Best Airline for Switzerland?

Posted by bethsteffy on 12/28/25 09:57 PM

Hello,
We are planning a 16 day trip to Switzerland for early May. We plan to fly into Zurich, and see some of the towns like Bern and Lucerne, for over a week then take the Bernina Express to Torino Italy and back, staying a few days in that area as well. I'm getting lots of great ideas on this site.

I'm looking at nonstop flights from SFO to Zurich and it seem Swiss Air or United are the only options. We hope to fly business class since we travel so infrequently, and it's much higher than I thought (over $6,000 per person). Any suggestions for which airline is best and advice on if I should wait another month or two to purchase flights?

Thanks so much,
Beth

Posted by annemargaret

12/28/25 10:29 PM

289 posts

Anything can happen with airfares, but i would definitely buy tickets soon rather than waiting. If you want to try to save money you can look at flying into another European city if you see a cheaper price and connect to Zurich.

Posted by Sam

Green Bay

12/28/25 10:32 PM

22962 posts

I am a big fan of Swiss. I did fly over once in Business by putting in a low bid after booking a steerage class seat. Very nice I must say.

Posted by margie

Bend, OR

12/28/25 11:02 PM

1781 posts

We have flown both Swiss and United to Zurich out of SFO several times now. I like United my husband likes Swiss. They both get you to Zurich. Between the two, Swiss seems to end up being more expensive even if the initial cost looks less because you pay for seat selection. We now fly Premium Economy for extra leg room. I would rather put the $12,000 for BC toward the trip and nice hotel rooms since I’m not going to be that comfortable or sleep much on a plane even in BC. Since it’s now almost January and your trip is in early May, the longer you wait the greater the chances of the price of flights increasing as planes fill up. I might add that in November I booked flights to Scotland from SFO for mid May. I check back occasionally just to make sure they haven’t dropped and am only seeing increases.

Posted by Pat

San Diego, California

12/28/25 11:17 PM

6772 posts

You can research price patterns on Google Flights, and set up Alerts, as the price changes. Just curious- can you book a Swiss Air flight thru a codeshare? At one time, I booked a Swiss Air flight thru United, and the price was better.
The nonstop flights are in more demand, and therefore are pricier.
Good luck!

Posted by Barkinpark

Bay Area, California

12/29/25 01:27 AM

1850 posts

Did you receive the private message that I sent you earlier? Did you use those methods?

Posted by bethsteffy OP

12/29/25 04:59 PM

6 posts

Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate it so much!

Posted by Kevin B

California

12/29/25 09:43 PM

46 posts

I flew SFO to ZRH last February on SWISS in Pre.Economy. I found it really lacking. the seat was awkward and had no back support in the recline mode. food was just ok. I did the bid to upgrade on the way home - Bus Class for 525CH and while expensive it was worth it and much less than had a I booked business in the first place.

I've had better flights on United to be honest. DM me if you'd like more info.

Posted by cassienevins

12/30/25 04:33 AM

44 posts

Have you checked British Airways or Icelandair? British often has sales and Business class seats were recently below $2000 for SFO to Madrid. Our kids said BA's premium economy was nice. We've flown Icelandair Business a couple of times, and it's also often a good deal, but from SFO you have to go through Seattle or Portland. Good luck!