SWISS "Flagship" Boeing 777 Now Flying to New York

By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY | Feb. 23, 2016
SWISS' new "flagship" Boeing 777-300ER arrives at New York JFK on Feb. 21, 2016, on its first-ever commercial trans-Atlantic flight for the carrier. Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss International Air Lines' new "flagship" Boeing 777-300ER aircraft made its first flight from the U.S. with paying passengers Sunday.

Swiss rolled out the red carpet in New York to mark the occasion, treating Zurich passengers to SWISS-themed cake, a traditional Swiss Alphorn performance and scores of photo ops.

"This is a milestone in the history of SWISS and we are proud to share this accomplishment with local authorities, Terminal 4's staff and our passengers," Patrick Heymann, SWISS' Senior Director for the Americas says in a statement. "With the new Boeing 777-300ER, we will be setting new benchmarks in terms of its customers' inflight comfort and overall air travel experience."

SWISS says it also plans to deploy its 777-300ERs this summer on routes between Switzerland and the California cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. SWISS' new 777-300ERs have 340 seats, including eight in first class, 62 in business class and 270 in coach. SWISS has dubbed the aircraft and its fully redesigned cabin interior as the company's new "flagship" product.

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