New York Says Hallo! to Swiss’ Boeing 777-300ER

The newest Flagship of SWISS Airlines has arrived to New York, the first revenue transatlantic flight of the airliner.

The aircraft touched down at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport at 16:01 local time (21:01 GMT), operating flight LX14 from Zurich. Interestingly, the first triple seven of the airline wears a special “Faces of Swiss” scheme, in which are depicted the faces of the employees of the airline.

To celebrate this first flight Patrick Heyman, Swiss Senior Director for the Americas, was on hand to greet passengers and crew with a little help from a Traditional Swiss Alphorn performance.
“This is a milestone in the history of SWISS and we are proud to share this accomplishment with local authorities, Terminal 4’s staff and our passengers. With the new Boeing 777-300ER, we will be setting new benchmarks in terms of its customers’ in flight comfort and overall air travel experience.”

Also on hand was President and CEO of JFK International Air Terminal Gert-Jan de Graaff who praised the new arrival. “As a gateway to New York City and the United States, JFK’s Terminal 4 is proud to host this inaugural flight with SWISS’ newest flagship – the Boeing 777-300ER – in order to match the demands of an ever- growing traveling public.”

AirwaysNews was able to go onboard the aircraft for a very brief tour while it was serviced for its departure back to Zurich. The Swiss 777 has 340 seats arranged in a three-class layout, which includes eight seats in first class, 62 in Business Class and 270 in Economy.

First Class Seats offer a private suite, which includes a 32-inch screen (one of the largest in the industry). It also offers electrically-adjustable window blinds and a personal wardrobe for passengers.

The Business Class cabin was upgraded and refined based on customer feedback. The new product offers optimum privacy and freedom of movement, while the seat cushion’s firmness can be individually regulated. The seat may be converted in a 2m-long full-flat bed.

Passengers in Economy Class will be able to make use of a self-service kiosk, offering selected drinks and snacks. All nine Swiss 777s will also feature wireless internet via a broadband connection, enabling travelers to keep connected during flight.

These triple seven flights to New York will only be temporary. The service will operate until March 25th, when it will return to Airbus A330 flight. Intended to replace the Airbus A340-300 from the fleet, Swiss will deploy the 777s to its longest routes. In the case of the United States, it will serve Los Angeles (daily from June 10th) and San Francisco (3 times a week from August 30th).