Edelweiss Blooms and Grows with first A350-900 delivery
On arrival, the aircraft conducted a planned go-around manoeuvre, then made a celebratory lap of the airport before finally touching down on runway 16 at 3:13 pm. The aircraft then taxied down the runway accompanied by follow-me vehicles and was greeted by a water salute from the fire engines of the Zurich Protection & Rescue service.
The Airbus A350 was greeted by the Edelweiss management team and more than 100 employees at its parking position (B38). Hundreds of spectators, planespotters and aviation fans also gathered at Zurich Airport to witness the historic moment.
Edelweiss Air AG is a Swiss leisure and charter airline and the sister company of Swiss International Air Lines and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. It operates flights to European and intercontinental destinations from its base at Zurich Airport.
Its fleet consists of fourteen A320s and five A340-300s.
Edelweiss Air will take delivery of six A350-900s, and these will replace the five A340-300s now in service by mid-2027, restoring Edelweiss’ long-haul fleet will be expanded back to its pre-coronavirus level of six aircraft.
The new A350 will be used for crew training during the coming weeks, and will later be used for flights to Las Vegas and Vancouver.
A340 photo Wikipedia Commons by Markus Eigenheer
