SWISS International Air Lines has retired another piece of its long-haul history. On Wednesday, 14 October, Airbus A340-300 HB-JMB left Zurich for the last time and flew to Enschede Airport Twente in the Netherlands, closing out more than two decades of service with the Lufthansa Group carrier.
According to Simple Flying, which tracked the aircraft's final movements, the 23-year-old jet operated its last passenger service as LX53 from Boston Logan International Airport on 8 October, landing in Zurich on 9 October. Five days later it departed Zurich at 8:38 a.m. as LX5202, according to Flightradar24 data cited by the publication.
Three wing waves and a 65-minute final hop
The departure did not pass quietly. HB-JMB's crew marked the final take-off from Swiss soil with three "wing waves", Aviation Reporter said, before the four-engined widebody set course for Twente. It touched down there at 9:43 a.m. local time after just 65 minutes in the air, a short last leg for an aircraft that spent its career crossing the Atlantic and flying long-haul routes such as Zurich to Dubai and Mumbai.
Twente has become a familiar final stop for retiring airliners, and HB-JMB now joins that list.
Three A340s left in the SWISS fleet
HB-JMB is reported to be the first SWISS A340 retired this year. Simple Flying says three more examples remain in the fleet, carrying the registrations HB-IFA, HB-IFB and HB-IFC. All of them are due to be replaced over time by Airbus A350-900 twinjets. Citing ch-aviation, the outlet reports that SWISS has so far received three A350-900s and has another seven on order.
Scheduling data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows how quickly the type's role is shrinking. By next month, only three destinations will still be served by the A340-300 from Zurich: Chicago, Dubai and Mumbai. Mumbai is scheduled to switch away from the type in January, with Chicago and Dubai following in June.
SWISS chief executive Jens Fehlinger has already spoken about preserving a piece of that legacy. "Our goal is clear: we want to bring [SWISS's last] A340 to Lucerne in early 2028. The task now is to work with our many partners to make its extraordinary journey there possible," he said last month.
First class on every long-haul jet
One thing that has long set SWISS apart from many European rivals is that all of its long-haul aircraft feature a first class cabin. According to the airline's website, its A340-300s seat eight passengers in first, 42 in business, 21 in premium economy and 144 in economy, for a total of 215 seats.
The A350-900s taking over these missions are configured with three first class seats, 45 business class seats, 38 in premium economy and 156 in economy, a total of 242. That means more premium economy and economy capacity per departure, while the more efficient twin-engine design replaces the fuel-hungry four-engine layout that made the A340 such a favourite with enthusiasts.
A Lufthansa Group fleet in transition
HB-JMB's retirement came on the same day that Lufthansa confirmed MunichβTokyo Haneda as the debut route for its first Airbus A350-1000, which is due for delivery in mid-November and is scheduled to enter commercial service on 3 December. The two milestones neatly sum up a group-wide shift from older four-engine widebodies to the latest generation of Airbus twins.
For spotters, the message is simple: the window to fly or photograph a SWISS A340 is closing. With Mumbai due to drop the type in January and the last scheduled Chicago and Dubai flights expected in June, the remaining trio of HB-IFA, HB-IFB and HB-IFC are now on borrowed time, even if one of them may yet find a permanent home in Lucerne.
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