Swiss

SWISS Begins Retrofit of A330-300s with New SWISS Senses Cabins Including First Class Redesign

In 2025, SWISS introduced new cabins for its long haul aircraft ( including an all-new first class and business class ), in a project that's known as SWISS Senses . SWISS is part of Lufthansa Group, so these cabins are essentially identical to the new Lufthansa Allegris concept , but with different branding. These new SWISS Senses cabins were first rolled out on newly delivered Airbus A350-900s , though we know that SWISS also plans to reconfigure its existing jets with these new seats. There's an exciting update, as the first Airbus A330-300 is currently being reconfigured with SWISS Senses cabins. SWISS Senses coming to Airbus A330-300 fleet SWISS has confirmed that it has started the project of reconfiguring Airbus A330-300s with new cabins. This work is taking place in Hong Kong (HKG) — the first plane with the registration code HB-JHC arrived in Asia on July 20, and is expected to be there for some time. So far, the existing cabins have reportedly been removed from the aircraft, and it's also undergoing heavy maintenance (a C-check), so there's a lot of work to be done. It always takes longer for the first aircraft to be reconfigured, given that new seats have to be certified on the aircraft . We know that Lufthansa Group has had quite some challenges with certification of new cabins, so we'll see how this all plays out, since the airline group doesn't have a great track record. However, assuming things go relatively smoothly, the plan is for the retrofit project to be put into full motion once the prototype is certified and back in service, so hopefully that's before the end of the year. At that point, the expectation is that one plane will be reconfigured every six weeks. SWISS' fleet consists of 14 A330s, so you'd expect the entire project to take right around 84 weeks, or a little over 19 months. Realistically, I expect it'll be around the spring of 2028 when the A330 project is complete, best case scenario. More realistically, I'd guess it'll wrap up in the summer or fall. The plan is then to reconfigure the fleet of 12 Boeing 777-300ERs. We'll see with exactly what timeline this starts. The project could start once the A330 retrofit is complete, or who knows, it could also start before then. SWISS is reconfiguring its Airbus A330s How the layout of SWISS Airbus A330-300s will change As SWISS reconfigures its Airbus A330-300s, what should we expect, exactly? Currently, SWISS' A330s have 236 seats, including eight first class seats, 45 business class seats, and 183 economy class seats. Old SWISS A330-300 seat map Once reconfigured, SWISS' A330s will have 225 seats, including three first class suites (one double suite), 43 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 151 economy class seats. New SWISS A330-300 seat map So we're no doubt seeing a significantly better product across the board. However, with the introduction of SWISS Senses, we're seeing a five seat reduction in first class, a two seat reduction in business class, a new premium economy cabin with 28 seats, and a 32 seat reduction in economy class. One wild aspect of the SWISS Senses cabin on the A330 is that the first class is apparently too heavy for the plane, and could cause a weight and balance issue. As a result, the airline is installing a 1.5-ton weight in the back of the aircraft , to prevent that from being an issue. That's not exactly ideal, eh? Anyway, I'm going to be very curious to see how these A330s look once reconfigured. The cabins of these planes are tired, and in particular, SWISS' A330 business class leaves a lot to be desired. SWISS' A330 business class is outdated at this point It remains to be seen how tight the premium cabins on these planes feel, though. In economy, the A330 is a joy, given its 2-4-2 layout (meaning each row has two sets of seat pairs). The overall cabin is 17 inches narrower than on the A350 (where the SWISS Senses cabins debuted), so I'm sure this will be felt in business class, though the first class cabin feeling is what interests me most. The new SWISS Senses business class is great Keep in mind that there's a double suite in center of first class , and that feels tight on the A350, assuming you're two people ( it's the same as in Lufthansa Allegris ). I have to imagine it'll feel significantly more constrained on the A330. I imagine the double suite will be tight on the A330 Bottom line SWISS has started the project of retrofitting its Airbus A330 fleet with new cabins. The plane will be getting the new SWISS Senses concept with four classes of service. While SWISS Senses debuted on the A350, it's great to see the carrier's tired A330s get some love as well. The first plane is currently in the "shop," and it'll likely be a few months before it's ready to go, given that it's the prototype. Once this plane is back in service, expect planes to be reconfigured one after the other, with each taking around six weeks. Here's to hoping the certification process goes smoothly, given Lufthansa Group's track record. What do you make of SWISS' A330 retrofit plans?