Swiss International Air Lines
Template:Short description Template:Redirect2 Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox airline
Swiss International Air Lines AG, stylized as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, as well as a Star Alliance member. It operates scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its main hub and Geneva Airport as its secondary hub.
Its headquarters are at Kloten (near Zurich Airport), Switzerland, and an office at Zurich Airport in Kloten, Switzerland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The company's registered office is in Basel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The airline was formed following the bankruptcy in 2002 of Swissair, Switzerland's then-flag carrier. The new airline was built around what had been Swissair's regional subsidiary, Crossair. Swiss retains Crossair's IATA code LX (Swissair's code was SR). It assumed Swissair's old ICAO code of SWR (Crossair's was CRX), to maintain international traffic rights.
History
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Beginnings
[edit]Swiss was formed after the 2002 bankruptcy of Swissair, Switzerland's former flag carrier.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Forty percent of Crossair's income came from Swissair.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The new airline lost US$1.6 billion from 2002 to 2005. Swissair's biggest creditors, Credit Suisse and UBS, sold part of Swissair's assets to Crossair, which had been Swissair's regional counterpart. At the time, both Swissair and Crossair were part of the same holding company, SAirGroup. Crossair later changed its name to Swiss International Air Lines, and the new national airline officially started operations on 31 March 2002. The airline was initially owned by institutional investors (61.3%), the Swiss Confederation (20.3%), cantons and communities (12.2%), and others (6.2%). Swiss also owns subsidiaries Swiss Sun (100%) and Crossair Europe (99.9%). It has a total of 7,383 employees.<ref name="Swiss - Facts & Figures"/>
According to Marcel Biedermann, the managing director of intercontinental markets for Swiss, there were three possibilities: stay independent as a niche carrier, shrink to an unrecognisable level, or attach to another airline group. The last choice was taken. Swiss talked to Air France–KLM, British Airways, and Lufthansa. However, Swiss was tied up with debt and an uncertain future and seemed to be an unattractive investment. After merging with KLM, Air France said they were too busy to deal with the Swiss joining themTemplate:Dubious. British Airways was open, and Oneworld partners thought Zurich Airport would be a viable alternative hub for London Heathrow.
After almost a year of disputes, Swiss was finally accepted into the Oneworld airline alliance, after having been blocked by British Airways, which competes with Swiss on many long-haul routes. On 3 June 2004, Swiss announced its decision not to join Oneworld because they did not want to integrate their current frequent flyer program into British Airways' Executive Club. Furthermore, Swiss thought the relationship was one-sided, where British Airways sapped out the benefits of the airline, but they would get no return.
Recovery
[edit]The airline annually halved its losses, and in 2006 recorded a net profit of $220 million. The net profit for 2007 was $570 million.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> Biedermann stated in the March 2008 edition of Airways, that "this was the beginning of getting our house back in order." He said that help was needed and looked up to Lufthansa as a comparison, so their coming together was natural, even with their differences. Even with the smaller network, Swiss carried the same number of passengers as it did in 2002.
On 22 March 2005, Lufthansa Group confirmed its plan to take over Swiss, starting with a minority stake (11%) in a new company set up to hold Swiss shares called Air Trust. Swiss operations were gradually integrated with Lufthansa's in late 2005, and the takeover was completed on 1 July 2007. Swiss joined Star Alliance and became a member of Lufthansa's Miles and More frequent flyer program on 1 April 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The airline set up a regional airline subsidiary called Swiss European Air Lines. The carrier had its own air operator's certificate. Two divisions – Swiss Aviation Training and Swiss WorldCargo (using the belly capacity of passenger planes) – are also owned by Swiss. Swiss European Air Lines (later renamed Swiss Global Air Lines) has since ceased operations and merged with its parent, Swiss.
In 2008, Swiss International Air Lines acquired Edelweiss Air<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> and Servair,<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> later renamed Swiss Private Aviation. In February 2011, Swiss Private Aviation ceased operations as a result of restructuring. The company recommended using Lufthansa Private Jet Service instead.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
In 2007, Swiss ordered nine Airbus A330-300s to gradually replace existing A330-200s and have three-class seating. The first A330-300 was put into service on the flagship Zürich to New York-JFK route in April 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In spring 2010 Swiss operated five A330-300s on medium and long-haul routes. The remaining four A330-300 aircraft joined the fleet in 2011.
Takeover by Lufthansa
[edit]Following Lufthansa Group's takeover,<ref name="lufthansagroup">Template:Cite web</ref> the regional fleet was changed from Crossair's Embraer ERJs, Saab 340s, and 2000s to Avro RJs, which were flown by a wholly owned subsidiary, Swiss Global Air Lines. The rest of the fleet was rationalised and now mainly consists of Airbus aircraft, apart from the Boeing 777. Swiss also renegotiated their supplier contracts, including ground handling, maintenance, food service, and labour. Swiss shareholders received a performance-based option for their shares. The payment was in 2008, and the amount depended on how well Lufthansa's shares compared with competitors' shares. Lufthansa continues to maintain Swiss as a separate brand.
In 2010, Swiss and Lufthansa were named in a European Commission investigation into price-fixing but were not fined due to acting as a whistleblower.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 18 August 2011, Swiss introduced a new company logo<ref>Template:Cite press releaseTemplate:Dead link</ref> which resembled the logo of the defunct Swissair.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
COVID-19 losses and bailout
[edit]Swiss was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It reported revenues for 2020 of CHF 1.85 billion, which were 65.2% below its prior-year level.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In August 2020, Swiss received a CHF1.5 billion ($1.65 billion) state-backed loan from the Swiss government to weather the pandemic. The use of Swiss state funds was criticized by some commentators because Swiss is a fully-owned subsidiary of German airline Lufthansa, making questions regarding its survival the responsibility of the German government, which had similarly lent a helping hand to Lufthansa during the pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 18 November 2020, it was announced that Dieter Vranckx would assume the position of CEO as of 1 January 2021. Vranckx has 20 years of experience within the Lufthansa Group and has been CEO of Lufthansa Group member Brussels Airlines since the start of 2020.<ref name="avpro18nov2020">Template:Cite web</ref>
In June 2024, it was announced that Vranckx would step down by the end of the month and be replaced by German national and Lufthansa CityLine Managing Director, Jens Fehlinger.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> Fehlinger will assume office in October 2024, and until then Swiss will be temporarily led by Head of Commercial, Heike Birlenbach. Dieter Vranckx transferred to the executive board of parent company Lufthansa on 1 July 2024, and remains with Swiss as vice chairman of its board of directors.<ref name="auto"/>
Expansion of flight operations
[edit]On 16 January 2025, it was reported that Swiss will resume its flight operation to Tel Aviv from 1 February 2025. The airline will fly daily from Zurich to Tel Aviv using its Airbus A320 aircraft.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Corporate affairs
[edit]Business trends
[edit]The key trends for Swiss International Air Lines are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Revenue (€m) |
Operating incomeTemplate:Efn (€m) |
Number of employeesTemplate:Efn |
Number of passengers (m) |
Load factor (%) |
Fleet sizeTemplate:Efn |
References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3,942 | 259 | 7,918 | 16.3 | 81.1 | 93 | <ref name="Lufthansa Group: Annual Reports2">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2012 | 4,220 | 191 | 8,378 | 16.9 | 82.4 | 92 | <ref name="Lufthansa Group: Annual Reports2" /> |
| 2013 | 4,223 | 8,647 | 17.0 | 83.3 | 94 | <ref name="Lufthansa Group: Annual Reports2" /> | |
| 2014 | 4,241 | 278 | 8,694 | 17.2 | 83.3 | 92 | <ref name="Lufthansa Group: Annual Reports2" /> |
| 2015 | 4,542 | 429 | 9,009 | 17.5 | 82.8 | 88 | <ref name="Lufthansa Group: Annual Reports2" /> |
| 2016 | 4,471 | 414 | 9,409 | 17.9 | 80.2 | 89 | <ref name="Lufthansa Group: Annual Report 2016">Template:Cite report</ref> |
| 2017 | 4,727 | 542 | 9,497 | 18.6 | 81.4 | 91 | <ref name="Lufthansa Group: Annual Reports2" /> |
| 2018 | 4,870 | 593 | 9,941 | 20.4 | 83.1 | 105 | <ref name="Lufthansa Group: Annual Reports2" /> |
| 2019 | 5,144 | 558 | 10,531 | 21.5 | 83.9 | 107 | <ref name="Lufthansa Group: Annual Reports2" /> |
| 2020 | 1,732 | −689 | 10,055 | 5.6 | 60.8 | 109 | Template:Efn<ref name="Lufthansa Group: Annual Report 2020">Template:Cite report</ref> |
| 2021 | 2,098 | −417 | 8,743 | 7.1 | 56.8 | 107 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2022 | 4,805 | 476 | 9,045 | 15.0 | 79.8 | 107 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2023 | 5,905 | 809 | 9,909 | 19.3 | 84.4 | 109 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2024 | 6,472 | 801 | 10,870 | 21.0 | 84.0 | 112 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Head office
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Swiss International Air Lines has its operational headquarters at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> near Basel, Switzerland.<ref name="Swiss - Facts & Figures">Template:Cite web</ref> The French-Swiss airport is located on French territory and has customs-free access to Switzerland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Swiss head office is located in the Swiss section of the airport, and it is only accessible from Switzerland.<ref>Template:Cite web ATTENTION! It is only possible to reach SWISS at the EuroAirport Basel via the Swiss customs or the customs-free road!</ref> According to the commercial register, the legal seat is in Basel itself.<ref name="Handelsregister BS">http://search.powernet.ch/webservices/net/HRG/HRG.asmx/getHRGHTML?chnr=CH-270.3.001.037-6&amt=270&toBeModified=0&validOnly=0&lang=1&sort=Template:Dead link (accessed on 16 February 2014)</ref>
Swiss International Air Lines' head office was previously the head office of Crossair. In 2002 the "Crossair" sign on the building was replaced by a "Swiss International Air Lines" one.<ref>Template:Cite web According to a company statement, the new name replaces Crossair at the corporate headquarters in Basel.</ref> As of 2004 the Basel area offices housed about 1,000 employees, while the Zurich area offices housed about 850 employees. When Swiss started as a company, about 1,400-1,500 worked at the Basel offices.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Swiss also operates offices at Zurich Airport in Kloten and at Geneva Airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Subsidiaries
[edit]The following companies are part of the Swiss International Air Lines Group:
- Edelweiss Air
- Swiss AviationSoftware
- Swiss Aviation Training
- Swiss WorldCargo
- SWISStours<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Inflight service
[edit]On European flights, Swiss serves drinks. Depending on the time of day and the duration of the flight, Swiss may also serve snacks. Cold snacks are served on shorter flights, and hot ones on longer flights. Economy class on short-haul flights only include a bottle of water and a small bar of Swiss chocolate branded with the word "SWISS" and the distinctive tail fin is provided to passengers before landing on all flights. For its short- to mid-haul flight out of Geneva Airport and Zürich Airport, SWISS offers a culinary buy-on-board system called Swiss Saveurs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Trains and buses
[edit]Swiss' SWISS Air Rail service allows passengers to take any SBB train at no extra charge from Zurich Airport to Basel SBB railway station and Lugano railway station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Swiss previously operated a Swissbus service from Ottawa Railway Station to Montréal–Trudeau airport in Montreal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Destinations
[edit]Codeshare agreements
[edit]Swiss codeshares with the following airlines:<ref name="SWISS partner airlines">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air France
- Air India<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- All Nippon Airways
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Bangkok Airways <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Brussels Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- Croatia Airlines
- Edelweiss Air Template:Small
- Egyptair
- El Al
- Eurowings
- ITA Airways<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- KM Malta Airlines<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Scandinavian Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways International
- United Airlines
Interline agreements
[edit]Swiss has interline agreements with the following airlines:<ref name="SWISS partner airlines"/>
- Aerolíneas Argentinas
- Aeroméxico
- Air Austral
- Air Dolomiti
- Air Mauritius
- American Airlines
- Bangkok Airways
- British Airways
- China Airlines
- China Eastern Airlines
- China Southern Airlines
- Condor
- Delta Air Lines
- Emirates
- Finnair
- Gol Transportes Aéreos
- Gulf Air
- Hahn Air<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Helvetic Airways
- Iberia
- Icelandair
- Japan Airlines
- Jetstar
- Kenya Airways
- KLM
- Korean Air
- LATAM Chile
- Luxair
- Malaysia Airlines
- Mandarin Airlines
- Middle East Airlines
- Oman Air
- Pakistan International Airlines
- Precision Air
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Rossiya Airlines
- Saudia
- Shanghai Airlines
- SunExpress
- SriLankan Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- Vietnam Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
Fleet
[edit]Current fleet
[edit]Template:As of, Swiss International Air Lines operates the following aircraft:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | B | P | E | Total | Ref. | ||||
| Airbus A220-100 | 9 | — | — | — | — | 125 | 125 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Launch customer.<ref>aerotelegraph.com 5 May 2021</ref> |
| Airbus A220-300 | 21 | — | — | — | — | 145 | 145 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 11 | — | — | — | — | 180 | 180 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 8 aircraft inherited from Swissair.Template:Cn |
| Airbus A320neo | 11 | 6<ref name="Neue Swiss-Strategie">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> | Original order for ten with seven options to firm orders.<ref name="10 neos Sept 2018">Template:Cite press release</ref> | ||||||
| Airbus A321-100 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 219 | 219 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | All aircraft inherited from Swissair.Template:Cn |
| Airbus A321-200 | 3 | — | |||||||
| Airbus A321neo | 5 | 3<ref name="Neue Swiss-Strategie"/><ref name=":2"/> | Original order for five with three options to firm orders.<ref name="10 neos Sept 2018"/> Some orders can be changed to Airbus A321LR.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||||||
| Airbus A330-300 | 14 | — | 8 | 45 | — | 183 | 236 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| — | 4 | 43 | 21 | 159 | 227 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Future configuration from 2025 onwards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Airbus A340-300 | 4 | — | 8 | 42 | 21 | 144 | 215 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | To be retired and replaced by Airbus A350-900 in mid 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=swissA350/> |
| Airbus A350-900 | — | 10 | 3 | 45 | 38 | 156 | 242 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Deliveries from mid 2025 as part of a Lufthansa order. To replace Airbus A340-300.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=swissA350>aerotelegraph.com (German) 12 December 2022</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Template:Nowrap | 12 | — | 8 | 62 | 24 | 226 | 320 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Total | 93 | 19 | |||||||
Additionally, Helvetic Airways operates ten Embraer E190s on behalf of Swiss. Following Helvetic Airways' acquisition of the type, Helvetic Airways will also operate Embraer 190-E2 aircraft on behalf of Swiss.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Fleet development
[edit]On 22 September 2010, Lufthansa announced an order for 48 new aircraft, several of them for Swiss.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
In March 2013, Swiss ordered six Boeing 777-300ERs. On 12 March 2015, Swiss confirmed Lufthansa Group had ordered an additional three Boeing 777-300ERs for Swiss.<ref name="Additional 777 order">Template:Cite web</ref> The 777s will be operated by, and leased back from, Swiss Global Air Lines.<ref name="aero777s">Template:Cite web</ref> Swiss has confirmed that all 777-300ERs will have an updated First Class cabin with eight private suites and a 32-inch TV, 62 business class seats which convert into a fully flat bed that is over two meters long, and 270 economy seats, with 10 seats abreast in a 3-4-3 layout, using the same seat pitch and width on its A330s and A340s on the 777s.<ref name="New Swiss 777 Business and First class cabins">Template:Cite web</ref> The first of these new airliners was delivered in January 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Boeing aircraft will replace most of Swiss' A340 aircraft while the remaining five A340s were refurbished.
In 2014, Swiss announced it would refurbish its A320 fleet, with new interiors and the older A320s and A321s were to be replaced by A320/A321neos. The A319s and Swiss Global Air Lines' Avro fleet, were replaced by Bombardier CS300 aircraft. The last Avro RJ100 aircraft, HB-IYZ, completed its final flight, LX7545 from Geneva to Zurich on 15 August 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Swiss' first Airbus A220, then known as the Bombardier CS300, entered service on 1 June 2017, with its maiden commercial flight from Geneva to London–Heathrow. Swiss was the launch customer of the Airbus A220 family (formerly known as Bombardier CSeries), with its first CSeries aircraft, a CS100 (A220-100), delivered to the airline in June 2016 and registered HB-JBA. The first commercial flight performed led from Zurich to Paris-Charles de Gaulle.<ref>swiss.com - First SWISS C series landed in Zurich 1 July 2016</ref>
The Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A220-100/-300 (Bombardier CS100/CS300) aircraft were operated by Swiss Global Air Lines until the subsidiary ceased operations in April 2018, in an attempt to lower administration costs and simplify Swiss' fleet structuring.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Adria Airways operated two Saab 2000s on the Zurich-Lugano route, which was suspended after Adria's bankruptcy on 30 September 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In December 2024, it was reported that Swiss will be receiving a further five Airbus A350-900 widebody long-haul aircraft from 2027 onwards, on top of another five aircraft which are on order, with gradual delivery between the summer of 2025 to 2031.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Retired fleet
[edit]| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Replacement | Notes/Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 8 | 2002 | 2020 | Airbus A220-300 | Taken over from Swissair. |
| Airbus A330-200 | 15 | 2012 | Airbus A330-300 | ||
| Avro RJ85 | 4 | 2007 | Airbus A320 family | Taken over from Crossair. | |
| Avro RJ100 | 21<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2017 | Airbus A220 | ||
| Embraer ERJ-145 | 25 | 2007 | Airbus A320 family | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11 | 16 | 2005 | Airbus A340-300 | Taken over from Swissair. | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 1 | 2003 | Airbus A320 family | Taken over from Crossair. | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 10 | 2002 | 2005 | ||
| Saab 340B | 2 | 2004 | Avro RJ100 | ||
| Saab 2000 | 31 | 2005 | Avro RJ100 |
Accidents and incidents
[edit]- On 10 July 2002, Swiss International Air Lines Flight 850, a Saab 2000, crashed at Werneuchen Airfield due to improper weather information and improper markings on the runway, resulting in the collapse of the landing gear and fire spreading throughout the aircraft. Though everyone on board survived, the aircraft was written off.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- On 23 December 2024, an Airbus A220-300 (HB-JCD), operating as Swiss International Air Lines Flight 1885 from Bucharest to Zurich had to make an emergency landing at Graz Airport due to smoke development in the cabin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The aircraft was evacuated using the emergency slides,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and 17 passengers and 5 crew members were hospitalized. SWISS announced on 30 December 2024 that one of the flight attendants had died in the hospital.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- Template:Cite web
- Ken Donohue, "Swiss continues a proud tradition", Airways Magazine: A Global Review of Commercial Flight, March 2008, 22–23, 25, 28.
External links
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