Airline Review: Swiss (regional Economy)

Regional air travel usually isn’t anything special. My experience with Swiss (LX) in Economy Class was a very good one anyway. While other airlines in Europe do not offer food on short haul flights anymore, Swiss still offers a sandwich and unlimited drinks. The seating comfort meanwhile is solid, the organization is really good.

Check out our Airline Rating for Swiss (regional Ecomomy)!

I’ve been flying with Swiss several times some years ago and I still remember the experience as a good one. That’s one reason why I decided to fly with Swiss from Berlin to Zurich last weekend.

• Airplanes: Airbus A319 / Airbus A320
• Cabin Class: Economy
• Daytime: Evening
• Food: Sandwich (Cheese / Ham)
• Seat Pitch: 31 Inch (79 Centimeter)
• Seat Width: 17 Inch (43 Centimeter)

Usually I would have chosen Air Berlin (collecting miles for the frequent flyer status) but flying to Switzerland was a good reason to work on a new airline review for the blog.

So I found myself onboard a Swiss airplane for the first time in 2014. At first I was surprised that the plane flying the route was that big (A320 from TXL to ZRH, A321 from ZRH to TXL). But what did surprise me even more is that the plane was filled on both flights. People seem to like Swiss.

Fair amount of newspapers and magazines

Entertainment on regional flights is nothing I need to talk about too much. In Swiss airplanes you’ll find shared monitors showing some advertisement and information and a board magazine. Moreover, at the respective gates they provide the most important and even some international newspapers as well as some major magazines.

Overall, a very solid entertainment for a regional flight. Solid is the perfect word for the seat as well. Not surprising, the airplane was very clean. The seat itself was comfortable but looked a little outdated. The black leather is in a good shape but the armrests look very old.

The seat pitch in both planes was neither good nor bad compared with other airlines.

Sandwich and unlimited drinks offered by Swiss

What I personally did like especially was the catering. The “normal Swiss catering” consisted of one round of drinks (as many as you want, including hot beverages, juices, soft drinks and alcohol), a sandwich (cheese or ham) and a little chocolate bar. The sandwich was a little so small in my opinion but you can get a second one if there are some left.

All drinks and sandwiches tasted good and were of a high quality. What was really positive was the request compliance in terms of catering. The flight attendants bring you water before the start, some more drinks after the normal catering and also a second sandwich on request. An aspect that I want to stress especially in this airline review as it is not normal on regional flights with such a short duration (one hour and 15 minutes).

Arrival on time but no boarding groups

The punctuality of the Swiss flights was good, so was the de-boarding organization. What was worse in my opinion was the boarding itself. The airline did not use boarding groups in Berlin and Zurich. As both planes were pretty big, it took a while to board. Even though I boarded late, I had to wait in the gateway for some minutes.

I’ve seen way better ways to board a plane for efficiently and more comfortable for the passenger. Apart from that I can fully recommend flying Swiss. The airline has high standards in terms of cleanliness, catering and punctuality. Try it yourself, you’ll like it.

Book your Swiss flight now:

• Expedia
• OneTravel

 

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