Trip Report: On Board SWISS’s First A350-900 Long-haul Flight

ZURICH — It is always a magical moment when a new aircraft joins an airline. Just over a month ago, LX took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900.

The aircraft, HB-IFA, is adorned with a special livery celebrating Switzerland’s heritage, culture, and traditions. After its world premiere, “Wanderlust” has been flying short-haul segments for the past few weeks for crew training purposes.

On November 20, following extensive work by many at LX, the first Airbus A350-900 took off on its inaugural long-haul mission. Flight LX52 from Zurich Airport (ZRH) to Boston (BOS), generally operated by the Airbus A330-300, was the first long-haul and transatlantic sector in LX’s network to be operated by the Airbus A350-900.

For the occasion, LX organized a media event, hosting journalists and influencers on board HB-IFA. After some rather busy – yet enjoyable – days at the Dubai Airshow, I had the pleasure of joining LX on the historic flight.

Check-in

I landed at ZRH after another long-haul flight from Dubai International Airport (DXB) on flight LX243, which gave me some much-needed sleep on my first-ever flight on board the A330-300.

After clearing passport controls and picking up my suitcase, I headed immediately to the Business Class section of Check-in 1, where I received my boarding pass for the inaugural flight. I had already visited this area around a year ago, and the experience was as smooth and friendly as the last time.

Despite the dedicated, relatively empty business-class lane, security took longer than expected because everyone’s suitcases and backpacks were thoroughly searched.

I then walked through passport control before taking the underground train to Terminal E. Here, LX operates some of the world’s best lounges, including the Senator Lounge, where I spent a considerable amount of time resting before my flight.

The lounge features a working area, a relaxation area with reclining chairs, the famous 28/10 whiskey bar, and shower amenities. I immediately headed to the relaxation area and finished some work before sleeping for almost an hour.

The views from the entire lounge are among the best in the world, covering nearly all departing and arriving traffic to and from ZRH. It was hard not to take my camera out and film various aircraft taking off and departing from different runways as the wind direction changed.

I had some lunch; remember how good the catering was in this lounge, and I was not let down – this is one of the very few lounges in Europe that can rival competitors' lounges in Asia and the Middle East in quality and consistency.

After several espressos, it was my turn to shower and get changed into my suit for the inaugural flight. Before heading to the gate, I saw HB-IFA being towed to gate E23 about 2 hours before departure.

Boarding

I arrived at the gate ahead of time, before preparations even started. Here I was joined by fellow journalists and influencers, as well as LX’s media team and board. Upon landing in Boston, CEO Jens Fehlinger, CCO Heike Birlenbach, and Head of Corporate Communication Léa Wertheimer would join the guests and passengers for interviews and media appointments.

Together with two well-respected colleagues, I pre-boarded to meet with the flight deck crew and obtain formal authorization to visit the cockpit mid-flight. This gave me the perfect opportunity for some clean filming on board the aircraft. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, passengers and guests joined us on board.

For the occasion, LX reserved me a seat, 9K, the front window seat behind the second row of Business Suites. The seat comes with great privacy, two private windows, a large table to control the IFE screen, and private storage next to the console table.

Tech is also significantly improved over previous products on LX’s widebody fleet: a wireless charger, phone connectivity to the IFE, Bluetooth headphones support, and seat features that offer state-of-the-art technology you’d expect from a modern premium experience.

Overall, the Business Class cabin features 45 seats and five different seat types, tailoring to various needs, all providing direct aisle access.

At my seat, I found the usual suspects: an amenity kit, a shopping card, a blanket, a pillow, a bottle of water, and noise-canceling headphones. The goodies were enhanced by the inaugural chocolate, which I devoured, as well as a certificate signed by LX’s CEO commemorating the inaugural flight.

A special welcome card with my name was also at the seat. We received a pre-departure welcome drink and the menu in a buzzing atmosphere that would continue until our landing over seven hours later.

The reading material also included a special edition of the SWISS Magazine, mainly dedicated to the preparation and arrival of the Airbus A350. This is genuinely the best in-flight magazine I have ever read and a testament to the hard work that everyone at LX put into receiving the new widebody.

I found it insightful, beautifully presented, and with captivating graphics and information about what it takes to welcome a brand-new aircraft.

We pushed back slightly behind schedule due to lines at the deicing stand. We took off at 6:37 pm, becoming the first passengers to experience the new SWISS Senses cabin on a long-haul journey.

In Flight

With the arrival of the Airbus A350-900, SWISS introduced a refreshed in-flight experience in all travel classes. While the hard product is the centerpiece of the enhanced travel experience, changes were also made in the soft product.

This spans from a new signature scent to additional amenities in the lavatories, from new bedding products to higher attention to detail in the dining experience.

The dining service started soon after take-off with an aperitif. I enjoyed a glass of LX’s new signature cocktail, “SWISS Alpine Essence”. This brings some elegant notes of dry white vermouth, elderflower, and herbal flavors for a nice start to the dining service.

I opted for the marinated Balik salmon with sweet potato and ginger relish as an appetizer, served with a seasonal salad and a choice of bread. For the main course, I opted for the beef tenderloin with herb jus, designed by Lorenzo Albrici from Ristorante Locanda Orico in Ticino.

The meal concluded with a caramelized chestnut mousse with raspberry and gruyere cream and, of course, Swiss chocolate. The meal quality and service indeed exceeded my experience in LX’s Business Class from 2024 on the Boeing 777-300ER, with more attention to detail in both presentation and service.

I enjoyed a glass of Jacquart Mosaique Brut champagne and a glass of Chateau La Garde 2016 before reclining my seat and checking out the new IFE selection and interface.

The new interface is a much-needed upgrade over the existing product. It is hard to navigate, packed with features, and as responsive as you’d expect. The Airbus A350-900 is equipped with a whopping five external cameras, which can be viewed on the main screen or the large tablet next to the seat. The title selection is good; however, I did not have the time to enjoy much of the content, aside from a documentary about Max Verstappen’s Formula One career.

The seat’s position and features can be controlled with a selection of buttons next to the lounge table, or via the IFE, where a sleek GUI controls the individual seat’s sections like lumbar support, footrest, and recline, as well as the temperature, cushion firmness, and more.

This may indeed be the Business Class seat with the most customization options in the industry at the moment. Next to the IFE controller, a dedicated air vent is found together with an adjustable reading light. More light points in the seat are displayed around the storage. As seat 9K is just behind the Business Suite, the legroom was outstanding. The seat also comes with a USB-A and USB-C charger, a universal power outlet, and an audio port for the provided headphones.

Overall, the Business Class cabin is stylishly adorned with warm upholstery and wood tones, elevating the aesthetics found in the Lufthansa (LH) Allegris configuration by some margin, despite featuring the same hard product platform.

The flight continued with more media events – after dinner, I had the pleasure of visiting the flight deck and chatting with the crew about the new A350-900, network, and fleet changes.

Shortly after, I sat down with Heike Birlenbach at the beginning of the Premium Economy cabin, and you can find our interview coming up soon via airwaysmag.com, as always. The A350-900 is the culmination of years of work at LX and months of intense preparation by the media team, to which I am grateful for their continued support and trust.

Approach and Landing

Just before starting our descent, CEO Jens Fehlinger distributed one more inaugural gift: a limited edition Caran D’Ache 849 SWISS edition ballpoint pen, commemorating the First intercontinental flight of the SWISS A350-900.

We started our descent into Boston, where the clear night sky made the city shine bright from the right side of the aircraft.

Thank you for following so far through this trip report, and stay tuned for the YouTube video coming soon to our channel!