Most people flying SWISS long-haul head straight for the famous first class lounge in Terminal E at Zurich Airport. But travellers connecting through the Schengen side have a quieter option: the SWISS First Lounge in Terminal A. A recent detailed review from One Mile at a Time suggests it deserves far more attention than it gets.

The lounge sits on level three of Terminal A, above the business and senator lounges, and is deliberately understated — signage is minimal and the entrance is easy to walk past. Inside it's around 7,000 square feet with seats for 80 guests, arranged around a curved V-shaped bar seating 14, a restaurant-style dining area with eight tables, and clusters of black leather chairs shielded by wooden panels. It stays calm even when busy, which alone puts it ahead of most first class lounges in Europe.

The catering is the headline. Food and drink menus are essentially identical to the flagship Terminal E lounge: roaming servers take drink orders anywhere in the lounge, while most food is served à la carte in the dining area, backed by a small buffet, a fridge of self-serve drinks and snacks, and full breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Four shower suites with strong ventilation and spotless Soeder-stocked bathrooms round out the comfort factor.

Terminal A also has a few perks the flagship lacks. There are four glass-shielded workstations ideal for private calls, a darkened relaxation room with two daybeds, a conference room for up to eight, and — unusual for a premium lounge — a proper smoking room with leather chairs, cigars and self-serve spirits upstairs. What it doesn't have: the Terminal E lounge's natural light, views, terrace and private bedrooms. Serious sleepers should still make the trip across the airport.

Getting between the two is painless. A limousine shuttle runs roughly every 10 minutes between the lounges for departing non-Schengen passengers, with an escort through a dedicated passport control counter shared with the airport's VIP service. Limousines also cover flights leaving from remote stands. Access is straightforward for SWISS first class passengers (same-day, arriving or departing), Lufthansa first class passengers with a connecting segment, and Miles & More HON Circle members on any Lufthansa Group flight — each can bring two adult guests or children travelling on the same flight. Hours run 5:30AM to 10PM daily, and passengers originating in Zurich get a dedicated first class security checkpoint leading straight into the lounge.

For anyone connecting within Europe in SWISS or Lufthansa first class — or holding HON Circle status — this lounge delivers a nearly full first class experience without the detour to Terminal E. The dining, service and showers are the equal of the flagship; you only give up the terrace, bedrooms and views. If your Schengen flight leaves from Terminal A, there's little reason to go anywhere else.

Story via One Mile at a Time