A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
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| Founded | 31 March 2002 (preceded by Swissair)[1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AOC # | CH.AOC.1006[2] | ||||||
| Hubs | Zurich Airport | ||||||
| Secondary hubs | Geneva Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Miles & More | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | Edelweiss Air | ||||||
| Fleet size | 88 | ||||||
| Destinations | 120[3] | ||||||
| Parent company | Lufthansa Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg near Basel, Switzerland Register: Basel[4] | ||||||
| Key people | Dieter Vranckx, CEO[5] | ||||||
| Revenue |  CHF 4.41 billion (2022)[6] | ||||||
| Operating income | CHF 456 million (2022)[6] | ||||||
| Employees | 8,048 (December 2022)[7] | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
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 EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg near Basel, Switzerland, and an office at Zurich Airport in Kloten, Switzerland.[8] The company's registered office is in Basel.[9]
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.
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 had been CEO of Lufthansa Group member Brussels Airlines since the start of 2020.[5]
History
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 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
Beginnings
Swiss was formed after the 2002 bankruptcy of Swissair, Switzerland's former flag carrier.[10] Forty percent of Crossair's income came from Swissair.[11] 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.[12]
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 them[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
The airline annually halved its losses, and in 2006 recorded a net profit of $220 million. The net profit for 2007 was $570 million.[13] 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 carries the same number of passengers as they 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.[14]
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[15] [16] and Servair[17] – 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.[18]
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.[19] 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
Following Lufthansa Group's takeover,[20] the regional fleet was changed from Crossair's Embraer ERJs and 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.[21]
On 18 August 2011, Swiss introduced a new company logo[22] which resembled the logo of the defunct Swissair.[23]
Corporate affairs
Business trends
The key trends for Swiss International Air Lines are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):[24]
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (€m) | 3,942 | 4,220 | 4,223 | 4,241 | 4,542 | 4,471 | 4,727 | 4,870 | 5,144 | 1,732 | 2,098 | 4,805 |
| Operating income[a] (€m) | 259 | 191 | 278 | 429 | 414 | 542 | 593 | 558 | −689 | −417 | 476 | |
| Number of employees[b] | 7,918 | 8,378 | 8,647 | 8,694 | 9,009 | 9,409 | 9,497 | 9,941 | 10,531 | 10,055 | 8,743 | 9,045 |
| Number of passengers (m) | 16.3 | 16.9 | 17.0 | 17.2 | 17.5 | 17.9 | 18.6 | 20.4 | 21.5 | 5.6 | 7.1 | 15.0 |
| Load factor (%) | 81.1 | 82.4 | 83.3 | 83.3 | 82.8 | 80.2 | 81.4 | 83.1 | 83.9 | 60.8 | 56.8 | 79.8 |
| Fleet size | 93 | 92 | 94 | 92 | 88 | 89 | 91 | 105 | 107 | 109 | 107 | 107 |
| References | [25] | [25] | [25] | [25] | [25] | [26] | [25] | [25] | [25] | [c][27] | [28] | [29] |
Head office
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Swiss International Air Lines has its operational headquarters at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg[30][31] near Basel, Switzerland.[12] The French-Swiss airport is located on French territory and has customs-free access to Switzerland.[32] The Swiss head office is located in the Swiss section of the airport, and it is only accessible from Switzerland.[33] According to the commercial register, the legal seat is in Basel itself.[34]
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.[35] 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.[36]
Swiss also operates offices at Zurich Airport in Kloten and at Geneva Airport.[37]
Subsidiaries
The following companies are part of the Swiss International Air Lines Group:
- Edelweiss Air
- Swiss AviationSoftware
- Swiss Aviation Training
- Swiss WorldCargo
- SWISStours[38]
Inflight service
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.[39]
Trains and buses
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.[40] Swiss previously operated a Swissbus service from Ottawa Railway Station to Montréal–Trudeau airport in Montreal.[41]
Destinations
Swiss codeshares with the following airlines:[42]
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air France
- Air India[43]
- All Nippon Airways
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Brussels Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- Croatia Airlines
- Edelweiss Air (Subsidiary)
- Egyptair
- El Al
- Eurowings
- KM Malta Airlines[44]
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Scandinavian Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways International
- United Airlines
- Vistara[45]
Interline agreements
Swiss has interline agreements with the following airlines:[42]
- 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
- Helvetic Airways
- Iberia
- Icelandair
- ITA Airways[citation needed]
- 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
Current fleet
As of June 2024[update], Swiss International Air Lines operates the following aircraft.[46][47][48][49][50] Additionally, Helvetic Airways operates ten Embraer 190s on behalf of Swiss. Following Helvetic Airways' acquisition of the type, Helvetic Airways will also operate Embraer 190-E2 aircraft on behalf of Swiss.[51]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | B | P | E | Total | Ref. | ||||
| Airbus A220-100 | 9 | — | — | — | — | 125 | 125 | [52] | Launch customer.[53] |
| Airbus A220-300 | 21 | — | — | — | — | 145 | 145 | [54] | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 11 | — | — | — | — | 180 | 180 | [55] | 8 aircraft inherited from Swissair.[50] 1 aircraft painted in Star Alliance livery.[50] |
| Airbus A320neo | 7 | 10[56][57] | Original order for ten with seven options to firm orders.[58] | ||||||
| Airbus A321-100 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 219 | 219 | [59] | All aircraft inherited from Swissair.[50] |
| Airbus A321-200 | 3 | — | |||||||
| Airbus A321neo | 4 | 4[56][57] | Original order for five with three options to firm orders.[58] Some orders can be changed to Airbus A321LR.[60] | ||||||
| Airbus A330-300 | 14 | — | 8 | 45 | — | 183 | 236 | [61] | |
| — | 4 | 43 | 21 | 159 | 227 | [62] | Future configuration from 2025 onwards.[63] | ||
| Airbus A340-300 | 4 | — | 8 | 42 | 21 | 144 | 215 | [64] | To be retired and replaced by Airbus A350-900 by mid 2025.[65][66] |
| Airbus A350-900 | — | 5 | 3 | 45 | 38 | 156 | 242 | [67] | Deliveries from mid 2025 as part of a Lufthansa order to replace Airbus A340-300s.[68][66] |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 12 | — | 8 | 62 | 24 | 226 | 320 | [69] | |
| Total | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Swiss_International|||||||||