Swiss business class 'throne' still rules on the Boeing 777-300ER

There's a handful of business class seats on Swiss International flights which tend to be snapped up well ahead of the rest of the cabin. That's because these are less of a seat than, well, a throne.

Check it out: it's a single seat – and thus, ideal for the solo traveller – flanked by a pair of imposing side tables.

Swiss crew and frequent flyers alike have adopted the 'throne' nickname for this sought-after seat, of which there are only a handful on the airliner's international Airbus A330 and A340 jets.

That's due to a unique configuration based on the width of those aircraft and the original design of the seat (the Thompson Vantage, which belongs to the same family as the new Qantas Business Suite and SAS international business class, among others).

The seats down the left side of the Swiss A330 and A340 business class cabins alternate between single seats and pairs, while those along the right of the jet are singles only, sitting either directly next to the window or at the aisle.

But those single seats on the left side make maximum use of the space, with not just one but two consoles – one on either side of the seat.

These are superb when it comes to spreading out your work or inflight reading, keeping laptops and tablets and smaller knick-knacks within reach, and even watching a video on your laptop during dinner.

And as there's just a handful of 'thrones' among the 45-odd business class seats of the Swiss A330 and A340, you can appreciate why they're often considered the pick of the cabin – with the best of the best being 4A and 6A, as the footwell into which the seat extends to become a lie-flat bed is larger than in other rows.

(That said, some travellers dislike the feeling of enclosure when sleeping in a Swiss throne seat, as they feel surrounded by the consoles on either side.)

So how has Swiss tweaked the throne on its new Boeing 777-300ER jets, which take to the skies in January 2016?

Firstly, there's now additional storage on the window-side console – providing even more room to stow your stuff close at hand.

The wide-bodied Boeing 777-300ER also lets Swiss boost the number of thrones in business class, with 12 of the prized seats now ranked down both the left and right sides of the cabin.

Swiss typically blocks out its solo business class seats for top-tier Senator and HON Circle frequent flyers in its Miles & More loyalty program, but seats remaining unoccupied are put back in the 'open to everybody' pool for online seat selection 24 hours before the flight departs.

Also read: New Swiss Boeing 777-300ER first class suites, business class seats

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David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.