Grüezi! Welcome to the next flight of my amazing summer travels! This portion occurred during my birthday at the beginning of August.
For those who are joining us today and have not checked out my other reports of this trip, feel free to check among the following:
Flight 1 - UA 1585 IAH - ORD
When I determined where I really wanted to visit, I checked and rechecked flights daily to a see if any LX options had opened up. I really would have liked to have done LX from SFO, but mileage redemption on European flights from the West Coast remain slim. When I canceled BOS-ZRH-SIN, I had hoped it would offer BOS-ZRH-Europe within a few days however it took over a month for that option to open up. I snagged it up and started figuring out a plan for going around Bean Town.
Resided with the fact that I should not change my flights anymore with just days till departure, I decided to see what options had opened up. Low and behold, a much earlier ORD-ZRH had opened up that would get me into ZRH early and let me get to my first destination rather early in the day. With a quick change online, I would now get to enjoy my very first LX flight from ORD and check out departure side of T5.
At 23hrs before departure, LX lets you check-in for your flight, either from their website or from your smartphone. I decided to try checking in on my mobile.
What would I like to do today?
I wanted to sit in the Stübli, particularly 5K, but it shows reserved.
At the end of the check-in, the app let me generate a passbook boarding pass. I also had a PDF version sent to my e-mail.
On a small side note, I got an e-mail from EK counting down the hours regarding their new flight to ORD.
Fast forward to the day of travel, once I got my Garrett’s and collected my checked-in bags from my UA flight, I took the landslide train from Terminal 1 to Terminal 5, the second-to-last stop. Many passengers had hopped on connecting from other domestic flights to international flights departing from T5. Upon departing the train, I headed to the left exit and lucked out as the escalators dropped me off right at the check-in counters for LX, which had just opened a few minutes earlier.
LX Counter with a big Star Alliance banner
LX J and Star Gold Counter
I had arrive at the check-in counter three hours before my flight would depart. The LX counters had just opened and I saw only a handful of people already check-in. I queued up at the J/Star Gold line and got called up by the HON check-in agent, Dima. Swissport personnel handles LX at ORD, which includes the LX Lounge. I handed her my passport and she asked my final destination. She had to double check my itinerary and verified that she could check my bag all the way and could issue my boarding passes. She then told me that I could use the LX Lounge located near M7. She handed me all my stuff including all boarding passes and baggage claim receipt and wished me a pleasant flight. Once done, I decided to check-out the various check-in counters open, including a brand new entrant to ORD.
Brand new EK counter, I believe the former MX counter.
EI counters open to check-in for VS flight to LHR. KE check-in counter seems empty with flight to ICN about to depart soon.
Passengers waiting for OS to open up check-in for flight to VIE. CM counters are also closed.
KL flight checking in last minute passengers for AMS.
Y4, not RJ, flight checking in last minute passengers for MEX.
HU in the midst of checking of checking in for PEK.
AM flight to MEX also checking in passengers, departing around the same time as Y4 to MEX.
Empty EY check-in counter that will open later today.
SK check-in counter open for flight to ARN.
Next to SK is fellow Star Partner AV, with check-in open for flight to SAN.
Quiet AZ and AI counters, while TK has opened its counters for flight to IST.
After walking around the check-in hall, I felt it was time to check out airside of Terminal 5. ORD had just updated the airside area of Terminal 5 which included an expanded Duty Free area along with newer eating areas and shopping. I headed towards security before a mad rush of Chinese students boarded their HU flight to PEK. I happened to see a line dedicated to premium passengers. Now TSA only had a single person manning 5 open lanes; at least they could have dedicated one more person to man the premium line. I got yelled back by the TSA agent who screamed that she needed to check-mine out. She probably felt that I was among the Chinese student contingent jumping the queue, but when she saw I had a totally different boarding pass and it said “Business”, she smiled and said thank you. As a good ole Southern Boy, I said “Thank you Mam!”
Oh look! Duty Free just after security.
With the help of the premium security line, it only took me ten minutes to get through airside. Like most foreign airports, post security dumps you into a rather large duty free maze. It reminded me a bit of how I end up at SYD’s duty free than any other airport. It was now time to walk around and check-out the amenities at T5 before I walk into the lounge.
Passengers getting their drink on.
Swatch store next to the BA/CX/OneWorld J Lounge
Separate location for BA/CX/OneWorld F Lounge
Empty AZ Lounge?
After walking around a bit and getting a bit famished, I head on over to the LX Lounge where I was greeted by a Swissport agent in German. In between my VIE trip and the beginning of this trip, I had forgotten most of my German, so I gave her a perplexed look after greeting her. She smiled and told me in English that the J lounge is to her left and that they do not make any announcements. With that, it was time to cool down and relax a bit.
Three intimate views of the J side of the lounge.
Cheeses, cold cuts, and fruits on offer at the lounge.
The small amount of nibble along with a cappuccino to help wake me up a bit.
Now for a bit of a sugar rush with my BFF!
Arrival FIDS. Looks like I will just miss the arrival of the first EK flight to ORD. In addition to seeing their spanking new check-in counter, I saw a couple of flight attendants being shown around the terminal. I was not sure if they would be working the flight or they were there for promotions.
From inside the lounge, I could partially see the HU 788 getting ready for its flight back to PEK from M9.
With a bit more than an hour left in the flight, I thought I would walk around more to do a bit of spotting and check out if I could get into another lounge.
KL 744 arriving with AA 77W in the distance. I am not sure if this is heading to Terminal 3 after dropping off passengers from an international flight, maybe AA 41 from CDG.
An LH 748, UA 744, US/AA A321, and looks like a UPS 748F.
LH 748 D-ABYC up close at M13.
SK A330 next to the LX A330 I would take to ZRH.
There’s another *A lounge in Terminal 5, the SK Lounge. I asked the lounge dragon if I could have a peak since my gate was nearby. She graciously welcomed me into the lounge that had that definite Scandinavian feel and design to it. Size wize, it felt just a tad bit bigger because it was just a single J/*G lounge rather than separate F and J lounges within one defined space. The food on offer appeared the same, in addition to offering pitchers of water with lemon.
Glassware and cold cuts inside the SK Lounge.
Dining area inside the SK Lounge.
iMacs and a large scale SK A340 in the corner.
Window view to spot, VS snuck into the picture.
I stayed in the lounge just long enough till it was time for boarding to commenced per my boarding pass.
Leaving the SK Lounge and heading to the gate.
Hmmm … should I upgrade today? No, because I’m not flying on SK today.
SK A330 waiting to return to ARN.
ORD-ZRH
05 August 2014
LX 2609
A330-300
ETD: 14:50
ATD: 14:58
ETA: 06:25 + 1
ATA: 06:28 + 1
HB-JHL “Sarnen” taking us on LX 2609
Podium announcement for F and J pre-boarding for today’s flight.
By the time I reach the gate, they had commenced with pre-boarding of priority passengers. I had noticed a couple of people already heading down the jetway so I queue up and get my boarding pass ready. A male Swissport agent checks my my Passbook boarding pass and passport, scans my iPhone, and then wishes me a good flight.
Heading down the jetway and getting giddy!
Waiting to board.
I walk in and I am welcomed on board by the Maître D'Cabine with a big Grüezi. I show her my boarding pass and she directs me to cross the galley and my seat would be the second window seat. As I pass through the galley, I am welcomed both by FAs Sanï and Kevin and both help me place my items in the overhead bin. Sanï asks if I would like anything to drink.
My seat, 7K. Odd-numbered K seats are closest to the windows.
VS A340-300 G-VELD waiting for its flight back to LHR.
As I soaked in the atmosphere being inside my very first LX flight, especially on an intercontinental one in J, Säni brought me a glass of champagne from the galley. Kevin walked around with a basket full of amenity kits. Today's kit was the silver tin with the A330 on it. I preferred this kit than some of the previous ones such as the Navyboot one. I'd have more use with the tin. Apparently I could have asked for a second one to give as a gift, but I declined.
Champagne and my amenity kit
After everyone had gotten an amenity kit, Kevin went back in the galley and personally handed out menus, which included a menu with what I would like for breakfast. He referred to the passenger manifest and addressed me by name and let me know of the special Swiss offering for lunch and also to fill out the form for breakfast.
Menu with a complimentary LX pen
Hmmm … What would I like for breakfast?
While I perused through the menu and my breakfast options, the Captain gave his welcome to everyone on board. He informed us that flight time would be 8h15m. He said we would push back just a bit after the departure time because off traffic delay. I figured since we would be here for a bit longer, it was time to check out the seat and my surroundings.
My home for the next few hours.
My rather small screen for a J seat.
No one sitting across from me.
Once I checked out my seat, Säni started taking lunch orders as well as picking up our breakfast orders. While she was taking food orders, our Maître d'Cabine made her welcome to everyone board. Boarding had wrapped up and were waiting for some last minute paperwork before they closed the boarding doors.
By 14:40, they had closed 2L and Maître d'Cabine requested flight attendants to arm doors for departure.
<iframe width=560 height=315 src=//www.youtube.com/embed/kduLyjBC9Tw frameborder=0 allowfullscreen></iframe>
LX Inflight Safety Video
Unlike UA flight attendants, LX ones were in the galley while the video was shown. Towards the end they did walk down the aisles.
UA 744, an AV A320 in old TA colors, and a BA 744.
Just leaving the gate while neighbor SK awaiting return to ARN.
Trying to squeeze the UA 744 and SK A330 into the picture.
UA 772, CX 77W, IB A330, and HU 788.
After the video, we waited a couple of minutes after being towed from the gate because of the special welcome for the newest EK flight. I couldn't see anything from my side, but we did not have to wait long, probably 10min till we took off.
<iframe width=560 height=315 src=//www.youtube.com/embed/kduLyjBC9Tw frameborder=0 allowfullscreen></iframe>
Take off video
ORD from above along with a shot of the wing, singlet, and engine.
My attempt of a panorama shot of ORD from above.
Now let the fun begin! I could now check off a bucket list item. Actually many things on this whole month of traveling let me check off a bunch of items of my bucket list, both major and as a air travel enthusiast! While I had wanted to fly on LX, doing it on ORD-ZRH in J just adds bonus points!
My side-lamp and power outlets
I reclined my seat to get it as best as I could to a cradle-like position. Last year I had taken OS in J, an updated version of the LX seat. While OS had a better seatback screen with a retina-like display, LX had more options available. Yet in the end I just chose a couple of cartoons which were the latest features flicks I had wanted to see on the big screen.
Everything is Awesome!
As I started getting into my movie, the crew started Lunch service. Säni started service first asking what I would like to drink suggesting if I would like a wine, particularly a local Swiss white wine. I asked for some water as well. She returned from the galley with a tray containing my drink request and a basket filled with crisps and almonds.
Water and White Wine along with some crisps and a packet of almonds.
Since this flight only had a handful of passengers, Säni and Kevin took their time with the lunch service rather than having the need to rush going back and forth from the galley where FA Bert managed the galley. A couple minutes after getting the first round of drinks, Säni stopped by to place a white linen cloth on my tray table. When she finished, she wheeled down a cart containing a starter tray.
Speck with rocket (arugula), cheeses, and another salad.
While I saw Säni and Kevin return with a couple of passes of the cheese, I think I was the only one that did not as I am not a fan of most cheeses. However, I did love the speck and rocket and the pretzel roll. I was now ready for the main course.
Main course: Wurst und Rosti
I thoroughly enjoyed the wurst and the rosti. Though it did remind me of the wurst I had on my last OS flight (VIE-ORD) and that one was memorable. Maybe if they included a bit of mustard it would have been as memorable.
Dessert along with some Swiss chocolate truffles
By the end of dessert, I had been royally stuffed. I was ready to enjoy this LX seat. Since there were plenty of open seats, I took some extra pillows as well as blankets to use as sleeping pad. I recreated my own sleeping suite and fell asleep upon leaving Canadian aerospace. I also changed into something a bit more comfortable, especially since it was a bit warm in the cabin.
After a couple of hours of sleep, I woke up midway across Atlantic with a need to stretch and walk as well as to visit the lav. I walk into the Y cabin and notice at least all sets of seats taken with at least one person indicating a rather light load in Y. A few people did not get the luxury to have their own set of seats to themselves. I then went back into the J cabin and head to the Lav on left side, which is a handicap lavatory. When I finished my business, I peaked into the Stübli. During check-in all the way till an hour before boarding, I saw 5K occupied, a seat initially reserved for a HON Member. When I peaked in, I saw it was vacant with the only passengers in 4A, 5A and 5B. While people feel it is an intimate cabin with only a few seats, on this flight, I did not want to feel isolated on such a wide-open flight.
Sorta similar to my LH incident last year, Kevin had seen me peek into the Stübli. He asked if everything was ok and was there anything I needed. I said everything was OK and that I was stretching my legs a bit and walking out the plane. He asked where I was seated and I had told him 7K. He looked confused and I told him I like how the lav on the left side was bigger and I cut across since no one sat on 6DG and 7DG. He then recognized me because I had changed out in my SQ-like batik button down shirt. He asked about that shirt, and I told him I had gotten it on a trip to SIN from the airport and he said he had not done a SIN flight, mainly US flights, that month the earlier ORD flight. We ended up having a bit of a conversation, something that I rarely do with crew. He let me take a couple of snacks, pretzel crisps shaped as little planes as well some water. When I returned to my seat, I decided to go back to sleep since I would have a long day ahead.
With 1h30m left in the flight, the cabin crew slowly turned on the cabin lights. Kevin had started handing out oshibori starting with me and then finishing up on the other side of the cabin. Säni came by and picked those up. Few minutes later, Kevin personally delivered my breakfast all on one tray and asked if I would like anything else. I told him no, and he smiled and returned to the galley. After that, all other passengers on my side got served breakfast by Säni, while Kevin returned to his side of the cabin.
Now, I thought I had taken a picture of my breakfast, but I may have accidentally erased them from my various cameras. To drink I had ordered the smoothie along with some water and hot tea. The smoothie was strawberry-banana one with a bit more banana taste, overall a fruity way to start the day. To add more fruit to my diet, I enjoyed some fresh fruit, cherry yogurt, and an apple danish. To break the onslaught of fruit, I had a croissant, more speck, and Emmenthal cheese.
The breakfast was a bit filling, but I did not want to overload myself as I would be hanging out in the Arrivals Lounge before my next flight. Once I finished, I went to the left-side lavatory and changed back to my regular clothes.
Over French Aerospace
Afterwards, I enjoyed the rest of my flight as I did not want to get off the plane, which is usually the case for me. CoPilot Franz gave a pre-arrival morning announcement. With 40min left in flight, he said we should be landing on-time. At that he called for the flight attendants to prepare cabin for arrival. At that time, the screens came on regarding arrival and connecting flight information.
Arrival Information - we will be arriving at E43.
Video diagram of our arrival gate.
Other connecting flights.
With 10min left in flight, the flight attendants took their seats while I got to enjoy the Swiss landscape from my window.
<iframe width=560 height=315 src=//www.youtube.com/embed/-559pdnxEY8 frameborder=0 allowfullscreen></iframe>
Arrival video into ZRH
It felt like a long taxi to the gate, which I did not mind. It had been years since I had last been to ZRH, and I do not think they had started construction of Terminal E. At the time, they marketed ZRH as Unique Zurich.
There was a bit of delay in getting off the plane as it took a while for the gate agents to align the jet bridges. As much as I wanted to hang around and let other passengers deplane, I joined the queue to deplane. In hindsight I should have stayed a bit longer rather than wait, especially to see if I could check out the F cabin.
Neighbor A330 at E37, not sure from where.
Crazy South African who sat at 6A.
Among the crowds waiting to head back to the main terminal.
When I had arrived downstairs for the train to take me to the main terminal, one had just left overflowing with passengers. I decided to wait and take the next train, which took about 3-5min wait. I guess other intercontinental arrivals had landed and so we were packed again. By the time we arrived at the main terminal, it deposited us at Swiss Border Patrol with long queues for Swiss/EU and non-Swiss/EU passengers. The area just seemed un-Swiss about it, particularly the non-Swiss/EU passengers where commonly passengers with Middle East and Chinese passports had people jumping queues being rather pushy. A Swiss guard had to jump out because a group of Chinese tourists jumped the queue to the Swiss/EU lane but did not have Swiss/EU passports. When told they had to go back to their lane, no one wanted to give them their spots back because they did not follow directions. Yelling and pushing ensued and the Swiss officer had those that jump queue up at the end of the line and probably face further scrutiny of their entrance into Switzerland. I guess I waited in line for at least 45 min because family groups who could go by themselves also clogged up time and efficiency of the Swiss agent. When it came to my turn, I greeted the officer with “Grüezi! Hello!” That actually gave him a smile. He did not scrutinize my passport much, just the usual scan with no alarms popping up on the monitor. He wished me “Wilkomen an Schweitz” and I thanked him.
Some goodies from the flight other than my A330 tin amenity kit.
My trip so far.
Thanks for sharing this FR
You seem to have an issue with your pictures : they are way too small
I'll come back later to read your report
Pictures have been fixed. Thanks again for checking out my report.
Thanks for sharing.
I agree with Lagentsecret : You should resize all your pictures because these ones are definitely too small !
Thanks again for sharing and for resizing all your pictures. ;)
LX J is indeed a must fly once, and I missed this opportunity few months ago because of a misconnection in HKG due to a late arrival of my previous CA flight. :(
The LX lounge design is nice as usual, but the food offer is quite poor in my opinion.
I've had about the same experience at the JFK's LX lounge.
The menu is original with its Swiss touches but there's nothing impressive inside.
Bratwurst with onion sauce is a truly Swiss dish but I'm afraid that's not the best meal you can have in Business class. lol
Wine list is OK.
I'm quite disapopointed with the AF style service, which consists in serving the cheese along with the first course. :(
Finally this flight isn't as good as I expected to.
I went ahead and fixed the photos. Thanks for letting me know.
Thanks for this work ! You should check your picture's size : really too small, please enlarge to 3000 pixels wide !
Thanks for stopping by. I have fixed the pictures.
Thank you for sharing this nice report.
I had the chance to visit both the SK and LX lounges many years ago and prefer the SK lounge because it was brighter and felt more spacious. I see that the buffet has not changed much.
I personally have mixed feelings about LX J product. To start, the amenity kit is the same as the one that TK gives out in Y. Great for Y but not so good for J. I like the arrangement of the cabin with a good mixture of seats for solo travelers and couples. The wood detail is very appealing and imparts elegance when paired with the seats. The catering on the other hand, is very underwhelming. Packed crisps and nuts with the beverage service are not reflective of a premium cabin. In addition, I find the single salad repetitive next to your appetizer and the cheese course looks lacking without crackers. The main meal could be presented better but at least you enjoyed it. I am not a fan of desserts in small shot glasses and prefer a more traditional slice of cake or pastry. It would have been nice to have some fresh fruits offered at the end of the meal. For breakfast, I think LX should give the option of having a hot egg dish in addition to cold cuts.
@Numero_2 - thank you for that cultural clarification. A piece of bread is always great with your cheese, especially with butter. :P just kidding.
@KevinDC - so true about AF making a pass with the breads. For me only water crackers or more appropriately water biscuits will do with the cheese course. I was surprised when SQ served my cheese with rice crackers when I flew them from HKG-SFO. Anyways, I guess that makes me an American. ;) Just don't tell lagentsecret.
and the cheese course looks lacking without crackers. -> In the European cheese countries like France or Switzerland, we appreciate to have bread instead of crackers with cheese. ;)
And yet AF serves the cheese with crackers, but they always come around with bread anyway. The crackers are for the Americans :-)
Yay, the pics are big now :-)
Though I think you missed one somewhere in there. Very interesting and detailed report! The LX lounge at ORD seems pretty nice for an outstation lounge. Seems like you got a top notch crew. Personally, I always like chatting up the crew, but then again I used to work for an airline.
The meal looks great, but I'm surprised that LX serves the cheese with the starter--it's not very consistent with their classy image IMO. I imagine that can confuse some non-Europeans who may not know that the cheese course is supposed to be after the main and that they're just saving themselves an extra trip to the galley later by sticking it on the meal tray with the starter, lol.
Overall the Swiss J product is very good. The seats are the same as DLs on 767s which I'm very familiar with.
Thanks again for sharing!