SBB Bern to Zurich Flughafen

The prices shown on SBB.ch assume you have a Half-Fare Card. That is the default setting. You have to remove the HFC to see the regular prices. Those are, for that 9:31 !C train from Bern directly to ZRH,

Point to point ticket, regular fare, 59 CHF
SuperSaver ticket good only for that train on that day, 29,60 CHF
Saver Day Pass (which covers all the travel you want to do that day, 58 CHF

So if you want to save money, you could buy that SuperSaver ticket now, but be aware that it is non-refundable and not flexible. It is “valid only on the selected connection”.

You can still get 2nd class Saver Day Passes for 52 CHF now for June 10.

I don't know if they sell seat reservations this far out. Used to be 60 days for tickets, but they go out 6 months now. Any way, check again when you get to 60 days. It is an IC train, so they should sell seat reservations for that train.

Bern to Zurich is really just a local run, there should be a lot of trains with plenty of room

Aha! Thanks all - very helpful. I think I'll wait to buy tickets.

I was on the same train going the other way a few weeks ago, leaving ZRH at 11:45 am. I'd call it pretty full, as I was in 1st class and there were not a lot of empty seats. Families of 4 wandered around looking for seats together. This happened after the train left Zurich HB, and most got off at Bern. Every table in the restaurant car was full as a lot of people decided to do lunch between Zurich and Bern.

So yes, there is a lot of traffic between these 2 cities, the Capital of Switzerland and the Capital of Money.

And waiting to buy tickets has nothing to do with whether you get a seat. Someone who bought a ticket on his app 10 minutes ago has the same right to a seat as someone who bought a ticket 3 months ago. It is just a matter who gets to the seat first. So a seat reservation is the only absolute guarantee of a seat.

One odd thing about the Bern - Zurich service is that indeed 1st class is often quite full. This because a lot of regulars on this route (civil servants, Swisscom employees...) have a 1st class GA.

I used to do that route daily myself when I still worked for Swisscom. And it would happen sometimes that the a whole car was full of Swisscom employees, all with their Swisscom GA :-)

But on the IC1 SBB now runs 16 car double deckers. So there is always going to be a spot. Look at the platform display to see where the different sections of the train will be along the platform, and go towards the end. There is usually more place there.

Thanks Sam and WengenK...one last question: our international flight is early afternoon. Sounds like there will be plenty of space and frequency, yet, I am wondering if it would be wise to leave the night before and get a hotel in Zurich? Are there train strikes? What would you do--leave morning of or get to Zurich night before?

If there are train strikes (I never heard of any in Switzerland) or other issues, you should hear of them well enough before hand that you can alter your plans.

The last train strike in Switzerland was in 1918!. If you were to experience a train strike in Switzerland you would be experiencing history in the making...

The train service to ZRH is very reliable. Before the pandemic I flew out of ZRH about every other week. So I know the route well. I would usually plan to be at the airport 1 to 1 1/2 hours before the flight. And I never was delayed. Usually I needed about 20 minutes train to airside, and that included dropping a bag.

Not everyone is that comfortable with being at the airport only an hour before a flight, so by all means go earlier and build in more buffer. For an afternoon flight I would not spend the night in Zurich. If your flight is with SWISS or another LH group airline you can do your check in at check in 3, which is in the railways station itself, just one escalator ride up from the platforms.

Also you should treat the trains as a mass transit network. Trains run every half hour. And the only thing you need to do to be on a particular train is be on time at the platform (a couple of minutes before departure is fine).
You do not need to worry about availability. Trains are always available.

WengenK --thanks. All very helpful in my planning and I feel much more comfortable in planning the train commute!