Jens Fehlinger, SWISS CEO, and Heike Birlenbach, SWISS CCO, at the ribbon cutting ceremony during the gate event for SWISS flight LX52 from Zurich to Boston
SWISS’s first Airbus A350 HB-IFA departed from Zurich for Boston at 18:37 this (Thursday) evening (November 20, 2025) on its first revenue long-haul flight. The event marks a further milestone for the airline: travelers on the Zurich-Boston route can now enjoy in full the completely new cabin and enhanced inflight service of the new ‘SWISS Senses’ long-haul air travel concept in all seating classes. SWISS’s first Airbus A350 will continue to be deployed on short-haul services, too, over the next few weeks, to train crews on the new twinjet as efficiently as possible. Montreal will be the new SWISS A350’s second long-haul destination.
SWISS’s first new Airbus A350 HB-IFA departed from Zurich for Boston at 18:37 this (Thursday) evening on its first revenue long-haul flight. The event is a further premiere for Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), and ushers in a new air travel era with the first full implementation of the new ‘SWISS Senses’ concept for the company’s long-haul flights.
SWISS Senses offers a winning blend of design, comfort and Swiss hospitality in all classes of travel, from a welcome drink with Sbrinz cheese to refined meal choices, the Alpine Essence signature cocktail, new Business Class bedlinen, top-quality care items and state-of-the-art inflight entertainment. And with the new Zurich-Boston Airbus A350 operation, travelers can experience for the first time both the new SWISS Senses cabin and the accompanying enhanced long-haul inflight service.
“Our new Airbus A350 marks the next step in our development, in technological, commercial and guest experience terms,” says SWISS CEO Jens Fehlinger. “It’s quieter, more efficient and more comfortable than any other aircraft we have operated to date. Investments of this kind don’t just sharpen our own competitive edge: they consolidate Switzerland’s place, too, in the air travel world. A strong and viable SWISS is vital: for our customers, for our employees and for the whole Swiss economy. Every long-haul aircraft we operate creates some 300 jobs, from the crews and the planners all the way to the suppliers of the ingredients for our inflight culinary offerings – which underlines just how closely our business and operations are woven into the broader Swiss economy.”
Premium and Swissness
“Today’s flight turns our vision into tangible reality,” adds SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Heike Birlenbach. “Our new cabin interior and enhanced inflight service create an air travel experience that combines comfort, quality and core Swiss values. We have paid close attention to every individual detail – from the materials used to our menu options and our new comfort items – to ensure that SWISS Senses offers our customers genuine added value that appeals to all the senses. With this new inflight product package, we’re declaring what we want SWISS to be in the years ahead: reliable, consistently aligned to our guests and their needs, and with both ‘premium’ and ‘Swissness’ centerstage. So our Boston premiere today shows what SWISS long-haul travel will look and feel like tomorrow.”
More comfort in all travel classes
The new First Class cabin offers three suites providing maximum privacy and comfort. Each suite has its own door and wardrobe, along with a spacious table. The new Business Class cabin features 45 seats, all with direct aisle access and all reclinable into a lie-flat bed up to 2.2 meters long. Business Class travelers can choose from five different seat categories that include compact suites offering additional inflight privacy, all available in either single- or double-seat versions.
The new Premium Economy Class offers 38 seats – more than on any SWISS aircraft to date. With a seat width of 48 centimeters and a seat pitch of around one meter, SWISS Premium Economy ensures a relaxed air travel experience. The new Economy Class cabin with its 156 seats also offers its travelers greater at-seat space, together with a larger 13.3-inch HD screen, a Bluetooth connection for using their own headphones and USB-A and USB-C ports.
Long-haul fleetwide installation planned
Nine further Airbus A350s will join the SWISS aircraft fleet between now and 2031, all of which will also be delivered with the new SWISS Senses cabin installed. SWISS will also be gradually retrofitting the new SWISS Senses cabin into its Airbus A330 fleet from the first half of 2026 onwards, and into its Boeing 777 fleet thereafter. All SWISS long-haul aircraft should be equipped with the new SWISS Senses interior by 2030.
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