110,000 Miles,
Perth to Zürich.
One highlight. One letdown.

110,000 Miles & More miles and roughly CHF 400 in taxes and fees. That's what it cost to fly Business Class from Perth back to Zürich — two sectors, two very different experiences, and a reminder that not all Business Class is created equal. Or, in the case of SWISS, even approaches it.

But let's start with the good news.

How 110,000 M&M Miles
gets you home from Australia

The Miles & More redemption chart for Star Alliance flights from Australia to Europe places this routing in the intercontinental award category. The Singapore Airlines Perth–Singapore sector added to a SWISS Singapore–Zürich long-haul redemption comes in at around 110,000 miles one-way in Business Class — a figure that, on paper, sounds like a lot until you compare it to the cash alternative.

A comparable Business Class cash fare on this routing runs between CHF 4,500 and CHF 7,000 depending on timing and availability. At 110,000 miles plus CHF 400 in fees, the redemption value works out at approximately CHF 4–6 cents per mile — a solid return, particularly when those miles were accumulated through Swiss card spending and welcome bonuses rather than flying.

Singapore Airlines Business Class
Perth → Singapore
A350-900 · ~5 hours

The Perth–Singapore sector on Singapore Airlines operates on the A350-900 in its regional medium-haul configuration — a 1-2-1 staggered layout with 40 Business Class seats and direct aisle access for every passenger. It's a narrower seat than the long-haul version, but on a five-hour daytime flight, that distinction barely matters.

What does matter, and what Singapore Airlines consistently gets right, is the service. The cabin crew provide exceptional personalised service, and the inflight meals are innovative, fresh, and beautifully presented. The Singapore Sling remains the correct drink to order on boarding regardless of the time of day. The satay starter — chicken in spicy peanut sauce with rice cakes — is the iconic duo that SQ Business Class passengers come back for. It's a small thing that signals a bigger truth about Singapore Airlines: they understand hospitality at a level that most European carriers seem to have forgotten is possible.

The SilverKris Lounge at Perth — accessed through the Business Class ticket — remains one of the better pre-flight experiences available outside of Asia. Good food, local Western Australian beers, comfortable furniture, not overcrowded. The Singapore Airlines Business Class cabin on this sector felt like a benchmark product for medium-haul premium travel.

I watched Finding Nemo. Fully flat. Feet up. I regret nothing.

Singapore Changi.
The lounge that ruins everywhere else.

A word about Changi Airport before we get to the SWISS leg, because it deserves one. The Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge at Changi Terminal 3 is, by most measures, one of the better airline lounges in the world — spacious, well-stocked, with all standard amenities and excellent shower facilities. For a transit stop it's genuinely comfortable: good showers, a food spread that covers most of what you'd want at any hour, enough space to actually find a quiet corner.

The broader Changi experience is also worth mentioning. Even in transit, the terminal is extraordinarily well designed — clean, calm, logical, with enough food and retail options to fill a long connection without resorting to airport chain coffee. Changi makes European hub airports look like they were planned by someone who had never actually used an airport.

I had enough time to shower, eat properly, and board refreshed. The SWISS flight awaited.

SWISS Business Class
Singapore → Zürich
Boeing 777-300ER · ~13 hours

Right. Let's talk about SWISS.

I want to preface this by saying that I am Swiss. My passport is Swiss. I live in Zürich. I have, somewhere in my DNA, a deeply irrational affection for anything that carries the white cross on a red background. I am also someone who remembers Swissair — the airline once nicknamed the "Flying Bank" due to its financial stability, regarded as a Swiss national symbol and icon — and who carries a degree of nostalgia for what Swiss aviation used to represent. So when I say the SWISS Business Class product on the 777-300ER is disappointing, I say it with genuine regret rather than satisfaction.

The hard product: the 777-300ER Business cabin is configured in a 2-2-2 layout. In 2025. On a 13-hour overnight flight. If you're in a window seat, getting out at any point means either climbing over your neighbour or waking them up. This is a second-tier Business Class product — behind the likes of Qatar, Etihad, and Singapore Airlines. That's not a controversial opinion. It's just accurate. The seats transform into fully-flat beds which are soft and comfortable — but the width is a little narrow in the sleeping position, especially around the shoulders and feet.

The throne seats — single aisle-access seats — exist but are typically reserved for Miles & More Senator members or available for a surcharge. So if you're a regular member redeeming miles, you're likely in the 2-2-2 section wondering why an airline that prides itself on Swiss precision thought a middle seat with no aisle access was an appropriate Business Class product in 2025.

The soft product didn't help. The whole onboard flight experience on SWISS Business Class approaches premium economy in terms of service and meals — and that's a comment that appears repeatedly across reviews of the 777 product, not just mine. The crew on this particular flight was unfriendly in a way that felt less like individual variation and more like institutional indifference. Nobody was rude. Nobody was warm. They moved through the cabin with the energy of people who had somewhere else to be.

The food was adequate. The wine was Swiss and decent. The amenity kit was unremarkable. The IFE screen was functional. The aircraft itself felt old in a way that the A350 on the first leg had not — the kind of tiredness that seeps into the upholstery and the overhead bin mechanisms and the particular smell of recycled air on an aircraft that has done this route many times.

The Swissair problem

Here is where I have to be honest about something that's difficult for a Swiss person to admit: Swissair was founded in 1931 and for most of its 71 years was one of the major international airlines, known globally for the kind of precision and service quality that has since migrated almost entirely to Asian carriers. When the grounding happened on October 2, 2001 — the "Flying Bank" unable to pay airport taxes or buy kerosene — it wasn't just an airline that collapsed. It was a particular idea of what Swiss hospitality at 35,000 feet should look like.

SWISS, as a Lufthansa subsidiary operating from the same hub with some of the same staff and the same routes, is not Swissair. The 2-2-2 open layout lacks the privacy of modern suite products, and for ultra long-haul journeys the seat's limitations become more noticeable. Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qatar, Etihad — these are the carriers that now carry the flag for what premium cabin travel can be. SWISS, on the 777, is not in that conversation.

The good news: SWISS is finally retiring some of its older fleet and taking delivery of A350s, which should bring a significantly improved hard product to long-haul routes over the next few years. Until then, if you're redeeming Miles & More miles for a Singapore–Zürich sector, try to find the A340 refurbishment or wait for A350 deployment if the schedule allows.

Was it worth
110,000 miles?

Yes — mostly because the Singapore Airlines leg was worth it, and the SWISS leg got you home to Zürich on a flat bed for CHF 400 in fees rather than CHF 5,000 in cash. The combined redemption value is strong. The experience is uneven.

If you're redeeming Miles & More miles for a Perth–Zürich routing and you have flexibility on dates, consider whether an all-Singapore Airlines routing via another European hub might be possible — Singapore flies to Frankfurt, Munich, and Zürich directly, and the long-haul A350 product is considerably better than what SWISS puts on the 777. Alternatively, the Singapore–Zürich sector on SWISS is worth watching for A350 deployment, which should arrive on this route progressively through 2025–2026.

Either way: the miles to get here are more achievable than most people think. The Cornèrcard Platinum welcome bonus alone (currently up to 60,000 miles) gets you more than halfway to this exact redemption. Add a Swisscard M&M and 12 months of regular CHF spending and 110,000 miles is within reach without booking a single flight first.