Swiss First lounge in Terminal A

posted in: Europe, Travel | 0

After a lovely, and I think – once in a lifetime – trip in Swiss First Class from Sao Paulo, we landed in Zurich on time. Immediately after landing, we were met at the airplane door by Swiss First Ground staff and there was a shuttle waiting for us next to the plane. We walked down the stairs (instead of heading towards the jetbridge) and boarded the shuttle. We were 8 passengers in first, and the shuttle bus just had 8 seats with space for luggage close to the door. This was all new to me 😉 and I was just enjoying every moment of it. We were whisked away to a private immigration and security check (only for transit passengers). Passengers with Zurich as an end destination were taken to arrivals. As I was connecting to my flight bound for Amsterdam, after the security check the agent took us via an elevator directly to the First lounge. I was impressed – how efficient and quick all the handling was. I might get used to such pampering.

As per the Swiss website, the following screenshot give more information about the Swiss First Lounge.

Once we got off the elevator, the lounge door for the Swiss First and HON circle was right in front of us.

The lounge agent welcomed me directly by name and already knew I had a connecting flight to Amsterdam. She gave me the transfer service coupon and mentioned that there will be an agent escorting me to the plan directly. At no point I had to show my boarding pass – I was impressed that the coordination for First passengers was top notch.

After entering the lounge, you walk through a long corridor to get to the lounge.

There is a small waiting room at the entrance with a nice Swiss plane tail.

Right in front of this is a Smoker’s lounge and a meeting room.

The main lounge is a floor below. You walk down the stairs and you enter the cosy lounge.

Immediately to your left there was the live cooking station.

In front of the cooking station there are glass shelves with snacks, cold food items, fruits and drinks.

I took a look at the lounge and luckily there was a table available, I wanted to quickly sample the food in the lounge. Immediately after sitting down the lounge attendant made the table ready and handed a nice looking menu.

View from the dining area

A freshly squeezed orange juice

And a healthy Swiss Breakfast 😉 The sausages were quite tasty and perfectly cooked.

The lounge has nice cubicles to get some work done or make phone calls.

The toilet was very clean and equipped

There is a relaxation area with a closed door in one corner.

A printer to get any last minute printing done.

Magazine area with quite a good selection in English, German and French.

After my lovely breakfast, I headed to the Digestive section… They had some nice top shelf liquor from around the world…

…but I was looking for some nice Whisky, which I found here.

I tried some nice smoky whiskey – Ailsa Bay. It was quite nice – not as smoky as Lagavulin but quite subtle and sweet. Loved it.

Overview of the bar area. As you can see, the bar area is the center of the lounge and a nice place to come together…

As per the designated time, I went back to the lounge entrance. There was an agent waiting for me already. Once I was there, the agent took me along. We went downstairs with an elevator and there were plenty of Mercedes waiting for us – they are specially designated as Swiss First!

I was driven through the airport

and dropped directly next to the plane. What a lovely way to travel around the airport. No need to queue at the gate, or rush through the airport after the lounge stay.

I was totally impressed by Swiss First. 2 years ago, I had flown BA and AA in First, but Swiss is in the league of its own. Absolutely Stunning!