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Swiss prepares Airbus A350 launch with crew training flights across Europe

Swiss prepares Airbus A350 launch with crew training flights across Europe
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Guillaume Faury, CEO | Airbus

SWISS is preparing to introduce its first Airbus A350-900, with delivery expected in October. The airline will use the new aircraft for crew training and familiarization on six European routes from Zurich: Düsseldorf, Geneva, Hannover, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, and Prague. These flights are scheduled between October 25 and February 26 but may be subject to change.

The inaugural revenue flight for the A350 is currently planned as Zurich to Palma de Mallorca on October 25. On that day, flight LX2152 will depart Switzerland at 06:30 with fares starting at EUR€79. After returning from Palma de Mallorca at 11:55 as LX2153, the aircraft will then operate a flight to Malaga at 14:05.

Prague will see the majority of these short-haul A350 operations, with up to two daily flights on some days of the week until late February. Other destinations such as Düsseldorf and Hannover will also have multiple scheduled A350 flights during this period. Geneva will have a single round-trip operated by the type on November 7.

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After this initial phase focused on European routes, SWISS plans to deploy the A350-900 on long-haul service between Zurich and Boston beginning January 2. The route will initially be served four times weekly by the new aircraft alongside continued service by the Airbus A330-300 three times per week. SWISS's A350s are equipped with first-class suites under its SWISS Senses branding—similar to Lufthansa’s Allegris cabins—and feature a total of 242 seats across three classes.

The introduction of the A350 brings changes in cabin configuration compared to other widebody types in SWISS’s fleet. Each aircraft has three first-class suites (including one designed for two people), 45 business class seats, 38 premium economy seats—the highest number in any SWISS aircraft—and 156 economy seats arranged in a standard nine-abreast layout.

Boston Logan International Airport is set to become one of only a few airports globally served by six different airlines operating Airbus A350s when SWISS joins Air France, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines on that route early next year (https://simpleflying.com/boston-logan-airbus-a350-six-airlines/).

SWISS operates as part of Star Alliance and is owned by Lufthansa Group. Its main hub is Zurich Airport. The airline was founded in 2002 and is led by CEO Dieter Vranckx.

"SWISS's first of ten Airbus A350-900s is due to be delivered in October. For crew training and familiarization, the variant will be flown on six European routes from the airline's Zurich hub: Düsseldorf, Geneva, Hannover, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, and Prague. While subject to change, European A350 flights will exist between October 25 and February 26."

"When writing, Zurich-Boston will become SWISS's initial long-haul route on the first-class-equipped A350. The type will appear in early January, when it'll initially run four times weekly. It'll partly replace the A330-300, which will continue to operate three times weekly. With SWISS Senses (Allegris cabins, but with SWISS branding), the 242-seat A350 will offer a significantly improved hard product."

"In late July, SWISS revealed that Boston would become its initial long-haul A350 route. It will appear on January 2, although only a sub-daily service will initially exist on the brand-new type. For now, the A350 is only scheduled through the end of March. It is currently unclear if or when it will become all-A350."

"In January, Boston will have six A350 operators. SWISS will join Air France (A350-900), Cathay Pacific (A350-1000), Lufthansa (A350-900), Qatar Airways (A350-900), and Turkish Airlines (A350-900). Six or more users were last available in October 2024."

"Each of the airline's ten incoming A350s will feature three first-class suites, which will be its smallest cabin across its existing widebodies: the A330-300, A340-300 (which the A350 will replace), and 777-300ER. Unusually, one of the A350 suites is designed for two people."

"There will also be 45 seats in business, 38 in premium economy (by far the highest number across its fleet), and 156 in economy. For those flying in economy,the layoutwill change fromthedesirable2–4–2tothestandard3–3–3.Inallabout20%oftheA35o’ sseatswillbefirst/business,a smallerproportionthanonitsothertwin–aisles.Incomparison,it23%fortheA340–300and22%forboththe777–300ERandthecurrentversionoftheA330–300.Howevert’llbe21%forthenewA330configurationwhichwillhave227SWISSSensesseatsandbecometheairline’slowest-capacitywidebody."

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