Avis du vol entre Zurich et Hong Kong en classe Affaires avec SWISS

Hello and welcome to this review of the flight from Zürich-Kloten Airport (ZRH) to Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok Airport (HKG), which I took on 1/2 October 2024 on my way to a family trip in China.

Unfortunately, since this trip was with my family, I did not take many pictures of the flight.

BACKGROUND

During much of October 2024, me and my family (my parents, my siblings, and myself) went on a three week trip to China, visiting Hong Kong (2-7.10.2024), Beijing (7-13.10.2024), Xi'an (13-14.10.2024), and the Guilin area (14-18.10.2024) (the Guilin portion of the trip included an night in Guilin city proper (14-15.10.2024), and visits to Ping'an Village (15-16.10.2024) and Yangshuo (16-18.10.2024)). Although we originally planned to fly from Israel immediately to China (TLV-ZRH-HKG), and back from China immediately to Israel (HKG-MUC-TLV), we had to change our flight plans due to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East which happened around the same time, resulting in us extending our trip to include stops in Athens (30.9-1.10.2024) and Larnaca (19.10.2024).

This was not only my first time ever in Hong Kong and China, but my first time anywhere east of Tbilisi. The trip was overall very enjoyable, though I did find the increased surveillance and police presence in Mainland China bothersome: I had to carry my passport with me, instead of leaving it at a safe in my hotel room like I'm used to do in the west (and like I indeed did in Hong Kong).

Internet censorship in Mainland China was less of a problem than I feared: my mobile data package gave me uncensored internet access, while as for Wi-Fi networks, I installed a VPN on my devices in advance. The VPN worked well overall, only having some hiccups in the afternoon.

The final flight itinerary for the trip was:

The itinerary also included high-speed trains G307 (Beijing → Xi'an) and G319 (Guilin → Hong Kong).

FROM LX1839 TO LX138

After our last-minute day trip in Athens, it was time to head to Hong Kong - though, of course, with a layover in Zürich.

Flight LX1839 from Athens landed in Zürich at 19 local time and was taxied to a remote stand; it was raining outside, which made me worry that I had forgotten my retractable mini-umbrella at the hotel (in reality, I never took it to my trip in the first place, and it was left at home).

The shuttle bus station was located pretty conveniently (for us) near a transfer desk.

Zurich Airport was compact and very easy to navigate, though the E gates, where most intercontinental flights depart, being in a satellite terminal made for quite the surprise. I also note - not very positively - that the vast majority of amenities, such as restaurants and duty-free stores - are located in the airport's main terminal, called the Airside Centre - specifically in the area behind passport control, leaving the E satellite terminal rather barren - though this did not make much difference for us, as one of the amenities it *does* have is a business-class lounge.

THE SWISS BUSINESS LOUNGE - TERMINAL E

The Swiss Business lounge in terminal E is large and expansive, occupying a whole one-sixth of the topmost floor. Despite its considerable size, the lounge felt intimate and cozy - though this was probably due to the thunderstorm raging outside. Despite the large size, there weren't much people other than me and my family; I suspect that this is due to the Senator Lounge, a special business class lounge reserved for Miles and More members with "Senator" status (a category which presumably includes much of the clientele which regularly flies business class on Lufthansa Group airlines) taking much of the clientele away from the "regular" Business class lounge. I have never heard of this practice anywhere else, and see no good reason for viewing it as anything other than a scummy move on the part of the Lufthansa group.

Though the lounge does offer a kitchen with live cooking, I think this is mostly a gimmick that takes away from the dining itself; the choice of meals was extremely limited, and the one dish they had on offer was not really to my tastes…

…though desserts were plentiful and in a gimmick-less self service - If only the main course offerings were like that!

THE FLIGHT ITSELF

Aircraft information:
HB-JND
Boeing 777-3DEER (serial number 44585, line number 1400)
Delivered new to Swiss on 30 May 2016; 8 years and 5 months old at the time of the flight.

This was my first (and as of the initial writing of this report, the only) time flying on that plane.

We were informed that the lounge has to close at 22, so a few minutes prior we went back down to the terminal and towards our gate. We boarded at around 22:15, and quickly made it to the business-class section of the plane.

My seat was seat 4G, located at the front of the Business class "mini-cabin" right behind first class.

The seats used were Swiss' highly-customized version of the Thompson Vantage. On the 777, they have a staggered 1-2-2/2-2-1 layout: odd-numbered rows only have seats in the A, C, E, G, and J positions, while even numbered rows have them on the B, D, F, H and K positions (however, note that the seats are always numbered A(B)-DG-(J)K). I found this arrangement quite clever, as it allows spaces between rows that are comparable to Economy class while still leaving room for flat beds.

The seat controls are more customizable than what I expected in some respects, and less so in others: though the seats do have an adjustable lumbar, controls for the seat cushion's firmness/softness, and even a massage function (which I felt was always on, even when it was supposed to be off), the only other custom controls for the footrest angle, with the backrest and seat cushion angles being determined purely by the "relax/bed/upright" mode selector; in El Al's old business class product (my reference point for business class seats at the time), there are custom controls for both the footrest's angle and its length, as well as for the backrest and seat cushion's angles.

Each seat is equipped with an IFE screen at the back of the seat in front, an AC plug, a USB-A plug, and plentiful storage spaces.

Once I reached my seat, I found a menu as well a form in which I was supposed to mark what I wanted for breakfast and whether or not I wanted the crew to wake me up for it. While I did not take any picture of the menu, and the picture of the breakfast form I took does not contain all options, I later found the Business class menu served on this flight - as well as its counterparts for First class and for Premium Economy - online.

Cabin views in Business class:

As well as one snapshot of the First Class (which - despite being fully custom products - are built to similar specifications as the modified Thompson Vantages in Business class):

Dinner was served around an hour after takeoff.

SWISS First, Business, and Premium Economy Class menus for long-haul flights, called "Taste of Switzerland", are based on the regional cuisines of each of Switzerland's Cantons, rotating every quarter-year. Q4 2024's menu was based on the regional cuisine in the Canton of Aargau, and was developed in cooperation with the Michelin-starred gourmet chef restaurant FAHR in Künten, Aargau.

For my dinner, I opted for the Marinated salmon trout with apple, cucumber and onion relish/Wild herb salad with dill, cucumber and yoghurt mousse first course, and the Beef Stroganov (with) Spätzli, beetroot and sour cream main course. The meal was extremely delicious - in fact, it was the very best meal I ever ate onboard a plane as of the initial writing of this report.

Around an hour after I finished my meal, I was issued an arrival card, as part of the formalities for entering Hong Kong at the time. Me and my family were among the last people to ever fill these cards, as they were abolished on 16 October, right during the Mainland China portion of my family's trip (which made for a very welcome surprise on the part of my dad, who frequently goes on business trips to Hong Kong and Shenzhen).

After filling my arrival card, I went to sleep at around 1:30 Zürich Time, waking up six hours later. Despite my legs being confined to the small niche, the seat made for a very comfortable bed.

The in-flight entertainment system was overall excellent, though the selection of movies is rather limited (as it is in every airline I flew with, with the only exception being Cathay Pacific). Despite the limited seleciton, I did find two movies to watch during the flight; The Big Lebowski right after takeoff, and Ghosbusters 1 right before landing. Disappointingly, however, only Ghostbusters 1 had subtitles available.

Around an hour after I woke up - which, incidentally enough, was also an hour before landing - my breakfast was served, based on the form I filled before takeoff. In what was admittedly a self-inflicted wound, it was a small and miserable breakfast of two croissants, a breadroll, and a hot chocolate, a far cry from the excellent dinner I had before going to sleep.

Once the flight was over at 16:15 Hong Kong time (9:15 Zürich time), I took the liberty to review the course it took, right before my disembarkation.