Edelweiss Air to Replace Airbus A340 with A350 by 2025
Edelweiss Air celebrates its 30th anniversary with a major fleet upgrade, replacing its Airbus A340s with six Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The modern jets will debut in Europe and Latin America, marking a new era for the Swiss leisure airline
On the eve of Edelweiss Air's thirtieth anniversary, the company will begin replacing its Airbus A340-300 fleet with Airbus A350-900 aircraft in the coming months.
The leisure airline, a subsidiary of Swiss International Air Lines, is set to receive six Airbus A350-900 aircraft, all previously operated by LATAM Brasil. These will be configured with 339 seats: 30 in Business, 63 in Economy Max, and 246 in Economy.
The company expects to receive the first A350 in March, which will initially operate on popular leisure destinations within Europe to train and familiarize crews with the model. The inaugural flight of the A350 is scheduled for April 1, flying to Tenerife/South (TFS), Spain. Throughout April, it will operate sporadically to other destinations, such as Antalya, Faro, Ibiza, Heraklion, Palma de Mallorca, and Pristina.
Long-haul debut: Las Vegas and Vancouver
On long-haul routes, Las Vegas will be the first destination, launching on May 15, followed by Vancouver on July 1, as the second A350 joins the fleet.
The A350 to replace the A340 in Latin America
The third Airbus A350 will join the Edelweiss fleet in early October 2025, with the fourth arriving during the winter of the same year. These additions will allow the A350 to replace the A340 on routes to Latin America.
According to Aeroroutes, Edelweiss’s A350 will debut in Punta Cana on October 4, followed by Bogotá, Cartagena (October 26), San José, Liberia (October 27), Cancún (October 28), and Puerto Plata and Montego Bay (October 30).
Aircraft numbers 5 and 6 are expected in the second half of 2026, enabling the airline to further strengthen its long-haul operations. To support this growth, Edelweiss 2025 will offer more than 300 training positions for cabin crew and 40 positions for additional personnel.
The end of the A340 in Europe?
Swiss will replace its four A340 aircraft with A350 models throughout 2025. By mid-year, the only A340-300 operated by Spain’s Plus Ultra will also be replaced by an A330-200.
With the retirement of the A340 from Swiss and Plus Ultra, Lufthansa will remain the only European airline operating the aircraft in commercial service, with the A340-300 and A340-600 variants. However, these models are also expected to leave Lufthansa’s fleet by 2026.
Nonetheless, some European charter and ACMI operators continue to use the four-engine aircraft, such as Legend (Romania), Air X Charter (Malta), Hi Fly (Malta), and Universal Sky Carrier (Germany). The only cargo airline, European Cargo, operates four A340-600 aircraft.
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