Flying the wonderful SWISS A340 in Business Class: in 2020!

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Date of Travel: 10 AUG 2020
Airline: Swiss
Livery: Swiss standard livery
Route: LHR-ZRH
Aircraft: Airbus A340-300
Flight Number: LX 317
Miles: 491
Airborne time: 1h34m
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[@Paul_Lucas]

Get Surfshark VPN at surfshark.deals/winginit - Enter promo code WINGINIT for 83% off and THREE EXTRA MONTHS for free! This Swiss A340 can still be found most Mondays and Wednesdays and some Saturdays up until October 21st: LX 317 from London to Zurich and LX316 from Zurich to London. Follow me on Twitter: @paul_winginit ¦ twitter.com/paul_winginit Follow me on Instagram: paul_winginit ¦ instagram.com/paul_winginit My website: www.winginit.me

[@brigittelehmann9749]

Very interessting greetings from the netherlands

[@PlanesTrainsFan]

Unfortunately Alot of these flights seem to end up being A330s and hasn't been an A340 since August 17th.

[@matthewcouchman6101]

If you were interested the shot across the lakes with the mansions at @ is Burwood Park in Walton-On-Thames. I used to live there. @t

[@davisbyer4791]

"The pen with the Swiss logo is A BIG PLUS" 😂😂😂

[@Bearbrawl141]

There's an old aviation joke about the a340's climb rate: "The a340 doesn't pull up, the Earth curves away from it."

[@winstona3646]

another joke. A346 has four engines under the wings and one APU at the rear. A343 has four APUs under the wings and one APU at the rear.

[@imonymous]

@Lee Claxton the joke is that the plane has such a low climbing rate, that the plane doesn't pitch up and rise on its own, but just keeps flying straight ahead until the surface curves down because the earth is round. Did that make sense?

[@the_earlybirf1170]

@@imonymous there's also the IL-86 joke, Pilot: Blyat pull up blin. Co Pilot: Ok. Pilot: good thing we use whole runway or we wasted money.

[@OFFICIALDJFLASHBACK]

01:28 Paul turns into Geoff Marshall and adds facts to "Secrets of the Piccadilly Line" video.

[@iandunbar-reid6018]

I like your demeanour in presenting these trip reports. No mucking around, you get straight to the point. Well done.

[@TravelCharlie]

It's good to see they didn't skim on the catering. Back in the states, we just get pre-packaged boxes for our meals.

[@brinicole2999]

And often have to BUY in addition to the ticket lol

[@fastoez]

Same on BA yet no cost reduction on business class ticket, nothing short of taking the piss!

[@jen93106]

Right, and no relevancy to COVID-19! 😆

[@andrewhowe555]

Brilliant (as always Paul). I really like the fact you had a little look around Hatton Cross, and the Tube Station’s and tiled aircraft motifs, it’s the wonderful little details like this that sets your channel apart. 🙏✈️😊

[@trevorhoughton5182]

Andrew Howe yes amazing all the little things at most underground stations that make the finishing touches - that other you tuber (Sorry Paul!) that has highlighted these, but not the Hatton Cross motifs, the underground clocks at one station with the underground logos instead of the numbers on the clockface

[@joesephstylin1577]

Love how both Paul and Vicarious Voyager uploaded a video about the same plane in the same week

[@joshpratt7917]

Looks like all the youtubers are flying swiss lately

[@jen93106]

VV is another favorite AV vlogger of mine. I hadn’t seen any recents and need to check it out.

[@Callaghanify]

I love all of your videos! They’re so personable, friendly, and informative. 😊

[@coyotelong4349]

14:01 “The Swiss Logo- A Big Plus!”🇨🇭I see what you did there, Paul 😏

[@RadoslavSharapanov]

Never occurred to me you can guess the gate in advance by tracking the plane. Great tip, thanks!

[@visionist7]

It's a neat trick but most of the time you'll be waiting for a generic carrier ie. British Airways and have no idea which incoming jet is yours, unless it's come directly from where you're going.

[@GenkisTravels]

God I would love to fly this route on the A340. It's one aircraft that I haven't flown yet and quickly is getting retired.

[@jgraaay18]

Unfortunately Airbus designed a good aircraft but then hung four glorified hairdryers under the wings.

[@joermnyc]

@@jgraaay18 Princess Vespa’s industrial strength hair dryer.

[@myplace848]

Prayer should be done in secret so that God can reward you in secret.

[@joermnyc]

@@myplace848 I feel the same way about politics... it’s a secret ballot (at least in the US), you should never tell people who you voted for.

[@carlmaster9690]

I've flew on an Emirates A340-500 from Dubai to Brisbane (and back) in 2009. The A340 as a whole is an amazing aircraft! It's one of the most comfortable and quiet planes around! Shame their all been retired from airlines fleets worldwide!

[@danielkandi4582]

u know the load is light, when 4 hairdryers make a plane lift off at about half the runway it usually does...!

[@danielheathcote5625]

Sounds like 4 hair dryers clogged with fluff too I thought.

[@visionist7]

4 Dyson Subsonics

[@joespittle1]

9:37, just taking my A340 for a walk

[@iandunbar-reid6018]

Very clever, Joe !!

[@visionist7]

^_^

[@davidcartwright5591]

Loved this video . I’m one of the lucky ones who have quite a few A340 flights under my belt , a great aeroplane and one I always loved flying . I also have a soft spot for Switzerland , so for me you’ve given me two great moments for the price of one ! . Cheers and safety first ..

[@jadedavis822]

Nice to see you’re back great vlog thanks!

[@Paul_Lucas]

More to come! Thank you!

[@JA-yc7pk]

Great to see you back in the skies Paul! I flew Swiss on the same route in 2002 on an MD-11, I think for capacity as it was a full!

[@burncrew]

Thanks Paul, always feel as though i am doing the trip with you.

[@garypetermeier3865]

So glad your back reviewing travel and flights. I travel several times a year in the U.S. Sadly I have not traveled since January. Living thru you for my travel fix. Thank you Paul!

[@imonymous]

Glad to see Swiss still operating the 340.

[@hughporter5234]

Paul, I am glad to see your still winging it. Its been a tough year for travel.

[@mxyzptlyk]

We flew Swiss A340 ZRH-HKG-ZRH a few years ago. Flew Swissair many times in the 1960s (Caravelle, CV990 Coronado) - luv 'em! I watched a VLOG of an A340-300 captain who said that the A340-300 is not underpowered for its mission. He said that is a cruise-climb aircraft that does not need to step-climb like so many other aircraft. Apparently the A340-300, cruise-climbing from Europe (somewhere) to New York would use 20 tonnes less fuel than an aircraft step-climbing in order to burn fuel in order to reduce weight to enable it to climb. Perhaps Captain Nick from APG podcast could comment. He once told a story of taking 35 minutes to get to cruise from Hong Kong.

[@jauipop]

I've been living in Zurich for the past 6 months (from Malaysia and here for an MBA) and will be flying SwissAir Business to Thailand direct in about a month's time!! First time on this product, so looking forward to being pampered for 14 hours and it will be a lovely finish to my Switzerland experience. Funnily enough, when we first got to Zurich, we stayed in Kloten for 2 months right opposite the SwissAir office and took nightly/daily walks from there to the Zurich Flughafen! So familiar with that airport area now.

[@Oddbase1]

Hi Paul, great to see you back with us. Many moons ago, in the early 2000's I flew several times to Jo'berg using the Swiss national carrier on the A340-300. The service was always well above average and always consistant. Stay safe Paul.

[@user-jx2fg3bk9w]

its nice watching someone travel when you know you cant because of the times we live in.

[@PaulStewartAviation]

Nice Paul! Great to see another vlog on the A340s. As you said, you may not be on one ever again. :( (although it looks like Swiss might be the last commercial airline to fly them).

[@oliidp8066]

I’ve managed to fly on both the a330 and a340 in biz on that route absolutely amazing

[@ironmantrains]

Mentioning the BOAC speedbird logo at Hatton Cross reminds me of Geoff Marshall.

[@Harris90]

Absolutely love the FlightRadar 'hack' to give you the gate information! - Great video as always Paul. Wishing you continued safe travels!

[@adrianmottram6837]

Swiss Air chocolate rules! whenever I fly with them, trip to the lounge and help myself to the odd bar or 2!!

[@allanduncan6852]

Glad you like Swiss, I use them a great deal and fly down to South Africa with them as much as I can.

[@tammypearson4500]

What a treat to see one of your new videos! Thanks for all you do, Paul. I enjoy your videos very much and have learned a lot about airlines and airports from around the world, thanks to you! Cheers from Mississippi, USA Can't wait to fly to Europe again!

[@whathasxgottodowithit3919.]

Paul great video as always, I remember visiting Heathrow I think in 1970 and seeing a brace of B747s one PanAM and the other TWA from our vantage point on the top of the Queens building, dont remind me that was 50 years ago!

[@VisualApproach]

Amazing to see all those BA aircraft parked up at T4, haven't seen that for a while

[@simonthorpe3686]

Its not amazing - its screwed up - all over a bit of Kung Flu

[@largol33t1]

One interesting thing about the A340, if you had to access the lavatory and the flight attendant told you to go aft (rear), there was a staircase going down. Technically, you were on the same deck as the cargo hold. I think I was flying Iberia at the time. It's a very quiet and smooth plane. PS: thank you for not muting and skipping the take off. The A340 is one of the very few quad engine passenger planes still in use today. I've also flown an Avro on the same airline from Germany to Switzerland. To my surprise, they never shut the cockpit door so I could see everything the crew was doing.

[@Paul_Lucas]

This is a -300, the downstairs bathrooms are only on the stretched -600.

[@joermnyc]

Flew an A340-300 on Lufthansa, but way in the back of economy . The 2x4x2 layout actually shrinks to 2x3x2 due to the tapering of the fuselage, the first 3 seats are a terrible choice as you have 4 seats in front of you... so your seat back screen is not in front you. However, the next 3 seats were comfortable for a family of three like us to not have to worry about sharing the row with a stranger that might not appreciate sitting near a 5 year old. The only thing that was bad, was they took forever to collect dinner service, since they kept going around with the bar cart... how much alcohol do they expect to sell on a transatlantic flight on a Thursday night? That and, the lavs are all in the bottom deck of the plane (having flown the A380 and 747 I’m used to a plane with more than one deck)... and the line can leave you standing on the stairs while holding said 5 year old when you unexpectedly hit turbulence.

[@alismith6353]

Great to see you flying again Paul. Never flown Swiss as it’s an airline I’ve always wanted to try. My wife and kids flew with them to Stuttgart via Zurich. My son is disabled and they went well above and beyond to help my wife and son board and even let my daughter sit in the left seat after the flight which made her day!

[@vickyb785]

Thanks for this info i was wondering how they would be with didabled travellers as a wheelchair user its good to hear others experience

[@morsecode42]

You know, I've been weighing the pros and cons of moving to Switzerland... the flag is a big plus! ;)

[@elliesanders885]

05:49 I know when they where accepting new aircraft they used to fly the bigger jets on their high density routes to train crews quicker. It could be a way of keeping crew current

[@bayareaaviation17]

A340s are still kicking it!!!

[@maybach6536]

I flew on an a340 in 2013 from NYC to Johannesburg on South African Air and it was a LONG flight but the plane itself was very nice! I miss those long haul flights

[@brendadouglas7517]

SO happy that you are back!!! I too would love to fly this route, so glad to see you again.

[@Sanznachito]

Outstanding flight. I actually feel Swiss is more 5* thank many other carriers and I think even beats Turkish, needless to say others closer to home. Thanks so much for sharing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@aerotechify]

FWIW the engines on the A340 are the CFM56, which are also used on 737-NGs and the A318/19/20/21 (non-NEO), so I'm sure you'll be hearing them for some time.

[@thecaynuck4694]

Oh wow! I always thought they were just the same Trents from the A330. Thanks for the info.

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Howdy, absolutely amazing trip report as always Paul! Just curious, when will the next Australia video be?😸😹😸

[@DesiroDriver]

Great video Paul. I live 17 miles from LHR and so happened to get a great look at a Swiss A340 departure this morning. Oh, and it was a Monday! Hopefully see a few more.

[@lone8869]

I live near Manchester airport and it saddens me every day not to hear the planes every few minutes. Of course there are some coming and going but it's just not the same at all.

[@bladesxboxing1106]

Brilliant video.The 747s still stand out from the crowd .Even parked up like that .My first flight was on a a340 as a kid from Heathrow to Johannesburg with virgin.And ironically Remember waiting for a bus at Hatton Cross on our return to head to a local hotel .

[@evan5848]

The vaunted four hair dryers 😂

[@sxflyer5410]

6:30 another reason, especially during this crisis: all planes which are not in long-term-storage have to be moved once a while, so why not just let them do a short european hop?

[@seank4568]

Thank you Paul for your vlogs and honest reviews. They are so detailed 💪

[@apgooner694]

Hi Paul. As a TCO for Swiss at LHR, we quite often get lots of cargo everyday, and the widebody aircraft that have been brought in recently have been carrying absolutely loads! But, as you clearly experienced, not a great deal of passengers right now :(

[@MRKaySan]

We do it for regency and cargo as you said. Gonna be on Wednesdays in September \ October

[@TideKnotTravellers]

You’re right, it’s crazy sad seeing those BA 747s parked up at Heathrow permanently 😢

[@Ozymandias1]

They were on the way out anyways. The Coronavirus just sped things up. Maybe they get a second life as cargo planes.

[@glenjarnold]

Saw one parked right by the roadside security fence when I passed Kemble (Cotswold Airport) in July. A sad sight indeed.

[@krokodilen31]

Old non-competetive aircrafts, that are way to expensive to maintain.

[@duddin91]

a few weeks before the lockdown hit in march 2020, i was running some training sessions for British Airways on Aircraft Ground Marshalling. As part of the practical session in the training we were manouvering one of those Boeing 747-400's in & out of the position they are parked up in, at the start of this video. At the time there was only on parked up, as it had just come out of maintenance.

[@gw78787]

Enjoy watching your videos! Hope your well! Last time I flew the LHR-ZHR route Swiss was using a A319.... anyway great video! LHR looked like a ghost town! Just hoping no more lockdowns!

[@danielclooney6248]

I'm happy to know that the 340 is underpowered. Many years ago I watched a Lufthansa 340 take off at IAH. It took the whole runway. I was beginning to think it was not going to lift off. Or it just had a big load. That solves the question on why it took so long. I agree, Swiss is always top notch in my book.

[@richardnei]

Lovely Flight Report! The A340-300 is such a beautiful aircraft, however they really messed up the lack of power during it development. It nearly needs another engine on each wing for take off especially when operating with full loads from hot countries. Still love the aircraft though. I’m looking forward to more of your videos coming soon.✈️

[@cndam]

It doesn’t. The reason twins climb at a better rate is due to engine-out requirements. It had the power that it needs. Remember an a340-300 additional max take-off vs A330-300 of about 76,000 pounds. So, at one engine out on each plane, the a340 has a lower weight to power ratio. Also remember that airlines like to fly efficiently. No need to push the engines if not needed. The a340 has no issue climbing out of St. Maarten runway 10 with a useful load and making it nonstop to Paris.

[@dxmedia9258]

Great vid hope we will be able to fly as normal next year or as close to normal as possible. Can’t see that happening though

[@paulsz6194]

I used to see the Swiss A340 often at Singapore Changi Airport. I think it was a popular route for it to fly .. but personally I flew the B777 with Swiss from ZRH -BKK 3yrs ago, when that plane was fairly new to its fleet..

[@tommymoloney8574]

Fab blog. Let's keep flying!

[@logandowning4373]

Just seen you on I-285

[@robertgambling502]

Swissair is a wonderful airline. I flew them from New York to Zurich in 1967. They were flying DC-8's then.

[@steelepls]

Thanks Paul for doing what you do always with a bit of class. We used to have a Lufthansa A346 flying into Charlotte during the summer months and earlier this year they switched over to the A359. Keep up the good work and keep going places I may will probably never get to fly to other than flying on my computer which I do a lot. Take care sir and God bless.

[@731nadeem]

Hi Paul - thanks for the video. I was wondering yesterday where you had been. Looking at Heathrow in your video was a big reality check on how much the world has changed. Here hoping 2021 is a better year

[@davideck]

Glad to see you back and well. You are by far my favourite aviation.podcaster.

[@g.a.8884]

Hello. I really like your video travels on airliners of different classes and different companies, countries of the world. I am pleased to see and hear your comments on the video. Very nice and helpful. Thank you

[@travelmentaryTV]

Great to see you in the air again, especially with a classic plane as the A340 is. At this point a lot of them are decommissioned.

[@steveb1086]

Another great vlog. It is so quiet there now and with the lounges closed with less offerings. We like Switzerland but again quarantine is stopping any travel there

[@ellathepug]

I've always enjoyed the lush green landscape of landing at ZRH!

[@iandunbar-reid6018]

Yes. It also reminds me of when I flew into GVA. So green and lush.

[@aaravsgaming337]

YAY HES BACK!!!

[@matsharma]

I used to live very close to Hatton Cross , it was the best location, used to watch planes all day on weekends from Northern Perimeter Road

[@BenkertAviation]

Super video !! I’d been seeing the Swiss A340 flying over my house this summer which was awesome to see. Glad you enjoyed the experience- one I’d like to try !! ✈️✈️

[@robertcooper3985]

I remember a LOT Business Class breakfast years ago that was hard boiled egg in cream cheese sauce with broccoli and potatoes. Quite nice actually.

[@gregoryhuntington7954]

Still hope you will do a show on just lounges. Different types and ways to get access. Also is “business” class the same as first class? Maybe a segment on the different classes of seats?

[@jamessmith6402]

Thanks Paul excellent video as usual 👍 I often see Swiss A340 313s flying past my house in Johannesburg they must have plenty power to takeoff in the hot and high conditions here

[@tiguanpower4251]

EXCELLENT STORY WE LOVE SWISS

[@ethan5947]

This was taken when i was at Heathrow! If i knew i woulf have gone and spotted yoy

[@Davehearne43]

Welldone mate keep the good work stay safe 🙏

[@topixfromthetropix1674]

I used to fly a A 380 from Seoul, S Korea to Atlanta several times a year. Great plane. I guess it will be quite a while before air travel will get back to normal, even though Thailand only had 3445 cases and 59 deaths I live about a mile off the Chiang Mai International airport, it's 9:00 AM and I haven't heard a plane, yet.

[@joefrancis2712]

Great trip report .I remember visiting Zurich before.What a great city

[@rupertmay3453]

if they are still giving good service and not cutting things this is a good reason to fly them again !!!

[@lorispain1]

That engine sound! I had the privilege of flying a 717 in September, a little rocket ship!

[@kathypalus3197]

It's good to see you again.

[@syed2194]

The King is back

[@matthewbarber4240]

Hi Paul! Hope you're well? At 7:29 I saw the answer to your question why an A340 operating ZRH-LHR-ZRH, Just look at the amount of cargo being loaded!

[@ex-cabincrew]

Back in the 1980s I used to travel to greece a lot. I always flew with PamAm on a 747; the flight landed at LHR from JFK for a short stop over and then flew onto Athens. PS Always enjoy your videos.

[@gregtrain1]

I got to fly this airline last year from Zurich to Chicago. But it was in A 777-300. They sure don't want you in the aisle when waiting the bathroom!

[@doc4science410]

I was supposed to fly on the Swiss A340 for the first time this summer in business class for JNB-ZRH. It looks like I may never get to fly on one of these planes.

[@Brandon-jp5ow]

Swiss and LH are keeping their A340-300s for now and Swiss is using them on BOS, JNB, EWR, and 2 other routes

[@jayrap94]

Seeing BA planes parked at T4 is almost nostalgic. Of course the reasoning isn't anything to smile about.

[@josuazeroo2011]

9:36 just casually taking the airplane for a walk so it won't get grumpy

[@kevanhubbard9673]

I think that terminal 1 will at some point reopen so it'd be pointless to take the 1 out of the station name.T1 use to be mainly for short haul flights around western Europe.regarding those air motiffs at Hatton Cross you can see some old rail ones on the platforms on the Waterloo and City Line for Network South East.NSE,Inter City,Railfreight and Regional Railways was Mrs Thatcher's attempt to break up British Rail for privatizating....sectorisation she called it.

[@NewcastleFlyer]

Yet another fantastic video! I was fortunate enough to fly on the A340 myself in August and I only paid £75 for ZRH-LHR in economy. I’m also fairly confident that the reason for these flights is high cargo demand.

[@graelii7440]

BA operates 787 on this route as well atm. I flew with them in mid August and the 787 was quite full. Btw. you are the first major airplane reviewer who did feature the retroffited Swiss 340 Business Class. I was looking for that :)

[@alanlake5220]

Great video Paul, who would have thought a small country like switzerland whould have a really good airline .

[@janellek21]

You just had to throw in that 1982 derby match!!

[@trevorhoughton5182]

janellek21 🤣!

[@Jennyeq]

Good to have you back mate! I'm flying to Saint Martins in 3 weeks... I hope.... felt the airline industry could do with my trade and I could do with a holiday - hopefully the government wont stop it.

[@zachmatt3]

It was really apparent how hot and dry it had been, with all the brown grass at Heathrow.

[@lpantz2198]

Paul, you’re my favorite!

[@casinovlog]

It would be interesting to see, how did he managed to travel from Budapest, as Hungary was and is essentially closed for non Hungarians since basically april.

[@Paul_Lucas]

The borders were open in August! Had a lovely time in Budapest, was very hot though.

[@casinovlog]

@@Paul_Lucas Interesting. As it was closed for most... There was zero toursits all around and such.