Swiss to upgrade Airbus A340s with new first, business class
By David Flynn, October 7 2016
It's out with the old and in with the new for Swiss' Airbus A340s, with the big four-engine jets set to receive a tip-to-tail upgrade from first class and business class through to economy.
Although Swiss has been busy replacing the Airbus A340s with its factory-fresh Boeing 777-300ER jets – with a tenth now on order for delivery in 2018 – the airline will retain five A340s in its long-range international fleet.
Those five jets will all be upgraded throughout 2018 to largely bring them up to Swiss' 777-spec.
The new first class cabin will be "closely modelled" on that of the Boeing 777-300ER, the airline says.
This will see the current and still quite decent A340 first class suites making way for these more private and better-appointed suites.
Business class will see the exact same seats as on the Boeing 777, which means a shift from this...
... to this.
And this...
to this.
And yes, it'll still include those 'throne' seats.
Down the back of the (Air)bus, in economy, Swiss says it will install an all-new "type of seat."
The inflight entertainment system will also be ripped out and replaced by that of the Boeing 777, with inflight Internet also being installed during the refit.
(Swiss will also upgrade its fourteen Airbus A330s for sky-high WiFi over the coming six months, with the project slated for completion by northern Spring.)
Also read: Swiss trials inflight phone calls on its Boeing 777
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
08 Sep 2012
Total posts 236
Thanks for the update.
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
"...for Business Class - seems like a silly waste of money - the seats are almost identical."
21 Jul 2012
Total posts 128
The seats on the A340 are quite old and worn with outdated IFE, even compared to the same seats on the newer A330s. The planes were due for a refresh anyways, so it makes sense to use the newest products.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
08 Aug 2016
Total posts 54
woah they have real doors to J not curtains that a first?
Cathay Pacific - Asia Miles
25 Apr 2013
Total posts 542
Only in the PRs, I flew their 777 in row 5 twice and there was no door, just a curtain.
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
@billy black:
21 Jul 2012
Total posts 128
LH also has a padded door between cabins they pull out after takeoff. It reduces noise and improves privacy.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Oct 2016
Total posts 176
Privacy is definitely better with the wall where the table comes out
Pretty sure SIN and HKG flights are all 777 so no real change
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Mar 2012
Total posts 233
I think they're just refurbing the 5 they're keeping online. Nice to see product consistency though!
13 Nov 2015
Total posts 49
Excellent news, indeed. Consider that LX could have (under pressure from owner LH) scrapped F altogether on the remaining aging A340s for just J class. The seats look super! Hope to try them out.
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