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SWISS has one of the most highly lauded Business Class products out of any European airline and, right now, there are some fantastic Business Class fares available for travel between Milan and a number of cities in the US.
Prices start at around €1,636 for a roundtrip fare and what makes this such a great deal is that, on a number of routes, you can book the airline’s new 777-300ER Business Class product.
SWISS 777-300ER Business Class Cabin
The Details
- Travel dates: Now – 30 April 2018
- Book by: 31 May 2017
- Advance booking requirement: Must book at least 14 days before departure
- Minimum stay: 6 days or stay a Saturday night
- Maximum stay: 3 months
- Stopovers: No stopovers permitted
The Fares
Milan – Los Angeles
The Milan – Los Angeles fare is easily the best deal I found as, not only is there plenty of availability but the long haul sectors are flown by the new SWISS 777-300ER aircraft.
Example availability:
June
September
March
As it happens, ITA Matrix (where I found the fares) is pricing the flights up slightly higher than they really are. Here’s an example fare taken from the SWISS website showing the fare as €1,636:
Milan – Miami
Once again there’s plenty of availability through April 2018 although on this route SWISS operates its Airbus A330 aircraft and not the 777-300ER. Still, a quick check of the internet and the seat map of the cabin…..
Seat map courtesy of SeatGuru.com
…shows that the A330 has a very similar (if not identical) product to the 777-300ER – I haven’t flown in this aircraft so I’m relying on photos to make this judgement.
Example availability:
July
October
February
Example fare and schedule:
Milan – Chicago (ORD)
Unsurprisingly availability is as good to O’Hare as it is to LA and Miami and, depending on which flights you choose, you can try out both the 777-300ER and A330 Business Class cabins.
Example availability:
August
January
Example fare and schedule:
Milan – New York (JFK and Newark)
NOTE: these routes have good fares too but they’re separate from the fares I’ve highlighted above and are valid for different dates.
The fares for JFK and Newark appear to be identical (I’ve use JFK in my example) although they are more expensive that the fares above.
Fare availability:
- 1 July through 31 August
- 23 November through 30 November
- 21 December through 9 January
While the dates for these fares are a lot more restrictive than those for the fares to LA, Miami and Chicago, the months for which the fare is valid does have good availability.
Example availability (August):
Example fare and schedule:
Tips
Tip 1
Both the SWISS 777-300ER and the A330 had a two-row mini cabin at the front of the aircraft (just behind First Class)……
Seat map courtesy of SeatGuru.com
….this is similar in many ways to the mini-cabin you’ll find in American Airlines 777-300ERs and it offers a lot more privacy than you’ll get elsewhere in Business Class.
Having said that there are a couple of issues with selecting seats on SWISS:
1 – SWISS blocks certain seats for Miles & More elites:
2 – SWISS charges passengers a lot if they want to select one of the “throne” seats (which the airline calls a privacy seat):
The throne seats look fantastic……
Swiss 777-300 Business Class “throne seat”
….but at €378 for a round trip the seat selection would hike up the price of the fare significantly and I’m not sure that I’d be willing to pay that.
Note: If you hold Miles & More Senator or HON Circle status I believe these seat fees are waived.
Tip 2
If you’d like to book one of these fares but aren’t sure which loyalty program you should credit your flights to then check out WhereToCredit.com. As the name suggests it will show you the various options you have once you’ve selected the airline you’re flying and the fare code that you’re booking.
Bottom Line
SWISS Business Class is a premium cabin product that most airlines would love to be able to offer (but don’t). Both the hard product (seats) and soft product (service, food etc…) get very good reviews and, at these prices, are a fantastic deal….especially all the way to Los Angeles.
I’m kicking myself for filling up my travel calendar as much as I have because now I’m having to try to move things around to give myself time to try this product out – I’ll keep you posted on how successful (or not!) I am 🙂
All images of the SWISS cabins are courtesy of SWISS
