ZURICH- Swiss International Air Lines in short SWISS (LX) has unveiled the special livery design for its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft, combining a rock legend, Switzerland personified on a lounger, and an alpine rodent among various Swiss cultural motifs.
Named ‘SWISS Wanderlust,’ the livery celebrates the airline’s connection to its home country while offering an interactive experience for aviation enthusiasts.
Photo: SWISSSWISS A350 New Livery
The playful and creative design transforms the aircraft into a flying art gallery that showcases Switzerland’s landmarks, traditional arts, and sporting events through distinctive illustrations. Each image captures a unique aspect of Swiss culture, telling the story of the country’s places, people, and heritage, while embodying the spirit of travel and exploration reflected in the ‘Wanderlust’ name.
Swiss artist Frédéric Siegel created the special livery, employing his unique illustration and animation style to depict both traditional and modern Swiss elements across the aircraft’s fuselage and engine nacelles. This creative approach effectively establishes what SWISS describes as the world’s first flying art gallery.
Photo: SWISS“This special livery is our flying declaration of our love for Switzerland,” said SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Heike Birlenbach. “It’s a confirmation of how close we feel to our home country; and it’s an invitation to everyone to discover and explore it in all its uniqueness in a playful and creative way. We’re proud to present Switzerland in all its diversity all over the world in such a special way.”
The livery design incorporates interactive elements through ‘SWISS Treasure Hunt,’ an augmented reality (AR) experience accessible at swiss.com/treasurehunt. Users can explore hidden details within the illustrations, solve puzzles, and potentially win the top prize of a round-trip Business Class flight for two on the new SWISS Airbus A350.
The introduction of the A350-900 marks SWISS’s entry into a new era of improved efficiency and sustainability. The airline will acquire ten of these advanced long-haul twinjets in the coming years, with the first aircraft featuring the special ‘SWISS Wanderlust’ livery scheduled to enter service in late summer 2025.
This inaugural aircraft will carry distinctive Swiss characters including “Freddie,” “Helvetia,” and a marmot as part of its unique design scheme.
Photo: SWISSAwaiting Delivery of A350
The imminent arrival of SWISS’s first Airbus A350 this summer marks a significant milestone in the company’s history. Currently undergoing final assembly at Airbus’s Toulouse factory, the aircraft will soon conduct its first pre-delivery flights.
SWISS has initiated comprehensive preparations, providing specialized training to pilots, cabin crew members, and technical personnel ahead of the delivery.
“2025 is shaping up to be a landmark year for our company,” says SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Heike Birlenbach. “We’re making substantial investments that will deliver a host of innovations for our customers. We are aware that they have had a long wait for the improvements to our product which are urgently required. But these improvements should now be increasingly seen and felt from this week onwards.”
Birlenbach noted that while passengers must wait longer for new long-haul seats, the Airbus A350 will provide approximately 250 travelers per flight with an enhanced air travel experience. These investments aim to advance the airline’s service offerings significantly.
“As our 2024 results clearly confirm, our company is strong, stable and financially sound,” states SWISS CEO Jens Fehlinger. “This highly favorable operating result is the product of a superb teamwork performance by all our employees. And to them all I extend my deepest thanks.”
Fehlinger emphasized that strong earnings directly benefit customers, with SWISS planning to invest approximately CHF 1 billion annually over the next five years to enhance the air travel experience both in-flight and on the ground. The airline will focus on improving operational stability, punctuality, and sustainability initiatives.
“We’ll be doing all of this from a position of strength,” Fehlinger added. “Only a healthy company can invest in the future: in innovation, in product excellence and in greater sustainability. This is precisely what we are undertaking, for our customers and for our employees. And in doing so, we are underlining our aspiration of being a premium air carrier that connects Switzerland with the world and thereby makes a vital contribution to its home country’s competitive credentials.”
Photo: BriYYZ | FlickrStrong 2024 Financial Results
SWISS has announced favorable financial results for 2024, maintaining strong and stable performance despite a slight year-on-year earnings decline. The airline attributes this decline to increased market capacity pressuring yields, longer aircraft downtimes in the short-haul fleet due to limited engine spare availability, and growing cost pressures. Without certain non-recurring revenue items, the company would have experienced a larger earnings decline.
“As our 2024 results show, people want to travel,” says SWISS CFO Dennis Weber. “Demand is high, especially in our premium travel classes, with both SWISS Business and SWISS Premium Economy presently proving particularly popular. Tourist travel is booming, too, while business travel activity remained stable at its prior-year volumes.”
Weber notes that SWISS achieved an Adjusted EBIT margin of 12.1 percent, calling it “respectable” while emphasizing the need for continued investment to maintain the airline’s market position. He stressed that investment funds must first be earned, requiring ongoing efficiency improvements amid persistent cost pressures.
SWISS operated over nine percent more flights in 2024 compared to the previous year and transported more passengers overall. Despite air traffic control resource shortages, geopolitical airspace closures, and weather-related restrictions, the airline improved its annual punctuality average to 65 percent, representing a four percentage point year-on-year improvement.
“Our various actions to raise our punctuality and reduce irregularities – such as closer collaborations with our ground handling partner Swissport at our Zurich hub – are showing their first successes,” says SWISS Chief Operating Officer Oliver Buchhofer. “At the same time, we still had too many disruptions over the course of last year. And we feel the effects of these: not only in our costs, but also in the feedback from our customers.”
Buchhofer acknowledges customer expectations for outstanding service, emphasizing that fundamentals like punctuality, reliability, and baggage delivery must improve. The airline plans to enhance these areas through internal measures, including a new team of “turnaround managers” to improve coordination and expedite ground handling at Zurich hub. SWISS also seeks closer collaboration with system partners like Flughafen Zürich and Skyguide.
The airline transported approximately 18 million passengers in 2024, representing a 9.2 percent increase from the previous year. Total flights operated increased by 9.1 percent to over 142,000. Systemwide seat load factor reached 84.1 percent, showing a slight 0.4 percentage point decline from 2023. Total production increased by 10.1 percent in available seat-kilometers, while total traffic volume measured in revenue passenger-kilometers rose 9.6 percent compared to 2023.
Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News
SWISS Begins Training First Pilots for New Airbus A350
The post SWISS Unveils New Airbus A350 Livery, First Delivery in Summer 2025 appeared first on Aviation A2Z.
