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It’s always a bit of fun when widebody aircraft get scheduled on short European hops. Normally, you’d only expect to see them heading off to North America or Asia, but every now and then airlines use them closer to home for crew training or scheduling reasons.

This winter, Swiss International Air Lines will do just that with its brand-new Airbus A350-900, operating a handful of short-haul flights out of Zurich.

Swiss’s New A350

The A350 is arriving to replace Swiss’s rather tired Airbus A340s, which are averaging over 20 years of service. Ten aircraft are on order, with the first already delivered, and commercial operations scheduled to begin in October 2025.

The jet will feature the new Swiss Senses cabins, including:

• Four First Class Suites (the two centre seats can even form a double suite)
• 45 Business Class seats, with fully flat beds up to 220cm and wireless charging
• 38 Premium Economy seats
• 156 Economy seats

First and Business Class passengers can also look forward to improved privacy, redesigned lavatories, and personalised climate controls.

A350 on European Routes

To get crews comfortable with the new aircraft, Swiss will operate the A350 on a select set of European routes from Zurich starting in late October 2025.

The first scheduled flight is currently set for 25 October 2025 to Palma de Mallorca. After that, you’ll also see the A350 pop up on services to:

• Düsseldorf
• Geneva
• Hanover
• Malaga
• Palma de Mallorca
• Prague

Flights are scattered across a few dates through October and November Aircraft swaps are always possible, but enthusiasts should definitely keep an eye on schedules.

At the moment, options include:

Bottom Line

From late October, Swiss will be flying its new Airbus A350-900 on a handful of short-haul routes from Zurich, including Palma de Mallorca, Geneva, Düsseldorf and Prague.

For most people it’s just an aircraft swap, but for aviation fans it’s an opportunity to try Swiss’s latest cabins on a short European sector – and that’s not something that comes around often.