The dense air traffic in Zurich put a damper on the arrival of Swiss's latest fleet addition on Thursday morning (20 February). Instead of landing in front of the visitors' deck, the Airbus A320 Neo with the registration HB-JDA landed on runway 14 - the spotters and fans who had made the trip here missed the landing. At least the jet rolled past the terrace afterwards - the pilots were waving out of the window and everyone was able to witness the water salute by the airport fire brigade.
Swiss has ordered a total of 25 aircraft of the A320 neo-family, which will be delivered over the next four years. The Swiss A320 Neo comes with Lufthansa Group's new standard cabin. Colours, uniforms and designs on board will remain typical of Swiss, but many elements will be interchangeable. This saves costs when it comes to purchasing spare parts. In addition, it will also be easier to move aircraft around within the group.
Similar to Lufthansa's seats
The seats are similar to those already installed in Lufthansa's Airbus A320 Neo. The new Geven seats are significantly thinner than the previous Swiss seats. According to the airline, the full-structure upholstery of the seat and backrest is supposed to make for a much more comfortable sitting experience.
And there is one other significant change: the backrests will no longer be adjustable for Swiss Economy passengers - they are fixed at an angle of 20 degrees. Until now, in the upright position the angle was 12 degrees. The change should at least provide a little more peace on board. Reclining the seat regularly causes stress on board - as could be seen recently in the USA. A Passenger named Wendi recently posted a Video on Twitter where the passenger behind her can be seen punching her seat.
She is now threatening to sue the other passenger and wants the flight attendant to be fired, because she claims that they took the side of the other passenger.
Take a look at photos from the new Swiss cabin in the picture gallery above.
A look inside the first Swiss A320 Neo
Airbus A320 Neo of Swiss - right before its delivery flight from Hamburg Finkenwerder...
Simeon Lüthi/aeroTELEGRAPH
The new jet emits 20 percent less CO2 than older versions.
Simeon Lüthi/aeroTELEGRAPH
The cabin as seen form the galley.
Simeon Lüthi/aeroTELEGRAPH
A new feature in the rear area is that the emergency case is stowed in a compartment in the ceiling. So there is more space in the side luggage compartments.
The seats are now fixed at an angle of 20 degrees. They can now only be reclined in the first nine rows.
There you will also find the corresponding buttons. Depending on the size of the business class, economy passengers might also be able to recline. The angle: 26 degrees.
The toilet is accessible for wheelchair users. However, Swiss could still work on the pictograms for the nappy-changing table - and make it gender neutral or maybe even show a man.
The luggage compartments are the same as before. However, Swiss is considering adding newer, more spacious overhead bins to its A320 Neo, as Air France is doing.
