All the lounges in Zurich Terminal E have the famous viewing balcony. While the public viewing deck was closed on my visit, the balcony is always open to lounge users. Visitors can ask for a Wi-Fi access code when they enter the lounge without needing to register their personal details downstairs.
Primeclass Lounge
Access is available as a pay-per-use guest or with a Priority Pass. The lounge is modern, features wood panelling interior and generously spaced seating for privacy. I love the large leather chairs with wings to lean on, they provide more privacy and aren’t so soft they feel like the backseat of a Cadillac. Lockers are available to those with valuables.
Hot breakfast options include sausages, scrambled eggs and pan-fried tomatoes, but I opted for a plate of cheese instead. Gruyère and Emmentaler are easy to find, but Tilsiter is an eastern Switzerland gem. Wine and beer is available at all hours, so I opened a Feldschlössen, which I used to drink when in Bern.
Aspire Lounge
The smaller space has much fewer guests. The decor isn’t as Swiss as the Primeclass Lounge, also a pay-per-use and Priority Pass lounge, but it was a lot less crowded. There’s a good reason for that: hot breakfast was just baked beans and scrambled eggs and the only cold items available were cold sliders.
The seating also isn’t very comfortable. I counted 12 nice armchairs with elbow-height side tables and the rest were either café-style tables or round armchairs where the armrests aren’t long enough.
Swiss Business Lounge
Passengers flying on business class with Swiss or another Star Alliance airline can use the business lounge. There’s a live chef station, a small terrace area and workspaces designed to help passengers focus. Showers are available in the middle area shared between the Senator and Business lounges.
It is a lot more crowded than the Senator lounge, but it shouldn’t be hard to find a spot to sit down.
Swiss Senator Lounge
Passengers with Star Alliance Gold status can use the much larger and more well-attended Senator lounge. The legendary 28/10 Whiskey Club, named after the runways at the airport, has dozens of bottles of top-shelf whiskeys from all over the world.
I drank whiskey and had Mövenpick ice cream for breakfast, as well as an omelette made by a live chef. It’s one of the few frequent fliers-only lounges to still have print magazines for passengers to take with them to read on their flight. Many others encourage guests to download PDFs.
Showers are available in the middle area shared between the Senator and Business lounges. The service is impeccable and the consumables of the highest quality. Carl Zeiss binoculars are available on their section of the balcony; the Swiss don’t skimp.
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