Trip Report: SWISS’s Economy Class to Tokyo Narita

AMSTERDAM —There are plenty of good ways to travel from Europe to Japan in the low season. Japan continues to rise internationally as a destination, partly thanks to its favourable exchange rate. In July, we decided to head to Tokyo once again for a holiday.

After careful analysis, we opted to fly with SWISS (LX) on the outbound leg of our journey from Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) to Tokyo Narita (NRT), via Zurich (ZRH).

After landing from our A220-300 operated flight, we headed immediately to Terminal E. The facility hosts most extra-Schengen flights and is reachable only after passport controls, which took seconds despite the rush hour.

Due to ongoing work at Zurich Airport, only one underground train was available to reach Terminal E, causing some queues.

Our short layover meant we could not access the lounge complex just upstairs from our gate; the aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, was already at the gate. As catering trucks began to arrive, the ground staff announced that the flight would be slightly delayed. We took the time to reshuffle our suitcases, preparing all the essentials for this 12-hour journey to Tokyo.

Boarding proceeded in an orderly manner, and in no time, we were inside HB-JNG, a 2017-built triple seven configured with 8 First Class, 62 Business Class, 24 Premium Economy, and 226 Economy Class seats. Both Premium Economy and Business Class are the moneymaking cabins; airlines strive to fill these classes, where most of the revenue is generated. On this flight, both cabins were 100% booked.

The Economy Class cabin is split across two main sections. The front section offers 35” of legroom and can be pre-selected at a fee. The rear section offers 31”, which is considered the industry standard. This is where we would spend our time today.

After scoring a full row to ourselves, we settled into seats 45J and 45K. At our seats, we found the headphones, pillow and blanket, together with the in-flight shopping list and safety card.

Each seat is equipped with a USB-A charger and an 11” HD in-flight-entertainment (IFE) screen, which can be tilted if the person in front reclines their seat. The central armrests can be raised for additional space, and comfort is increased by a four-way adjustable headrest.

This is LX’s old cabin design, with warm beige tones. The airline recently launched its new Senses experience for long-haul flights. Back in November, I was one of the lucky ones to try the new Business Class product on the inaugural flight to Boston (BOS), and you can read more in our latest issue.

Thanks to the light load in Economy Class, boarding continued smoothly, and we heard the GE90-115BL for the first time, which would accompany us for the next 12 hours. We pushed back in no time, heading for RWY16 for our departure.

After departure, we could admire some of the most beautiful views of the Alps I had ever seen. We climbed slowly due to our high take-off weight and fully appreciated the landscape along the way. I quickly explored the IFE platform, which was responsive and packed with titles. The in-flight map remains my favorite feature here, and I was happy to see this particular version came with plenty of different angles and information-dense tabs.

Lunch service started soon after with a printed menu, a bottle of water and a refreshing towel. These are touches that I would expect in Business Class, definitely not in Economy Class. The printed menu clearly displayed the lunch options and drinks, optimizing service and creating a more “premium” feel, which did not stop there.

The cabin crew soon handed out the appetiser; no packed snacks, every passenger was served Swiss cheese and a beverage of choice, which included Swiss red wine. Once again, something I would expect from more premium cabins. I opted for the braised pork as the main course, which was truly outstanding in flavour and texture.

Appetiser and dessert were served with the main course, consisting of tabouleh salad with dates and plum cake with chocolate mousse; once again, superb quality. The crew checked on the cabin several times, offering warm bread and more drinks throughout the service.

After lunch, we bid farewell to sunlight and settled in; I checked out the complimentary WiFi, which worked brilliantly throughout the flight. WiFi packages were also available for purchase; however, it was finally time for me to properly disconnect for a while. This year started strongly for the Lufthansa Group, which announced that Starlink would be installed on all its aircraft, including LX’s narrowbody and widebody fleet.

The new service will be offered free of charge to all passengers, upgrading the current in-flight connectivity offer. I then watched a couple of movies on the IFE screen, including the F1 movie. This may rank among the worst movies I have ever seen. I truly could not appreciate much of it, despite the already low expectations. We then engaged in a Trivia battle with some unaware fellow passengers sitting just in front of us, winning by fine margins thanks to the in-depth aviation knowledge we had developed over the years at Airways.

The galley separating the two economy class cabins was fully stocked with drinks and snacks. The new Senses experience includes skincare products in the Economy Class lavatories, including a much-welcome moisturiser and face mist. However, I packed my own amenity kit with everything I could possibly need for such a long flight: hand cream, face cream, deodorant, toothbrush, earplugs, tissues and a few more items.

The crew set the cabin in a cosy, purple light; darkness would accompany us for most of the flight, all the way until above Mainland China. Cabin temperatures were on the warm side, meaning we barely used the provided blanket.

We did use the pillows extensively, as they were among the best I had ever seen in Economy Class. Thanks to the extra seat, it was easy to store our backpacks and readily accessible belongings, including my camera used for all the photography and YouTube videos.

A few movies, naps and chats with the crew later, it was finally time to meet up with the sun. Breakfast was served about 2.5 hours before landing. Scrambled egg with Gruyere, diced potatoes with parsley, spinach, and tomatoes, served with bread, yoghurt, and fruit. A large, vegetarian selection, which I particularly enjoyed.

A cup of coffee later, it was finally time to approach Japan’s coastline, flying north of Mount Fuji before starting our descent into Tokyo Narita (NRT). LX flies its Boeing 777 five times weekly to Japan’s capital from Zurich (ZRH), and is joined by Austrian Airlines (OZ) as the two airlines in the Lufthansa Group to serve Narita Airport. Both Lufthansa (LH) and ITA Airways (AZ) operate flights from their hubs in Germany and Italy to Tokyo Haneda.

Clear skies welcomed us on our approach to RWY34R, just before the crew handed out a final gift: the signature SWISS chocolate, one of my favourite treats in the skies. A long taxi later, we finally arrived at Terminal 1, home to Star Alliance and SkyTeam airlines, and deboarded from door 1L, ready to kick off our Japanese adventure.

Conclusions

Let’s start with the cons. The Boeing 777 is a loud aircraft: there is no doubt about that. Towards the end of the Economy Class cabin, this can be a problem for some. I easily solved the problem with my noise-cancelling headphones, limiting the aircraft’s loudness. Similarly, plenty of hydrating creams helped with the dry air.

The Boeing 777-300ER is LX’s largest aircraft. The airline flies 12 units to high-demand destinations like Tokyo Narita (NRT), Los Angeles (LAX), and San Francisco (SFO). While these aircraft will soon receive the new Senses hard product, noise and air density won’t change, and it is unlikely that SWISS will deploy its brand-new Airbus A350 on such a popular destination, thereby reducing capacity. 

With that said, this flight really stood out to me and will probably go down as the best long-haul Economy Class experience I have ever had. Having flown LX regularly on long-haul flights in all cabins in the past, I have become acquainted with the crew’s professionalism and excellent service. Today, all the pieces of the puzzle came together perfectly: a fantastic crew, outstanding catering, stunning views, complimentary and reliable WiFi, a good IFE selection, and an overall comfortable experience.

We usually do not cover our airfares; however, I can say without a doubt that this experience was well worth the cost, and I would have been happy paying more for it. LX remains the airline I try to fly if the logistics allow it, and one that still shows a rare combination of pride, passion, and attention to detail.

Check out the YouTube review: