Swiss International Air Lines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Swiss International Air Lines
IATA
LX		 ICAO
SWR		 Callsign
Swiss
Founded 2001 after bankruptcy of Swissair
Hubs Zurich International Airport
Geneva Cointrin International Airport
EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
Frequent flyer program Miles & More
Member lounge Swiss Lounge
Alliance Star Alliance
Fleet size 69 (6 on order)
Destinations 70
Parent company Swiss International Air Lines Group
Headquarters Basel, Switzerland
Key people Dr. Christoph Franz (President and CEO)
Website: http://www.swiss.com

Swiss International Air Lines (short: Swiss) is the principal airline of Switzerland operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Kloten Airport (ZRH).

Swiss International Air Lines uses the IATA Code LX, which it inherited from the Swiss regional airline Crossair (Swissair's code was SR).

Contents

[edit] History

The airline was formed after the 2001 bankruptcy of Swissair, Switzerland's former flag carrier. The failed airline's biggest creditors, Credit Suisse and UBS, arranged to sell part of Swissair's assets to Crossair, the regional counterpart to the transatlantic Swissair (both Swissair and Crossair were under the same holding company, called SAirGroup). Crossair later changed its name to Swiss, and the new national airline started its operations officially on March 31, 2002. The airline was first owned by institutional investors (61.3%), Swiss Confederation (20.3%), cantons and communities (12.2%) and others (6.2%). Swiss also owns subsidiary companies Swiss Sun (100%) and Crossair Europe (99.9%). Employees total 5970.

After almost a year of disputes, Swiss was finally accepted into the Oneworld airline alliance, after having been blocked by British Airways, with which Swiss competes on many long-haul routes. On June 3, 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.

On 22 March 2005 Lufthansa confirmed its plan to take over Swiss, starting with a minority stake (11%) of a new company set up to hold Swiss shares called Air Trust. The takeover is expected to be completed by 2007 and will see the Swiss operations gradually integrated with Lufthansa from late 2005. Swiss joined Star Alliance on 1 April 2006, when it also became a member of Lufthansa's Miles & More frequent flyer program.

The airline has set up a regional airline subsidiary called Swiss European Air Lines. This carrier has its own air operator's certificate and operates a non-Airbus fleet.


Swiss International Air Lines Airbus A319
Enlarge
Swiss International Air Lines Airbus A319

[edit] Destinations

Main article: Swiss International Air Lines destinations

[edit] New routes

Following the addition of 2 Airbus A330 to the fleet from the end of 2006, Swiss will increase long haul service as follows:

[edit] Code share partners

Code sharing carriers that are ITALICIZED are partners in the Star Alliance.

[edit] Fleet

Swiss International Air Lines Airbus A330
Enlarge
Swiss International Air Lines Airbus A330

The Swiss International Air Lines fleet includes the following aircraft (as of November 2006):

Aircraft Number # Orders
Airbus A340-300 9 (3 on order)
Airbus A330-200 11
Airbus A321-100 4 (2 on order)
Airbus A320-200 14 (1 on order)
Airbus A319-100 7
Avro RJ100* 20
Avro RJ85* 4

* operated by Swiss European Air Lines Ltd.

The average age of the Swiss International Air Lines fleet is 7.8 years (Summer 2006)

[edit] Gallery

Swiss International Air Lines McDonnell Douglas MD-83, now phased out

Swiss International Air Lines Airbus A321

Swiss International Air Lines Airbus A340 at Zürich International Airport

[edit] References

    [edit] External links


    v • d • e
      Members of the Star Alliance
    Air Canada • Air New Zealand • ANA • Asiana Airlines • Austrian Airlines • bmi
    LOT Polish Airlines • Lufthansa • Scandinavian Airlines • Singapore Airlines • South African Airways
    Spanair • Swiss • TAP Portugal • Thai Airways • United Airlines • US Airways • Varig

    Regional members: Adria Airways • Blue1 • Croatia Airlines
    Future members: Air China • Shanghai Airlines • Turkish Airlines
    Former members: Ansett Australia • Mexicana
    Members of the Association of European Airlines
    Adria Airways | Aer Lingus | Air France | Air Malta | Austrian Airlines | bmi | British Airways | Cargolux | Croatia Airlines | Czech Airlines | Cyprus Airways | Finnair | Iberia Airlines | Icelandair | Jat Airways | KLM | LOT Polish Airlines | Malév Hungarian Airlines | Olympic Airlines | Scandinavian Airlines | SN Brussels Airlines | Spanair | SWISS | TAP Portugal | TAROM | Turkish Airlines | Virgin Atlantic Airways
    v • d • e
    Lists relating to aviation

    Timeline of aviation
    Aircraft • Aircraft manufacturers • Aircraft engines • Aircraft engine manufacturers • Airports • Airlines
    Air forces • Aircraft weapons • Missiles • Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) • Experimental aircraft
    Notable airline accidents and incidents • Famous aviation-related deaths

    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../s/w/i/Swiss_International_Air_Lines_9d9a.html"