Flight Report : LX 326 Zurich - London Heathrow
6 January 2023
17:05-17:50
After a week in Switzerland's mountains in my first trip of 2023, it's time to head back to London.
I arrived back in Zurich from Davos the night before and stayed at a very affordable hotel on the airport's periphery in Rümlang for just a little over USD $100. While the terminal is across on the other side of the grounds and not near, there is a direct bus service (510) just a short walk away.
After about 10 minutes, I reached the airport's transport station. This was where I ended up back in 2017 when I took the tram to the airport. From here, I entered the big shopping mall.
However, from the bus terminus, it was a long and confusing walk to the check-in area. The problem is, the monitors are not easy to locate once I step into the building next to the buses and even then, it pointed to an area that is not the right place. Signs were sporadic to lead me to the terminal.
A long walk and back upstairs, I found the main check-in area. The terminal is very functional. While not an architectural masterpiece, it is sleek and clean.
I was particularly interested in the Laderach shop just before security. I tried their chocolates in Geneva earlier on my trip and quickly consumed them so I came back for more to bring back to the UK. The saleslady was very talented and even gave us a few to try to lure us in for a deal. She wasn't pushy at all and pitched very professionally and was probably right to say the London store would be far more expensive.
She also noted these sheet chocolates are the traditional type although I preferred the smaller ones so I don't need to break up a few chunks each time I'm hungry.
After trying Laderach and Leonidas in Europe, I don't think I can buy these mass market stuff anymore. Well .. perhaps Tim Tams are OK.
Air-side, the spaces were airy, beautiful, and clean. With both Zurich and Geneva airports being so close to the city, I was comfortable to reduce the buffer time to fly out of here. I would pick Switzerland to transit into the rest of Europe compared to the larger airports such as Frankfurt.
The departures board looked packed and back to pre-pandemic health.
Intra-Europe travel is pretty much no frills these days even with a traditional carrier. Baggage, seats, and food all cost extra but airport restaurant prices are a bit expensive, and given it's Switzerland as well, perhaps it's better to have dinner back in London.
Our departure gate would be in a far away section and downstairs where there is a large hall of gates. It wasn't crowded but there are very few shops here and not much to do but wait, so I would suggest grabbing a bite just after clearing security.
I noticed these little kiosks at the gates and wondered what they were for. Apparently, there is a document check before boarding and staff would affix the flight details on top and call for passengers to come get processed. Announcements kept on running to do this and it seemed a bit odd as I rarely need to go through this at other airports, so I wasn't surprised many passengers didn't know this needed to be done.
With the document check done early, avoiding the big crowd, I was happily settled into my window seat for our sunset 5:05pm departure.
Swiss is part of the Lufthansa group and when I searched for Hong Kong to London flights last year, I could choose from a Zurich or Frankfurt connection. I guess the politics are in the way for a full merger and the prospect of losing the Swiss brand may not sit well with the electorate.
We took off into the evening sky, and with no in-flight entertainment, I rested a bit for the short hop back to the UK. It was uneventful although I was a little worried whether long immigration lines await at Heathrow.
There wasn't much to see on approach and there was a lot of fog pretty much all the way down.
We landed pretty much on time to the 5:50pm expected arrival, gaining an hour time difference. Luckily, immigration didn't take long as by now, the Christmas and New Year rush probably has passed and I was out in an Uber just before 6:30pm. Drivers pick up from a designated area in the parking garage, with directions provided on the app. However, the parking lot elevators are a bit of a struggle to find and squeeze in so it's best to avoid requesting a ride too early in the baggage claim. I ended up paying an extra small waiting time charge because the driver was already waiting for me.
