Review of SWISS flight from Zurich to Hong Kong in Economy

Picking up from last week inside Zurich Airport as we transit in from our Helvetic Airways flight from London City (LCY).

And the husband and I have lounge access so opt for the SWISS Business Class lounge at the E Gates.

It's a nice lounge, clean, calm, practical with good food and drink options as well as separate areas for work, rest and play.

There's the stunning outside terrace. Perfect for the avgeeks in us!

As well as indoor seating, too.

There's a relaxation area with these recliner chair booths. Great if you have a long connection.

There's showers on hand, bookable via reception. 

Work booths are also available. This is a real selling point in my opinion.

There's lots of salads on offer.

As well as cheese, desserts, and sides.

And here were the mains of the evening. Quite a good selection in my opinion.

I had no choice but to try the cheese spätzle, an absolute winner with crispy onions!

We also tried the bread and cheese, the beef consomme and a selection of salads. 

HB-JNC taking us across to Hong Kong this evening. A Boeing 777-300ER which was delivered to SWISS in April of 2016.

The cabin economy is quietly understated with calm, muted tones.

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And here are our seats for the next 11 and a bit hours. 31J and K, the middle and aisle.

With great wing views too!

On our seats a large plump pillow, a SWISS coloured soft blanket and a pair of earphones. Bring your own - these were poor.

Legroom was fine, no major complaints here, but the seat width was quite uncomfortable and felt much tighter than other economy products I've flown recently.

The seat area was also quite badly stained. Not a nice sight.

The IFE is a reasonable size, with our aircraft, HB-JNC, appearing on the home screen as part of the SWISS marketing materials.

And with that it was time to push back. I do love a night-time departure!

After a very blurry and misty take-off, with the glare thanks to SWISS keeping all the IFE's on a rotating set of adverts during take-off, the service began.

Switzerland sure does look good at night!

The service starts with a full-size 500ml bottle of Valser still spring water and a refreshing tissue.

I then had a peek around the IFE system before dinner was served. It's pretty good. Quite a minimalistic but responsive and intuitive design.

And dinner was then served; a mixed bag. Starter was a cous cous salad (bland, boring - you know my thoughts on these). The main course was a beef stew-type dish with cheese mash potatoes and red cabbage - this was great. There was also a warm bread roll and Swiss butter, a small pot of crystallised Swiss cheese, a 'Minor' chocolate nougat bar in the red wrapper and a dessert of a spiced apple fool, with apple compote. All in all pretty decent if you deduct the rubbish starter!

The cabin lights then went blue which signified some sleep time! Time to test out the seat.

I slept on and off but the seat width I really struggled with on this sector. It feels much wider than other economy seats and led to a rather tight space, restricting the ability to get truly comfortable.

After I woke up for the second time, I headed to the galley with the husband where an array of sweet and savoury snacks were on offer.

These 'Choc-Ovo' bars were great!

There were also bottles of sparkling Valser water available, too.

Having taken off out of Zurich in the dark, light was soon upon us, before it would be setting again as we land into Hong Kong. This flight really does mess with your body clock for sure.

The toilets were spotless. Nice to see SWISS take these seriously.

I know toilet cleanliness is, on the whole, passenger responsibility. But it's nice to see regular toilet checks on SWISS and well-stocked soap and amenities.

Wi-Fi messaging is free, but quite the price hike if you want to stream. CHF25/$28 for 4 hours and CHF35/$39 for the entire flight.

The views over Burma were stunning. I love a window seat.

Then breakfast was (not) served. The row in front received breakfast, as did the row behind. The crew then sailed on without even asking us if we wanted anything. The cabin crew members behind doing drinks offered us a juice or tea/coffee and then asked why we didn't want breakfast. All three of us said we weren't asked. One eventually turned up for my husband, whilst myself and the gentleman on the aisle waited a further 5 minutes to receive ours. A bit odd.

And here we go, two slices of bread, a brioche-style loaf (un-toasted) and a nutty, wholemeal sliced baguette (toasted and warm). There was butter, Swiss raspberry jam, a raspberry yoghurt and a fruit salad (most of which was still frozen).

The star of the show was exactly not that. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, tomato ratatouille, boiled spinach and roast potatoes. A very bland and boring breakfast. And yes, the eggs were overcooked!

We then started our descent into Hong Kong.

And before we knew it we were down on the ground. A long flight for sure and a very mixed bag.

But at least we caught this beautiful sunset across the apron…

…and saw this Atlas Air Boeing 747 soar into the skies. Every cloud has a silver lining I suppose. Thanks, as always, for reading/watching. See you next week!