The Beginning
The C family is a typical southern Chinese family — originally from Hangzhou, later relocated to Shenzhen, with fifteen members spanning three generations. The grandfather is in his early seventies. He learned to ski during his military service in Heilongjiang in his youth, but hasn't been on snow in over thirty years. His four children are all between thirty and forty, all experienced skiers who find time every winter to visit ski resorts in Japan or Europe. As for the six grandchildren, the oldest is fourteen and the youngest is six — some are learning to ski, others can only sit on a sled and giggle.
In the winter of 2025, the second daughter, Ms. C, had an idea: the whole family should go skiing in Switzerland this year. The reasoning was sound — Switzerland's ski resort facilities are world-class, and certain resorts are particularly accommodating to multi-generational families, with hot springs and gentle trails for the elderly, advanced runs for the middle generation, and ski schools and childcare services for the children.
The question was: how do fifteen people get from Shenzhen to Switzerland? With elderly members and children mixed in.
Ms. C found her iFlyPlus advisor.
The Challenge
A fifteen-person group trip is a major logistical undertaking regardless of the mode of transport. Commercial flights would require multiple separate flights, with no guarantee that everyone would arrive at the same terminal at the same time. Connections were out of the question — the thought of navigating Zurich Airport and catching a train to a ski resort with elderly family members and young children was enough to cause a headache.
Then there was the matter of ski equipment. Fifteen people, from high-performance skis to children's ski suits, from elderly knee braces to children's helmets — transporting all of this was essentially a logistics project in itself.
Ms. C's requirements were clear: everyone arrives on the same flight, goes directly to the ski resort after landing, with no折腾 along the way. Comfort for the elderly and children comes first, but the skiing needs of the middle generation must also be met.
The Plan
The iFlyPlus advisor spent two weeks putting together a comprehensive plan.
The Flights
Given the group size of fifteen, the advisor configured two aircraft: a Gulfstream G550 carrying eight passengers and a Bombardier Challenger 3500 carrying seven. Both aircraft departed simultaneously from Shenzhen Bao'an Airport FBO, refueling in Dubai before flying to Sion Airport in Switzerland — the airport in the Valais region closest to the ski resorts, far closer than Zurich.
Total flight time was approximately eleven hours with one stopover. Both aircraft departed and landed in complete synchronization.
Ski Equipment
For the equipment problem, the advisor used a different approach: instead of transporting everything from China, the equipment was sourced locally. iFlyPlus has partnerships with Switzerland's top ski equipment rental providers, who can have everything configured before guests arrive — skis, boots, poles, helmets, protective gear, even children's equipment. All equipment is pre-adjusted based on each person's height, weight, and skiing ability.
Upon arrival, it was a simple matter of trying the equipment and swapping anything that didn't fit on the spot. This eliminated the hassle of checked baggage and avoided the risk of equipment damage during transport.
The Accommodation
The family stayed in a private mountain chalet in Zermatt. The chalet was secured through iFlyPlus's hotel partnership network, booked in its entirety — six bedrooms, enough for all fifteen people. The chalet came with a fireplace, a sauna, and a hot tub. The living room beside the fireplace was large enough for the whole family to gather, chat, play cards, and watch the Matterhorn through the window.
The Itinerary
The itinerary was designed to accommodate all three generations.
Every morning, the middle generation headed to the advanced runs, skiing down from Matterhorn Glacier Paradise — approximately twelve kilometers with a vertical drop of over two thousand meters. The grandfather, accompanied by his wife, took the resort's beginner slopes, gently graded with warm rest stations along the way where they could drink hot chocolate and watch the snow-covered peaks.
Afternoons were more relaxed. The six-year-old grandson spent an hour at the children's ski school and came out excitedly telling everyone he had learned the "pizza" (the snowplow braking technique). The grandfather laughed, saying that was exactly what he had learned back in the day.
One afternoon, the whole family took the cable car up to Gornergrat, overlooking the Matterhorn from over 3,000 meters. The weather that day was impossibly good — the entire peak stood out against the blue sky as if carved with a knife. The family stood on the observation deck in silence, all just looking at the mountain.
The Return
The return flights were scheduled for Sunday morning. The night before, the family gathered around the fireplace for a final round of mulled wine. The children were already asleep upstairs; the adults sat by the fire, chatting about the week in a leisurely way.
Ms. C said this was the first time their whole family — all three generations — had traveled together, and it was the first time everyone had been comfortable throughout. The grandfather said he hadn't skied in decades, but being back on skis reminded him of his youth in Heilongjiang. He said something that made everyone laugh: "Never thought I'd take another tumble at seventy-something."
The next morning, both aircraft departed Sion Airport on schedule. They landed in Shenzhen just in time for New Year's Eve dinner.
Perhaps You've Also Had Such a Moment
Perhaps you've been searching for a travel partner you can trust — no need to compare prices endlessly, no worry about hidden traps. Just one call and receive a tailored configuration. Every iFlyPlus advisor has accompanied clients through late-night emergency departures, seamless connections in foreign lands, and composed family gatherings. We understand deeply: what you need isn't just an aircraft, but certainty.
Afterword
After the trip, Ms. C sent the advisor a photo album. Inside were the week's photos: the grandfather's clumsy but joyful expression on the beginner slope, the children rolling around in the snow, the whole family's group photo in front of the Matterhorn, the moment of everyone raising their glasses by the fireplace.
On the last page, Ms. C wrote:
"Our family rarely travels all together like this. Before, we always split up — the elderly went their way, the young people went theirs, the kids stayed with the kids. But this time, everyone was in the same place, each doing what made them happy, and returning to the same house at night. This might be what I understand as a family trip."
The advisor flipped through the album and paused at the group photo in front of the Matterhorn. Fifteen people, ages seven to seventy-two, standing in the snow with a mountain four thousand meters high behind them.
She said something to her colleague nearby: "The best part of this job is that occasionally you get to be part of something that people remember for a long time."
Good Fortune · Good Friends · Beautiful Life. For the C family, that Swiss winter was a slice of a beautiful life.
爱飞嘉成就您的生活方式。