Review: Swiss Business Class, throne seat on A330 Montreal to Zurich

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Swiss business class is a solid product and I have flown them several times before. In fact, Swiss is my go-to airline when trying to book via Aeroplan. This flight was part of my trip to India, YUL-ZRH-BOM and was booked using Aeroplan miles, 75K + $75.45 CAD in taxes.

Flt LX 87 Montreal (YUL) – Zurich (ZRH)
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300ER
Duration: 7hr 25min
Seat: 12A (Business Class – Throne Seat)

Swiss Business Class Throne Seat

When flying solo, my favorite seats in Business class are the ‘Throne seats’ which offer a great mix of space and privacy – 4A/6A/8A/10A. I do my best to snag them at the time of booking or during online check-in, 24 hrs before the flight. This time I was in seat 12A.

 

 

 

Boarding, Seat amenities and Pre-Departure service

I arrived at the gate 5 minutes before boarding and was surprised to see a long lineup of Business/Priority passengers already queued up in the ‘Business’ lane. Once boarding commenced, it was quick and easy. I boarded the flight and settled into my throne seat, 12A. A pillow, blanket and an amenity kit were already placed on the seats. My view out the window was in good company of Air Transat, Air France and a couple of Air Canada flights.

Shortly upon settling in, we were offered a hot towel service followed by our pre-departure drink. I chose a glass of champagne (Duval-Leroy Brut) and browsed the menu.

 

 

 

 

 

I particularly like the feature to adjust the seat cushion softness. I prefer a firmer ‘bed’ but a softer seat, if that makes sense. Personally, it makes a huge difference to my seat comfort and experience.

 

 

 

The amenity kit was a neatly designed Swiss bag with the standard amenities of eye mask, socks, dental kit, lip balm etc. Perfectly adequate.

 

 

A quick push-back and a short taxi later, we were ready to hit the sky!

 

 

In-Flight Service

Once in the air and at cruising altitude, the crew was quickly in action with a drinks service followed by the first meal. For passengers that don’t like a full dinner service, the quick ‘Dine and Recline’ option is great. I usually opt for this when connecting after a long flight onto the next. For this flight however, I was set to experience the full service.

 

Just before take-off, the crew had already collected a breakfast order.

The meal service started with drinks and a bowl of cheese/black olives/sun-dried tomatoes – yum! So much better than a bowl of nuts, in my opinion.

 

I did not mind the crew re-filling my bowl of olives and sun-dried tomatoes, also generous re-fills of the champagne 🙂 . Shortly thereafter, meal was served. I wanted to try something new and the crew recommended the Bramata (Swiss Polenta with mushrooms and spinach). The Bramata lived up to its reputation and some more. It was incredibly flavorful and delicious!

 

 

 

The espresso and the cheesecake hit the spot!

Quite often the meal service in Business Class tends to be long and drawn out. Not on this flight though, the service was really well paced and allowed sufficient time after to get some work done before tucking in for the night.

Wifi OnBoard

Unfortunately, I could not even pretend to be busy – Wifi was available on-board but did not work. Several resets later, I was still unable to log on. Wasn’t complaining though, those seats lie flat for a reason 😉

 

 

 

Lie Flat bed

The sole reason I choose not to fly economy, if the flight time is more than 4 hours. The lie flat configuration of the seats was great and allowed me a good 4 hour sleep overnight, worth-every-mile-spent. Swiss Business Class seats allow me great shoulder room while sleeping, which is a bonus for a broad shouldered person like me.

 

I woke up just in time to experience yet another beautiful sunrise, one of my favorite perks of flying! 🙂

I got up exactly an hour to go, just as the breakfast was being served.

 

And Just like that it was time to change out of my PJ’s, in preparation for landing.

 

 

 

Take Away

Swiss Air Business Class is my go-to option for an Aeroplan redemption. If you haven’t tried it yet, you must. Hard to go wrong with 75K one-way to India and no fuel surcharges (55K from NA to Europe). It is a solid product and if you are able to snag a throne seat, even better! The friendly and attentive crew running a tight service was the cherry on top. The only critique (if I must) is that the setup (entertainment system etc.) on my flight was dated and seems ready for a refresh. Would love to try the new Swiss Air business class product on that route. I hope the new Air Canada loyalty program , set to release in 2020, continues to offer Swiss Air Business Class at the same rates, such a great redemption.