Swiss International Air Lines has started bringing its resplendent new Senses long-haul cabin products to its Airbus A330 twinjets.
After launching Senses on new Airbus A350-900s late last year, the carrier reveals that its first A330-300 (HB-JHC) is being retrofitted with the new Senses first, business, premium economy and economy class seats at MRO and refurbishment giant HAECO’s facility in Hong Kong.
The A330 landed in Hong Kong on July 20, according to FlightAware.
“The first major steps are complete. The existing cabin has been removed, the aircraft has been prepared for the technical installations, and a scheduled C-check is taking place in parallel,” SWISS said in a statement published on LinkedIn.
“There is still plenty of work ahead: from installing many elements of the new cabin to extensive inspections and testing. Once the retrofit is complete, the widebody aircraft will return to Zurich with its new SWISS Senses cabin on board ready to fly our passengers around the world with our latest cabin experience.”
SWISS shared images of the A330 retrofit, as executed by HAECO, on its LinkedIn channel. Image: SWISS
The A330 faces a weight/balance challenge due to the weight of the lavish, enclosed first-class suites. Counterweights towards the rear of the aircraft are being employed, and are “worth the investment,” Lufthansa Group’s Dirk Janzen, who now serves as vice president area management The Americas, previously told RGN.
This summer, SWISS guests have been able to experience Senses on A350-900 flights linking Zurich with Boston and Seoul. When the carrier’s winter timetable starts in late October, Senses will be available on A350 flights linking Zurich with Johannesburg, and on select flights from Zurich to Shanghai.
It’s not clear when the first A330 will re-enter revenue service with the new Senses interiors. The Senses interiors will be “progressively rolled out” across the A330 and Boeing 777 fleets, SWISS says. In the meantime, the airline has already enhanced the soft product and dining experience aboard all its long-haul flights to and from Zurich and Geneva.
The airline’s choice of color, materials and finish (CMF) for Senses has received a lot of positive attention. Its design partner PriestmanGoode applied techniques used by Swiss architects to highlight features and achieve a sense of home.
SWISS’ sister, Lufthansa, has been rolling out its Allegris-branded version of the new cabin products on its widebodies. Notably, Allegris and Senses business class passengers can choose from several different types of seats in the cabins, including front-row, business-plus doored suites.
Airbus unit Stelia Aerospace, which is in the process of ramping up its production capacity, Collins Aerospace, Thompson Aerospace, ZIM, and RECARO are among the key seatmakers supporting these two massive linefit and retrofit programs.
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Featured image and final image credited to PriestmanGoode. First embedded image of HAECO retrofit of SWISS A330 credited to SWISS
