The first SWISS Airbus A340 with a totally refurbished interior in all three seating cabins took off from Zurich today [Thursday 6 March 2019] on its first revenue flight. Aircraft HB-JMH departed at 13:25 on flight LX160 to Tokyo.
HB-JMH is the first of SWISS’s five Airbus A340s to be given this nose-to-tail cabin refurbishment. The aircraft are undergoing the work one after the other; under current planning, all five A340s should be refurbished by Northern Hemisphere summer of this year.
The refurbishment program entails developing and installing new First, Business and Economy Class seats, providing a new inflight entertainment system that also offers internet connectivity, installing new galleys and comprehensively modernising the entire interior (including adopting a new lighting concept) in all three seating cabins. The refurbishment delivers further passenger benefits, too, and raises the inflight comfort aboard SWISS’s Airbus A340s to that of its Boeing 777s.
After Tokyo, SWISS’s Airbus A340s will be deployed on services to such destinations as Boston, Johannesburg, Shanghai and Tel Aviv. SWISS has five A340s in its long-haul fleet, together with 14 Airbus A330s and 10 Boeing 777-300ERs. The SWISS long-haul network currently extends to 24 destinations.