For the second time in just two years I bought a trip with Swissair from Manchester to Johannesburg, via Zurich.
Even though I had been disappointed on the first occasion, I admit that my expectations were too high then, I could only be disappointed and had several reasons to be too : long delay both ways, no personal entertainment in the main cabin of the Boeing 747, crew just polite.
As a result, I left last month in a different state of mind : I had had a good deal on the ticket price and would spend Christmas with my loved ones. The first leg of the trip was uneventfull, like all flights should be and transfer in Zurich was rather smooth. I'll just regret that airport is so 'grey' and that Swissair connections are so thight that it didn't leave me any time for shopping, I could just rush from one plane to the next. Then the eleven-hour flight. No Boeing 747 on the route anymore, but a MD11, probably even older. Seating was 3-4-2 and I was lucky enough to get a two-seat block all to me. After 45 minutes, drinks were finally served, followed by the meal. The vegetarian meal I had ordered was not on board and I was offererd a choice between filet and meat lasagna, without an apology. Second meal was pastrami and cheese...
Throughout the flight, flight attendants kept adressing me in German and would only switch to English when realizing I didn't understand them. No individual screen and in my opinion, the two movies were both too violent for being shown on an airplane (X-Men and some Chinese movie I had never heard of). Not a very good experience...
Last week, return trip. After checking in in Joburg and while I was waiting near the gate, an annoucement was made saying that Swissair flight 283 to Zurich was canceled and asking all passengers to present themselves to the Swissair desks. You can imagine what it looked liked with 300 or so persons trying to get informations and be rebooked.
They rebooked me to leave on the same night with the Sabena flight through Brussels. I boarded that flight just before midnight. Later I got to hear from the crew that that flight had been delayed just to accomodate the stranded Swissair passengers. As much as my expectations were high when I first flew with Swissair, I was ready for the worst flight experience with Sabena, as that airline doesn't have the best reputation.
Well, I had a great experience with them, the crew spoke very fluent English and was very helpfull. When I requested a vegetarian meal which I knew wouldn't be there since I was not originally booked on that flight, the male flight attendant apologized, asked if fish could be an option and later brought me a fruit platter from Business class. The crew offered soft drinks regularly throughout the night and the hot breakfast (pancakes) was just delicious. The Airbus plane offered personal movies and games and the seats were comfortable enough. A ggod flight.
I have to admit that Brussels airport looks like it's still recovering from WW2, but the short leg to Manchester was flown in a smaller Airbus with several screens showing cartoons and flight informations. Again, the crew was nice and the flight arrived on time.
I guess I'll try to remember not to believe too much in a reputation, Swissair is supposed to be the best Europeanairlines and it didn't live up to its reputation , while Sabena turned out to be really good. As both share the same frequent flyer program, I'll make sure I book with Sabena next time I travel, maybe they don't advertise as much as Swissair but at least they deliver.
Should I have posted this in Sabena rather than Swissair or can it appear in both?
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
A good account of negative and positive experiences - very well-written too.
jonwhite 18.01.2001 10:59
A good opinion. In answer to your final words, an opinion should really only appear in one category. But by all means write another on the same theme in the other category if you feel it is warranted.
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Jan 18th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
