Zurich Airport Transfer

Hi all. This year I am travelling by myself for the first time to Europe from the U.S. My route home goes from Palma de Majorca to Zurich to catch a plane to San Francisco at Terminal 1. Has anyone had experience transferring planes in this airport? Is it pretty simple for a foreigner to get around? The time between transfers (layover) is about 1 hour and 55 min? I don't speak the language either.

Hi,
I haven't travelled thru the Zurich airport, but their website has a useful section for those who will be transfering..
http://www.zurich-airport.com/passengers-and-visitors/arrivals-and-departures/transfers/

I would also ask if you arranged your flights yourself or if you booked them with an airline or
through a travel agent.
If you booked both parts of the return trip with the airline then they should be responsible for ensuring you have enough time for the transfer.
If you booked with a travel agent, they should have verified the transfer time.
If you booked it yourself and used a website that did the booking for you but didn't take into account the time needed for the transfer....then you need to look further.
So look at your tickets and see what wiggle room you have.
Zurich is an international airport, you'll find assistance from people who speak English.
Good luck!

No worries, I have made 50 minutes connections in ZRH. It's not a huge airport and it's swiss, so clean, well organized and efficient (and expensive of course if you decide to grab a bite or drink). Under condition of course that both legs of your trip are on the same ticket.

"Under condition of course that both legs of your trip are on the same ticket."
That's the point.
The problem is not ZRH, but PMI with often huge delays of departures during the peak holiday season.

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"Under condition of course that both legs of your trip are on the same ticket."
That's the point.
The problem is not ZRH, but PMI with often huge delays of departures during the peak holiday season.

This will happen in late September and mid October. Perhaps things will have slowed down by then.

I made the arrangements myself online through Lufthansa's website. I had to search and search until I found a flight that did not include a return trip using United Airlines - I have heard bad things about United. So I'm happy to try out Swiss on the way home.

Don't worry, you have enough time, as mentioned before, Zurich airport is rather small. Be prepared that your SFO flight most likely departs from concourse E (while you'll arrive in A), which is a remote terminal and connected via an underground train. Just follow the signs to the E gates that will lead you to the station and trains are running every 3 minutes or so.
Furthermore, you have your connection on one ticket, so even if the flight into Zurich is heavily delayed it's the airline's obligation to rebook you on the next available flight. The worst what could happen is that they put you on a United flight ;-)

It's been a long time (and it was domestic) since I flew United but friends have used them to Europe/UK and were not happy for all the 9 or 11 hours of the flights...
So, OP, you made a wise choice.... and great that it's on one ticket...don't have to bother with the baggage either!

As mentionned above, not a problem at all. Everything is clearly posted and if you are not sure, just ask somebody. Most people in switzerland speak englisch, and the people working at the airport definitely speak at least basic englisch.

You probably won't even have to go through security upon arrival at ZRH either, since PMI is in the EU.

Just like in the US, you then check the screens (or the Zurich Airport app using the free wifi) and go to your gate.

But you will need to go through outbound passport control just before you get on the underground shuttle train to the E gates. There is usually little or no queue for this, and the shuttle goes every 2.5 minutes. All the signs are in both English and German, so if you can read this, you shouldn't have any trouble finding your way.

As said above: if you fly all with Swiss, you will have no problem at all.
BTW: mid October is low (and rather rainy) season in the Western Mediterranean anyway: no problems with traffic peaks.