Hi everyone,
Here is a one way trip to Istanbul for a 5h stay, with Swiss in C class !
AFAIK, it's the first FR covering the legs LHR-ZRH (since most of the members here reside in GVA) and ZRH-IST in J with Swiss. It was chosen because of its great reputation !
It was part of an EDI-LHR-ZRH-IST-KGL-ADD-LHR-EDI routing exclusively in premium cabins combining award and paid tickets. (But don't worry, you'll get only the two Swiss parts ;-) )
The day before i checked-in online without printing my BP and at 4h45, i was welcomed by a friendly Swissport agent at T1.
In the early hours, nobody in the airy terminal, i've been ushered airside in no time, proving the fast track access useless.
Time to visit again the somewhat good Star Alliance lounge, rather empty too !
Once settled down, i took a couple of pictures before a staff member asked me the purpose of these photos taken. A short explanation satisfied her curiosity and she returned to her duty, while i continued mine !
I liked very much this place, but imho it's not as good as the Skyteam lounge in T4.
Everything you need is here but it lacks of soul and natural lighting. When the new *A lounge in T2 will open, LX will move out there like LH.
Finally, I went to use a shower (compulsory check-in) because i needed some hydrating lotion only, prohibited in the hand luggage !
The hot buffet is stocked up from 6h15-6h30
My choice
Heathrow Airport Terminal 1 is quite huge that i had to walk TOO much to the correct gate (a flat 15 mins).
CS-TNU, TAP Portugal
B767 United
SP-LLK, Charters LOT
Boarding was called regardless of the FF status/class nor the help required, and then greetings with a smile from 2 cabin crew members, Italian and German i think.
Sitting at the first row was, myself (1F) and a paying dude wearing tracksuit (1A). A business man looking passenger took this opportunity to make himself comfortable at 1D.
When boarding was completed, the Maître de Cabine, greeted all the HON and SEN travellers seated row 2 and 3, and finally expelled this intruder of 1D, haha !
From now there is not too much to write, so enjoy the pictures :
Push back
G-RJXA
Take off video
M25
LGW
Easyjet
newspapers stand
Airshow
Seats in the front row have tables that fold out of the armrest, and magazine racks on the bulkhead in front.
The seats are upholstered in grey leather and recline very little via a button in the armrest. Pitch is more or less 30 to 32 inches.
4 rows in C class
Breakfast service began from the last row (by status?) so i ordered mine at the end. It was ok for this short hop, nothing overwhelming !
The white thing in the saucer tasted sour and was really weird for my liking (if you know what is it, let me know) !
Lille airport
A Swiss tradition
The rest of the flight remained extremely uneventful, so the approach and landing bang on time !
Video of landing
A short taxiing and to discover the Swiss land.
AA, LX, WY, SQ
TK, LX, TG
Where to go now?
