Review: United Airlines 767-300 Economy Plus: Washington DC to Zurich
Review: SWISS A330-300 Economy: Zurich to Delhi
Review: Air India A321-200 Economy: Delhi to Pune
Review: Akasa Air 737 MAX 8 Economy: Pune to Bangalore
Review: The Ritz Carlton Bangalore
Review: Indigo Air A321Neo: Bangalore to Pune
Review: Singapore Airlines A350-900 Regional Business Class: Mumbai to Singapore
Review: Singapore Airlines NEW SilverKris Business Class Lounge Terminal 3 Singapore SIN
Review: Singapore Airlines A380-800 Business Class: Singapore to Frankfurt
Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge Concourse B Frankfurt FRA (Non-Schengen)
Review: Singapore Airlines A380-800 Business Class: Frankfurt to New York JFK
YOUTUBE: United Airlines: Washington DC to Zurich
YOUTUBE: SWISS International Airlines: Zurich to Delhi
YOUTUBE: Air India: Delhi to Pune
YOUTUBE: Akasa Air: Pune to Bangalore
YOUTUBE: Indigo Air: Bangalore to Pune
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Mumbai to Singapore
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Singapore to Frankfurt
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Frankfurt to New York JFK
After spending some time in SWISS’s senator lounge enjoying the views of the snow, it was off to my gate for boarding. In classic Indian fashion, our flight was the only one delayed by an hour so that allowed for ann extra hour in the lounge.
Here’s a quick look at our aircraft:
Boarding began with group 1 for HON circle members and first class passengers. Then it went to group 2 which was for Senator members and Star Alliance gold members at which point I boarded. General boarding is for groups 3 and beyond.
After boarding I made my way back to seat 30K which is in the rear economy cabin in the 2nd row.
The legroom wasn’t that great and the seat padding was thin and hard, but the head rest was decent at least.
There was a headphone packet available for each passenger.
There was also a standard economy blanket and a pillow at each seat.
This one was great. Water bottles are usually something you see given to business and first class passengers so it was pretty cool of SWISS to give all economy passengers a water bottle as well.
The wing view was pretty nice of a snowy day outside.
Many of the major wing components like the ailerons, speed brakes, slats, etc had ice all over them so we were definitely going to need to de-ice before being on our way.
Our flight boarded an hour late due to the weather but eventually we were on our way.
After de-icing, our wing had a nice green hue to it as if the wing came straight out of the aluminum factory.
The views were undeniably beautiful though.
We turned onto runway 16 and jetted down the runway.
We disappeared into the clouds for a bit before coming back around and the views from above were just really pretty.
We eventually made our way above the clouds and enjoyed the views.
The IFE screen was small, and somewhat responsive, as you’d expect from an IFE as old as this one.
The armrest also had basic controls for the seat.
About 40 minutes after departure, the crew came by with an initial snack service.
They were rosemary crackers along with your choice of drink for which I went with sparkling water.
Economy class doesn’t get menus on this route so our choices were given to us verbally. For main courses, we had a choice between “Indian vegetarian” and “Western Chicken”. As good as Indian food can be, just for the chicken I went with the western chicken option.
The meal was chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans.
The main course was decent. The mashed potatoes and green beans were pretty standard. The chicken was dry, but it was in some red wine reduction sauce which made it good, so I was happy overall.
Dessert was a kind of cake that was dense and good. I wasn’t exactly sure what kind of cake it was.
The bread was salted and warm, which is nice, although I didn’t have any of it.
The appetizer was some kind of rice dish. It was sour and pungent and it was delicious.
The meal was overall decent for an economy meal.
The views were nice as we flew further east and away from the day light.
I fell asleep for a few hours and eventually, it came time for the pre-arrival meal.
The pastry was a chickpea and potato pastry, a very common Indian combo by the way, and it was good.
The ice cream was mango flavored. I’m not sure if this was by design or not, but in any case, a great decision by SWISS to serve mango ice cream on an India route.
Eventually we began our descent into Delhi.
We did make up some ground, but not enough so we were still about 40 minutes late.
We taxiied past a United 787 prepping for the long 17-hour flight back to Chicago (yes 17 hours and not the usual 15 due to Russia Airspace closure).
Overall, I had mixed feelings about this flight. The amenities are decent and all you need for this flight, but for someone my height or taller, the seats were borderline uncomfortable. All things said, I always value seats over the food, so If you are shorter than 5′ 10″ or 5′ 9″, then the seats should be manageable but anything taller than that and it might be a little tight.