Let me share with you my impressions from flight WAW-ZRH with SWISS onboard new Bombardier CS100. It was one of this rare flights where 3 new elements meet at once: NEW airline as I haven't flown Swiss before, NEW aircraft and NEW airport as I haven't been to ZRH. I felt like a child waiting for Christmas from the moment I booked tickets for this flight two months earlier. The only fear was that they change the aircraft and instead of new CS100 I will fly an old Avro or Helvetic F100 but fortunately it didn't happen.
Waiting was long but finally the day of departure came. Swiss has a specially dedicated check-in desks in WAW together with Austrian, Lufthansa and Brussels open all day long as there are quite a lot of flights operated daily by these airlines. We could also use the LOT baggage drop points as our flight was co-shared with LO but I fly LOT too often and definitely needed a change.
Our flight was scheduled to depart at 9:45 wich is just after the morning rush hours so the airport seemed calm and empty except for the EL AL check in area with armed security guards watching us as potential terrorists and shouting loud not to take any pictures. This is pure madness.
Waiting for your flight you can play some piano (if you can). I must admit it was a great idea to leave this piano near the gates (WAW is named Frederic Chopin) as there seem to be a lot of good pianists among the passengers cause everytime I wait for my flight I can hear piano music.
Some spotting even though there wasn't much to spot
BT Q400 to Riga
OS F100 to VIE and Ryanair departing to WRO
My gate was located in a little bit hidden part of the Shengen gates where there is not much to do or see and usually flights operated by smaller aircraft that require bus boarding use these gates even though there are some jet bridges too (that do not always work as you will see in a minute)
Departures board
Let's go to the gate as there is not much to see and to make matters worse weather is terrible with very strong wind (I'm already nervous about take-off in such conditions) and heavy rain.
So there she is finally arriving from the inbound flight.
The aircraft stops, the jet bridge starts to move and suddenly stops midway. Do we have a jetbridge failure?
More ground staff comes to solve the problem
The assembly takes its time while pax flying from ZRH still can't deboard the aircraft
Finally our Bombie is town away to a remote stand and boarding by bus is announced
I must say it's the worst bus-stairs boarding ever with such a strong wind you can bearly stand on the stairs but it allows to takes some photos of the CS100
Air China A332 to PEK seen from the boarding stairs
We are greeted by a friendly young FA hidden somewhere between the small galley and cockpit doors as the ice cold wind enters the aircraft. There are two more FAs on this flight, the girl is rather sad and serious but the two boys keep smiling.
The aircraft is new and its interior is stunning as far as all the small and big details are concerned (brown leather seats with silver lines, small screens over every seat row, big and unscratched windows, big overhead lockers, generous legroom)… I fell in love with CS100 from the very beginning :)
Legroom is great mostly thanks to rather short seat that feels uncomfortable at first but then you can't even notice it and also thanks to the seat pocket located in the upper part of the seat. The small pockets for a bottle of water or mobile phone are very useful.
Safety video is displayed on the small screens
Cabin view as we taxi to the runway
View from the big and perfectly clean window
LOT/Nordica CRJ-900 and Air China A332
SU Sukhoi Superjet to SVO
LOT B788
Aer Lingus A320 to DUB
Take off is very bumpy and here is where I find out the aircraft is quite noisy. First we pass very thick clouds and then sun, sun, sun :)
The seat belt sign is on for quite a long time but as soon as it is off the service starts. We receive a croissant and can choose from a wide range of bevereges (I choose tea and water).
The water cup has Swiss logo
The seat pocket contains usual stuff: safety card, on board magazine, waste bag and some advertisments
Fleet facts from the onboard magazine
Let's visit the lavatory (the trip to the toilet is a must while flying new aircraft) ;) It is quite spacious as for a plane of this size.
The inflight map dispalyed on the small overhead monitors
Cabin view. The 2-3 configuartion is a little bit strange but very comfortable when you seat in the "2" section
I miss sun after a long winter, can't have enough of it
Seat detail with airline logo
Swiss chocolates are distributed shortly before we start our descend. I ask for two and the FA says "no problem, but this is an exception" and he starts laughing loud. I like this crew.
Thick clouds seem to be covering Switzerland and as we approach the airport bad weather with strong wind comes back. It is again very bumpy.
Landing is a little bit hard with long breaking and using almost all the runway
This cloud doesn't look good at all
Passing by some Swiss, Austrian and Helvetic aircraft
Finally we reach our gate
This flight was almost full and there are many transfer pasengers to LUX and PEK that are informed to head directly to their gates.
Last view of very nice seats
Bombie's nose
It takes quite a long walk to reach the baggage claim area. Good to have some spotting opportunities
Current departures and baggage belt info
So here we are, ready to start a few days stay in Zurich and places around Zurich lake. I will post some bonus photos describing my flight back.
Many thanks for reading.
See more
Verdict
SWISS
7.9/10
Cabin9.5
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering8.5
Warsaw - WAW
9.1/10
Efficiency9.5
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0
Zurich - ZRH
9.1/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.5
Conclusion
This was my first flight with Swiss and I must say their oboard product is very nice . I appreciate the service, especially the beverages and the croissant that was a nice inflight petit dejeuner. The chocolate is a nice touch to leave good impression. The crew was polite, focused on their tasks and not on their personal chats. As far as the CS100 is concerned I find it very comfortable (seat pitch, big lockers). The cabin desing and small overhead monitors make very good impression and the 2-3 configuartion is ok (you feel inside like in a E-jet/Airbus hybrid). The only thing I didn't like was the engines noise, especially during take off. Generally it felt a little bit like in Q400 where engines are very powerfull and take-off is always very dynamic. I also found the aircraft a little bit "nervous" as far as turns, climbing and descend are concerned but maybe it was only my impression.
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Thanks for a very good FR with great pics! It's always exciting to fly on a new carrier for the first time and even better if it's a rare and brand new aircraft! Swiss did a great job with interior of the CS100, it looks great. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for this trip report -- very cool to get a closer look at the CS100. Since most of my flying is with either DL or AC, I reckon I'll be seeing these birds quite a bit in my future. Funny story with the semi-functional jetbridge situation.
BBD marketed the heck out of the idea of a "bigger" middle seat on the 3 side of the C-Series cabin, but this looks like the same seats in all positions on this plane. Guess it was optional.
Interesting feedback on the engines during takeoff. They do look like big powerplants on a little bird, especially on the smaller and lighter 100. Maybe it's a function of a new aircraft, so pilots are still getting used to how to best manage various aspects of flight?
I had the same impression when I saw CS100 for the first time: big engines on a small bird. Now I know it can be felt during flight. All the seats look the same so they rather abandonned this idea. Many thanks for nice comments!
I felt like a child waiting for Christmas from the moment I booked tickets for this flight two months earlier.
I know that feeling. It makes me start FR drafts six months before departure time!
armed security guards watching us as potential terrorists and shouting loud not to take any pictures. This is pure madness.
How horrible. It must be mentally exhausting to live thinking there's an enemy around every corner! This makes me appreciate the advantages of living in a distant country where the only threats are earthquakes! (And the ocassional volcanic eruptions, landslides, tsunamis, floods, huge wildfires, or some cute mouse infected with some lethal virus. But nothing to worry about!)
weather is terrible with very strong wind (I'm already nervous about take-off in such conditions)
Brrrr.... Not long ago I experienced takeoff with strong wind, and it was scary!
The aircraft is new and its interior is stunning
Amazing! Beautiful, elegant colors! Nice, little monitors! I like everything about that cabin!
The crew was polite, focused on their tasks and not on their personal chats
This is a very important point! The crew's attitude can make all the difference between a pleasant flight and a nightmare. I read in a report about a female FA who intentionally spoke in a low voice to a hearing-impaired passenger!!
I will post some bonus photos describing my flight back.
Looking forward to it!
Dzięki za dzielenie! ^^ (According to Google Translator, this means "thanks for sharing")
Gracias, Nechus! You are right, all the natural threats are natural and we can do nothing about them but when it comes to people creating such circumstances it is absurd. I remember a situation when one of the EL AL guards forced a girl taking pictures at the airport to show him her phone and delete all the photos containing EL AL check-in desks. Imagine!
Hi, yes, I've had enough prince polo ;) For me CS100 is much better than E190. No lounge unfortunately, but I had great time in Switzerland, will post some photos in the next report.
Excellent report!! I love CS100. It looks so elegant from the outside as well in the inside. I liked the leather seats, big windows, and those tiny overhead screens. LX, as always, offering a nice product.
Thanks for this FR. Really nice pictures. LX did a great job with the cabin of the CS100. It's really classy and comfy looking. Taking two chocolates isn't an exception I've seen many pax doing it ^^
Hi ; great Trip report ! I would love to fly on the CS family ; especially the Swiss CS100! I love the nose of the CS100 ; it sorta reminds me of an A350 ( not sure if that is just me !) I have always found that when travelling with various European airlines and I have found a majority of them have mixed crew ; the complete opposite of my Nok Air flights in Thailand! Just out of interest , was the croissant good and crispy? Thanks again for the Trip Report!
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16 Comments
BBD marketed the heck out of the idea of a "bigger" middle seat on the 3 side of the C-Series cabin, but this looks like the same seats in all positions on this plane. Guess it was optional.
Interesting feedback on the engines during takeoff. They do look like big powerplants on a little bird, especially on the smaller and lighter 100. Maybe it's a function of a new aircraft, so pilots are still getting used to how to best manage various aspects of flight?
Thanks again for sharing!
I know that feeling. It makes me start FR drafts six months before departure time!
How horrible. It must be mentally exhausting to live thinking there's an enemy around every corner! This makes me appreciate the advantages of living in a distant country where the only threats are earthquakes! (And the ocassional volcanic eruptions, landslides, tsunamis, floods, huge wildfires, or some cute mouse infected with some lethal virus. But nothing to worry about!)
Brrrr.... Not long ago I experienced takeoff with strong wind, and it was scary!
Amazing! Beautiful, elegant colors! Nice, little monitors! I like everything about that cabin!
This is a very important point! The crew's attitude can make all the difference between a pleasant flight and a nightmare. I read in a report about a female FA who intentionally spoke in a low voice to a hearing-impaired passenger!!
Looking forward to it!
Dzięki za dzielenie! ^^ (According to Google Translator, this means "thanks for sharing")
Finally you decided to not try again prince polo and a glass of water ?
This plane seems really nice , even better than e190
Hope you enjoyed zurich and tried a lounge for return flight
Pa
“you can play some piano (if you can).“
- Sounds really cool!
Great pictures of your ride.
The interior looks great, I also like those screens on the overhead panel.
Nice spotting at WAW!
Stunning aerial shots and nice spotting at ZRH as well.
Have a good one, see you!
Really nice pictures.
LX did a great job with the cabin of the CS100. It's really classy and comfy looking.
Taking two chocolates isn't an exception I've seen many pax doing it ^^
I would love to fly on the CS family ; especially the Swiss CS100! I love the nose of the CS100 ; it sorta reminds me of an A350 ( not sure if that is just me !) I have always found that when travelling with various European airlines and I have found a majority of them have mixed crew ; the complete opposite of my Nok Air flights in Thailand!
Just out of interest , was the croissant good and crispy?
Thanks again for the Trip Report!
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