SWISS has reached a further milestone in its project to add the Airbus A350-900 to its aircraft fleet: the cabin layout for the new long-haul twinjet has now been completed, finalizing how many seats will feature in each cabin class. SWISS’s new Airbus A350-900s will seat a total of 242 passengers. And its Premium Economy Class will be larger than those on its existing long-haul aircraft types at 38 seats, reflecting a growing demand for such premium leisure air travel.

The addition of the Airbus A350-900 to the Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) aircraft fleet, which has been scheduled for 2025 onwards, is taking further shape. Switzerland’s biggest airline has now finalized the specifications for the factory-new long-haul twinjets’ passenger cabins, marking a further milestone in the project to date. SWISS has thus determined how large each seating cabin will be, along with their seat configurations, aisles, toilets and galleys, and has also finalized how many seats will be available in each class of travel. The new Airbus A350-900s will also feature the new ‘SWISS Senses’ cabin concept, which will offer SWISS customers a totally new and more personalized air travel experience.

Premium Economy Class enlarged

The new SWISS Airbus A350-900 will seat 242 passengers in total: three in First Class, 45 in Business Class, 38 in Premium Economy Class and 156 in Economy Class.

At 38 seats, the Airbus A350-900’s Premium Economy Class will be substantially larger than those on SWISS’s existing long-haul aircraft. In expanding Premium Economy, Switzerland’s biggest airline is responding to the growing demand for air travel in the premium segment, particularly among leisure travellers.

“Through their carefully-conceived spatial design, all our seating classes aboard our aircraft will offer our guests a totally new and unparallelled air travel experience from 2025 onwards,” says SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour. “With our new cabin concept, we will still remain the only major airline in the world to offer a First Class cabin on all its long-haul aircraft. We will also be increasing the size of our Premium Economy Class, which has proved very popular. And in both these respects, we are further clearly positioning SWISS as Europe’s leading premium airline.”

Since it will be receiving its new Airbus A350-900s directly from the factory, SWISS has been able to specify their interiors in accordance with its own particular needs.

The Airbus A350: the most advanced aircraft of its kind

SWISS will take gradual delivery of five Airbus A350-900 aircraft from 2025 onwards. In the longer term, the new long-haul twinjets will replace the company’s four remaining four-engined Airbus A340-300s. The A350 is the most advanced and most fuel-efficient long-haul aircraft of its kind. It produces some 25 per cent fewer carbon dioxide emissions than its predecessor, and is less than half as loud. On average, the A350-900 also consumes only around 2.5 litres of fuel per passenger per 100 kilometres.