Swiss First Class was at the top of my bucket list of airline products to try. The fact that my route was being operated by a rare A340 made this flight extra special. I never thought that it would be attainable any time in the near future since Swiss Airlines first class is not bookable through points, and I am certainly not at that level where I would ever pay cash for a first class flight either. This Swiss Airlines first class flight was part of my long journey to the Maldives with Eric in 2021.
Even with all the hype around this product, Swiss Airlines first class exceeded my expectations, and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to try this magnificent product!
Table of Contents
Swiss Airlines First Class Booking
The original intention was to book Swiss Airlines business class. At the time, I was ecstatic to be flying business on an A340. A340’s are quite rare nowadays, and the routes they fly on change often. During the weeks leading up to the booking, the route between Chicago and Zurich was being operated by their A330s, which makes up the majority of their fleet. Of the 31 widebodies in their fleet, only 5 are A340s.
Around two months prior to the flight, I found availability for the ORD-ZRH leg of my longer journey to Male, Maldives. Thanks to Aeroplan’s partnership with Etihad Airways, I was able to book Star Alliance partners in one ticket with Etihad, which made booking the trip to Maldives very convenient. Aeroplan was charging 100k + 78CAD per person for the entirety of the flight to Male (ORD-ZRH-AUH-MLE), all in business class.
Right before and after booking any premium class flights, I obsessively scour the internet for reviews and experiences for the product I had booked. I stumbled upon a lovely thread on FlyerTalk, dedicated to collecting datapoints for Swiss Airlines first class cash upgrade pricing at check-in. I read that a route between Chicago to Zurich was looking to be around $1-2k for an upgrade.
Even with all this lifestyle creep that I have been experiencing, paying this much cash for an upgrade felt way out of my budget. I shoved that FlyerTalk thread to the back of my memory, enjoying the fact that I had booked a flight on an A340. Every single day, I would check to make sure that there would be no aircraft swaps on my route, even though I had ExpertFlyer alerts activated.
Swiss Airlines First Class Check-in
Even though my flight was ticketed two months prior to travel, there were a few schedule changes that affected my Etihad Airways leg. It was not a big deal since the schedule change didn’t impact my plans significantly. I tried to check-in online through the Swiss Airlines app at T-24hrs, but kept getting an error. I went onto the Air Canada Manage Booking, and the only thing that stood out was that Air Canada wanted me to acknowledge the schedule changes. I never bothered accepting the changes because typically, when a schedule change happens, the passenger doesn’t really have a choice but to accept the change (or manually ask for a reschedule). I called Swiss Airlines, since I knew that the operating carrier usually has control of the ticket T-24hrs.
When I called Swiss Airlines, they told me something no passenger ever wants to hear. My flight… was not ticketed.
Not ticketed?! What does that even mean?
Swiss Airlines said that I needed to contact the travel agent, Air Canada, to get it resolved. Time was ticking. It was 8hrs before my repositioning flight to Chicago, and it was already 10pm PDT. I quickly called the Aeroplan contact center, and waited on hold. I waited, and waited, and an hour later, I started becoming insanely restless. How could I possibly get to Maldives without this flight? I had no idea if the contact center was closed, but I had no choice but to keep waiting it out.
1.5hrs on hold later, I finally reached an agent. She pulled up my reservation, and saw the issue. Due to the schedule change, I had to officially acknowledge the schedule change on the website for the ticket to be properly issued. Until then, the ticket is stuck in some kind of limbo state. My biggest worry was that the award space was gone since my flight wasn’t ticketed, but luckily, this was not the case. The agent quickly re-issued my ticket, and I immediately received a confirmation email. I asked the agent if there was an easier way to call back in case I ran into any issues, and she told me that the contact center would be closing for the night soon, so there would be no point to calling back until the following morning. At that point, I knew there was nothing I could do, but hope for the best.
I went back onto the Swiss Airlines app to check in, and ran into the exact same issue. At this point, I was getting nervous, so I called Swiss Airlines once again to see what they could do. To my surprise, the Swiss Airlines contact center agent looked at my ticket, and told me that everything looked fine! In my head, I was wondering, should I believe them? What if I get to Chicago, and the check-in agent tells me that I don’t have a valid ticket? Thus, I did my due diligence and contacted Swiss Airlines on Twitter, and they provided some clarity that was just believable enough for me to call it a day. The representative said that Swiss Airlines does not allow online check-in due to the pandemic, and that I would have to check-in at the check-in counters once I arrived to Chicago to get my boarding pass.
This flight would be my first international trip during the pandemic, so I had no prior experience with checking-in to an international flight with all these new restrictions. I trusted the Twitter rep, and optimistically hoped for the best.
Once we arrived into Chicago ORD on Southwest Airlines, I anxiously made my way to the international check-in area to get my boarding pass. Luckily, I had given myself almost 4hrs for the connection, so I had no sense of urgency, just extreme nervousness. We arrived so early to the counters, that the check-in agents had not even manned the counters yet. The ten minutes of waiting for the agent was agonizing, and was made even longer by the group of passengers in line in front of us.
Finally, we made it to the check-in agent, gave her our passport and other covid related documents, and lo and behold, successfully checked-in to our flights! At this point, I was over the moon, and I felt so much weight lifted off my shoulders. I even got the agent to select bulkhead seats for us at the front of the business class cabin!
Swiss Airlines First Class Upgrade
I had previously told Eric about the FlyerTalk thread datapoints on upgrading to first class, and somehow, during check-in, we brought it up amongst ourselves. I never really entertained the idea of asking the check-in agents about the possibility of a cash upgrade, since I’m the type of person that would be too shy to ask. Eric, however, saw my hesitation and quickly asked the check-in lady whether there were any cash upgrades to first class available.
The lady seemed quite familiar with the process, and rummaged through some papers and let us know that Swiss Airlines was running some kind of summer promo. She typed some things into the computer, and let us know that an upgrade to Swiss Airlines first class for our specific routing would be $1000 per person. I looked at Eric, and he looked at me. Eric knew all about Swiss Airlines first class, since we had both read/watched reviews. We both really liked their first class seat, and he also knew that first class could not be booked with points. We had quick conversation lasting around 20s, to which I said, I don’t know that Swiss Airlines would be worth an additional $1000 to the points we already paid for this flight. Eric turned around to the agent and said, “yes, we’ll take the upgrade”.
This is total enabling behavior, but also another reason I love Eric. He turns my wants and desires to actionable items, and I would being kicking myself for the rest of my life if I had known that I let this sweet this opportunity pass me by. $1000 was on the low end of my expectations by reading the datapoints on FlyerTalk, so the Swiss Airlines upgrade promo seemed realistic enough. $1000 for a first class upgrade on a 8.5hr flight may appear extremely excessive, but to Eric and me, it is something we would value even greater than the cash for the upgrade.
I gave the check-in agent my credit card, and she quickly processed the $2000 to upgrade both of us from business class to first class. She handed us our boarding pass with the words ‘FIRST’ at the top. I was already overjoyed at the fact that the Swiss Airlines had successfully ticketed to begin with, but the upgrade to first class was undoubtedly the cherry on top.
Swiss Airlines Boarding
Like usual, I would capture a picture of the aircraft that I would be flying. This time, I was extra excited to see a plane that I had no prior memory of flying in, an A340! The two small engines attached to each wing is absolutely adorable! The Swiss Airlines livery is also the perfect amount of minimalism, and the red color is so elegant on the white fuselage.
Boarding was quick and efficient, and since we were in first class, we were the first to board.
Swiss Airlines First Class Cabin & Seats
Swiss Airlines first class is arranged in a 1-2-1 layout, with a total of 8 first class seats in the cabin. The first class seats have a pitch of 83in and width of 22in (compared to 60in/20.5in in business, and 32in/17.3in in economy).
There is a mini cabin of 2 rows of business class left of the aircraft entrance, and then first class cabin is in the very front. I smiled while I walked past the two seats located in the bulkhead of business class that I had upgraded from. First class greeted us just beyond, and it was exciting to be in such spacious seats again, the first time since the pandemic.
The stare of disbelief, realizing I made it to Swiss Airlines first class.
This was also us, super giddy once we arrived to our seat and started settling in. The Swiss map decoration above our seat was a very nice touch.
Slippers and amenity kits were placed at each seat. You can see that we had already hung our jackets on the hangers and hooks on located near the IFE towards the foot of the seat.
The seats were a smooth, slick feeling grey cloth, with a small checkered pattern. The rest of the cabin had a beige/light grey tone, with wood accents throughout. It felt elegant, especially the beautiful lamp on the side. This is similar to the type of design that we like. Even the controls felt unobtrusive and well designed.
Many options for fine tuning your seat to your preferences.
The first class seats are separated by a divider that runs almost the entire length of the seat, allowing either full privacy, or a very open space with your lovely husband.
When it was time to wind down after the large meal service, the flight attendant quickly setups the bed with a mattress, and the blanket on top. Sleeping was so comfy, because everyone also has individual air nozzles to keep cool if the cabin is too warm. Eric felt that the seat was not comfortable enough.
And plenty of space for my legs in the lie-flat position
The IFE was a very large 32in screen, and very responsive.
And speaking of entertainment, free wifi cards were handed out, but only a stingy free 50MB. My face at this point was quite flushed from the alcohol.
Took a snap of the bathroom while I was getting changed into the pajamas! Instead of paper towels for your hand, they give fabric finger towels. A very luxurious touch, and the kind of detail I love.
Swiss Airlines Departure from Chicago
Once we boarded, we were offered some pre-departure drinks, and we chose champagne of course. There were also some warm seasoned nuts in a the ramekin. The main menu, and beverage menu were passed out. We ended up departing seven minutes late at 7:22pm.
At this point, we also checked out what the Swiss Airlines first class amenity bag included. There were most of your usuals, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, shoe horn, tissues, creams and also throat drops, a comb, and a pack of Swiss Airlines branded face masks.
Unsurprisingly, the creams were provided by la prairie, a Swiss skin care manufacturer. They included an eye contour cream, lip balm, face moisturizer, and hand cream.
Swiss Airlines First Class Meal Service
About thirty minutes into the flight, our meal preferences were collected, and meal service began twenty minutes later. Our tables were first set up by the lovely flight attendants.
For my drink, I just chose a simple sparkling water with ice and lemon.
The salt and pepper shakers were beautiful designed. Maybe the best ones I have seen the flights I have taken.
The meal started with three types of bread, a butter white bun, and malty brown bun, and a bun filled with scattered pumpkin seeds. There was a side of butter and olive oil served.
The first course was a fillet of Balik salmon. Many airlines chose a caviar course, but Swiss airlines chooses to serve this beautiful presentation of salmon. The salmon was delicious, and the texture was melt-in-your-mouth amazingness. It was served with a side of poached prawn and scallop with tiger’s milk, sweet potato corn, and fried Cuzco corn.
The next dish contained a collection of which were described as: prosciutto ham, and selection of Italian antipasti. The pepper was tasty, and the veggies were refreshing.
The next course was a roasted tomato bisque with garlic crouton. Can’t go wrong with a nice warm soup.
The final starter course was a seasonal salad with mandarin oranges and dates. The salad was light, and also very refreshing. The pacing of the meal was perfect, and I love the play between heartier dishes and lighter dishes.
There were four main courses to choose from, but we could only choose two between the two of us, so we got the Chilean sea bass with saffron cream sauce, roasted parsnip puree, broccolini, and baby carrots. We also ordered the rib-eye steak with Café de Paris butter, potato gratin with thyme and garlic confit, and creamy spinach.
The fish was on the drier side, but the sauce was good.
We couldn’t resist ordering the rib eye steak. A steak, on the plane. Hard to say no to that. The plating was also very elegant, with a slab of herbed butter and a rosemary garnishing the top of the steak. The potato gratin looks very inviting, and it was balanced beautifully by the creamy spinach and roasted tomato on top. The quality of rib-eye came across as very flavorful and beefy, and the spinach was amazing.
Sometimes the cheese course on some airlines are very disappointing, but not the one on Swiss Airlines first class. The cheese was elegantly served on a slate-like plate, with three types of cheese, some nuts, dried apple and prune, and a few bags of biscuits. I was surprised to find that every cheese tasted good!
There were two options for dessert, and of course Eric and I shared both. The first dessert option was the vanilla ice cream with citrus salad. I have no idea how a citrus salad could go with ice cream, and after trying it, it doesn’t go together all that well. Regardless, it was refreshing to see fruits being served that you don’t typically find on a plane. Slices of grapefruit, mandarin oranges, strawberries, and kiwis. The ice cream was… like ice cream, nothing too exciting here. I was absolutely stuffed at this point.
The second dessert option was called a caramel tartlet delight, and it tasted like a sweet caramel cheesecake.
Let’s take a second to appreciate how gorgeous their tea service is. The personal teapot, so sleek.
And for those curious, I tried looking at where I could purchase this tea set. The tea set is branded with the Swiss Airlines logo, but no hint of which brand or manufacturer. If anyone knows, give me a shout!
After they took our dessert plates away, the flight attendant came by and gifted us one last thing, an entire box of Sprüngli Chocolate. Look how beautiful the collection looks! Since we were too full, we left the chocolates untouched, and packed it away for later.
Swiss Airlines First Class Breakfast
Around one hour prior to landing, breakfast was served. I chose the omelette with roasted tomato (the omelette was surprisingly tender and silky!), ham and cheeses, fruits, a bread basket, and tea. Of course I had to get the tea, just to see the teapot again. I also ordered a cup of grapefruit juice to go with my meal. Admittedly, I was still full from the meal service prior to the nap, so I wasn’t able to manage too much breakfast. Eric got everything minus the omelette, he was simply too full.
Swiss Airlines First Class Service
Service was very friendly, and we felt very well taken care of. The communication between the staff to serve our meals together was greatly appreciated. They also made sure that we ate all the dishes we wanted to, since they knew that the first class seat was a very special experience for us. The flight attendants also walked through the cabin to check up on the passengers at just the right amount.
The crew was also very quick in offering a smaller pair of pajamas to Eric when the medium size did not fit well on him. Overall, I came out of the flight with a very positive experience of the flight attendants. Right before landing, they personally said farewell to every passenger, what a nice touch.
Summary
So did Swiss Airlines first class live up to all the hype from the countless reviews that I have read? Yes, yes it does! Was it worth the $1000 for the upgrade? Yes, absolutely. The Swiss Airlines first class experience is one that I will never forget. Even during the pandemic, the Swiss Airlines crew were able to create such a personalized and elegant experience for us, filled with delicious food and seemingly no cut to any of their services. The Balik salmon was also very memorable — so different from caviar, yet felt just as high class.
After we landed, I left the gorgeous A340 with a big box of Swiss chocolates to enjoy later. A little souvenir, from one of my most aspirational flights.
