When completing our Switzerland tour in Bern, should we make/buy train reservations/tickets from Bern to Zurich airport? It seems trains are very efficient but with an early flight want to make sure.
Up to you. Seat reservations are about 5 CHF each. Tickets you can buy anytime before the train departs.
The trains don't sell out. But you should reserve a seat if you don't want to end up standing. It gets pretty crowded during rush hour on the trains leaving Bern in the morning on a work day
We had an early flight out of Zurich, so had to leave Bern at an ungodly hour, and the train was not crowded. The hotel gave us a brown bag breakfast, since the breakfast room wasn't open yet.
Safe travels!
Reserving a seat will not make the train more punctual. So it does not affect the probability of being at the airport on time. Those trains are quite reliable.
it looks like a 1.5 hour ride, if you're concerned you could always spend the night in Zurich or at the airport itself. "Early flight" can mean many things.