Round The World and other travels

Flight Log 5 : LX189

Shanghai Pudong (PVG) - Zurich (ZRH)

I boarded the A340 through Door 2L and made my way forward to the First Class cabin via the rather exclusive two-row section of Business Class situated immediately forward of the doors. Having experienced a taste of Swiss First on a Bangkok - Singapore short hop earlier in the year (a route that was subsequently abandoned), I was eager to try it out on a proper, intercontinental run. The cabin crew immediately broke some excellent news to me: I was to be the only passenger in First Class. Although I'd dared to think that this might the case based on on-line check-in, which had given me all eight seats to choose from, confirmation nevertheless came as nothing short of staggering: for the third time in 2009, I was to have the best cabin on a long-haul flight all to myself. Astonishing!

I was served an apple juice and a nice little pre-departure snack. The Captain announced that the expected flight time was fully 13 hours, due to very strong head winds. We pushed back from stand at 0912 and it was fun watching our progress along the taxiways, thanks to the display from the nose-wheel camera. We eventually made it to the holding point for 35R and then waited ... and waited. I sensed that all was not well. Sure enough, the Captain announced that we had a technical problem that would have to be fixed before we could depart. We pulled onto a remote stand not too far from the runway at 0950. It turned out that we had a senior-looking member of ground staff on board as a passenger and he was busy on his mobile phone organising the repair. With the expected delay and the long flight time already referred to, I knew that my connection at Zurich was already a lost cause. I resolved not to worry about it, however. Whatever happened, I knew that I would be well looked after. More immediately, the cabin crew brought me some more apple juice and cashew nuts. In the event, the delay was rather shorter than feared as no parts needed to be replaced; something had worked itself loose and it just needed to be pressed home again. However we did need to refuel and this, together with re-doing the various checks, meant that it was 1018 when we left the temporary parking position, finally lifting into the air just after half past ten.

When the cabin crew asked me what I'd like to drink, I said: "Well, after all that, I think I'm ready for some Champagne!" A glass of Pommery soon arrived, together with some ice water. Our intended routing was given as Beijing, the Gobi Desert, Kazakhstan, the North Caspian Sea, Moscow, Warsaw, Prague and Nuremberg. The lunch menu was as follows:

LUNCH		WINES
FIRST COURSE		CHAMPAGNE
Loch Fyne smoked salmon fillet		Pommery Cuvée Louise 1998
Seafood, meat and vegetarian platter
		WHITE WINES
SALAD		Domaine des Abeilles d'Or 2007, Geneva, Switzerland (100% Chardonnay)
Selection from the salad trolley		Grande Cuvée La Chaudouillone 2006, Fournier Père at Fils, Sancerre, France (100% Sauvignon Blanc)
		Falanghina Terredora 2008, Terredora Campania, Italy (100% Falanghina)
MAIN COURSES
Grilled fillet of beef, black pepper cream sauce, potato and Emmental cheese roesti and pumpkin		RED WINES
Sweet and sour chicken and steamed rice with black sesame seeds		Noir Divin 2008, Domaine du Paradis, Geneva, Switzerland (Gamaret, Merlot, Garanoir)
Raviolone caprese with rocket and walnut cream sauce		Château Bahans Haut-Brion 2004, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France (73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc)
Special of the day		Wynns Coonawarra Estate 2006, Coonawarra, Australia (Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot)
Choice of vegetables
		DESSERT WINE
CHEESE		Paradidou 2008, Domaine du Paradis, Geneva, Switzerland (Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc)
Selection of Swiss cheeses
DESSERTS
Vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and almond biscuit
Apple and plum crumble, spiced whipped cream and raspberry coulis
Sprüngli chocolates and pralines
Espresso and a selection of coffees and teas

Before long, my table was set and I started lunch by nibbling on some German rye bread. A beautifully prepared starters trolley then appeared and I was amazed by how much food had been set out just for me. I had some of the smoked salmon, together with a little potato salad and cold roast pork. When the opportunity arose, I accepted seconds of smoked salmon. After a little pause, the trolley then returned with salad ingredients and my choice of salad was freshly mixed in front of me with my choice of dressing. When my beef main course was delivered, I took the opportunity to switch from Champagne to the Bordeaux. I then had some cheese, finishing off my glass of Bordeaux only to have it replaced by one of port. Skipping dessert, I rounded it all off with a cappuccino, presumably made with the on-board Nespresso machine.

The hugely enjoyable feast at an end (for now!), I settled into a long spell of enjoying the in-flight entertainment. Over the flight as a whole, I managed to get through Beethoven's Symphonies 5 & 6 and Piano Concertos 1 & 4, the movie Personal Effects, an episode of The Simpsons, the 80s movie A Fish Called Wanda, a selection of Mozart pieces, a documentary about Switzerland's Gotthard railway and another one about the cities of Hamburg and Lübeck. I even nodded off for a little while. At one stage, another passenger spent a couple of hours in 1A. The cabin crew explained that she had suffered an allergic reaction to something, so they let her sit there until she was feeling better. The cabin crew kept me supplied with water throughout and I noticed that it was always delivered in a clean glass. Maybe about three quarters of the way through my entertainment marathon, I was asked if I would like anything from the snacks selection :-

SUPPLEMENTARY CHOICES
Selection of soups
Seasonal salads
Swiss cheese
Fresh fruits

I had a delicious helping of tomato soup, immediately followed by seconds! In addition, I was able to help myself at any time to drinks top-ups, chocolates and fresh fruit, all of which had been placed on the shelf at the front of the cabin. This area tends to be very nicely presented, especially when the cabin is in darkness and it remains lit by spotlights.

With about one and half hours to run, it was time for the second meal.

ARRIVAL SERVICE

Sautéed fillet of pork on puff pastry with champignon sauce

Feta and mixed pepper quiche

Light sweet and savoury favourites

Again, this was served from the (restaurant-style) trolley. I had the quiche and a couple of small filled rolls. I don't know if I was visibly struggling by this stage, but the cabin crew member asked me if she should prepare the pork and I declined. I took the opportunity to sample a glass of the Sancerre before washing it all down with a pot of Earl Grey tea.

As we approached our destination, I was told that I'd been re-routed to Palma de Mallorca via Madrid and that I should proceed directly to the Transfer Desk on arrival. (I sincerely hoped that this latter step would not be required!) We touched down in Zurich over an hour late at 1702 local time, taking a mere two minutes to reach our stand.

Overall, the food and service were both excellent, as indeed they had been with parent company Lufthansa just five days previously. However in this case, these aspects of the product were matched by a top-class seat, cabin environment and in-flight entertainment system. Indeed it speaks volumes of the SWISS 'hard product' that what I experienced was not even the latest generation of their First Class offering, that being rolled out with the new A330-300 fleet. Taking all things together, and leaving aside Singapore Suites (which is quite rightly sold as 'a class beyond First'), I suspected that SWISS may very well have the best conventional First Class offering in the skies. I will confess that I even committed the ultimate heresy on this flight: as I sat there, taking it all in, I even began to think that this little two-row, eight-seat cabin on the A340 might be a nicer place than the nose cone of a 747.

In short, another truly superb flight to add to my 2009 Hall of Fame.

Date: Sun 11 Oct 2009
Aircraft : Airbus A340-300
Scheduled dep : 0910
Actual departure : 0912 / 1018
Scheduled arrival : 1555
Actual arrival : 1704
Cabin : First Class
Seat : 2K



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