Let’s be real – any airplane seat called “the throne” is bound to be awesome. On Swiss Airlines, it is. On all their planes, Swiss offers a few highly coveted business class seats which feature extra privacy, larger armrests and room fit for a king. Known as the “throne”, the airline figured out they could charge €79 or more to select these seats – but we’ll show you how to book Swiss throne seats for free.
Finding Thrones
In your conquest to claim a coveted business class thrown, you must first identify them. Throne seats are only found on the sides of the plane, near windows. There are no center “throne” seats. A throne will be all alone, signified on seat maps with a tray table on either side, rather than just one side. If you’re using the Swiss App, or their website, you’ll also spot them quickly because they are the only seats even business class passengers must pay to select!
Up To 48 Hours…
Throne seats cost €79 and up each way, to select in advance. On popular route such as Zurich to New York, you may face no choice but to pay up to select one before they sell out. Only elite HON Circle members of Swiss Airlines loyalty program may select them for free. But if they are still available 48 hours before departure – they become free to select, for anyone.
Strategy
If you are desperate to select a throne, either pay up or play the 48 hour game. Be ready to jump on the free seat opportunity as soon as the 48 hour window opens. Needless to say, there will be competition – so maybe even set an alarm! If you don’t feel like paying and find all thrones taken, do your best to select a bulkhead seat. These seats offer larger footwells for sleep comfort and generally get excellent service!
Yep! I was lucky enough to find one, and a bulkhead on both Swiss and Austrian! 🙂 Indeed extra leg room, footwells etc. I enjoyed getting food first haha! 🙂
If you book using partner miles, you can’t select in advance even with a business class?
Flying the throne tomorrow for free but had to get a regular one out a few weeks ago.
Footwell space and indeed the seat itself is very small compared to Etihad and would probably preclude me booking Swiss again.
Oh that and the fact that they left my bag behind in Zurich !
Oh, and they now cost £149/160 each, not $79.
Oh, and LH Senator get them for free too.