Editing Swissair (section)

=== Concentration ===
[[File:Swissair Boeing 747-300 at Zurich Airport in May 1985 version2.jpg|thumb|Boeing 747-300 (1985)]]
[[File:Swissair_A310-221_HB-IPA.jpg|thumb|Airbus A310-200 (1983)]]
[[File:131bf - Swissair Airbus A321-111; HB-IOE@ZRH;11.05.2001 (5588353622).jpg|thumb|Airbus A321-100 (2001)]]
[[File:103ar_-_Swissair_MD-11;_HB-IWS@ZRH;11.08.2000_(4704216519).jpg|thumb|[[McDonnell Douglas MD-11]] (2000)]]

Regarding further liberalisation of Europe's airline market, Swissair focused more on commercial aviation and extended its partnerships. As the first European airline to do so, Swissair signed in 1989 a cooperation treaty with [[Delta Air Lines]] and [[Singapore Airlines]] to create the alliance "Global Excellence". In 1990, together with SAS, [[Austrian Airlines]] and [[Finnair]], the "European Quality Alliance" was founded. The last alliance was later renamed "The [[Qualiflyer]] Group".

Because of the weak economy, the [[Gulf War]] and its aftermath, and rising operational costs, many airlines lost money in 1990 and 1991. Additionally, the ongoing liberalisation of the industry strengthened competition. Consequently, Swissair lost 99&nbsp;million Swiss Francs in the first half-year and could not pay dividends to its shareholders. In 1991 and 1992, Swissair had to utilise financial reserves to cushion significant losses from the commercial aviation sector.

On 1 January 1991, commercial aviation in Europe was completely liberalised, and existing capacities led to aggressive competition among airlines. In a national referendum held on 6 December 1992, Swiss citizens rejected taking part in the [[European Economic Area]] (EEA). This referendum was a significant disservice to Swissair, an airline with a tiny domestic market: its planes were not allowed to take up passengers during intermediate landings in EEA countries (e.g., Zürich-Frankfurt-New York), and Swissair was not allowed to offer tickets for sections that fully lie in EEA member countries (e.g., Zürich-Frankfurt-Paris).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Hamilton |first1=Stewart |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm64390595 |title=Greed and corporate failure: the lessons from recent disasters |last2=Micklethwait |first2=Alicia |date=2006 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4039-8636-8 |location=Basingstoke [England] ; New York |page= |chapter=Swissair: Crashed and Burned |oclc=ocm64390595}}</ref>

''See also [[freedoms of the air]]''.

Like other airlines based in smaller countries, Swissair was now under significant pressure. More and more national airlines have affiliated themselves with airline alliances to maintain a worldwide market presence. But to be interesting for American alliance partners, an airline must have a critical size in terms of passenger numbers. To meet that goal, in 1993, an alliance between Swissair, KLM, SAS, and Austrian Airlines was proposed. This project bore the name "[[Alcazar (airline)|Alcazar]]" to create a single Central European airline. However, in various countries, this project was criticised. In Switzerland itself, it was thought that the huge financial assets were too precious to sacrifice to merge Swissair with the other airlines.<ref name="Keimzelle" /><ref name=":1" />