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In the same way that the Boeing 747 is out of date and largely uneconomical so is the Airbus A340….so it was more than a little surprising when SWISS reversed a decision to retire its five A340s and, instead, refurbish them and give them a new lease of life.
The SWISS A340 refurbishment project has seen more delays than an LA commuter but, after first saying that we’d see the new interiors fitted by the end of 2017…and then by the end of 2018, SWISS is now finally flying its first refreshed Airbus A340.
SWISS operates its A340s in a 3-cabin configuration and all three cabins have had complete makeovers to more closely align the offering to what passengers now experience on the airline’s newer Boeing 777s.
SWISS hasn’t exactly been generous with the number of images it has supplied to show what passengers can expect in its refurbished A340s (just one image for each cabin) but it has confirmed that the refurbishment of the A340s includes a new in-flight entertainment system, onboard wi-fi, new lighting and new galleys.
The first SWISS A340 to offer the new interior will be 15 years old next month, has registration HB-JMH and flew its first flight (post refurbishment) between Zurich and Tokyo last week.
Other SWISS A340 routes include Boston, Johannesburg, Shanghai and Tel Aviv so, with SWISS now saying that the remaining four A340 aircraft will have their refits complete by this summer, passengers on those routes should soon be offered a much upgraded experience…assuming no further delays!
Featured image courtesy of SWISS
That business class looks gorgeous and certainly makes the argument to me that first class is unnecessary. Wow. Am I correct in understanding this is what their new 777 do or will look like? What is the timeline on that?
Hi, the 777s already look very similar to this so the A340s are catching up
[…] SWISS says that, in the medium term, it plans to roll out the new Premium Economy cabin across the whole of its long-haul fleet (which indicates a return to the shop for the airline’s A340s which have only just started flyi…). […]