In 2025, SWISS, the flag carrier airline of Switzerland, will receive five brand-new Airbus A350 long-haul aircraft. While this may excite the aviation nerds among us, the Swiss media has noted that the aircraft's new cabin design will allow passengers to get really up close and personal with their seatmates if they fly out of Swiss airports: the planes will have a double bed seating feature in business class.
In a statement, the subsidiary of Lufthansa said that the main reason for the purchase is that the A350 consumes up to 30 percent less fuel and therefore produces lower emissions than their current long-haul fleet. However, when speaking to Watson, SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx added that the planes will also have a brand new interior, especially "in business class and first class, [where] the level of quality will be even higher" than in previous planes.
SWISS also confirmed that the international company will be creating its own version of the new Lufthansa “Allegris” design for its fleet. While, in the short term, this will mean larger TV screens for passengers, more space and various other quality-of-life improvements, from 2025, passengers leaving Zurich and Geneva will be able to book a far more romantic option on long-haul flights.
“Are you travelling as a couple? We suggest a tete-a-tete on closer double seats, which can change into a comfortable double bed thanks to a retractable centre console”, the Lufthansa Group wrote in a statement. When asked whether the double bed will be available on SWISS, spokesperson Michael Steif said that the company was also working on the concept and would likely feature it on their new A350 planes in 2025.
In the design concept, couples will be able to convert their seats into a seamless double bed at the touch of a button. Luckily, for those who don’t know their seat partner, and don’t want to get too friendly during their journey, a privacy barrier and console will be available which will slot between the bed to make two singles.
Travel website Frankfurtflyer confirmed that more detailed designs will be released in the coming months. Watson concluded that while there is support for the double beds, both Lufthansa and SWISS hope that passengers in said seats will behave themselves and not, as the newspaper put it “attempt to join the Mile High Club.”
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