An Eating Trip to Spain: Arzak, Etxebarri, Lufthansa 747-8 J, Swiss A220 Y / 777 J

[yflyer]

A nice selection of wines...



Several different red and white wines were available...



...and sparkling wines...



The liquor selection...



Soft drinks and beer...



Even fresh orange juice...

[yflyer]

There was a dedicated work area in the lounge...



Airside views along the whole length of the lounge...



Overall I thought this was a decent, if unexceptional lounge. Decor was so-so, but this was a pleasant enough lounge to spend time in before a flight.

[yflyer]

It was soon time to head to the gate for our Swiss flight LX2033 to Zurich...



Interestingly, the gate for our flight was in what looked like a larger, newer extension of the terminal.



The 2nd lounge in this terminal just happened to be very close to our boarding gate, so I headed up to take a look.

As it happened, this other lounge was now closed, so it was good that we visited the other lounge in the terminal. I did manage to peak inside...

[yflyer]

At the gate was Swiss A220, "Canton de Genève", registration HB-JBB, a 7 year old aircraft, and the 2nd A220 delivered to Swiss in August 2016.



Swiss was the launch customer for the Airbus A220 in 2016.

Here is a Youtube video from 2016, of the delivery flight of HB-JBA, the first Swiss Airbus A220, then known as the Bombardier CSeries.

Boarding for LX2033 to Zurich commenced on time...



What a beautiful aircraft, with a sleek, aerodynamic nose that looked so much more sporty and elegant than the stubby A320's nose (Let's not talk about the aesthetics of the 737...)...



The aircraft was powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1524G engines, very advanced geared turbofan (GTF) engines and had traditional angled (not blended) winglets...



This aircraft looked so good on the outside...I couldn't wait to step inside for a look...



The A220 cabin was laid out 3-2.

We first passed through the Business Class cabin...





Unlike some US or APAC carriers who have, or are planning, a proper business class product on their A220s, the Swiss A220 business cabin followed European business class convention with the same Y seats, i.e. 2-3, except that a J passenger would always have an empty seat next to him or her (And the lucky pax sitting on the 2 seater side would always be solo...).

Although this aircraft was over 6 years old, the cabin looked brand new, and simply beautiful.



The A220 fuselage was narrower than the A320 (typically laid out 3-3 in economy), but with its 3-2 layout, the cabin somehow managed to feel even more open and spacious than an A320 cabin.

The windows on the plane were massive. The large windows contributed greatly to the sense of openness and space.

This was unquestionably a step forward in passenger experience and comfort.



I've not been so wowed by an economy class aircraft cabin since my first flight on JAL's 8-abreast 787 (The subject of my very first TR on SQTalk)...



The 2 seat pairs were great if you were travelling with a companion.

Seat pitch was good...



Recline was so-so...



Overhead bins were surprisingly large, and could fit a regular rollerboard just fine...

[yflyer]

Emex rows had slightly more seat pitch (But not a whole lot more...)



A soft leather flap was all that separated Business and Economy cabins...



The seats were dark brown leather, very comfortable...



Even the headrest covers were leather...



I felt as if I was sitting in an expensive sports car, not a plane.

[yflyer]

The seat back design was very stylish...



The tray table was supported by a single metal pedestal in the centre...



This was both beautiful and functional...



There was a single bathroom in the rear of the aircraft...



What a stylish bathroom design...



"Is there something wrong, sir?", the young Swiss cabin crew member asked me when she saw me taking pictures of the bathroom...

"No! This is my first time on an A220...it's such a beautiful plane!" I replied.

[yflyer]

Seats had individual air vents, and overhead reading lights...



...while there was no IFE on this aircraft, there was a small overhead LCD display that showed flight information and videos...



2 hours 28 minutes to Zurich this evening...



A quick browse through the safety card...



The cabin crew came round with chocolate...



Pushback...



A fairly long taxi to the runway...by then the sun was setting...



A perfectly timed take-off at "blue hour"...that short period of time between sunset and night when the sky was a deep shade of blue...

[yflyer]

After climb out, the curtains were drawn between the J and Y cabins and cabin service began...



Each pax had a complimentary bottle of water, and a piece of chocolate...



The cabin crew came round with the refreshment cart...



For-purchase F&B options were listed in the menu...



Quite a tempting selection...



Highlights...



Both sweet and savoury snacks...



You could pre-order a platter of cold cuts...



Beverages...



Bar selections...

[yflyer]

The Swiss digital inflight magazine (To be downloaded prior to the flight...)...



Inflight shopping catalog...

[yflyer]

Time passed quickly on this flight...



Cabin ambience was absolutely wonderful...



No question, the passenger experience on this plane trumped the experience on the A320 and 737 by a decent margin...



What a comfortable and civilized way to fly short and medium haul. I think the newness of the cabin, and the stylish seat design had something to do with it, but the fundamentals of the A220 cabin, the large windows, 2-3 seat layout also played a large part.

[yflyer]

Our flight was scheduled for an on-time arrival at 10pm.

Prior to arrival connecting flight information was shown on the overhead monitors. Our flight was at 10.40pm, which meant we had about 40 minutes to make our connection.


Some pax would only have 30 min to connect...



We were scheduled for an on-time arrival, but still...

[yflyer]

Descent into Zurich...



Finals...



A smooth landing on a very clear evening...



At the gate in Terminal A...



What a wonderful flight!

[yflyer]

Overall impressions of the A220? Entirely positive!

There is a lot we could write about the technology, efficiency, engines etc, but let's just focus on the passenger experience.

The cabin, laid out 3-2, just felt very comfortable and spacious -- less crowded than the A320 or Boeing 737. The large windows definitely played a part. While the cabin was narrower than the A320 or B737, it did not impact comfort, as the 3-2 layout meant a lower pax density.

The seats themselves were very stylish, and Swiss must also take some of the credit for the superb cabin decor theme, with dark brown leather seats, and stylish seat back design, not to mention generous seat pitch.

The aircraft was quiet, and while we did not encounter a lot of turbulence on this flight to judge aircraft handling in rough skies, the ride just felt very smooth and comfortable.

The bathroom in the rear was very elegant as well.

Kudos to Swiss for maintaining the cabin so well that this 6 year old aircraft looked practically brand new.

Based on my experience on this flight, I would definitely seek out A220 flights in future, in preference to flights operated by the Airbus A32x series or Boeing 737.

How would this compare with other regional jets, such as those from Embraer or Canadair? I haven't flown those in some time, so can't really say, but from what I remember from previous flights in the Canadair Regional Jet, the A220 would still be preferable, as the Canadair was a lot smaller.

[yflyer]

Our flight touched down in Zurich (ZRH) at 9.45pm. By the time we taxii'ed to the gate and deplaned, it was 10.03pm.

Terminal A looked completely deserted.

We took a few minutes to use the washrooms to freshen up, before following the signs in the terminal to get to our gate.

We were in Terminal A, used only for Schengen flights within Europe. We had to get to Terminal E, a separate standalone terminal building in use for international / non-Schengen flights.



This was a large airport, and it felt slightly surreal to be speedwalking through an empty terminal.

How different from hubs like FRA, DXB, LHR or SIN, where, at this hour, the airport would be a madhouse of arriving, departing and connecting pax...



Needless to say, no shops were open. We eventually reached passport control, which we had to pass through to get to Terminal E, where the E gates were.

Thankfully, at this hour, the passport control area was completely empty, and we, and most of the other connecting pax, breezed through without any delay.

From the size of the airport, I was a little concerned that we might have to walk all the way, from Terminal A to Terminal E, but thankfully there was an underground people mover that would take us from A to E.

We boarded the train...



Doors closed, and we were off...



We got off the People mover at the E gates, and by then some of the other pax must have been pressed for time, as they raced out of the train and began bounding up the long escalators...



"We have lots of time...no need to run...", I told Mrs yflyer and Miss yflyer no. 2.

It was now 10.16pm...from the signs the E gates were just 5 min walk away...



Almost there...



I think everyone on our flight should have made their connections.

So it was quite feasible to do a 40 minute connection in ZRH.

As long as your inbound flight wasn't delayed (And that was quite an assumption), you would be ok. Not a particularly stress-free experience, but it could be done as long as you didn't dawdle...

[yflyer]

Boarding for LX176 ZRH-SIN had already commenced when we arrived at the gate.



We headed straight for the priority boarding lane, which had no line. Whoops! We had to have our passports checked first at a separate counter.

Thankfully there was a priority counter for the passport check too, so we did that, had our boarding passes stamped, and proceeded to board...



At the gate, Swiss 777-300ER, registration HB-JNF, a 6+ year old aircraft delivered in 2018.