Swiss International introduces new A340 Premium Economy cabin

Swiss International, the flag carrier of Switzerland, has introduced its new Premium Economy Class on its Airbus A340 aircraft fleet.

The first of SWISS’ four A340-300 panes retrofitted with the new seats, registered HB-JMB, took off for its first flight from Zurich (ZRH) in Switzerland to Johannesburg (JNB) in South Africa, on January 24, 2023. According to the airline, all four A340 passenger aircraft will be equipped with the new seating class by April 2023.

“SWISS was the first airline in the Lufthansa Group to introduce the best-in-class Premium Economy seat, which sets new comfort benchmarks with its pitch of almost a meter and its 48-centimeter width,” the carrier announced in a statement.

The retrofitted jet will serve three routes out of Zurich Airport, with flights to Johannesburg (JNB), Hong Kong (HKG), and Chicago (ORD).

“Our new Premium Economy Class has rapidly established itself as a hugely popular way of travel,” SWISS chief commercial officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour said.

“And the highly positive feedback that we’ve received from our customers – on the greater seating comfort, the enhanced service, the wider choice of meals, and the quality of the food – has only strengthened our resolve to offer this top-quality product on more of our routes,” he concluded.

SWISS launched the Airbus A340-300 fleet refurbishment program with the Premium Economy Class in December 2022. The Zurich-based airline has already installed the new seating solution across its entire Boeing 777-300ER fleet.