Different arrival times in Zurich, need help with logistics for an elderly Aunt

Can you request a wheelchair for her? They may wheel her to baggage claim and help get her baggage. Can she wait there for you rather than venture out and have a hard time finding each other. Just an idea.

I’m a little “elderly” myself, so I would suggest you think through how she’ll get to a restroom with luggage. She’ll also need to get something to eat and drink while she’s waiting for three hours. Maybe your airline could offer some suggestions.

2nd vote for a wheelchair transit thru the airport. I traveled recently to Paris with a friend who can't walk long distances and used WC transit thru the airports. My word...going thru Immigration/baggage pickup/Customs was a breeze even though we are both experienced travelers.

I'd make sure she has the information on the car service and the name of your Zurich hotel as well as a credit card in case something happens to delay your arrival. NOT trying to make you worry....just wanting you to think of everything.

What a neat niece you are!

Wheelchair is a VERY GOOD idea. I booked this fare myself on SWISS but its a flightshare with United so I can call them.

https://www.flughafen-zuerich.ch/en/passengers/shopping-and-enjoy/services/all-services/prm-betreuungsdienst

This may help.

Is there any way to re-arrange to get there first or travel with her?

We have had some occasions with a sick/injured kid, and I contacted the airline and they offered "meet and assist". Once it was a wheelchair waiting at the gate and once a skycap. I'm not sure if this is a possibility internationally, but I'd call the airline to see if they'd have suggestions.

Would you consider having a car service pick her up to take her to Basel so she wouldn’t have to wait for you three hours in the airport ?

Yes it will be more expensive to have two different car service rides but my goodness for her comfort I think it would be worth it. She can wait comfortably in the hotel once she has checked in.

I would go for car service picking her up too. That would be critical if your non direct flight is delayed for any reason. We ended up arriving in Milan 4 hours later than scheduled this past August because of a flight being late. Even if things go ideally, 3 hours is a long time to wait in an airport.

For the added worry, I would look into flying to her state the day before her flight departs, and fly with her on the direct flight. Then coming home, book your flight to your home airport, but make sure it leaves after her flight. This way you can make sure she gets on her flight home with no problems.

You should fly in a day earlier than she does. Stay at an airport hotel. The airline personnel or airport services can get her baggage and wheeled through immigration and hand her off to you. That is the best scenario. You can pre-arrange these services.

Otherwise, you are counting on a lot of details to go smoothly. I know you said she is elderly, but does she have a lot of international travel experience? If not, it could be very daunting for her even if everything goes smoothly

I hope all goes well and you both have a wonderful cruise.

Would you consider the Aunt using the car service and you using the train? Swiss trains run often and are so fast and efficient.
Safe travels!

Threadwear’s suggestion is spot on. Your arriving the day before is an excellent idea. You should still request wheelchair assist for her so that she doesn’t have to handle the Zurich arrival logistics alone. This should give both of you peace of mind and hopefully a relaxing start as you begin your journey to Switzerland. Neither of you would be spending hours on international flights worrying.

I'd also suggest checking Flight Aware to determine if your flights are actually currently being flown. The airlines have a pesky habit - worse since covid- of selling flights for future dates, HOPING those flights will be back on track. We learned this the hard way this past Sept, 2021, when our flights were canceled 7 times!!!
Good luck!

I also think you arriving a day early is an excellent suggestion....just in case your flight is delayed, etc. For convenience you could stay at the Radisson Blu hotel adjacent to the airport; a little pricy, but so convenient. That way, if your aunt's arrival is after check-out, the hotel would hold your bags for you. The train station is "just across the street" from the airport, so you would be able to head downtown with ease on your arrival day for sight-seeing; walk along Lake Zurich, etc.
Also, if you request wheelchair service for your aunt, there are toilettes at the baggage pick-up area, so she would be able to use the restroom before journeying by car.

When we were traveling in several countries in Africa, our travel agent arranged for someone to assist us at some of the airports. It sounds like you're making your own plans, but if you have AAA or an AmEx card or even know a travel agent, you can ask them if they can arrange for someone to meet and help her for the three hours before you arrive. An assistant can also take care of her if for some reason your plane doesn't arrive on time. There's a lot of that going around these days.

Wow, this is exactly what I had hoped for! A true brainstorm session with lots of solutions.

First, I called Swiss and secured her a wheelchair. This way she will have someone lead her to Immigration and Baggage then Customs where she wont need to wander to find them. Great suggestion.

With all the really good comments made - the one that solves the most with the least trouble is to see if I can fly in a day earlier and stay at one of the Zurich airport hotels. Then I can meet her when she arrives and we take the car service to Basel together.

There are still no flights into Newark where I could easily hop on the flight to Zurich with her and I am very limited with hotel choices in Newark. Thats why I did not book it that way when I put the trip together a few months ago. It would have added four days and almost $2000 to my side of the trip.

IF for some reason I cannot change my flight, then I will have the car service take her to the hotel when she arrives and I can take the train when I get there. I can pre check into the hotel in Basel where she can just get the key upon her arrival. There are more moving parts with this scenario, so its second choice.

Thank you all so very much. My Aunt does not travel at all internationally and will only fly to see me if its a direct flight. She gets confused easily and is worried she will end up in the wrong city. She has always wanted to see TULIPS in HOLLAND, so we are going Basel to Amsterdam and with a bit of luck from mother nature it should be peak season. Plus we will stay a couple of nights extra and go on a private tour of the Tulip Farms to the north of the city. It should be the trip of a lifetime for her. Everyone deserves to make a few checks on their bucket list, yes?

I cant believe I made all of these arrangements and forgot to walk through the last bit. I think I can make it all work THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!

Your aunt is fortunate to have a niece like you.

She has always wanted to see TULIPS in HOLLAND, so we are going Basel to Amsterdam and with a bit of luck from mother nature it should be peak season.

will you be there mid April to early May?

Hi Susan, I think it’s very nice of you to take your aunt on this trip. However, in my opinion, an elderly person, not familiar with international travel and who’s easily confused, shouldn’t be flying alone. I think you should figure out a way to get to her state and travel to Zurich together. There are just too many things that can go wrong.

I was on a flight a few years ago seated next to a lady 75+ traveling alone to visit her son in another state. She was a nervous wreck and soon after takeoff she began having what seemed like an anxiety attack. I tried to calm her down and signaled for a flight attendant. Turns out the lady had low blood sugar, hadn’t eaten, and was about to faint. The flight attendant was upset with me even though I told her I wasn’t traveling with the lady. It was not a good situation.

Please reconsider your travel arrangements so you can both enjoy the trip.

FYI on the wheelchair service at Zurich airport. We used it this past Sept. and the service was not good. And I hate to say this, because I love everything about Switzerland.

Keep in mind, while the airline arranges the wheelchair, it is the airport that provides it. So, if there are multiple flights coming in at the same time with numerous passengers needing wheelchairs, your aunt may have a long wait time. We waited 40 minutes on our arrival to Zurich. And even longer for departure from Zurich. Hopefully, that is not the norm. But be prepared, just in case.

Zurich has some great lounges -- we once spent several hours happily munching and drinking and resting in a Priority Pass lounge with Swiss Air. Note: free toilets. Some even have naprooms. Buy a day pass for her and pick her up from the lounge ??

There are lots of good suggestions above. It would be useful to know when you are going, how long you'll be gone and how old she is.

Perhaps you could come up with what you think the 2 or 3 best options would be for her and run them by her for her input.

During that process, you could talk about the basics of what she should expect upon arrival and what might be different with each option. Maybe printed maps of the airport and pictures of what she'll see would be helpful. And be sure to find out if the toilets in the airport require coins. If so, those are likely to be in Swiss currency, not Euros.

The more knowledge she has about what to expect, along with written down instructions and advice to refer to, the more comfortable she will probably be with the time between her arrival and yours.

I'll be 76 in January. I've mostly traveled on my own for all my life, but I'm going to try to put myself in her shoes.

Number 1 priority, before absolutely anything else, is getting to a toilet as soon as she gets off the plane. The wheelchair person will know where the closest one is. They may not speak English, but all she needs to say is "toilet" and "bitte" (please) and "danke" (thank you). It might be fun for her to also learn the French and Italian words for toilet, please and thank you.

If I were in her situation, my first choice would be for you to fly with me. Tied for second choice would be for you to meet me at baggage claim, presumably after you arrived a day early, or to wait until you arrive on the same day in the lounge mentioned above where I'm assuming that someone would speak English.

A school friend of mine and her husband did that Basel to Amsterdam river cruise the other direction. They loved it.

Yes. We, after flying in, we had to spend some time in Zurich's train station while waiting to travel onward. We had to get some Swiss francs so we could use the restroom. (But that meant we could also buy a snack!)

The toilets at the airport are free. So, no need to worry about making sure your aunt has coins. They are also free on the trains. Most of the train stations will be pay toilets though.

The best suggestion was for me to land in Zurich the day earlier and stay at an airport hotel, so I could meet her flight next day. However the price has more than doubled since I purchased the ticket, so that is not an option. I was so sure I could talk someone into changing my flight, I booked the Zurich airport Hyatt first. No go.

Next best option is to secure her a Wheelchair through Immigration and Customs and then meet Car Service who would be holding up sign with her name, to take her to our Basel hotel. I could either take a second driver to Basel when I land OR easily navigate the train to Basel, either direct or with a change, although the train station is too far to walk to hotel located in the pedestrian Marketplasse in Old Town so Id need a taxi perhaps.

I spoke to our Amex Travel agent 2 days ago, who added our wheelchair request to her ticket although I did not see it noted anywhere on the web reservation. I just now filled out a wheelchair assistance application on the Swiss website that tags her reservation number. I will follow up with that, knowing that she needs to say something when she checks in to board flight in Newark and also chat it up to confirm with flight attendant as well.

I dont use Uber, I use limo services so there will be a professional suited driver waiting for her who has the hotel info. I hope this course of action calms any fears she should have. I also like suggestion to send her a map of the Zurich airport so she at least is minimally familiar with layout. She can also text me on her cell phone at any time.

Have a forgotten anything? Any other suggestions now that you all have gotten me this far? Many many thanks.

Just wanted to add that we found the airport workers to be very helpful and your aunt shouldn’t hesitate to ask for help if needed. Everyone we came across in Switzerland spoke English, so language won’t be an issue.

The train from the airport to the Basel SBB train station is super easy. You can check the routes on the SBB app and select one that has no changes to make things even easier. There will be a train employee near the ticket machines and they can help you buy a ticket if you need help (we did 😊) and they can even help you check the times if you need it. Trams and buses located right outside of Basel train station if you are comfortable with those. Or you could take a taxi to your hotel.

Good luck with everything!!!

If your hotel is in Basel you will have, either as part of your reservation confirmation (often), or when you check in, a paper or card giving you free travel on the trams and buses for the duration of your stay. It should be very easy to step outside the station into the tram station across the street and hop a low step tram for the couple of stops to your hotel. Easier than a train. Even has free wifi.

Based on the following updates: she does not travel internationally, you can’t arrive before her, she will have wheelchair assistance upon arrival, a car service will meet her and take her to the hotel

This is what I would recommend:

1) Encourage her to pack a very light carryon. She needs to be able to carry her luggage on her lap in the wheelchair from the plane to baggage claim to the car. I would recommend a small under-seat bag as her only carryon. She doesn’t want to deal with putting an overhead bag up, or managing two carryon bags.

2) Encourage her to not be shy about asking the flight attendants for extra water. Hydration will help fight jet lag.

3) Make sure her name is on the hotel reservation so she can check in herself. Make sure she has a credit card for the room deposit, and that her credit card company knows she is traveling overseas.

4) If the hotel offers room service, encourage her to use it if she’s hungry upon arrival. Or find out if the hotel offers a welcome basket of drinks/snacks to have waiting in the room. Let her know that the staff will understand English.