Review: Swiss 777 Business Class | Zurich – Dubai

Booking a one-way ticket between Nice (NCE) and Dubai (DXB) via Zurich (ZRH) costs 25,000 Aeroplan points in economy class and 45,000 Aeroplan points in business class ( Atlantic Zone pricing):

Swiss regularly releases availability on this route for Star Alliance partners, including Aeroplan.

Check out our tutorial at the end of this article on how to earn Aeroplan points, whether you’re reading this from Canada, the U.S. or anywhere else in the world.

This aircraft has four cabins:

• First
• Business
• Premium Economy
• Economy

I’ll be travelling in business class with my mother for this flight.

Swiss’s B777 Business Class comprises two cabins with 62 seats.

A main cabin has 10 rows of 5 seats plus 2 additional seats in row 6, while the mini-cabin has only 2 rows of 5 seats. See Aerolopa for a detailed layout.

With this configuration, many passengers cannot access the aisle directly. There are 12 pairs of seats on the cabin’s window side.

It’s best to travel as a couple, or with someone you know, so you can step over her while she sleeps to get to the aisle!

If you are travelling alone, I recommend the following throne seats:

• 4A
• 5K (this seat is close to the galley area and can be noisy)
• 7A
• 8K
• 9A
• 10K
• 11A (note that this seat has one less window than the others)
• 12K
• 14A
• 15K
• 16A
• 17K

When travelling with someone, I prefer to choose the central seats, which allow each person to freely access the aisle.

Compared to Swiss’s A330, the entertainment system is modern and features a 16-inch screen.

Amenity kits are available at every business class seat. The accessories provided are basic (socks, earplugs, mask).

During the boarding phase, cold drinks, including champagne, are offered.

Shortly after takeoff, the service takes place, and here’s the menu:

For starters, I chose Balik salmon sashimi with avocado (served with cucumber and ginger, wasabi vinaigrette) – created by Christian Kuchler, Tavern zum Schäfli, Wigoltingen, canton Thurgau.

For the main course, I chose the Beef fillet with old-fashioned mustard sauce (served with Polenta de la Valle Maggia and root vegetables) – created by Anja & Hans-Jörg Zingg, el parasido Mountain Club, St. Moritz, Canton Graubünden.

For dessert, I chose the Chocolate and Citrus Cheesecake – created by Franck Reynaud, Hostellerie du Pas de l’Ours, Crans-Montana, canton Valais.

The whole meal was good. However, service was rather slow (in all, the meal lasted almost two hours).

Once the trays have been cleared, the light in the cabin is dimmed, and the ceiling is tinted pink/red.

I was able to work for the rest of the flight thanks to the Wi-Fi network (and my free Boingo access with my World Elite Mastercard).

Overall, we had a good flight of just over 6 hours on board this Swiss B777.

This is an excellent option if you have this type of aircraft available for your flight, and the cabin is fairly recent (Swiss’s Airbus A340s have also been retrofitted in this way).

We recommend you avoid the Airbus A330s that have not been retrofitted and regularly operate this route (as well as most transatlantic flights, i.e. Zurich-Montreal).

Service is of the “Germanic” type (rather cold), similar to what you’ll find onboard Lufthansa or Austrian, part of the same Lufthansa group. On this route to Dubai, I prefer the service I’ve had on Emirates, Turkish Airlines or Air France.

However, Swiss remains a perfect option for using your Aeroplan points: at 25,000 Aeroplan points in economy class or 45,000 Aeroplan points in business class, it’s pretty unbeatable!

The easiest way to earn Aeroplan Points is to apply for one of these Aeroplan credit cards. Not only will you earn Aeroplan Points as a welcome bonus, but you will also earn Aeroplan Points on all purchases charged to your Aeroplan credit card.

Aeroplan’s most popular credit card is the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card, whose current welcome offer is as follows:

You can also earn Aeroplan Points through the American Express Membership Rewards program. You can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points to Aeroplan Points at a 1:1 ratio. So 10,000 Membership Rewards points = 10,000 Aeroplan points. Many Membership Rewards credit cards are available in Canada.

In my opinion, one of the best American Express Membership Rewards credit cards is the American Express Cobalt^® Card. With this credit card, you get 5 points per dollar for grocery purchases, convenience stores and spending at restaurants and bars. Also, consider the gift card trick where you can get 5 Points per dollar for many stores like Amazon, SAQ, Ikea, Netflix, etc.

Here is the welcome offer currently available for this card:

If you are not fortunate enough to be able to earn Aeroplan Points via a credit card or partner points program, there are two other ways to earn Aeroplan Points:

• By transferring Marriott Bonvoy points into Aeroplan points: 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 25,000 Aeroplan points
• By purchasing Aeroplan points (buy during promotional periods)

Buying Aeroplan points can make sense. In many cases, the cost of this purchase will be equivalent to what you would have paid for an economy flight. Except that you can travel in business or first class!