Swiss International Air Lines Ltd.
er 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 is a subsidiary of the German airline Lufthansa.
The airline uses the IATA Code LX, which it inherited from the Swiss regional airline Crossair (Swissair's code was SR). The ICAO code is SWR, inherited from Swissair (Crossair's was CRX), in order to keep international traffic rights.
er 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 is a subsidiary of the German airline Lufthansa.
The airline uses the IATA Code LX, which it inherited from the Swiss regional airline Crossair (Swissair's code was SR). The ICAO code is SWR, inherited from Swissair (Crossair's was CRX), in order to keep international traffic rights.
History
Swiss International Air Lines, or "Swiss" was founded from the remains of Crossair. Unfortunately, the name change did not help. Crossair, which had for 40% of its income come from the defunct Swissair, and was cut out for becoming and intercontinental airline thanks to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The first year was plagued with loss and the Swiss government gave the airline the then-equivalent of $1.5 billion, which was used up within two years.
According to Marcel Biedermann, the managing director intercontinental markets for Swiss, said there were three possibilities: stay independent as a niche carrier, shrink to an unrecognizable level, or attach onto 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 Swiss joining them. Lufthansa wanted to take over,
but the Swiss people did not want that. British Airways was open, and Oneworld partners thought Zürich 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 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. Furthermore, Swiss thought the relationship was one sided, where British Airways sapped out the benefits of the airline, but they would get no return.
Swiss International Air Lines, or "Swiss" was founded from the remains of Crossair. Unfortunately, the name change did not help. Crossair, which had for 40% of its income come from the defunct Swissair, and was cut out for becoming and intercontinental airline thanks to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The first year was plagued with loss and the Swiss government gave the airline the then-equivalent of $1.5 billion, which was used up within two years.
According to Marcel Biedermann, the managing director intercontinental markets for Swiss, said there were three possibilities: stay independent as a niche carrier, shrink to an unrecognizable level, or attach onto 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 Swiss joining them. Lufthansa wanted to take over,
but the Swiss people did not want that. British Airways was open, and Oneworld partners thought Zürich 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 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. Furthermore, Swiss thought the relationship was one sided, where British Airways sapped out the benefits of the airline, but they would get no return.Website: http://www.swiss.com/
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