SWISS to start training its first pilots for the new Airbus A350

SWISS is to commence the training of cockpit crew members to fly the new Airbus A350 at the beginning of February. The training will utilize the new A350 full-flight simulator which was recently installed by Lufthansa Aviation Training Switzerland at its Opfikon training facility. SWISS plans to train more than 50 of its pilots on the new twinjet in the course of this year. The start of such training marks a further milestone in the addition to the SWISS aircraft fleet of the advanced Airbus A350, the first of which will enter revenue service for the airline this summer.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) continues to renew its aircraft fleet, with the first of ten brand-new Airbus A350-900 aircraft scheduled for delivery this summer. The advanced new twinjets are to replace the airline’s present Airbus A340-300 fleet. While the first of SWISS’s A350s is currently being assembled at Airbus’s Toulouse works, SWISS will start the training of their new cockpit crews at the beginning of February. The training concerned will make use of the new Airbus A350 full-flight simulator at Lufthansa Aviation Training Switzerland (LAT CH) in Opfikon near Zurich Airport, which almost perfectly replicates the flight features and behavior of the actual aircraft.

“The Airbus A350 marks another major milestone for us at SWISS,” says Chief Operating Officer Oliver Buchhofer. “It underlines our commitment to investing in a state-of-the-art long-haul aircraft fleet; and it will raise both our efficiency and our passenger comfort to further new highs. The arrival of the A350 is special, too, for our pilots who will fly it,” he continues. “A new aircraft type is not just an exciting new professional undertaking: it’s a further landmark in their flying career. And with the start of our A350 simulator training, we’re laying the foundation to put the new twinjet into our scheduled operations later this year.”

Over 50 pilots to be trained in 2025

The new LAT CH Airbus A350 full-flight simulator will be in use around the clock from February onwards to ensure that sufficient numbers of SWISS cockpit crews are available by summer to operate the new aircraft type. The company expects to train more than 50 pilots in the A350 simulator this year and a further 90 or so pilots a year from 2026 onwards.

SWISS’s cabin crew members will also be trained at LAT CH to serve on the new Airbus A350 from March onwards. The training mock-ups and further equipment required have already been procured and installed at LAT’s Opfikon training facility. SWISS plans to train some 1 800 cabin crew members for A350 service by the end of this year.

“We’re very grateful that, with the addition of the Airbus A350, we can continue to have the training for all our cockpit and all our cabin crew members on all our aircraft types conducted at LAT’s Opfikon training center,” COO Buchhofer concludes. “This really simplifies our planning. And it further enhances the attractiveness and the importance of this key local training facility.”