Lufthansa Group carrier Swiss has given a glimpse at its first Airbus A350-900 ahead of its delivery in late summer this year.
The first A350, which will be registered HB-IFA, was unveiled at Airbus’ Toulouse facility, featuring a ‘Wanderlust’-themed special livery.
The Star Alliance operator says the special livery is not a paint job, but a series of over 360 precision-cut films applied on the aircraft. The motifs – made up of images like sporting and cultural events, as well as Swiss landmarks and buildings – saw the use of 3D software to project the design onto the airframe.
“[Airbus] then divided the resulting ‘picture’ into some 360 precision-cut films. Each of these was then applied manually to the millimetre to its assigned location on the fuselage or the engine nacelles,” states Swiss.
The carrier adds that this is the largest amount of film the European airframer has applied on its aircraft.
The A350 is the first of 10 examples that Swiss will be taking delivery of. It initially disclosed commitments for five of them in 2022, then doubled the order in December 2024.
The new widebodies – taken from a broader Lufthansa Group order – will replace Swiss’ older A340-300s. All 10 A350s destined for the Swiss fleet will be operational by 2031.
