Swiss Air Lines inflight experience

For Long haul:
In Business you also get an amenities kit with socks, eyeshades, toothbrush, toothpaste, earplugs and breath-freshener. If you know to ask for them you can also get a razor, shoe horn, nail file, comb, needle and thread, lip balm, moisturiser, and mouthwash from the cabin crew. In the Swiss Business lavatory there are products from the Swiss company Tribol, with fragrances and hand cream.

In Economy shortly before landing there are hot towels - a perk left in economy with only a few other airlines like Singapore - and the usual miniature bar of Swiss chocolate.

For Short Haul:
In Business you will still be offered a pre-flight drink, even if the flight is short. This will just be water or orange juice. Once in the air service starts at the front on Airbus flights. Each passenger is asked what they want - and it is brought to them on a tray straight from the galley, with their requested drink. This means - particularly on short flights - you need to be at the front of cabin to enjoy your meal unless you like munching on the decent. There are no small bottles - all drinks come from large bottles in the galley - however you can ask for refils when your tray is taken away. There are no towels - it's on the tray. Logoed glass glasses are used.

In Economy there are the usual two trolleys - one has the limited food, and the one following it the round of drinks. You have to press the call button if you'd like any more to drink. Plastic glasses are used.

Swiss Air LinesBaggage Allowance

Swiss Air Lines has a pretty standard Luggage allowance, although it is unusual for a European air line to have started using the USA piece concept, even for trans-Europe flights. Hence, what you can check in is determined by how many bags you have, not the total weight. Also the carry on bags on Swiss have to be slightly smaller than international dimensions.

Cabin Bags: The carry-on Baggage Allowance on Swiss in economy is one bag, to a maximum of 8kg, while Business and First Class are allowed 2 bags to 8kg each. The maximum size of each one is 55x40x20cm. Note that this is slightly smaller than the standard IATA dimension of 23cm, and this slight reduction in width is checked carefully against all carry on bags, and your normal roll-a-board may in fact be firmly sent to the hold, because the width check will also include the bag's handles and wheels. Swiss are totally inflexible on this.

Check in luggage: Economy class can check in one bag to 23kg (50lbs), Business class can check in two bags of 32kg each, and First class can check in a whopping 3 bags of 32kg each - or in total 96kg. Miles&More Frequent Traveller gets another 1 bag, or 23kg in economy, while Miles&More Senator and Star Alliance Gold get another bag of 23kg in economy or 32kg in Business or First.

The exception to this is that in economy you can check in 2 bags of up to 23kg each (in other words, 46kg in total) if you are in economy and flying from/to West Africa, East/Central Africa, Japan, or Brazil. Or between: South Africa and the USA, Canada or Mexico, or on a Star Round-The-World tariffs. Not that many check-in clerks are unaware of this rule, particularly the RTW tariff. You will need to make this clear at checkin, and take a copy of the rules.

As always, these rules can change. Swiss' website has details of exactly what you can take onto a flight.