Cheap Flights to Zurich
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Direct flights
Direct flights to Zürich are generally available from cities which have an extensive financial services industry because the Swiss city is one of the world’s leading banking centres. Flights to Zürich are also often used as feeder flights for long-haul routes with national carrier Swiss Airlines. Naturally, the range of flights to Zürich from London is extensive -- with Stansted airport being the only London airport not to have links with the Swiss financial capital. London and Manchester are also well represented by Swiss, whereas Edinburgh has to make do with three-times-a-week flights, courtesy of BMI. Meanwhile, the financial services link would appear to explain why there are daily flights between Zürich and Jersey, a route which would not normally exist, considering how few other flights there are between Jersey and the European mainland. From Ireland, Aer Lingus and Swiss compete with each other to operate direct flights from Dublin to Zürich.
Connecting flights
With the frequent links between London and Zürich, a popular option for connecting flights is with British Airways via London Heathrow, whereas airports which don't have a link to Heathrow are most likely to offer flights to Zürich via Amsterdam with KLM. Other alternative options for connecting flights include flights via Paris with Air France or flights via Frankfurt International with Lufthansa.
Cheapest flights to Zürich
For a long time, Zürich airport has been perceived by low-cost airlines as a virtual no0go zone because it is so expensive to use. Indeed, Easyjet have a long history of complaints about the airport being built to suit the national airline Swiss, rather than low-cost carriers. This meant that for several years, there were no budget flights to Zürich from London or any other UK airport, although in September 2007, Easyjet restored cheap flights to Zürich from London Luton. In April 2009, the Irish airline Aer Lingus will start cheap flights to Zürich from London Gatwick. For the time being, Zürich airport is well off Ryanair’s radar, and we expect it to stay that way for the foreseeable future, especially now that Ryanair have started to operate a few cheap flights to Basel instead.
Alternatives
The most obvious alternative arrival point to Zurich is Geneva, which has flights from a huge range of UK airports, although many of these flights are tied to the ski season, rather than being year-round operations. Trains operate direct from Geneva airport to Zürich every half an hour, with a journey time of two hours and 50 minutes.
Basle airport is much closer to Zürich than Geneva, but it does not offer anything like the same level of flight connections from the UK. Frequent buses provide a connection between Basle airport and Basle Central Station (Hauptbahnhof), and make it possible to reach the Zürich in an hour and a quarter.
Another slightly more scenic option is to take a Ryanair flight to Friedrichshafen, and then to cross Lake Constance by ferry (Friedrichshafen - Romanshorn - Zurich). The hourly ferry between Friedrichshafen and Romanshorn takes 40 minutes. The fastest trains from Romanshorn to Zürich takes one hour and 10 minutes.
February 2009 price samples
Mini Guide to Zurich
The ‘work hard, play hard' ethos is very much alive in Zurich . The home of the Swiss banker (not to be confused with the cockney rhyming slang), Zurich also offers the best nightlife in the country. As one would expect in the land of the cuckoo clock and Rolex, everything runs like clockwork. Where else in the world can you time trains to the second? But this is not a city of obsessive compulsives, they just like things to run smoothly There are many attractions to lure visitors to the city, including the Bahnhofstrasse, one of the finest shopping streets in Europe, a beautiful Old Town , a host of top museums and galleries, not to mention the vibrant restaurant and bar scene. Zurich lies at the top end of Lake Zurich , divided in half by the River Limmat. West of the Limmat Bahnhofstrasse spills out from the station, the east side of the river is flanked by the Limmatquai, another popular shopping street lined with graceful old guild-houses. Central Zurich is very compact and is a marvellous city to stroll around, although the free bike loans may tempt you to peddle everywhere instead. Zurich is a popular ‘getaway' destination throughout the year, but it gets especially busy during the summer. Accommodation can be hard to find during peak periods, so it best to book in advance if possible.
Zurich Flight News
- Swiss buck trend by not charging for ski equipment - 20/10/2009
- New ski flights from Southampton - 29/09/2008
- Zurich flights increased from London City - 02/04/2007
Other flights and travel news stories:
- Helsinki flights take off from Manchester - 09/02/2010
- New Belgrade flights from Luton - 09/02/2010
- Virgin scrap Mauritius flights - 09/02/2010
Flights to Switzerland - Other Cities
Can't find any good value flights to Zurich? Read our general guide about finding flights to Switzerland, or try one of the other cities in Switzerland mentioned below:
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Other useful Zurich travel websites
- Zurich (ZRH) Airport Transfers - Find airport transfers with Transfers.net
- Zurich Airport - Official Website
Related terms: Flights to Zurich from the UK, cheap Zurich flights, direct flights to Zurich, flights to Zurich, Switzerland |
