Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), part of the Lufthansa Group, has launched SWISS Senses, its new long-haul travel experience, in South Africa.

Since October 25, the airline’s Airbus A350-900, featuring the new SWISS Senses cabin, has operated a daily flight between Johannesburg and Zurich, replacing the Airbus A340-300 on the route.

With 242 seats on every flight, the new A350 offers travellers 3 388 seats weekly between South Africa and Switzerland.

Fares across all travel classes on the new SWISS Airbus A350 will remain unchanged; however, a supplementary charge will apply to selected Business Class seats offering enhanced comfort and privacy.

Compared with the Airbus A340, the A350 also offers 12% more seat capacity, bolstering travel opportunities between the countries.

Johannesburg joins Boston, Seoul and Shanghai as one of the first destinations to receive the new cabin that SWISS has introduced on its A350 fleet. Use of the A350 cuts fuel consumption by about 25% and reduces emissions. The aircraft also boasts a 50% smaller noise footprint compared with the previous aircraft.

SWISS plans to operate ten A350-900s by the beginning of 2030.

The SWISS Senses product will also gradually be rolled out to the airline's wider long-haul fleet.

Further, the first A330 aircraft is currently being retrofitted with the new cabin in Hong Kong.

SWISS Senses’ centrepiece is a completely redesigned cabin across all four classes: SWISS First, SWISS Business, SWISS Premium Economy and SWISS Economy.

Notable features include fully enclosed private suites in SWISS First for the first time, a choice of five seat types in SWISS Business Class including a new Business Suite with closable doors, and human-centric lighting designed to support travellers’ natural body clock and help reduce jet lag on the overnight journey to and from Europe.

“South Africa is a very important market for SWISS and the Lufthansa Group, and we are proud that Johannesburg is among the very first destinations to receive SWISS Senses,” says Lufthansa North, East and Southern Africa sales senior director Rene Koinzack.

“South African travellers know long-haul flying well, and they expect comfort, privacy and genuine care on an overnight flight. SWISS Senses delivers that in every class, from a larger personal screen in Economy Class to a private suite in First Class. Bringing the A350 to Johannesburg shows our commitment to this market and to offering our guests the best of Swiss hospitality from the moment they step on board,” he adds.

The SWISS Airbus A350-900 seats 242 passengers, comprising three in SWISS First, 45 in SWISS Business, 38 in SWISS Premium Economy and 156 in SWISS Economy.

The cabin offers flight entertainment with Bluetooth connectivity for personal headphones throughout.

The service elements of SWISS Senses already apply on all SWISS long-haul flights to and from Zurich and Geneva, across all four classes, even where the new cabin is not yet installed.