Swiss Takes Delivery of its 10th and Final 777-300ER
Swiss International Air Lines took delivery on March 13 of the final Boeing 777-300ER of their 10-aircraft order
Swiss International Air Lines took delivery of its 10th Boeing 777-300ER on March 13, completing the now-expanded order it originally placed in 2013. That order was for six aircraft; three more were added in 2015, and the final 777 was added in 2016, the same year the first jet in the batch was delivered to the airline.
The new jets, with a maximum range of 7,370 nautical miles, also offer lower operating costs than competing aircraft, making them a very attractive option on long-haul routes.
Swiss employees celebrate the delivery in Everett, Wash.
Swiss placed the order as part of a planned update to their long-haul fleet. The 340-seat 777-300ER is used on eight intercontinental routes, all making use of the airline’s Zurich hub: Bangkok, Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, San Francisco, and Singapore. The airline also operates Airbus A330-300s and A340-300s on its long-haul routes.
The airline takes pride in the on-board coffee makers – “The Swiss pioneered high-quality coffee on board their aircraft,” said SWISS Flight Operations Engineer Michael Gachnang.
The airline has configured all 10 of its 77Ws the same: eight first class seats, 62 in business, and 270 in 10-abreast economy.
The four-abreast seating in the center economy section. Life is definitely different in the back of the plane.
Roughly 60 journalists and bloggers made the trip to Everett to cover the final delivery, and Swiss flew over a similar number of AvGeeks for the event — they were treated to tours of the Boeing plant and of Seattle, and many blogged and posted photos about the trip to pick up the aircraft and the ride home to Zurich on the mostly-empty jetliner.
HB-JNJ at Boeing’s Everett delivery center
The premium sections are very Euro styled, with warm colors and plenty of right angles. The sliding privacy screen/hanging closet in first is a very nice touch.
The view across the plane from first class is quite a bit more private than back in coach.
First class suites feature dimmable privacy glass on three sides and a 32″ video screen. The seat reclines to an 80″ bed.
The front of the plane is very spacious – this is business class
Business class also features lie-flat beds of more than two meters in length (appx. 6′ 5.6″), with a 16″ video screen. Wifi is available throughout the aircraft, for a fee, of course.
There was a lot of excitement surrounding the delivery — it was the farthest thing from a somber event. Lots of smiles, lots of photos, lots of energy.
And, with that, the big jet was on its way to Zurich.
Swiss’ newest 777-300ER departing from Paine Field, headed for Zurich on a typical rainy and windy spring day in the Pacific Northwest.
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