This Helvetic Airways flight for Swiss from Hamburg to Zurich was punctual and characterised by typical Swiss hospitality. The ageing aircraft spoilt the overall impression quite a bit. But what happend to my lunch? Well – read for yourself.
Review #39
| Departure – planned (actual) | 16.08.2024 – 10:45 (11:01) |
| Arrival – planned (actual) | 16.08.2024 – 12:10 (12:16) |
| Aircraft type | Embraer 190 |
| Delay | 16 minuntes at departure 6 minutes at arrival |
| Flight duration – planned (actual) | 1:25 (1:16) |
| Travel class | Business |
| Seat | 6F |
Table of contents
Departure aiport
Helmut Schmidt Airport Hamburg is the largest of its kind in northern Germany, serving the whole of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It mainly serves European destinations, but also long distance routes as for example Dubai.
How to get there
Hamburg Airport can of course be reached by car, but it is also very easy to get to from the city centre by suburban train, which runs directly into the terminal basement.
Check-in
Although this Swiss flight is operated by Helvetic, it is still handled by the Lufthansa Group. Accordingly, I was able to check in my luggage at the Lufthansa check-in desk in Terminal 2. I arrived quite early at the airport and there was only one person in front of me at the business class check-in counter. The process went very quickly and without any further problems. Including the waiting time, it took me a maximum of 10 minutes. Very efficient and also handled by very friendly ground staff.
Security check
At Hamburg Airport, the security checkpoint is centrally located between Terminals 1 and 2, and the Lufthansa check-in desk in Terminal 2 is located just access the Fast Lane so that entitled passengers literally only have to turn around and walk right through the gate and to security check. Which obviously is super convenient.
Again, there were a maximum of 8 other passengers in front of me and despite the fact that there are still no new scanners at this airport and all electronic devices and liquids have to be removed from hand luggage and placed in individual trays, it took me a maximum of 10 minutes to get through security check and be on my way to the lounge. Not quite a record, but close enough!
Lounge
As I also have a Priority Pass through American Express Platinum Credit Card, I can use the airport lounge at Hamburg airport. If you are interested in more details, feel free to also read my review.
I really like the lounge because of the cool views over the apron and the as the room is very spacious and bright.
Boarding
The boarding process started very punctually and, as usual with the Lufthansa Group, boarding was organised in groups. As the aircraft was quite small, the first boarding groups were on board very quickly and the business class passengers were able to board. The fully automated gates for scanning boarding passes also are of great help. Despite the small aircraft, we had a position at a passenger bridge, so boarding was no problem at all and we all boarded fairly quickly.
Welcome
As usual, two flight attendants welcome guests at the door. A small bottle of water and a refreshing towel were waiting at each Business Class seat. As usual, there is no pre-flight drink as the boarding procedure does not allow it.
Start & Routing
As soon as we reached cruising altitude, the curtains to the galley and between economy and business class were closed and, in addition to the usual safety announcement, we were told that the toilets were at the front or rear of the aircraft, depending on the class of travel.
Cabin & seat
Helvetic Airways operates flight LX1053 from Hamburg to Zurich with an Embraer 190. The seat on these aircrafts are as usual arranged in a 2-2 configuration. As there are no special Business Class seats available and the difference to Economy Class is a free seat next to you results in each Business Class passenger having one whole side of each row solely to yourself. This arrangement gives the airline flexibility in sizeing the Business Class cabin and on this flight, the first 7 rows were reserved for Premium Class.
The seat pitch is rather tight and me being 1.85m with rather long legs there’s not much room between my knees and the seat in front of me.
Apart from that, the plane wasn’t exactly new, and a bit battered in places. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very clean either – especially the carpet.
What I found great, though, was that the table that folds out from the back of the seat in front of you is really quite big which obviously is great for eating. For working, I have to say that the distance from the front seat wasn’t far enough for my arms. I was better off writing with the computer placed on my lap.
Entertainment
Apart from an in-flight shopping magazine and the usual safety card, there is not much left in terms of entertainment on board this Helvetic Airlines aircraft. You’ll either have to provide your own entertainment or just look out the window and enjoy the beautiful views!
Food, drinks & snacks
Helvetic Airways also serves a small meal for Business Class passengers. In this case obviously breakfast considering the time of day.
The flight was full to capacity, so some passengers were upgraded from economy to business class. Unfortunately, there was not enough food prepared for all passengers in Premium Class. As usually food is always served starting from the front and working it´s way to the back there was no meal left for me as I was sitting in the penultimate row. However, the young flight attendant, who was clearly in training, did a great job and worked perfectly in synch with his senior colleague to find a solution.
In the end I could choose from the economy class onboard menu and got a butter pretzel and some cheese. As an apology, I was also given a whole bar of the finest Swiss chocolate.
Washrooms
On our flight from Nairobi to Zanzibar, we introduced you to the world’s smallest lavatory. And to be honest there wasn’t much difference on this flight. Okay, at this Helvetic Embraer there was – unlike as with Safarilink – still a washbasin inside the lavatory, but that was about it. You really can’t get too big in this space without getting stuck.
Service
The service was friendly and professional and you can always tell that Switzerland has a strength in hotel industry. The purser and the young flight attendant working Business Class were extremely friendly and courteous. They dealt with the problem of lack of food with great confidence, as well as they were always attentive, smiling and constantly present in the cabin without being intrusive.
Arrival
Arriving at Zurich Kloten Airport almost on time, we taxied for quite a while to our gate at the main terminal. Again, despite the small size of the aircraft, we were allocated a parking position featuring a passenger bridge, which was pulled up to the aircraft very quickly so disembarking was just super quick.
Destination airport
Zurich Airport is just a transit airport for us today on our way to Bangkok. So we will not cover much of it on this review. If you are interested in seeing more of it you can read our Zurich to Bangkok on Swiss flight review on this blog.
Conclusion
This flight from Hamburg to Zurich in Helvetic Airways Business Class was okay. Not a masterpiece of aviation, but not bad either. Everything worked well and we got from A to B pretty much on time.
Airline Homepage
Points
I can award Helvetic Airways 8 out of 10 possible points for this flight.
Basically, it was a solid flight, but the inadequate food and the rather outdated aircraft take deduct points.
Recommendation
I can definitely recommend Helvetic Airways for Swiss. Swiss hospitality and punctuality are definitely authentic to this airline and it’s fun for singles, couples, families and business travellers alike.
South-east Asia Tour
Upcoming throughout the coming weeks you can follow us on our Asia tour through Bangkok, Java and Bali testing various hotels as well as multiple flights. We look forward to you joining us and can promise: It will be exciting!
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