Media Release

Zurich Airport, 01 April 2025

Start of a new era: Edelweiss celebrates the first commercial flight with the Airbus A350

  • First flight with the Airbus A350 to Tenerife
  • Festive gate event with ribbon cut by the Edelweiss management
  • 307 passengers enjoy exclusive first flight with special memento

Today, Tuesday, Edelweiss celebrated the first flight of its new Airbus A350 to Tenerife at Zurich Airport. The festive ceremony was opened with a traditional ribbon cutting, during which the entire Edelweiss Executive Board, consisting of Bernd Bauer, CEO, Patrick Heymann, Chief Commercial Officer, David Birrer, Chief Operating Officer, and Markus Gander, Chief Product Officer, cut the symbolic ribbon together with Stefan Tschudin, Chief Operation Officer of Zurich Airport, and the crew. The joy at this special milestone was palpable among both guests and employees.

After boarding, the 307 guests were warmly welcomed on board and received a glass of champagne as a special prelude to the flight to get them in the mood for the journey ahead. As an exclusive memento, a special “Remove before 1st Flight” tag was waiting on each seat, with a small plaque individually engraved with the respective seat number - a personal memento that will make this historic day unforgettable for the guests.

Prior to departure, Bernd Bauer, CEO of Edelweiss, expressed his enthusiasm: “Today is a historic day for Edelweiss. It is not only the first scheduled flight of a Swiss airline with an Airbus A350 – we are sending a clear signal for our future. With the Airbus A350, we have one of the most modern and efficient aircraft in its class. Today is a milestone on our way to a more responsible future of leisure flying.”

The Airbus A350 stands for maximum efficiency and environmental compatibility: thanks to state-of-the-art technology, the aircraft consumes up to 25 percent less fuel than comparable models and produces correspondingly lower CO₂ emissions. At the same time, it offers guests a particularly quiet flight experience, generous space and modern cabin interiors.

The Airbus A350 took off punctually at 11:15 a.m. from Zurich for the popular vacation island of Tenerife.

The Airbus A350 will initially be used on short and medium-haul routes to familiarize the crews with the new aircraft type. In addition to Tenerife, vacation destinations such as Faro, Ibiza, Heraklion, Palma de Mallorca, Antalya and others will also be served by the Airbus A350 in the coming weeks. From May 15, 2025, the aircraft will be deployed on long-haul routes - starting with Las Vegas.

About Edelweiss

Edelweiss is Switzerland’s leading leisure travel airline and flies to the most beautiful destinations in the world. The airline reliably ensures a pleasant and carefree travel time to the holiday destination and looks after the safety and well-being of its guests with commitment and cordiality. Edelweiss is a sister company of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and a member of the Lufthansa Group.

 

Further information:

Andreas Meier
Head of Corporate Communications
Edelweiss Air AG
media@flyedelweiss.com