t feeling brilliant, so I asked if a nap room was available and was told that there were two in the lounge in the other terminal, but they couldn’t see from here if either was available and weren’t able or willing to call the other lounge to find out. And they couldn’t reserve me one over there even if it was available. It was all really unhelpful, really unwelcoming, and not at all what I expected. So, as this space wasn’t doing it for me, I decided to gamble and head over to the lounge at the e-gates and see if that was any better. The e-gates serve longhaul routes, whilst this space only served shenan destinations, none of which are operated with firstass cabins anyway, so I hoped that the other lounge would be better. They only advised me to visit the document desk when I asked for a transfer to the other terminal, and my documents were duly validated against my destination. I then headed across to the transfer area to await my transportation to the E terminal. And again, this was all a bit disappointing. Swiss promises a limo transfer, so I’d expected to be whisked across in a high-end BMW or Mercedes, but they waited for a group of four of us to assemble and led us to a bus. We were escorted down to a dingy basement and were led to a passport desk which I think was exclusively manned for firstass passengers taking this route which is certainly one positive of traveling with Swiss in first. So I was stamped out of the shenan zone and was then escorted around the normal terminal traffic and out of another random door into a parking area and onto a mini bus. No sign of anything more exotic. Swiss promises a limousine transfer, but it’s not. It’s a poshish minibus. First world problems, obviously, but this really wasn’t panning out as I’d hoped it would. [Music] [Music] Then after a five or six minute drive around some of the less glamorous back passages of Zurich airport, you’re unloaded and taken through another unglamorous corridor to another unglamorous lift. I was starting to get a little frustrated by now and had no real idea where I was or what was happening. So stayed in the lift with everyone else when the guide got out. But it turned out that these passengers had a short connection, so wanted to head straight to their gates rather than stopping off at the lounge. So I went back up again to the puzzlement of the guide who thought she’d lost me. And again, the welcome was lukewarm and not at all what I expected. But a nap room was available. It took the agent close to four minutes to do whatever she needed to do to allocate the room to me. But eventually she succeeded and I was led around the corridor to the Samaritz room. One of the best lounges in the world based on my experience so far. I wouldn’t say so. But things did get a bit better from here on in. The Samaritz room was very nice. A big fluffy bed and a full on suite bathroom. That was just what I needed. Not to mention the rather pleasant apron views. I was about an hour into my seven-hour connection time, and every minute spent asleep was a minute less to enjoy the lounge. So, I settled on a 2 and 1/2 hour nap. And after taking a shower on waking and recording that intro, I was back into general circulation with about 3 hours still to go before my flight, feeling a whole lot better. Remember, I still had an 11-hour flight down to Johannesburg to review that evening. And this firstass lounge immediately felt more approachable. A substantial wine display to the left with a bar straight ahead and a dining area to the left. A much larger dining area too. A whole seven tables here plus four more in that bar area around the bar to a larger seating area which extended down beyond that literature rack. I made camp and procured some water and an old-fashioned and found myself a dining menu. Cheers. Things were certainly starting to pick up. That menu was really rather good, too. One of the very few occasions where I felt I could have ordered anything and been really happy. I still had a meal to get through on the plane, so I decided to eat here sooner rather than later, so took a seat in the dining room. It was one step forwards and one step back, though, when it comes to the lounge experience, as this venue advertises an extensive wine offering, as we saw when we walked in. Yet, there was no wine list to choose from. You had to indicate what you wanted to the sumelier. I am flattering the attendant enormously by using that word here who would then fetch you something they thought might suit. My attendant actually read the bottle’s label to me to explain the wine. Having no wine list may be an ultra posh way of doing things, and they did murmur something about the wines having recently changed, which sounded improbable given the sheer volume of wine in the display. But it all didn’t work for me as I do like to see what’s on offer and take a measured decision perhaps based on some cheeky googling. The wine I ended up with was okay, but I didn’t really know what it was at the time and have no idea now. On to the food and I started with the beef tartar and it was one step forward again as it was superb. A decent serving too. Then largely based on fellow YouTuber Kim Ilman’s recommendation, I went for the fondue when in Switzerland and all that, I had a choice of bread, spuds, or vegetable chunks as my cheese delivery vehicles, and I opted for all three. I’m not a fondue expert by any means, and I’m not sure how much better the world’s best fondue is compared to the world’s worst. and it was really nice, but at the end of the day, it’s just a big glob of hot cheese. Next time, I’ll go for something more interesting. Sorry, Kim. My departure was one of the last of the night, so the lounge was quiet and got quieter. I got some steps in to try and work off all that cheese, and the lounge did grow on me a little. There were some pleasant corners to relax in. There was also an outside area. This was early January, so it wasn’t at all welcoming out there, but would be very pleasant in the summer. No cigar bar in this lounge, although the offering in the other lounge was very limited with no explanation on how things worked and no staff on hand to explain things. Back inside and there was some takeaway sugar to help you on your way if you needed it. There were also some clues as to what champagnes were on offer, but the bar was also really frustrating as again there was no drinks menu. A few drinks and cocktails were featured on the end of the bar, but it was quite tricky to see the bottles offered behind the bar to work out what to have. Posher guests than me may well know what they want, so just order it. But if you’re interested in experimenting with something you might not ordinarily come across, particularly in a firstass lounge where some options could be quite special, I found it really frustrating. I’m sure the bar staff would have assisted, but as with picking a wine, taking a moment to think about what I want is part of how I like to experience these sorts of places, and it didn’t feel like that was an approach that was catered for here. Looking back as I script this, I was very passive when it came to my interaction with the staff, which just didn’t work and left me very disappointed and frustrated with the experience. It seems to be a lounge where you must be assertive to get anything resembling a positive experience. Fellow YouTubers have renamed these as Scam Tracks Awards. And is this really the best first class lounge in the world? I’ve not been to all of the competition, but from this experience, I don’t think Swiss’s first lounges are anywhere near the standard of those others that I have visited. The food was excellent, and the availability of that nap room was great, but the lack of menus and the lack of any real service made this an extremely disappointing experience. Even more so, as I actually paid for this ticket rather than redeeming points for it. So off to the gate E52 that evening and it was a reasonable walk to get to it. No further limousines or minibuses were offered to assist firstass passengers on this part of the journey. But I timed it well and boarding started a couple of minutes after I got there. First class was called first and I was quickly through to board our 21-year-old Airbus A340300, not the 600 variant I suggested in that intro. There’s perhaps 17 600 still in scheduled passenger service. Lufanser has eight of them, but otherwise you’re off to Iran or Venezuela if you want to fly one. There’s less than 50 of the shorter 300 series still flying. The majority operated by Luansa, Swiss, or Swiss’s sister airline, Adel Vice. So the 300 is by no means a common aircraft to fly. With four engines, it was once touted as the future of longhaul aviation by no less illuminary than Richard Branson. Although the costs and emissions footprint of using four engines quickly rendered these predictions to be unreliable. I zigged and zagged my way down the jet bridge and finally made it to the plane. A left turn on boarding through the forward mini business cabin into the eight seat firstass cabin. First impressions are massive screens followed by wow, they’re really big screens. Seat 2A for me that day. I would have gone for row one on this occasion, but this was the only window seat available when I booked. This plane was refurbed 3, 6, and 18 years earlier. So, I’m confident that this seat is either 3 or 6 years old. It’s substantial with a highish wall and no foot cubby. The screen has to be large as it’s so far away from you when you’re seated. The middle pair are best for couples as they are aligned. There are privacy screens if you’re traveling solo. Let me quickly rerun that boarding footage. My camera is a few inches over 5 ft off the ground, which will give you a guide as to how high these walls actually are. Most of the seats excitement was to my left with a lower storage area where I popped the amenity kit and a private eye. Above was a panel which revealed a remote for that distant screen, an abundance of seat controls, and the headphones, plus a USB and a universal plug. The seat is so long you actually get exclusive use of four windows. At your shoulder on that side is a lamp adjustable thusly and endowed with perhaps an excessive number of settings. Everyone should be able to find a setting that works for them. No foot cubby, but a foot shelf which conceals a storage bin. not spotlessly cleaned, it has to be said. I’m tall, so could rest my feet on the footrest when seated, but not everyone will be able to do so. And those were pajamas. I was invited to pick a size, and large was the largest available. To my right was a reading light plus controls to the privacy mechanism locked in the open position prior to takeoff. And overhead were further lights, but no air vents, which I thought was quite an emission. Although as there are no central storage bins in this cabin, ceiling air vents for those in the middle seats would be a tremendously long way away from them. A glass of champagne Julie arrived. A 2006 Pomeray, which retails for about £200 in the UK. Served with some bread sticks and a scrum dip with olives. It was a strong start. Cheers. I was really pleased I’d had that nap. A chap across the aisle ordered a Bloody Mary, which was mixed at his seat, utilizing five different ingredients. Quite a performance and an indication that attention to detail was important to Swiss. The champagne was so nice, I went for a top up, and this time it was accompanied by a microwaved rag. I was able to stick my head into that mini business cabin behind me before it filled up. It’s an unusual 121 221 layout on this aircraft with every other row offering a throne seat such as the one immediately behind me. I’ve got an upcoming long haul flight in Swiss business coming up and I’m confident of resisting the urge to upgrade to first again. So, I’ll review this setup in more detail in an upcoming video. We push back bang- on time to the dulit tones of the safety video narration. Always leave your shoes on for takeoff and landing in case of emergency folks. That video was a very serious cartoon with a special appearance from Pinocchio. The walls to the suites are significant and as the seats are aligned, you can easily see your neighbors with your sweet door open. I obviously didn’t film it, but the person and the captain both came and spoke to all first class passengers. Not the deepest of conversations I’ve ever had, it has to be said, but still appreciated. And we were up into a dark Swiss night. We took off just about bang-on 11 p.m. A quick look at the in-flight entertainment. Notes the clothes hangers I didn’t have to use hanging to the right there. A strong range of movies, I thought, delivered through a system that was quite intuitive and responsive. But as usual, I spent most of the flight watching the moving map. Did I mention it’s a large screen? And here’s another look at those headphones in the morning light. I didn’t even get them out of the packet on this flight, and I’m no expert, but they didn’t look super premium. The very large table comes out of the panel on your left. I struggled to figure it out at first, but got the hang of it eventually. This clip obviously comes from later in the flight. It’s a huge table and buddy dining is available if your guest is happy to perch on that ottoman. You would be able to exit your seat with the table deployed. Back to nighttime and the tablecloth was duly delivered. Service was quick given the lateness of the departure, but it wasn’t too quick and once we’d reached the requisite altitude, the doors were unlocked. that actually comprised two elements. A privacy screen which actually rockets into position like this and then a more traditional door which fills in almost all of the gap. We were still climbing so gravity assisted me here. Quite effective when in the seat but again the wall isn’t that high. I can’t recall precisely when menus have been handed out, but here it is. Separate menus for the food and the beverage offering and a high quality document. Marmite is recognized as a culinary magazine in Switzerland rather than a yeasty spread. So using that word in this context produces a very different interpretation for British readers. Pause the video for a closer look. And having a separate cheese menu felt very Swiss. And the drinks menu was strong, but perhaps not exceptional. Some interesting wines, and given the hour, I went straight for the Zinfandel rather than diverting through the cocktail options first. Cheers again. It really was quite good. My table was laid and bread arrived. Three bread types united in one mutant lump, as is the trend on planes these days. Served with a choice of oil or butter, which you’ll be able to see once my camera focuses on it. No caviar service in Swiss first, not as a feature dish at least. So, I went for the batic salmon as a starter, which was superb. Then, all three main course options really appealed, but I went for the cod, and that did actually come with a small serving of caviar. Unlike a similar dish I had on Virgin Atlantic, Swiss kept the butter under control and the dish worked very, very well. Om nom nom. Never mind 10,000 steps. I was probably over 10,000 calories that day. 4,000 of them came from that fondue alone. So, I skipped the desserts and went for the cheese plate. Hey, it was the least I could do given there was a separate cheese menu. Again, it was excellent. followed by a glass of the Remy Marta XO Excellence, which also was superb. Overall, the dinner was excellent, a notch short of exceptional, but it was hard to fault. I went to the L to change into those gym jams, and the attendant made up my bed while I was away. A mattress topper, pillows, and a duvet were waiting for me on my return. With no foot cubby, you get a full length and full width bed that was actually really comfortable. And with the door and privacy screen closed, you do feel very private. And as you’d expect from a firstass product, it was very comfortable and I got perhaps six hours of good quality sleep. It was light when I woke and the crew spotted me opening the blinds and quickly offered some refreshment. I went for some peppermint tea. Daylight also gave me the opportunity to examine the amenity kit, which was a little disappointing for a firstass product, and it contains the oddest thing I’ve ever found in one of these kits. A shoulder strap for a bag. If anyone can shed any light on what’s going on here, please do. And here’s a reverse angle of the seat and that mattress topper. One of the thickest I can remember having. and it did deliver a good sleep. Breakfast promised to be underwhelming based on the menu, but the attendant asked me if I’d like some eggs and came back with this. It was delicious and really quite elaborate. Although, apart from eggs and potato, I wasn’t completely sure what was in it. So, shoes back on for landing and a quick shot of the seat in daylight. I paid £992 for a one-way business class flight from Oslo to Johannesburg. So based on miles flown, this leg cost £83, which is 75 quid per hour. I’d fully expected to fly in the business cabin, but I’d have had to pay close to £200 more to select one of those single throne seats, which is the ones you really want to be in as a single traveler. So when for £630 more, so £830 in total, Swiss offered me an upgrade to first class, I couldn’t resist. This leg on its own ended up costing me over£1600, which is a fairly bonkers amount to pay for any seat. But at £150 per flying hour, it’s not an outrageous amount to pay for a longhaul firstass seat, particularly one reputed to be one of the better firstass products out there. And that attributes all of that fair to the flying. That price also got me 7 hours in Swiss’s firstass lounges. But was it one of the better firstass products out there? Well, let’s start with the ground experience, which I just didn’t get on with. Both lounges failed to deliver any level of service, let alone a firstass experience. And without menus, I still don’t know what I might have missed out on. And Swiss still owes me a limo ride. The meal I had there was very good, even if I took the tourist option by choosing the fondue rather than picking something more elaborate. And having access to that sleep room was really helpful. Getting a nap certainly made the rest of the experience more enjoyable. But overall, I was really disappointed with what I had expected to be a real highlight of this trip. But once I made it to the plane, the quality of the experience was much better. It’s a great seat, comfortable to sit in and excellent to sleep in. The food was excellent, and the drinks were close to excellent, too. And the service was also superb, attentive and chatty, but never intrusive. Perhaps I was unlucky with my grand experience. And as I said earlier, I think I need to have been more assertive in how I approach things. But Qatar, Emirates, and even BA are ahead of Swiss with their first class offerings based on this experience. And so off into O Tambo airport in Johannesburg to prepare for my next adventure. Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed it. Please give the video a like if you did. Leave me a comment. Am I being too harsh on them for that lounge experience? Please subscribe if you’re new. And if you’d like to support what I’m doing more directly, there is a Patreon account, the link in the description below. So, thanks again for watching and I’ll see you all in the next one. Goodbye.

It’s Virgin Atlantic’s fault! I’d tried to book a seat on Air France to Cape Town using Virgin points, but had fallen foul of “phantom inventory” so ended up seatless…. But when looking at cash fares to South Africa, I found a very attractive fare on Swiss from Oslo to Johannesburg, so I booked!

I fully intended to fly in Swiss business (and I will in the near future) but when a quite appealing upgrade offer popped up to their First Class cabin, I jumped on it. Particularly as I knew it would give me 7 hours in their two First Class lounges in Zurich… Which are reported to be perhaps the best lounges in the entire world….

But were they good? And was the Swiss First experience any good when I made it to the plane? Watch this video to find out!

⭐ #flightreview #Swiss #MattsPlanet ⭐

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⏰ Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
1.35 – Zurich Airport Terminal A
6:47 – Zurich Airport Terminal E
12:40 – The Plane and Seat
19:00 – The Service

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