Zurich & confusion

[Parapunter]

Can it just be me, or is anyone else befuddled by Zurich airport?

Just travelled GVA-ZRH-LHR on Swiss. Now, I hesitate to criticise Swiss, because the flight & crew were both very good. However, transfering from one 320 to another at ZRH was confusing in the extreme, in terms of do I claim my baggage & check in again? do I go straight to the gate?

In the event, it's clear that ZRH is a major hub for Swiss & they have a sophisticated baggage system that transfers your kit from one flight to the next. However, a pa or two to that effect wouldn't have gone amiss. I'm an occasional slf & so don't appreciate the technology involved & judging by the pax delay to the outbound flight, neither do a few others!

Bitten nails at LHR I can tell you!

[Globaliser]

Sorry if it's stating the obvious but it sounds like a normal transfer at any airport. If the bag is through-tagged to your final destination, you would expect the airline to transfer it automatically to the next flight.

The main exception is if you are tranferring from an international to a domestic flight and you have to clear customs at that port. Then you normally need to claim your bag to clear customs before handing it back.

It's places like LHR that are genuinely confusing. Arrive on international flight, transfer to domestic flight - clear immigration but do not clear customs - have passport checked but do not claim bag ...