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Taken December 2004 from Dublin - DUB to Wien (Vienna) (Schwechat) - VIE

I purchased this fare over the internet, but since Swiss has no e-ticket option in Ireland yet they had to send me a hard copy. Having compared fares with competitors I think this was a pretty good deal - in fact most of Swiss' ex-DUB fares to Europe are around the €750 mark which is substantially lower than what BA, LH or AF were asking.

For some reason the DUB-ZRH sector in Business is rarely even half-full thus allowing more space and privacy. The service from the cabin attendants is always attentive to the point of embarrassment. Arrival and transfer took place at the A gates in just under an hour - enough time for a quick drink at their newly rennovated lounge which I hope is going to undergo further improvements. In contrast the ZRH-VIE flight was not enjoyable: several passengers selfishly brought in cases that were clearly bigger than the permitted dimensions meaning the crew, who looked really hacked off, had to move them into the hold. By the time this had been completed we'd lost our slot and had to wait another 15 minuted for departure. Traffic restrictions at Vienna resulted in another 20 minutes of stacking before being permitted to land.

The one thing I would like Swiss to do is operate a second DUB flight, even if it was on a smaller aircraft. The daily A319/320 is a waste in my opinion and the route would be better served by a morning and afternoon service on a ER4 or Avro 100 as in the old days. With only one flight a day it means an early wake-up if you're connecting at ZRH. At Vienna airport time seems to have stopped in 1981; here Swiss uses the Grand Danube lounge which is just woeful and like the rest of the airport, badly in need of upgrading. It reflects very poorly on the home carrier who claim to be a leading airline to Eastern Europe and Asia. I mean they were serving plain baguette with butter for God's sake! Vienna Airport authority really knows how to spoil passengers...not.

Transfer at ZRH was again one hour. One female passenger at the gate became very agitated with the ground staff for not announcing a pre-boarding call for those travelling with kids. I don't ever remember this option being offered at ZRH in all the years I've been flying there, and while it's true it would be a great help she didn't do herself any favours by being confrontational and aggressive from the outset. I'd have no sympathy for either if she spoke to me like that. Again the ZRH-DUB sector was practically empty (does Swiss make any money on this flight??!) and arrival was 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

Pleasant enough journey spoiled by some difficult passengers and perhaps the most disappointing airport in Europe.