For Swiss International Air Lines, flight LX52 from Zurich Airport (ZRH) to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) on Thursday was no ordinary flight.
LX52 was the aircraft carrier’s long-distance debut New product on board Airbus A350-900 and Swiss Senses which, after years of work and delay, was finally carried out.
None of that apparently mattered to the ZRH ground staff.
After a dusting of snow shortly before departure, LX52 entered the queue along with the rest of ZRH’s night departures for its de-icing turn. Finally, one hour and six minutes late, at 18:36 local time, the first Swiss long-haul A350 flight took off over Switzerland bound for the US.
The A350 is the new Swiss. The plane looks a complete complete rethinking of the airline’s onboard product from first class to business class, premium economy and economy. Outside there are decade-old reclining seats with little semblance of privacy and inside there are suites and seats that offer a variety of options and privacy features to personalize the experience.
On top of that, Swiss improved its soft product (food, drink and other elements of the passenger experience) in September, ahead of the A350.
All of this comes at a critical time for the airline. While profits remain high, Swiss is seen by many as having lost quality as its product has aged and it has waited behind corporate sister Lufthansa for new planes and seats.
“This product took us more years than expected,” said Swiss CEO Jens Fehlinger during an in-flight interview with BOS. “Now, the pieces and puzzles come together.”
That is, at least on the A350. A second aircraft is scheduled to join the first in Switzerland in December and the remaining eight to be ordered will arrive at a rate of two a year until the end of the decade.
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The Swiss A350s will replace their old ones four engines Airbus A340 that will be retired in 2027.
As for its other wide-body aircraft, the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777, Swiss will modernize them to include its Swiss Senses cabins starting in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
Spacious and private in business class
The new Swiss Senses business class is actually five different seats in one. The 45-seat cabin is subdivided into eight Business Suites with the balance of Privacy, Extra Space, Classic and Extra Long Bed seats.
The privacy seats, where this reporter sat, are closer to the window but without the extra tall dividers that define the Business Suites. The seat is spacious and comfortable with more features than were immediately obvious or expected.
Beyond the usual cubby and shelf (both located above the rear seat footwell), the seat really surprised and delighted. On one hand, the cubicle featured an elegant hook for hanging glasses. There were both touch and digital controls, the latter on a tablet-like interface on the side of the cubicle, for adjusting the seat. And, unexpectedly, it included heating and cooling to further personalize the onboard experience.
For devices, there’s a standard power outlet, as well as USB-A and USB-C ports, and the shelf includes wireless charging that worked intermittently on the inaugural flight to BOS.
An extra-long tray table extends from below the large entertainment screen with space to enjoy food and store a medium-sized laptop.
And speaking of entertainment, AvGeeks will enjoy the five different exterior camera views where they can see everything happening around the A350.
One disadvantage of the new seats, which are a Swiss version of Lufthansa Allegris product What was first announced in 2017 is the lack of doors. These have become standard in new business classes in recent years, but due to the long gestation period, they are only offered in first class.
Elegant continental dining
An hour after takeoff, the LX52 crew began meal service. The new service, as the menu described it, was a “Swiss taste of Switzerland” that highlighted cuisine from the German- and Italian-speaking regions of the country.
Award-winning Swiss chefs Tanja Grandits and lorenzo albricitogether with the Zurich vegetarian restaurant Hiltldesigned menu items that included marinated salmon, beet carpaccio, a curry-style chicken ragout and a pumpkin and chestnut goulash. The highlight of the new menu is the addition of a soup dish; LX52 offered a delicious celeriac cream with truffles.
Service flow was perhaps slower than usual for a transatlantic flight, something Fehlinger attributed to the crew still getting familiar with the new plane.
The Swiss only began flying the A350 on October 25 on test runs within Europe. During that time, the longest flight made was from ZRH to Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP), on the southern coast of Spain, just 1,000 miles (or approximately two hours and 45 minutes) from Switzerland.
By comparison, the 3,745-mile flight from ZRH to BOS took seven hours and 52 minutes, according to tracking website FlightRadar24.
For the pre-arrival meal, business class travelers could choose between momo dumplings or a duck breast salad.
Few great moments, many refined details
The entire inauguration of the intercontinental A350 was an example of the Swiss spirit: simple refinement without the ostentatious ostentation of other airlines.
Fehlinger, who was sitting in the back row of business class in a Classic seat, didn’t make any speeches beyond a brief welcome at the gate before boarding. The team supplemented that with some mentions of the notable nature of the LX52 that day during their announcements.
While there wasn’t a big moment on board, there were plenty of fine details. On the back of each seat was a special commemorative print edition of Swiss Magazine, the airline’s in-flight magazine that went digital during the COVID-19 pandemic. An inaugural flight certificate and special boxes of Swiss Senses brand chocolates were distributed to everyone on board. And Fehlinger helped with a special champagne service in economy class.
First class and business class travelers also received a commemorative award. Caran D’Ache Writing instrument to commemorate the “first intercontinental flight of the Swiss A350-900”.
Travelers can find Swiss’s unique A350 and new Swiss Senses product daily on the ZRH-BOS route. The second plane, depending on when it arrives from Airbus, will fly between ZRH and Montreal Trudeau International Airport (YUL).
The airline hopes to offer Swiss Senses on all its long-haul aircraft by the end of this decade.
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