Thursday’s flight LX52 from Zurich Airport (ZRH) to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) was no ordinary flight for Swiss International Air Lines.
LX52 is the long-haul debut of the airline’s new Airbus A350-900 and Swiss Senses onboard products, finally coming to fruition after years of work and delays.
None of this apparently matters to the ZRH ground crew.
It snowed shortly before departure, and LX52 entered the de-icing queue along with the flight from ZRH the night before. In the end, Switzerland’s first long-haul A350 flight was delayed for one hour and six minutes at 6:36 pm local time and flew over Switzerland to the United States.
The A350 is the new Swiss aircraft. The aircraft completely rethinks the airline’s onboard product, from first class to business, premium economy and economy. Gone are the decade-old flat-bed seats that offered little privacy, replaced by suites and seats that offer a range of privacy options and features to personalize the experience.
In addition to this, SWISS upgraded its soft product – food, drinks and other elements of the passenger experience – in September to prepare for the arrival of the A350.
All of this comes at a critical time for the airline. While profits remain high, many believe Swiss Air’s quality has declined as its product ages and it lags behind sister airline Lufthansa in its wait for new planes and seats.
“This product took us longer than expected,” Swiss CEO Jens Fehlinger told BOS in an interview during the flight. “Now, the pieces and the puzzle, they come together.”
At least on the A350. The second aircraft will be ordered with SWISS in December, along with the first, and the remaining eight aircraft will arrive at a rate of two per year by the end of the decade.
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SWISS’s A350s will replace its older four-engine Airbus A340s, which are due to be retired in 2027.
As for its other wide-body jets – the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 – SWISS will retrofit these aircraft with Swiss Senses cabins starting in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Business class is spacious and private
The new Swiss Senses business class cabin actually combines five different seats into one. The 45-seat cabin is divided into eight Business Suites with Private Seats, Extra Space Seats, Classic Seats and Extra Long Bed Seats.
The private seat where the reporter sits is closest to the window, but there is no ultra-high partition unique to business suites. The seats are roomy and comfortable, with more features than is obvious or expected.
Apart from the usual cubbies and shelves – both of which are located above the footwell of the rear seats – this seat is a real surprise and delight. First, there is a thoughtful hook in the cubby that can be used to hang glasses. There are tactile and digital controls, the latter on a tablet-like interface on the side of the den, for adjusting the seat. And, unexpectedly, it also has heating and cooling capabilities to further personalize the flight experience.
For devices, there’s a standard power outlet as well as USB-A and USB-C ports, and the shelf also comes with wireless charging that worked intermittently on the inaugural flight to BOS.
An extra-long tray table extends from beneath the large entertainment screen to provide dining space and storage for a medium-sized laptop.
And, speaking of entertainment, AvGeeks will enjoy five different exterior camera views where they can watch everything happening around the A350.
The new seats are the Swiss version of Lufthansa’s Allegris product, first launched in 2017, and one of its drawbacks is the lack of doors. These have become standard in new business class cabins in recent years, but are only available in first class due to the long gestation period.
Elegant continental dining
Within an hour of takeoff, the LX52 crew began providing meal service. As the menu describes it, the new service is “Swiss in Switzerland,” highlighting cuisine from the German- and Italian-speaking regions of the country.
Award-winning Swiss chefs Tanja Grandits and Lorenzo Albrici worked with Zurich vegetarian restaurant Hiltl to design the menu, which includes cured salmon, beet carpaccio, chicken curry ragout and pumpkin and chestnut goulash. A highlight of the new menu is the addition of soups; delicious celeriac cream and truffles are available on the LX52.
Service may be slower than usual for transatlantic flights, which Fehringer attributes to crews still familiarizing themselves with the new aircraft.
Swissair only started test flights in Europe using the A350 on October 25th. During this period, the longest flight was from ZRH to Malaga Costa del Sol Airport (AGP) on Spain’s southern coast, just 1,000 miles (or approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes) from Switzerland.
By comparison, a flight from ZRH to BOS has a mileage of 3,745 miles and a flight time of 7 hours and 52 minutes, according to tracking website FlightRadar24.
For pre-arrival meals, Business Class passengers can choose from steamed bun dumplings or duck breast salad.
There are few great moments and many exquisite details
The entire A350 intercontinental maiden flight is a model of Swiss spirit: simple and exquisite, without the exaggeration of other airlines.
Fehringer, seated in a classic seat in the last row of business class, didn’t speak beyond a brief welcome at the gate before boarding. The staff supplemented this by mentioning the salient features of the LX52 many times in the day’s announcement.
While there are no grand moments on board, there are plenty of fine details. Each seatback features a special commemorative printed edition of Swiss Magazine, the airline’s in-flight magazine, which has gone digital during the COVID-19 pandemic. We distributed maiden flight certificates and special boxes of Swiss Senses chocolates to everyone on board. Ferlinger also offers a special champagne service for economy class.
First and business class passengers also received a Caran D’Ache commemorative writing instrument to commemorate “the first intercontinental flight of the Swiss A350-900”.
Passengers can find SWISS’s only A350 and new Swiss Senses products on the ZRH-BOS route every day. The second aircraft will fly between ZRH and Montreal Trudeau International Airport (YUL) based on arrival times from Airbus.
The airline hopes to offer Swiss Senses services on all its long-haul aircraft by the end of the decade.
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