SNATH From United States of America, joined Mar 2004, 3192 posts, RR: 32 Posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 5167 times:
Hi all,
I'm planning to book a transatlantic trip on business class and the options are either Lufthansa or Swiss. Swiss is slightly cheaper, but Lufthansa avoids the stop @ ZRH. The Swiss long-haul legs are scheduled to be on A340s (sadly, not the new A330s!!!).
I'm quite familiar with the current Lufthansa business class product. Has anyone been on both? How does the Swiss product compare to the Lufthansa's (seat, service, etc.)?
Also, do both give full meals in the evening, even if the flight leaves pretty late (around 10pm)?
Thanks in advance,
Tony
Nikon: we don't want more pixels, we want better pixels.
Soon7x7 From United States of America, joined May 2006, 2521 posts, RR: 16 Reply 1, posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 5150 times:
Lufthansa had better service, Swiss had better price...A346 and A332 respectively...J
SNATH From United States of America, joined Mar 2004, 3192 posts, RR: 32 Reply 2, posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 5098 times:
SQ_EK_freak From United Kingdom, joined Dec 2000, 1473 posts, RR: 17 Reply 3, posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 5075 times:
I much prefer Swiss to Lufthansa. I'd say their hard product is about par, so it comes down to the soft product and in my experience crew on LX are always way more accommodating and friendly than their counterparts at LH.
HT From Germany, joined May 2005, 6325 posts, RR: 31 Reply 4, posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 3 days 23 hours ago) and read 5062 times:
Quoting SNATH (Thread starter): Swiss is slightly cheaper, but Lufthansa avoids the stop @ ZRH.
If it is nonstop on LH vs. one-stop on LX, I would go for the LH-nonstop flight.
I have been on both airlines Business Class product but more than one year ago, so I am not sure what has changed (at LX). When I flew on a LX A343 from LAX I found the seat less comfortable in sleep-position than on LH's A346 (I avoid B744 in Business Class due to the middle seat).
Quoting SNATH (Thread starter): Also, do both give full meals in the evening, even if the flight leaves pretty late (around 10pm)?
Should do, however I would advise to eat before boarding, as a full meal service usually takes 2+ hours of valuable time that on late-evening departures better is spent sleeping (or trying to do so). LX used to offer the option of an expediated meal service for evening departues from the U.S..
-HT
Carpe diem ! Life is too short to waste your time ! Keep in mind, that today is the first day of the rest of your life !
SNATH From United States of America, joined Mar 2004, 3192 posts, RR: 32 Reply 6, posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 5016 times:
Hello.
Quoting SQ_EK_freak (Reply 3): I much prefer Swiss to Lufthansa. I'd say their hard product is about par, so it comes down to the soft product and in my experience crew on LX are always way more accommodating and friendly than their counterparts at LH.
Interesting feedback. I've had amazing crew on LH F class in the past, but I also had some more "robotic" ones too (still, very professional though). My experiences on Swiss were in Y and the crews were fine, but nothing really memorable (Y is never memorble though!!!).
Quoting HT (Reply 4): Should do, however I would advise to eat before boarding, as a full meal service usually takes 2+ hours of valuable time that on late-evening departures better is spent sleeping (or trying to do so).
Oh, I always eat before I board a plane on a late night departure to maximize sleep, as you say. And yes it's quite irritating when you fly out at 10pm and LH decide to take 2 hours to go through the dinner service. BTW, I looked at the Swiss web site:
You would just like to go to sleep quickly? Inform our Flight attendants, they will serve you a light, wholesome quick meal immediately after take-off.
This is similar to what AC used to do for late flights: they'd give you the option of either a full meal, or an express cold dish. I always took the latter and I would have eaten and ready for sleep in 30-40 mins after take off. The last time I flew on Executive First, however, (that was last summer) they only gave the express option (and they went through the service in less than an hour), but provided an extended breakfast service in the morning. This is a much better approach IMHO.
Anyway, thanks all for the feedback. I think I'll actually do LH, not only to avoid the stopover, but also because Swiss had replaced the A340 with a A332 in the past (and the C seats on the A332 are the old style ones).
Tony
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SNATH From United States of America, joined Mar 2004, 3192 posts, RR: 32 Reply 7, posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 4969 times:
Quoting SNATH (Reply 6): Oh, I always eat before I board a plane on a late night departure to maximize sleep, as you say. And yes it's quite irritating when you fly out at 10pm and LH decide to take 2 hours to go through the dinner service.
Well, they seem to have listened to me! From their site:
And an individual Express Menu, as well as the optional 'Breakfast-to-go', means you can rest for longer, especially on night flights - just one of the ways in which we ensure that you arrive at your destination feeling as relaxed as possible.
Tony
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