In late 2022, SWISS formally announced that it would add Airbus A350s to its fleet. There’s now an exciting update, as the airline has just taken delivery of its first next generation long haul aircraft, and it’s expected to enter passenger service soon.
SWISS adding at least 10 Airbus A350s to fleet
Up until now, SWISS’ long haul fleet has consisted of Boeing 777-300ERs, Airbus A330-300s, and Airbus A340-300s. SWISS belongs to Lufthansa Group, and the overall airline group places aircraft orders centrally, and then allocates planes to subsidiaries.
Lufthansa Group has dozens of Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 787-9s on order, and these will be split between Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian. What we know for sure is that SWISS will take delivery of 10 Airbus A350-900s — the first five should be delivered through the end of 2027, while the other five should be delivered by the end of 2031. So that’s quite a slow delivery timeline, with an average of under two new jets per year.
The first batch of A350s will be used to replace the carrier’s fleet of four Airbus A340-300s. Both the Airbus A330-300s and Boeing 777-300ERs have a long term place in SWISS’ fleet. The A350 is an incredible aircraft, with huge range, excellent economics, and great passenger comfort.
For context on the rest of the Lufthansa Group fleet, the plan is for Austrian to take delivery of Boeing 787s, and for Lufthansa to take delivery of both Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s. A lot more A350s could be coming SWISS’ way in the future, beyond the current 10. Not all of the Lufthansa Group A350s have been allocated yet, as airline group is trying to aggressively retire outdated aircraft types.
SWISS has a cool video that it published about the A350 joining its fleet, which is well done. There’s more to the video than meets the eyes, with lots of hidden clues. For example, the alarm goes off at 3:40AM, which I have to imagine is a reference to the A340 (SWISS has some great marketing in general).
Here’s what SWISS CEO Jens Fehlinger had to say about this order:
“Our new Airbus A350s will make our fleet even more modern. This is a major investment, and a vital one to ensure that we continue to meet our customers’ high expectations. With these advanced twinjets and their innovative cabins, we’re bringing our long-haul aircraft fleet up to a totally new level of modernity, sustainability and inflight comfort for our guests.”
SWISS just took delivery of its first Airbus A350
Today (October 9, 2025), SWISS is taking delivery of its very first Airbus A350-900. Specifically, the first plane to be delivered has the registration code HB-IFA, and it even has a special livery.
The livery is called SWISS Wanderlust, and it’s described as a tribute to Switzerland — creative, playful, and full of stories. It combines buildings, famous landmarks, and traditional sporting and cultural events.
Initially, the A350 is expected to operate on some intra-Europe flights, for crew familiarization. In the coming weeks, the plane is scheduled on flights between Zurich (ZRH) and Prague (PRG), though it’s also scheduled on a very limited number of flights to Hannover (HAJ), Dusseldorf (DUS), and Palma de Mallorca (PMI). You can see if a flight is scheduled to feature this product based on the “SWISS Senses” tag on the flight information page.
I find that selection to be sort of surprising — I wouldn’t have assumed that Prague would be the front runner for these kinds of crew familiarization flights, though I’m sure there’s a reason (maybe more popular destinations just don’t have the gate space to accommodate the bigger aircraft?).
Let me emphasize that I’d assume the intra-Europe A350 flights remain highly subject to change, so I wouldn’t go too far out of my way to book one. Then again, if you can get on one of these planes, it’ll be a much better experience than on your typical intra-Europe aircraft.
Then the A350 is anticipated to make its long haul debut on November 20, 2025, flying between Zurich (ZRH) and Boston (BOS). Boston makes sense as the first destination, since it’s possible to operate the route daily with a single frame.
Airbus A350s feature new SWISS Senses cabins
The Lufthansa Group is in the process of overhauling its cabins. Lufthansa has its new Allegris cabins, which include a new first class and new business class. SWISS is also introducing new cabin interiors, known as SWISS Senses.
This is essentially the same product that Lufthansa has introduced, except it features SWISS branding. So with this plane’s delivery, we’re seeing SWISS introduce a new first class product, featuring a door at each seat, plus a (strange) double suite in the center, along with what it’s trying to market as a triple suite.
This also includes a new business class product, featuring a staggered configuration that’s highly customized. Yes, this is the same product that Lufthansa announced all the way back in 2017.
This new product is a great improvement over SWISS’ previous inflight products. These new seats should also eventually be installed on other SWISS long haul aircraft, though the exact timeline for that remains to be seen.
SWISS Airbus A350s have 242 seats in four cabins
When it comes to the layout, SWISS’ Airbus A350s feature 242 seats, including:
- Three first class seats (with the center seat being able to accommodate two people)
- 45 business class seats
- 38 premium economy seats
- 156 economy seats
SWISS highlights a couple of key points about this configuration. First of all, the premium economy cabin is considerably larger than on any other long haul aircraft in the SWISS fleet. Second of all, SWISS is the only airline in the world to continue having first class on all long haul aircraft.
Now, there are a few things that sort of surprise me here, or at a minimum, that I find noteworthy:
- SWISS has long highlighted the amount of first class demand it has, and the airline has eight first class seats on all other long haul aircraft; I’m a bit disappointed that SWISS didn’t choose to introduce two rows of first class, but is just installing one row, like on Lufthansa, as this represents a 50-62% reduction in first class capacity
- There are only two lavatories for 45 business class seats, which is a pretty awful passenger to lavatory ratio for a premium cabin
- It’s interesting how there are two rows of economy in front of the third set of doors, behind premium economy; it sure would be nice if airlines made premium economy a bit more exclusive by offering separate lavatories, rather than making people walk back to the regular economy cabin
- All-in-all, this is quite a premium layout with fairly few seats, as most airlines have closer to 300 seats on A350-900s
Bottom line
SWISS is taking delivery of at least 10 Airbus A350s between now and the end of 2031. The first of these planes has just joined the carrier’s fleet, and should enter service shortly. The plane will first fly within Europe for a few weeks for crew familiarization, and Boston will then be the first long haul destination, with flights launching as of November 20, 2025.
These planes are part of the overall order that Lufthansa Group has placed for the A350, and the intent is that the first batch of jets replace SWISS’ A340s.
These planes feature the new SWISS Senses cabins, including the carrier’s new first and business class. The airline has 242 seats on these planes, with only one row of first class, and quite a big business class and premium economy cabin.
What do you make of SWISS’ Airbus A350 plans?