Introduction

Matt and I had a lot of United miles to burn, and we figured we would use most of them to fly home from Rome to Boston. When we searched for flights on the United App, we saw we were able to book two business class seats (transiting in Zurich) for about 75,000 miles on Air Swiss (a partner of United). That was a steal and I have heard very good things about Swiss Air!

At the (Zurich) airport

This has got to be one of the most beautiful airports I have ever been to. There were open windows everywhere so you can see the runway and the hilly countryside. We had access to the priority check in lane but skipped it as we checked in online since we had no bags.

The Swiss Air Business lounge was beautiful. They had cooked to order breakfast items, pastries, and cereals with a self-help bar 😊. The best part of the lounge though had to be the patio where we could watch flights take off. It helped that it was a beautiful day.

Boarding

Similarly, to Air France, Swiss Air invited their First and Business class passengers on before anyone else.

Seats

My only real complain on Swiss is they still have older seats on the 777. If like me you are traveling with someone than the two-seater without the privacy of the pod is fine, but if you are solo you might prefer the pod seat. Otherwise, it was very comfortable with plenty of room and storage.

Food and Service

Swiss Air promoted this 2-hour gastronomical experience, and to be honest I was skeptical. But it was just that. For the appetizer we had this wonderful salad and hummus and for lunch I had the Beef filet. The flight attendants also enjoyed sharing their knowledge on Swiss wines (which were wonderful). I really was touched by the pride the Swiss crew had in business class. Service was clearly their passion and they enjoyed it. ‘Sir can I please tell you about our Swiss wines’ was a long way from ‘what do you want to drink’ on United/American.

Amenity Kit/Bathroom

The amenity kit had all the standards of international business including a toothbrush/paste, sleep patch, socks, and noise cancelation headphones. The only thing that was shocking was there was no hand cream. However, when I used the restroom, not only was there cream there, but also face toner which was just lovely to use throughout a 7-hour flight.

Overall

*****/*****

This was by far the best flight experience from Airport to landing I have ever had. I could ding it a point due to an older seat, but I was with Matt, so it worked better, and it was still very comfortable. Plus, you get free Lindt chocolate (in coach too). I cannot wait for my next Swiss Air flight!