The Swiss International Airlines is Switzerland’s national airline and a subsidiary of the German airline Lufthansa. Its scheduled services operate in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Kloten Airport. As part of the Lufthansa Group and a member of the global Star Alliance, the airline remains true to its mission of providing quality air services that link Switzerland with Europe and rest of the world. Therefore, people who fly with Swiss airlines should always feel at home. Core values here include: personal care, hospitality and quality in every detail.
With its fleet of seventy five aircrafts it serves seventy six 76 destinations (summer schedules) around the world from its Zurich hub and from Basel and Geneva international airports.
Learn some facts about the establishment of this airline. It was formed in year 2001 after the bankruptcy of Swissair which was Switzerland's former flag carrier. Creditors of the failed airline included Credit Suisse and the UBS. They arranged to sell part of Swissair's assets to Crossair, the regional counterpart to the transatlantic Swiss air. 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, the Swiss confederation, cantons and communities and so on. It also owns subsidiary companies Swiss Sun and Crossair Europe.
Swiss Airline was founded from the remains of Crossair but the name change did not help. The first year faced loss and the Swiss government gave the airline an equivalent of 1.5 billion dollars, which too was used up within two years. The airline then talked to Air France-KLM, British Airways, and Lufthansa but as it was tied up with debt and an uncertain future it seemed to be an unattractive investment for the three. After teir merger with KLM, Air France said they were too busy to deal with Swiss airline joining them. Lufthansa wanted to take over, but the Swedish people did not want that. At the same time 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, the airline was finally accepted into the Oneworld airline alliance, after having been blocked by British Airways, with which there is competition on many long-haul routes. In June 2004, the Swiss International Airline announced its decision not to join Oneworld as they did not want to integrate their current frequent flyer program into British Airways' Executive Club. Furthermore, they thought the relationship was one sided, where British Airways got all the benefits of the airline, and they would get no return.
By 2005, Swissair made a come back. The airline annually halved the losses and gradually received a net profit of 220 million dollars as per facts and figures on the company website. The final takeover of the airline by Lufthansa was implemented in July 2007. It joined the Star Alliance on April 1st, 2006, when it also became a member of Lufthansa's frequent flyer program by the name of Miles and More. The airline has set up a regional airline subsidiary known as the Swiss European Air Lines which has its own air operator's certificate and operates a non-Airbus fleet. Following Lufthansa's take over, the regional fleet was changed. This reconstruction also caused Swiss to renegotiate their supplier contracts, which include ground handling, maintenance, food service, and labor.
On the Swiss International Airlines website, you will be able to find cheap round trip tickets and get a hold of some of the promotional airfare that the website has to offer. The internet is the best way of nabbing discount tickets for any reason, whether it is due to availability or sale price or anything else. The web has revolutionized the way people book air travel, and of course the Swiss Airline is no different.
