In flying its first passengers aboard Airbus A350 HB-IFA Lausanne, SWISS has now embarked on a new air travel era. The most advanced aircraft in the SWISS fleet took off from Zurich today for Palma de Mallorca on its first revenue service, marking the formal start of A350 flight operations. As a result, SWISS travelers can now enjoy their first experience of the completely new ‘SWISS Senses’ long-haul cabin – exceptionally on short-haul European flights during the aircraft’s introductory phase.
A new era of SWISS air travel
“This first revenue passenger flight of our new Airbus A350 is the result of many months of hard behind-the-scenes work,” says SWISS Chief Operating Officer Oliver Buchhofer. “Introducing a new aircraft type is always a major undertaking, in technical, operational and commercial terms. Our people both on the ground and in the air have performed painstaking preparations to make this moment happen. And our first A350 passenger flight today is a credit to everyone who works day in, day out to ensure that we maintain safe and reliable flight operations.”
“We are currently investing some CHF 1 billion every year in offering our customers the kind of air travel that we want SWISS to embody and provide: a premium experience with extensive privacy and a typically Swiss warm and friendly service,” adds SWISS Chief Financial Officer Dennis Weber. “Our new Airbus A350 is the most visible evidence of all these investments. Our advanced new twinjet will set new benchmarks in the way our customers fly with us – more comfortably, more efficiently and more sustainably than ever before.”
From training deployments to intercontinental operations
Airbus A350 HB-IFA Lausanne will be rostered for services to and from various European destinations including Prague, Hanover, Düsseldorf, Málaga and Palma de Mallorca over the next few weeks. These deployments on the SWISS short-haul network serve a practical purpose, enabling its cockpit crews to perform a large number of takeoffs and landings with the new aircraft type and thus swiftly familiarize themselves with its operation. Such routine and experience would take much longer to acquire on intercontinental routes, in view of their longer flying times.
All the pilots concerned will have already practiced takeoffs and landings without passengers as part of their A350 base flight training, and operating the aircraft under real flight conditions is the next step in the process. So these shorter European flights are a key element in the service entry of the new A350 before it takes up the long-haul duties for which it is intended. At the same time, they offer SWISS customers a unique opportunity to experience the completely new ‘SWISS Senses’ long-haul cabin on their European air travels.
During this transitional period of short-haul service deployments, Economy and Business Class travel can be booked as usual on the flights concerned, while the seats in the A350’s Premium Economy Class cabin will be offered as Economy Class seats with greater legroom. The First Class cabin will not be bookable on these A350 short-haul flights, because the accompanying service (which accounts for a large part of the new SWISS First experience) will only be provided on the subsequent long-haul operations. These – the next program milestone – are currently scheduled to begin on 20 November, when HB-IFA will perform its first flight on the Zurich-Boston route. The travelers on this flight will also be the first to experience the all-new SWISS Senses cabin in combination with SWISS’s totally renewed long-haul inflight service.
The world’s most advanced long-haul aircraft
The Airbus A350 is the most advanced long-haul aircraft in the world today. With its economical engines and its enhanced aerodynamics, the A350 consumes around 25% less fuel than predecessor models and generates correspondingly lower carbon dioxide emissions. It’s also twice as quiet as its predecessors.
The A350 is also constructed of a material that is more robust and resilient than traditional aluminum. This permits a lower cabin pressure and a higher air humidity to be maintained during the flight, both of which tangibly enhance passengers’ travel comfort.
Nine further Airbus A350s will join the SWISS aircraft fleet between now and 2031.
Tags: Airbus, Dennis Weber, SWISS Oliver Buchhofer
