Twiliner launches luxury night bus between Amsterdam, Zurich and Barcelona

Swiss start-up Twiliner has announced the launch of a luxury night bus service that will connect Amsterdam, Zurich and Barcelona. The aim of the new route is to offer business-class style travel in a more climate-friendly alternative to flying. 

New night bus service to run between the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain

Twiliner has announced a new bus service with the hopes of “rethinking night bus travel”. The public transportation company will offer a business-class style seat, similar to those found on a plane, which can be turned into a lie-flat bed, a first for buses in Europe.

The Zurich start-up company will run two routes starting in December 2025. One route will run from Zurich and stop in Basel, Luxembourg, Brussels, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The second route will run from Zurich to Bern, Girona and Barcelona. Companies can also hire one of the buses for private travel.

The Swiss startup plans to add five extra buses to its fleet by the beginning of 2027. The company also advertises Rome as a “coming soon” destination on its website, with the goal of growing to 30 destinations across Europe in the next three years. A one-way ticket costs between 150 and 250 Swiss francs (160 to 270 euros), according to Watson.

Luxurious and climate-friendly travel with Twiliner

Seats on the Twiliner buses were designed in collaboration with Airline Services Interior, a manufacturer of plane seats. The bus seats can be transformed into lie-flat beds, similar to those in business class on planes.

“An integrated restraint system consisting of a two-point seatbelt and leg bag” makes the unique bus seats safe for road travel. Each bus can seat 21 passengers compared to 80 passengers in a traditional bus.

The company hopes to offer a more climate-friendly way to travel, stating that using a Twiliner bus produces up to 91 percent less CO2 emissions compared to similar journeys by plane. “We want to attract people who want to fly less, for example, business travellers, or people who are looking for a more flexible option than the train,” said Twiliner co-founder and CEO Luca Bortolani.