We had everything packed from the night before so there wasn’t much to do when 6am rolled around. We quickly got up and ready to catch our ride to the airport. We unfortunately would be leaving breakfast at the hotel and would have to get something at the airport.
My wife had contacted the same company that provided our ride from the airport to also take us back to the airport. It was convenient, cost effective and proven. We checked out and our ride had already arrive before the scheduled 6:30. There was no traffic on the Saturday morning and we were at the airport without delay.
We found the SWISS checkin counter which had a long line, but it moved quickly. A majority of the people were checking in as a large group and they were quickly directed off to the side to let others check in.
We proceeded through security which was another big line. It only took us a few minutes to get through as the line was moving steadily. Once through we had more than two hours until our flight to Zurich where we had a 6 hour layover before catching our flight back home to Boston.
Lounges to the Rescue
I pulled up by Priority Pass app to see what lounge options were available to us. There was only one so we followed the directions in the app. We checked in using our Priority Pass cards and found a place to sit. The lounge was fairly empty given that it was a Saturday morning. The food options were limited, but there were some pastries and a basic continental selection that kept us from leaving hungry.
We stayed in the comfort of the lounge until about 20 minutes before boarding time where we started making our way to the gate. The flight to Zurich was on time and uneventful. When we got off the flight in Zurich we knew we had six hours until our connecting flight so we searched for another lounge in the app. Our flight was leaving from a different terminal but the lounge in the terminal we were in looked nicer so we headed there.
When we tried checking in they directed us to the lounge in the terminal our flight was departing to. I’m not sure if it was a suggestion or a direction, but it was clear that’s the lounge we were supposed to be in. We made the short walk to the other terminal, making our way through passport control, which was fast and efficient.
We found the appropriate lounge in the new terminal and they checked us in without issue. There were quite a few food options that the foodies liked, but my youngest was not interested. We headed out into the terminal to see what our options were.
Describing the options as sparse would be generous. There was a Starbucks for coffee and lots of gift stores to buy Swiss chocolates. We walked the entire length of the terminal and only found one deli type restaurant. It was actually pretty decent, but it was disappointing that was the ONLY option to get a real lunch in the whole international terminal.
After lunch we headed back to the comfort of the lounge where the Winter Olympics were shown on the TV’s. That kept the kids entertained and the free WiFi allowed us to catch up on work emails.
Without the lounges our day in the airport would be been excruciating with the kids. It’s quite disappointing that there is really nothing in the terminal itself as far as food options, and most of the places closed quite early in the afternoon, including the deli we had lunch at. There were still dozens flights arriving and connecting so it wasn’t like we were the last flight out that day.
The Flight Home
We made our way to the gate by the scheduled boarding time. Our flight was of course delayed. We never got a clear translation of why it was delayed but it was delayed several times pushing our departure time by about 2 hours. Every delay made me regret not looking harder to find a direct flight. At that moment I would have easily paid the difference in price to be closer to home rather than stuck in that terminal. Live and learn I guess.
We eventually boarded and took off without incident. The flight home was around 8 hours which seemed longer because of the delay and the length between our connection in Zurich. When booking I had another option of booking a much shorter connection which would have been only 45 minutes. We probably could have made that, but it would have been pretty risky if our flight from Rome to Zurich had been delayed at all.
On the way home we caught up on a number of movies on the in flight entertainment system and picked at some horrible economy class food. The kids had the kids meals again but they were just as bad as on the flight from Boston.
Mobile Passport
We finally landed just over an hour later than scheduled so we made up a little time in the air. I pulled out my phone and opened the Mobile Passport app and clicked through the screens to prepare for going through passport control and customs.
Mobile Passport is a free app provided by the TSA for US citizens that can help you bypass some of the lines when you arrive and go through immigration. You download the app and initially scan your passports. I had scanned them for the kids, my wife and myself into my phone. The process was super easy as it could detect all the required fields by taking a picture of the passports.
Then when we landed, I could turn on my phone, indicate the flight number and port of entry if it is supported. I knew Boston was supported and most major US airports are by now. I answered a checklist of questions and submitted the answers. The app then showed a QR code for the immigration officer to scan.
Once off the plane we followed the signs for Mobile Passport. They essentially directed us to our own line which had 1 group in front of it by the time we got to the front. The officers would alternate calling groups between the Mobile Passport line and the regular line which has hundreds of people in it.
It was just over a minute before we were talking to the officer and presenting our QR code. He asked us some simple questions and we were through to gather our luggage and go through customs in no time. I highly recommend downloading Mobile Passport because it’s free and makes the line so much shorter.
Getting Home
The kids were starving and tired. It was about 10pm local time and it seemed much later for all of us with the time change. We quickly grabbed a snack at Dunkin Donut (hey, were in Boston, it’s a thing!) and headed out to grab a Lyft home. The kids both fell asleep on the way and we all collapsed into our own beds when we finally got home. While we had a fun vacation it was nice to be back!
Tomatico Travels 
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