Round The World and other travels

Flight Log 3: LX180

Zurich (ZRH) - Bangkok (BKK)

I was first to board the A340 after the people travelling with small children - none of whom, thankfully, was heading for the front of the plane! The cabin crew were on the scene instantly to hang my jacket in the wardrobe and bring me a glass of Champagne, some water and assorted pre-take off snacks. I noticed that my headphones, slippers and washbag were already in place in the seat area and the crew soon added to my collection by bringing me some pyjamas and a menu booklet. Boarding was complete with five minutes to go, so we were looking good for an on-time departure. The Maitre de Cabine came by to introduce herself in person and mentioned that the expected flight time was 10hrs 20mins. After taxiing out to the long-haul runway, we made it into the air at precisely 2300 local time. How nice to be flying SWISS First again!

There were a few bumps immediately after departure, as had been predicted by the crew, but the seat belt signs were turned off within ten minutes of take-off. Cabin service commenced with a round of hot towels, while the Captain announced our routing as via Innsbruck, Romania, the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Burma. It was soon time for drinkies again and, true to form, I decided to stick with the Champagne for now. I perused the dinner menu and wine list with the usual sense of anticipation, with one little exception on this occasion. I noticed that one of the usual highlights, the Loch Fyne smoked salmon, had been replaced with the Russian Balik variety. While I am far from averse to trying new things, especially when they have a reputation for quality, I was sorry to see that Scottish produce was off the menu: there are some things that we are really good at and smoked salmon is one of them!

DINNER		WINES
FIRST COURSES		CHAMPAGNE
Selection of appetisers:		Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle
King crab with celeriac remoulade
Tuna and tomato concassée		WHITE WINE
Foie gras cubism: foie gras with brioche		Clos de Moines Grand Cru Dézaley AOC Lavaux 2007
Tomato and sheep's cheese millefeuille		Lausanne, Switzerland
Fillet of Balik salmon		Vermentino Bolgheri DOC 2009
		Tuscany, Italy
MAIN COURSES
Fillet of veal with citrus crust, gnocchi alla romana, Swiss chard, grilled porcini mushrooms and fresh fig		Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 2007 Burgundy, France
Chicken porchetta - chicken breast with Mediterranean filling, Gratin dauphinois, mixed mushrooms, date tomatoes, Taggiasca olives
		RED WINE
Courgette flower filled with pike-perch mousse, poached black tiger prawns, saffron basmati rice with pine nuts		Chateau Maison Blanche Rouge Grand Cru Yvorne AOC Chablais 2009 Yvorne, Switzerland
Tagliatelle pasta with black truffle, tomatoes and spinach		Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2005 Tuscany, Italy
Choice of vegetables		Les Padoges de Cos 2001
		Bordeaux, France
CHEESE
Selection of Swiss artisan cheese		DESSERT WINE
		Chateau d'Allaman 2008
DESSERT		Allaman, Switzerland
"Matterhorn" chocolate mousse, meringue with double cream, black cherries
		PORT
Sprüngli chocolates and pralines		Graham's Tawny 20 years
		Douro, Portugal
Espresso and a selection of coffees and teas

In due course my table was laid, and I nibbled on some bread while the starters trolley made its way round from the other aisle. I chose the crab and foie gras together with the smoked salmon, served with lemon and crème fraiche. All were very tasty although, at the risk of sounding nationalistic, I didn't think the salmon was quite up to the standard of what it replaced.

There was no soup option on this flight, which one of the cabin attendants attributed simply to the time of day. I chose the veal for my main course, and this was again most enjoyable accompanied by the Swiss white wine. I'd never had baked gnocchi before, so that and the fresh fig added an unusual touch for me. A side plate of vegetables arrived, containing fennel, carrots and courgettes. Despite the excellent quality of the meal so far, I was by now becoming ever more conscious of the lateness of the hour and I realised that I really couldn't keep this going for much longer. As such, I decided to forego both cheese and dessert and finish off with a cup of tea, in the hope that it would contain less caffeine than coffee. In a move that I didn't recall seeing previously, the tea was nicely presented on a little metal tray.

I changed into my sleepwear while the crew made up my bed. I fell asleep fairly quickly and managed to sleep for five hours, waking up with some three hours still to run. Keenly aware that too much sleep now would lead to problems later on Sunday evening, I decided to change back into my normal clothes and watch a movie. One of the cabin crew expressed surprise, but I was confident that I knew what I was doing. Having missed it in the cinemas when it was doing the rounds a couple of months previously, I now watched Inception for the first time and greatly enjoyed it.

While I was still watching the film, the cabin lights came on and this, together with a round of hot towels, signalled that it was time for breakfast.

SWISS BREAKFAST

Assortment of breakfast breads, preserves and honey

Fresh fruits, yoghurts, muesli and cereals

Egg dish, cold cuts and cheese

Coffee, tea and juices

Although I still felt a little full from dinner, I nevertheless managed to make quite a dent in the food presented to me. The Maitre de Cabine made her rounds again and a final refreshing hot towel marked the end of cabin service. We touched down at Suvarnabhumi at 1518 local time. Arrival at our gate was achieved with stereotypical Swiss precision and looked a little like a family line-up, with a Lufthansa 747 on one side and an Austrian aircraft on the other.

Overall, this was another excellent and memorable performance from SWISS. Many would say that such a late departure is not necessarily conducive to sampling the full First Class experience at its best and I would agree with them - up to a point. However I would also feel obliged to point out that enjoying a good night's sleep while relocating to another continent is also an enormously valuable benefit. Taking the package as a whole, I was more than satisfied. 

Date: Sat 13 Nov 2010
Aircraft: Airbus A340-300
Scheduled dep: 2245
Actual departure: 2247
Scheduled arrival: 1525+1
Actual arrival: 1525+1
Cabin: First
Seat: 2K



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