First Swiss A350 will wear special ‘SWISS Wanderlust’ livery
March 7, 2025
The aircraft (currently registered F-WZHI) will enter commercial service this summer (becoming HB-IFA). Swiss has orders for ten A350-900s in total, all of which will be delivered by 2031, ushering in a new era of even greater efficiency and even more sustainability. Only the first will wear the new livery.
The special ‘SWISS Wanderlust’ livery was created by Swiss artist Frédéric Siegel, who has (the airline says) transformed the airline’s first Airbus A350-900 into the world’s first-ever flying art gallery.
The ‘Wanderlust’ name conveys people’s “yearning to travel, discover and explore the wider world,” while the livery represents a flying tribute to Switzerland, highlighting its main cities and celebrating its diversity while inviting the world to explore the country’s uniqueness.
Swiss International Air Lines describes the livery as “a playful, creative and story-packed homage to Switzerland that blends imposing structures with further famous landmarks and motifs of traditional arts and sports events. Each of its illustrations captures a facet of SWISS’s home country to tell the story of its places, its people and their culture.”
Heike Birlenbach the Chief Commercial Officer at Swiss International Air Lines said that: “This special livery is our flying declaration of our love for Switzerland. It’s a confirmation of how close we feel to our home country; and it’s an invitation to everyone to discover and explore it in all its uniqueness in a playful and creative way. We’re proud to present Switzerland in all its diversity all over the world in such a special way.”
The livery’s striking design elements also provide the gateway to an interactive viewer experience – the ‘SWISS Treasure Hunt’, whose first prize will be a round-trip Business Class flight for two aboard the new Swiss Airbus A350. All of the illustrations which will be carried on the aircraft can be explored using augmented reality (AR) at swiss.com/treasurehunt, where users can discover hidden details, and solve intriguing puzzles.
The new livery includes elements illustrating the cities of Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lucerne, Montreux, St. Moritz, Wengen and Zurich, portraying famous buildings, statues, and local widlife. This is how the scheme comes to include a statue of Freddie Mercury – a well known Montreux landmark!
The special ‘SWISS Wanderlust’ livery also includes a marmot, a much-loved emblem of the alpine world; the apple shot through by Wilhelm Tell, the legendary Swiss folk hero; Helvetia, the personification of Switzerland (complete with sunglasses and lounger!); and a treasure chest representing the online Swiss-wide treasure hunt that is a further feature of the special livery concept.
