As part of our spring break trip to Italy, we had a lovely flight on the Swiss A220 from Zurich to Naples. Tired after a transatlantic overnight flight, then a forgettable Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Zurich, this flight was a very enjoyable final leg of this part of the trip following our visit to the Swiss Alpine Lounge. From the seat to the service to the food, this intra-European “business” class flight checked all the boxes.
A220 business class seat
Business class in general for intra-Europe flights are almost always an economy seat with a blocked middle seat, and perhaps extra legroom. Since we were on a connecting international business class flight on Lufthansa, we were able to select these seats at no charge. I previously wrote about how we booked this flight through Air Canada.
The A220 layout is a 2-3 configuration, which is nice because there is only 1 middle seat per row. For the right side of 3, the middle seats are not assigned to block at space for the window and aisle in business class. On the left side of 2, the window or aisle seats are unassigned in alternating rows, although in reality you could sit in either. Legroom was comfortable at 32″ pitch and thin seat backs, while the width felt even roomier than the published 18″.
A220 business class food, drinks, and service
Waiting at our seats was a bottle of water and packaged refreshing towel. From there, it was the service that really shined. Our flight attendant was incredibly friendly and attentive. She asked us about our trip and as she herself had just recently visited Naples, hand wrote a nice card with some local recommendations.
At the end of the flight she also wrapped my charcuterie cutting board (more on that in a minute) and filled the bag with their individually wrapped chocolates. It was easily the best service we’ve received on a flight of this type and exceeded my past positive experience flying Swiss.
After takeoff we were offered our choice of beverages before the meal service. The champagne was solid with a generous pour and piece of chocolate. Even more impressive was the ability to preselect from 7 different meal types; quite the variety for a 90-minute flight! The meal choices included:
- Caesar salad with sauteed chicken breast, cherry tomatoes, parmesan shavings and croutons
- Tuna tataki with wasabi mayo, sauteed green peas and a green pea mousse
- Platter of air-dried meat and cheese specialties from Switzerland
- Salmon poke bowl with soba noodles, caramelized eggplant, cucumber and pineapple salad, Korean pickled radish and spicy mayo
- Green asparagus with buffalo mozzarella, strawberries, arugula and sourdough croutons
- Farinata chickpea pancake with caponata salad, tomato tartare and burratina
- Mezze with hummus, baba ganoush, muhammara, maifouf salad and beet cutlet
My son and I had the meat and cheese platter. Getting to keep the cutting board with an image of the plane engraved as a souvenir was a fun touch. My daughter had the chicken Caesar salad but didn’t get a photo. My wife had the asparagus and buffalo mozzarella bowl which also included a side of cheese. All three were solid and nicely portioned for a late morning flight.
TL;DR: On our recent spring break trip, we had a fantastic intra-European business class flight on Swiss Airlines’ A220 from Zurich to Naples. The service was the best we’ve experienced for a short leg. We also loved the high-quality meal options, especially the Swiss meat and cheese platter that came with an engraved wooden cutting board souvenir.
