Last Swiss Airbus A340-300 to be displayed at the Swiss Museum of Transport
Kloten/Lucerne - Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss) and the Swiss Museum of Transport are planning a joint project: starting in early 2028, the last Airbus A340-300 in the Swiss fleet is set to be displayed at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. First, however, financing for transportation must be secured.
The end of an era is being marked at Swiss International Air Lines: in early 2028, the airline’s last four-engined aircraft, the Airbus A340-300, is set to be moved to the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. With this move, Swiss and the Swiss Museum of Transport aim to preserve «a piece of Swiss aviation history», as the airline and the interactive museum explain in a joint statement. «For many years, the Airbus A340 connected people in Switzerland with the world and, in doing so, became a piece of Swiss aviation history in its own right,» said Swiss CEO Jens Fehlinger. «If one of these aircraft can live on at the Swiss Museum of Transport, it would bring this story full circle in a very special way.»
At the Swiss Museum of Transport, visitors will be able to experience the inside of the Airbus A340 in a variety of ways. «This majestic aircraft would be a tremendous addition to our Aviation and Space Travel exhibition,» explains Martin Ettlinger, Director of the Swiss Museum of Transport. «The A340-300 fits perfectly into the outdoor area designated for it in front of the Aviation and Space Travel Hall.»
Swiss intends to donate the Airbus to the Swiss Museum of Transport, though the museum is to bear the costs of transporting the aircraft. However, before a final decision can be made on moving Swiss’s last four-engined long-haul aircraft, a number of technical, financial and regulatory issues must still be resolved. Transporting the Airbus weighing around 125 metric tons from Zurich Airport to Lucerne will require detailed feasibility studies, specialized transport solutions, structural modifications and, not least, a sum in the high single-digit millions. The definitive decision will be made only once the logistics and financing are in place.
