Swiss locks in new A350 first, business class layout

Swiss is gearing up for the debut of its first Airbus A350 in 2025 with suites in first class and business class, along with a significantly larger premium economy cabin.

A total of five A350-900s “will replace the company’s four remaining four-engined Airbus A340-300s,” the airline says, revealing they’ll be configured as follows:

• three first class suites
• 45 business class suites
• 38 premium economy recliners
• 156 economy seats

Swiss' A350 seatmap.

“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,” boasts Swiss Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour.

“We will also be increasing the size of our premium economy class, which has proved very popular,” he adds, “and in both these respects, we are further clearly positioning Swiss as Europe’s leading premium airline.”

Swiss A350 first class 

There’s no surprise that Swiss will adopt the same ‘Allegris’ first class suites and business class seats as Lufthansa, but here’s a little irony – the colours, trim and materials will make them arguably look better than the same hardware flown by its German parent.

Take Swiss’ A350 first class, for example: like Lufthansa’ new first class, it’s made up of a three-across layout, with an extra-wide middle suite (117cm wide, compared to 77cm) intended for two travellers to share.

There’ll be just one row of first class on the Swiss A350, with each of the three suite enclosed by nearly ceiling-high 1.8m walls with a sliding panel that can be closed for privacy, compared to the airline’s current open-plan first class berths.

Swiss' new first class.

Other creature comforts include a spacious personal wardrobe, seat heating and cooling, a 32” monitor in the single suites and a 43” panel in the double suite.

Swiss' new first class.

That feature set is of course identical to Lufthansa’s Allegris first class, but the luxurious suites look so much richer and warmer, with muted tones such as claret and anthracite plus touches of light wood providing a connection to Swiss’ current first class.

Swiss' new first class.

Swiss has also shared some details of its first class washroom – something Lufthansa has yet to do – citing “an advanced and spacious” facility which draws inspiration from the mineral springs and thermal baths of Vals with its slate-black exterior and a “green interior that alludes to the spring’s fresh and cooling water.”

Who wore it better? New first class suites from Lufthansa (left) and Swiss (right).

Swiss A350 business class

Similarly, while Lufthansa’s new business class cabin embraces on the German flag-carrier’s scheme of blue, caramel-brown and beige, Swiss’ take confidently leans into those warm reds completed by anthracite, light woods and off-white exterior wall panels with a soft silvered trim for “an extremely cosy and intimate ambience.”

Swiss' new business class.

The Allegris hardware is packed with wireless charging, Bluetooth audio streaming, seat heating and cooling, up to 27” screens, a tablet consoler and lie-flat beds at least of 2m long.

And Swiss’ new business class also follows the same unique layout with no less than six variations on the core business class seat reflecting the group’s belief that air travel should be more personalised and more tailored to each person’s needs rather than be a ‘one seat fits all’ experience.

Swiss' new business class.

The first four business class seats in each Swiss cabin are larger suites with a sliding door, while the middle two can become a ‘double suite’; every second row has a more spacious ‘throne’ seat for solo travellers, with a seat behind that offering a 2.2m long bed.

Swiss' new business class.

There’s also a ‘double seat’ in the last row, private seats by the window and even the option of mounting a baby bassinet on the seat-adjacent shelf of one business class seat.

Who wore it better? New business class seats from Lufthansa (left) and Swiss (right).

The new Swiss first and business class seats will launch in 2025 on a fleet of Airbus A350 jets, to be followded by refurbished Airbus A330s and, at a later stage, Boeing 777s.