No airline is more “Swiss” than Swiss International Air Lines, so to speak. For customers, that quality translates into the patent traits of reliability, cleanliness and hospitality.

Most of the passengers on SWISS’s services between Japan and Switzerland are Japanese, which many of them prefer to travel via Zurich because of its smooth and convenient transfer facilities and wide range of connecting flights.

Since starting its services to Tokyo’s Narita Airport in April 2002, SWISS has been carrying between 8,000 and 9,000 passengers a month to and from Japan and Switzerland. Flights from Narita feature exclusive in-flight cuisine created by Mikuni, one of Japan’s leading French chefs, together with SWISS’s customary superior service and warm hospitality.

Greater comfort, better ecological credentials, higher cost efficiency and state-of-the-art technology and operations are the trademarks of SWISS’s new Airbus A340-300. Business Class seats are almost fully reclinable, while Economy Class features the largest individual screens in the industry. Also a camera mounted under the fuselage is another key feature of the new flagship of the SWISS fleet.

“Our passengers can look forward to incomparable comfort and service, all in SWISS design, right down to the finest detail,” says CEO André Dosé. SWISS plans to present its new quality product in Tokyo as a partner of Swiss Business Week this month.

Meanwhile, SWISS’s partnership with Japan Airlines has been to the mutual benefit of both companies. At the heart of the collaboration is a code-share agreement that allows both airlines to offer a maximum number of flights throughout the year and enables passengers to change more easily between carriers.

The codeshare arrangement also permits both partners to benefit from each other’s network beyond their Tokyo and Zurich hubs. SWISS hopes to further extend its present code-share product to offer at least a daily service between Japan and Switzerland all year round.