Hallo everyone,
I thought you might be interested in a little Trip Report about my flight on the brand new Swiss 777 Flagship HB-JNA. Here it is! Going on a Business Trip to LUG from GVA, I flew via ZRH. I could test the new Boeing on the first leg. The 777 entered commercial service the day before, Feb 8th, so it was its second day of service.
I arrived early at the airport, in order to be able to enjoy the Business Lounge. I had a quick breakfast there before heading to the gate.
As GVA is currently undergoing construction work for a new long-haul Terminal, the C-Gates are mostly unavailable and a bus is used to bring us to the plane. Usually not really a pleasure, but this time, it was quite cool. You could measure the real size of the beast by standing next to it. The bus was divided into 2 classes, which was really akward, as the Y-Class Pax were cramped in most of the bus while C-Class had a lot of space.
As we arrived to the plane, we could see the massive size of that plane. Usually flying CRJs dans Dash8s, maybe an A320 for my business trips, it was weird to see such a big one
First impression when boarding the plane: the smell. Like a car when it's brand new out of the garage, the nice smell of immaculate seats and fuselage. A nice emotion. And a warm welcome by the crew.
As I said before, I'm not flying Intercontinental a lot, except on the holidays. And having 2 small kids, I don't travel that far, so my last wide-body jet was almost 5 years ago. I'm not used to this size anymore, but boy is it enjoyable:
I took my seat, 15K, the so-called "throne" seat, as it is boarded by 2 big tables and you sit there with full privacy and 2 windows to yourself. The seat itself is very comfy, the legroom is nice, and the IFE-Screen is really big and enjoyable. The equipment in the seat and the stow is very nice, there's lots of room.
I have to say my IFE did not work for the whole flight, and wasn't able to use it. It only displayed the flight map. Strange, cause others pax IFE worked.
There. I got my newsparper and a little pre-flight drink. Ready to go.
The usual Safety Demonstration on the IFE Screen is enjoyable, probably mostly for the Crew
A panorama as seen from my Seat
Takeoff was very smooth despite the windy weather
Once in flight, I asked the crew if I could have a little walk up to F-Class. The First Class cabin was not open to sales. I heard there were some UPG or non-rev, but on this leg, no one was sitting there. Very cool and comfortable seats, with loads of space and even bigger IFE Screens. The style of the cabin is really very pleasant.
Time to enjoy a little snack, which was quite good given the very short time. GVA-ZRH is a 50 minute flight, as of schedule. In reality, it's 35 minutes flying, so it's quite a stressful moment for the crew to do the service and prepare the cabin for landing. Oh, and they use real glasses in C-Class. That's gettin really seldom nowadays…
Getting ready for descent and landing in ZRH:
Yes. That's a 3-point seatbelt. Of course I didn't notice at takeoff and was reminded by the crew to please put it on. Same on landing. I'm just not used to it!
Very smooth touchdown in ZRH after 35 minutes.
These GE engines are just enormous compared to the little Avros on the Tarmac
Byebye 777!
I didn't want to leave the plane, but hey, I had to
And time for a reward in the LX Business Lounge before the next flight:
Here's a video of takeoff, landing, and a quick view of the cabbin:
Nice report, sir!!! I think it was really interesting for you to have a short trip from Geneva to Zurich by a wide-body jet. I'm just curious, how much was the ticket price??? Was it a chepest alternative for Swiss people in Zurich or Geneva to try Boeing 777??? Thanks!!!
Hello. The ticket price was really cheap! If I remember correctly, I paid around 120€ one-way for GVA-ZRH-LUG in Business Class.
The 777 is now flying mostly on ultra long haul routes, but at the very beginning (and still today), as it's a new a/c type, they flew all around Europe to train the crews. So with so many seats on this leg, the prices went down. The opportunity still exists today to fly it on that flight ZRH-GVA-ZRH leaving around 08am and back at 11am.
What a thrill to experience widebody pleasure on a normally narrow body flight!
Thanks for a great first report! It was indeed an awesome opportunity to be able to fly the Swiss 77W on short-haul within Europe when it first started service earlier this year. Some friends living in France were able to take advantage of this. Alas, I live in the U.S. so I was not able to catch a ride on this beauty.
I think the cabin looks great, though perhaps a little dense. Though that is common on a 77W. Some have criticized that Swiss did not install seats affording all pax aisle access on the new 77W, but honestly, I prefer this configuration. It's nice to have the option of the "throne" seats if you are travelling alone, while having the option to select duo seats, if travelling as a couple. Sometimes it is difficult to speak to your travel companion when you are isolated in separate seats with high walls. Another thing I like about this is the option to have a window seat when travelling as a couple. I generally have to resign myself to being in the middle section in 1-2-1 configured Business class cabins. So I think that this configuration is a perfect mix of the best of both worlds--there's something for everyone.
I imagine you routed through ZRH specifically for the 77W? I would assume there are direct flights from GVA to LUG. It's funny when you think about it: You departed from GVA in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, connected in ZRH, in the German-speaking region, to a final destination of LUG in the Italian speaking area--you gotta love Switzerland!
Thanks again for a wonderful report et Bienvenue sur Flight-Report!
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for you nice comment!
Yes I did route specially through ZRH to enjoy the big bird, as I could also fly directly to Lugano from GVA, what I usually do as I travel there about 4 times a year.
About the Languages, I gotta say that I didn't really notice, as it is quite common for us Swiss to experience a language change (or country change!) as our regions are so small. We don't really pay attention to be honest. But now that you say it, it sure sounds fun!
And when you think ybout it twice, I flew over France while taking off from Geneva, then over Germany when lining up in ZRH, and over Italy while comin into Lugano :)
Best regards!