Swissair

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Swissair
IATA
SR		 ICAO
SWR		 Callsign
Swissair
Founded 1931 (Ceased operations March 31, 2002)
Hubs Zürich Kloten
Geneva Cointrin
Frequent flyer program Qualiflyer
Member lounge Swissair Lounge
Alliance Qualiflyer
Fleet size 77 at time of bankruptcy.
Destinations 157
Headquarters Zürich, Switzerland
Key people Mario Corti, CEO
Website: www.swissair.com

Swissair (Swiss Air Transport Company Limited) was the former national airline of Switzerland. It was formed of a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero (To the Stars), in 1931. For most of its 71 years, Swissair was one of the major international airlines and known as the "Flying Bank" due to the financial stability of the airline, causing it be regarded as a Swiss national symbol and icon.

Nearly 30 percent of Swissair stock was owned by the Swiss government, and at the demise of the airline, Swissair belonged to the holding company SAirGroup, the regional airline Crossair, and the charter company Balair. Its major hubs until the early 1990s were at Zürich International Airport and Geneva Cointrin International Airport. Its successor, Swiss International Air Lines, is using the old Crossair sign LX and the ICAO code SWR.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] The Hunter Strategy

SAirGroup
SAirGroup

In the 1990s Swissair initiated the Hunter Strategy, a major expansion program devised by the consulting firm of McKinsey & Co. Using this strategy, Swissair aimed to grow its market share through the acquisition of small airlines rather than entering into alliances agreements. Swissair was advised to acquire 49.5 percent of the unprofitable Belgian flag carrier, Sabena, and significant stakes in the carriers Air Liberté, AOM, Air Littoral, Volare, LOT, Air Europe, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, South African Airways, Portugalia and LTU.

The buying spree created a major cash flow crisis for parent company SAirGroup, and was exacerbated by the environment caused by the September 11 attacks. Unable to make payments to creditors on its mountain of debt, and the refusal of UBS AG to extend its line of credit on October 2, 2001 the entire Swissair fleet was abruptly grounded.[1] Many blamed the UBS for the fiasco causing demonstrators to take to the streets with signs referring to UBS chairman, Marcel Ospel as "Bin Ospel" and redefining the bank's acronym, "UBS" as the United Bandits of Switzerland.

Two large bridge loans from the Swiss government were required to then finance continuation of flight operations. This notwithstanding, with the resumption of flight service, it was necessary for flight deck crew to carry large sums of cash for fuel purchases at foreign airports. After the acquisition of assets by Crossair, and liquidation firm, Jürg Hoss Liquidators, on March 31, 2002, Crossair was renamed Swiss International Air Lines, and Swissair officially ceased to exist.

[edit] Factors behind collapse

Like other airlines, Swissair's operations and profitability were disrupted in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States. As Swissair's directors included many politicians, commentators have pointed to potential conflicts of interest as fundamental to the demise of Swissair. The judiciary is continuing to examine why Swissair acquired counselling that supported the Hunter Strategy, and why SwissAir continued to make certain payments despite nearing insolvency. Questions have also been raised about federal aid given to Swissair and the politicians involved. The highly competitive nature of the market during the business's final years also precipitated its demise: like rival company Sabena, Swissair fell victim to the competition of "budget airlines" such as Ryanair and easyJet.[2]

[edit] Management Trial

The criminal trial began January 16, 2007 in Bülach. The entire Swissair management board stood facing criminal charges of mismanagement, false statements, and forgery of documents. Top defendants in the trial were Mario Corti, Philippe Bruggisser, George Schorderet, Jacqualyn Fouse, Eric Honegger and Vrena Spoerry. Corti, Honegger and Spoerry entered statements proclaiming their innocence.[3]

On June 7, 2007 the court in Bülach cleared the defendants of all criminal charges over the airline's 2001 bankruptcy.[4]

[edit] Historical Fleet

Before its collapse, Swissair operated the following aircraft.[5]

Aircraft Total Delivered Retired Notes
Fokker VII a 1 1931 1950 acquired from Balair
Fokker VII b 8 1931 1935 acquired from Ad Astra
Dornier Merkur 2 1931 1931 acquired from Balair and Ad Astra
BFW/Messerschmitt M 18 d 1 1931 1938
Comte AC-4 1 1931 1947 acquired from Ad Astra
now in the SR Technics Hangar in Zurich
Lockheed L-9 Orion 3 1932 1936 two were sold to the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War
Clark G.A. 43 2 1934 1936 first all-metal plane in Swissair fleet
Curtiss AT-32C Condor 1 1934 1934 first European airliner to have a stewardess
crashed in 1934
Douglas DC-2 6 1934 1952 built under licence by Fokker near Amsterdam
some were sold
all were destroyed or crashed
Junkers Ju-86 B-0 2 1936 1939 crash-landed or crashed
de Havilland Mosquito 1 1945 1945 was originally used as a Royal Air Force fighter aircraft in World War II, fell into Swiss hands
Swiss government used it, sold it to Swissair in 1944
Mraz M-65 Cap 1 1948 1950 built under license by Fieseler Storch
sold to Lindt & Sprüngli
Nord 1000 1 1948 1953 sold to Federal Air Office
Douglas DC-4 5 1946 1959 used on service to JFK
three crashed or were damaged or destroyed
Convair CV-240 8 1949 1957 most were sold
some scrapped, one crashed
Douglas DC-6 8 1951 1962 most were sold, one was leased
most were written off or crashed, one's whereabouts are not known
Douglas DC-7c 5 1956 1962 all were sold
one was the last DC-7 to be built
Convair CV-440 Metropolitan 12 1956 1968 most were sold
most crashed or were written off
one crashed before being used by Swissair
first Swissair plane to use integrated Weather Radar
Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer 1 1957 1957 used for high-altitude airports
crashed
Sud Aviation SE210 Caravelle 8 1960 1971 Swissair's first jetliner
first ones leased from Scandinavian Airlines System
most were sold
some crashed or were broken up, one still survives
Douglas DC-8-32 3 1960 1967 one was converted to a -53
Convair 880-22M 2 1961 1962 sold
leased pending delivery of Convair 990s; one later flew for Cathay Pacific, while the other served with Japan Domestic Airlines and crashed on a training flight in August 1966.
Convair 990 8 1962 1975 most were sold, one donated
one crashed, some were scrapped & some were put in storage
Douglas DC-8-53 2 1963 1976 one was converted from a -32
one was hijacked & was blown up after passengers were released
one was sold
Douglas DC-9-15 5 1966 1968 sent back to Douglas or sold
most still flying, one in storage, one's whereabouts unknown
BAC One-Eleven 3 1968 1969 some sold
one stored, one written off, one crashed
Douglas DC-9-32 22 1967 1988 sold
some still flying, some stored, some’s whereabouts are unknown
one made a belly landing, but was repaired
one was operated as a freighter -33F
Douglas DC-8-62 7 1967 1984 most were sold
some still flying, some stored, some's whereabouts are unknown, one was written off after it crashed
two were operated as freighter -62F's
Boeing 747-257B 2 1971 1984 sold
stored, one was scrapped
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 14 (2 were ER version) 1972 1992 sold
some were stored, some were scrapped, some's whereabouts are unknown
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-41 4 1974 1975 leased from SAS
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 12 1975 1988 sold
some stored, some broken up, some still flying
McDonnell Douglas MD-81/82/83 26 1980 1998 most sold
some stored, one written off, one crashed before delivery, some still flying
Airbus A310-221 5 1983 1995 sold
still flying
Airbus A310-221 26 1983 1995 sold to Fedex, converted to freighters
still flying
Boeing 747-357 5 1983 2000 one was the prototype
three were combis, two were leased
sold
some stored, one being broken up, one now flying, one's fate unknown
Airbus A310-332 6 1985 2000 sold
one stored, one scrapped, some fates are unknown, some still flying
Fokker 100 6 1988 1996 sold
most fates are unknown, some still flying
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 16 1991 2004 most were sold
some fates are unknown, some still flying, one crashed
Airbus A321-111 12 1995 2002 some were sold, some were returned to Swiss International Air Lines
still flying
Airbus A320-214 20 1995 2002 some were sold, some were returned to Swiss International Air Lines
still flying
one was the first to use the new SWISS livery
Airbus A319-112 9 1996 2002 some were sold, most were returned to Swiss International Air Lines
still flying, one collided w/ another aircraft on the ground, but was repaired
Airbus A330-223 16 1998 2002 some were sold, some were returned to Swiss International Air Lines
Airbus A340-600 0 (9 orders) supposed to be delivered in 2002 when Swissair went bankrupt, SWISS cancelled the orders and ordered the A340-300

[edit] Swissair Asia

Swissair Asia was formed in 1995 to allow for the company to fly to Taiwan while still maintaining flights in the People's Republic of China [1]. Aircraft formerly used by Swissair Asia had the Chinese character Ruì (瑞), from the Chinese translation of Switzerland, Ruìshì (瑞士,means Swiss), on the tail fin instead of the cross [2] [3].

[edit] Swissair Legacy

Crossair restarted the company in 2001 and the successor airlines Swiss International Air Lines and Swiss European Air Lines were born. These two airlines are divisions of Swiss, the parent company. Swiss merged into the Lufthansa Group and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the flag carrier of Germany.

With the merger with Lufthansa, Swiss joined the Star Alliance as Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance. The two airlines operate their flights on behalf of each other, making up something similar to a joint flag carrier of Germany and Switzerland.

At one point, it appeared that Swiss was going to become a member of the Oneworld alliance. It had codeshares with Oneworld carriers British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Aer Lingus and Finnair, and held a strategic partnership and joint operation for all service to North America and AA-operated flights beyond U.S. gateways using American Airlines. Swiss started to terminate these codeshare agreements, but did not terminate the AA alliance. A theory emerged that Swiss was planning to use its partnerships, the AA alliance, and its partnership with British Airways, a strong supportive member of Oneworld, to join Oneworld itself. Swiss took a sudden turn in 2005 with its alliance with Lufthansa, and continued into the Star Alliance network. Throughout this the American Airlines alliance remained, but did not expand. Swiss then created an alliance with Star Alliance member United Airlines and replaced some of the American Airlines codeshare destinations from Dallas and JFK, AA's hubs with United codeshare service out of O'Hare (the only place where American Airlines and United share a hub) and Washington Dulles International Airport. Therefore, the American Airlines alliance was weakened.

American Airlines and Swiss both plan to terminate all codeshare service including their alliance agreement altogether. Most routes out of O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, American's hub, are currently operated by United, which also uses O'Hare for a hub. As such, the American Alliance will eventually be phased out and replaced with the United alliance. It is likely that United will have taken over the American-Swiss alliance sometime during 2007.

Swiss recycled the Swissair fleet and refurbished the liveries to turn it into the new Swiss fleet. Swiss has since retired all of its Boeing and McDonnell Douglas fleet and operates all Airbus models from the A319 to the A340 aircraft. Swiss retired its Saab 2000 and Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft, and operates the British Aerospace Avro Aerospace RJ-85 and 100 aircraft. Swiss's frequent flyer club, Swiss TravelClub became part of Miles & More, which was originally the Lufthansa frequent flyer club. It acts as both airlines' frequent flyer program.

[edit] Accidents and incidents

June 19, 1954 A Convair CV-240 ditches due to fuel starvation in the English Channel, near Folkestone. All three crew members survive, but three of the five passengers die as they are unable to swim. Passenger aircraft at this time were not obliged to carry life rafts or life-jackets, and this was one of the many incidents which inspired this obligation to be passed as law.
July 15, 1956 A Convair CV-440 crashes during a delivery flight from San Diego, California to Zürich via New York, Gander and Shannon. On approach to Shannon, the pilots execute an abnormally steep turn, causing the aircraft to stall and drop to the ground. Four crew members die.
June 18, 1957 A Douglas DC-3 crashes during a flight exercise conducted under visual flight rules with nine people aboard. All die. The aim of the exercise was to practise flying with one engine switched off and propellers feathered.
September 4, 1963 Without authorization, the pilot of a Swissair Sud Aviation Caravelle carrying seventy-four passengers and six crew members taxies halfway along a runway at Zürich Airport in order to inspect and clear fog. He then returns to the start of the runway and takes off. Ten minutes later the aircraft crashes, killing all on board. During its initial ascent, witnesses state they saw smoke issuing from one of its engines. Subsequent investigation establishes that braking during the pilot's unauthorized maneuver overheated a tyre, causing it to burst, damaging a fuel line and starting the fire that ultimately led to loss of aircraft control.
February 10, 1967 A Convair CV-440 collides with a cloud-covered mountain; four crew members died.
February 21, 1970 A bomb on board a Convair CV-990 cripples Swissair Flight 330 nine minutes after take-off from Zürich to Tel Aviv. Forty-seven die when the aircraft crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Zürich.
September 6, 1970 Three empty hijacked jet airliners, one belonging to Swissair, are blown up by terrorists at Dawson's Field, Zerqa, Jordan. See Dawson's Field hijackings.
October 8, 1979 A Douglas DC-8 lands under "adverse conditions" at Athens International Airport, overshooting the runway and killing fourteen passengers. The plane touches down at too great a speed and too far along the runway for the pilots to use sufficient braking and reverse thrust.
September 2, 1998 A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 travelling from New York's JFK International Airport to Geneva crashes due to fire and subsequent instrument failure at night off the coast of Peggy's Cove, 80 km south-west of Halifax, Nova Scotia. All 215 passengers and 14 crew members died. See Swissair Flight 111.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Swissair grounds all flights. BBC News (2001-10-02). Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  2. ^ Dave Hall, Rob Jones, Carlo Raffo (2004). Business Studies (Third edition). Causeway Press, 196. ISBN 1-902796-83-7. 
  3. ^ Harry Rosenbaum (15 Jan 2007). Swissair executives assert innocence at first day of Switzerland's biggest corporate trial. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
  4. ^ All Swissair defendants cleared. BBC News (2007-06-07). Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  5. ^ Swissair - The Ultimate Fansite

[edit] External links

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