London Heathrow to Zurich with Swiss (including photos, full length flight video)

[tcasalert]

I decided it was time I got a ride on the increasingly rare Fokker 70. KLM are one of the last airlines in Europe operating them, and even they are phasing them out in favor of the Embraer 190. I noticed that on 30 January KLM were using the Fokker 70 in place of the E190 on both the Zurich to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to London Heathrow flight, so I jumped at the chance to get a flight on this fantastic little aircraft. Firstly I had to fly to Zurich, and for this flight I had a choice of Swiss or British Airways, both the same price. BA only has business class in front of the wing, whereas Swiss have economy several rows in front of the engine, making this option better for filming.

I drove down to Heathrow and opted to park at Hatton Cross Tube Station rather than the overpriced onsite parking, at a cost of £5 for 24 hours vs £60 for 24 hours at the airport parking! It is very convenient for the airport and is only 1 stop from Terminal 2 on the Tube.

This is my third flight through Heathrow’s new Terminal 2, but only my first time departing. It was great to get a good look around the terminal, which is very similar to Terminal 5 in design and style.


Click here to watch the entire full length flight, in real time







Our inbound aircraft was delayed so we boarded slightly behind schedule.

Date: 30 January 2016
Airline: Swiss
Flight: LX317
From: London Heathrow (LHR)
To: Zurich (ZRH)
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Departure Time: 09:46
Arrival Time: 12:02
Flight Time: 01:16
Seat: 8F

I took my seat in seat 8F, which was a row behind my pre-allocated seat due to the row being blocked out, but still offered a good view of the engine (the window was in a slightly awkward position though).






After boarding the aircraft were advised that we’d missed our slot and could expect a delay of 30-40 minutes before we pushed back. We were offered a Swiss chocolate while we waited, and eventually pushed back after around 20 minutes, joining the long queue to depart from runway 27L,and eventually departing around 40 minutes behind schedule.









































































































Overall a great flight with Swiss despite the niggly delay, we still arrived within 20 minutes of our scheduled time. The service was excellent and the aircraft very comfortable.

[sn26567]

Impressive report. Thanks for sharing (and for adding the ATC sound track). What kind of equipment do you use (inclusing the way to fix your camera to the window)?

I saw a Germanwings flight next to yours in LHR: I didn't know they were flying there. From Stuttgart?

Apart from the chocolate for the delay, did you get any meal?