Metropolitan Airport NewsMetropolitan Airport News
  • Airport News
    • Publisher’s Message
    • Fast Five
    • On Duty
    • Air Cargo
    • Airline News
    • Airport Community
    • Airport Employment News
    • Airport Safety & Security
    • Company Spotlight
    • Ground Services
    • Intermodal
    • New York Aviation History
    • Non-Rev Traveler
  • Airport & Aviation Events
  • Airport Employment
  • Latest Issue
  • Login

Subscribe for Updates

Get the latest local airport and aviation news delivered right into your inbox each week!

News Updates

Republic Airport Commission Meeting

May 26, 2023

CAO’s 2023 Aviation Job Fair

May 26, 2023

Career Conversations: LI STEM Hub

May 26, 2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Metropolitan Airport NewsMetropolitan Airport News
  • Airport News
    • Publisher’s Message
    • Fast Five
    • On Duty
    • Air Cargo
    • Airline News
    • Airport Community
    • Airport Employment News
    • Airport Safety & Security
    • Company Spotlight
    • Ground Services
    • Intermodal
    • New York Aviation History
    • Non-Rev Traveler
  • Airport & Aviation Events
  • Airport Employment
  • Latest Issue
  • Login
Metropolitan Airport NewsMetropolitan Airport News
Home»Airline News»SWISS Marks Its 20th Anniversary
Airline News

SWISS Marks Its 20th Anniversary

Metropolitan Airport NewsBy Metropolitan Airport NewsMarch 31, 2022No Comments7 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
SWISS Airlines

SWISS is celebrating its 20th anniversary today. The company looks back on an eventful history that has seen it evolve from an initial ‘problem child’ into one of the world’s leading air carriers. The airline of Switzerland is taking the opportunity of this jubilee to thank its customers, its employees, its airport partners, and its suppliers, along with the people of Switzerland and the Swiss political world, for all their loyalty and support over the past two decades. To these ends, with due regard to the present parameters and possibilities, various anniversary activities have been planned throughout the rest of this year.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its foundation this year. The first-ever SWISS flight was performed from Basel to Zurich on 31 March 2002. The airline has been keeping Switzerland connected with the world ever since, bringing people together and making a vital contribution to promoting the country as an attractive place to visit and do business. “If it weren’t for the great loyalty of our customers, the strong commitment of our employees in the air and on the ground, our fruitful collaborations with our airport partners and our suppliers, and – not least – the firm support that we have received from the Swiss people, the Swiss political world and the banks, including in the present pandemic times, SWISS would simply not be one of the leading airlines today,” says company CEO Dieter Vranckx. “We have all achieved so much together. And I would like to say a sincere thank-you to everyone who has given us such strong and solid support over the past 20 years, and has helped us ensure that SWISS will continue to fly the Swiss cross with pride and with gratitude all over the globe.”

An Eventful History

SWISS’s early years, following its creation on the foundations of Crossair and of Swissair’s flight operations, were marked by rigorous restructurings and uncertainties over its continued viability. An initially oversized aircraft fleet had to be substantially downscaled, together with the original workforce, before the new company could generate profits from its flight operations. The new SWISS also lacked the critical mass required to survive alone in the fiercely competitive air travel market. Such critical mass was secured in 2005, however, through the company’s integration into the Lufthansa Group. From then on, SWISS was able to benefit from the group’s strength and synergies and achieved its financial turnaround as early as the following year.

The next SWISS milestone was also in 2006, when the company joined Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline grouping. One year later Delhi became the first new intercontinental destination to be added to the SWISS route network since the airline’s foundation. It was followed by Shanghai (2008), San Francisco (2010), Beijing (2012), and Singapore (2013), all key points for Switzerland and all served with non-stop flights. Two further long-haul destinations – Washington and Osaka – were due to be added in 2020, but had such plans shelved by the coronavirus pandemic.

SWISS today serves 92 destinations from its Zurich hub and 46 points from Geneva. It carries more passengers and cargo than any Swiss airline has ever transported in the past. And together with its sister airline Edelweiss, which also joined the Lufthansa Group in 2008, the company is very well positioned in the premium business and leisure air travel segments.

Billions of Investments In a Premium Product and An Advanced Aircraft Fleet

SWISS’s takeoff into a new era was mirrored in 2011 by its adoption of a new corporate brand. Over the following decade, some CHF 8 billion was invested in acquiring the most advanced and fuel-efficient aircraft, in substantially expanding its destination portfolio from Zurich and Geneva, and in further enhancing its premium product in the form of new lounges and aircraft cabins. At the same time, SWISS was compelled to end its flight operations in Basel in 2015, after a changing market environment and difficult political parameters had blighted prospects and perspectives in the premium travel segment. Just one year later, though, came one of the biggest highlights in the company’s 20-year history to date: the addition to the SWISS fleet of the world’s first highly economical Airbus A220 (which was then known as the Bombardier C Series). The same year saw the delivery of SWISS’s first Boeing 777-300ER, its long-haul flagship, twelve of which are now in service.

SWISS will continue to promote such investments in sustainability and in its product in the years ahead. The company has set itself the two objectives of halving its carbon dioxide emissions from their 2019 level by 2030 and of making its operations carbon-neutral by 2050. “Sustainability is one of our key strategic pillars,” explains CEO Vranckx. “Over the past 20 years, we have reduced our carbon dioxide emissions per passenger kilometer by around 30 percent. We continue to work on improving our fuel efficiency; and, among other endeavors, we are also lobbying strongly for the development and market introduction of sustainable aviation fuel, to help us achieve our ambitious ecological objectives.” SWISS will also have welcomed 25 state-of-the-art Airbus A320/321neos into its fleet by the end of 2025. These highly advanced aircraft emit some 20 percent less carbon dioxide than their predecessor models.

Airline of Switzerland: Mission Accomplished

The crisis prompted by the coronavirus pandemic has further confirmed the vital importance of having an ‘Airline of Switzerland’ or a Swiss-based hub carrier. SWISS, together with its sister airline Edelweiss, performed a total of 86 flights under the biggest repatriation program ever conducted by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs to bring stranded travelers back home. Between the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 and February 2022, SWISS’s Swiss WorldCargo airfreight division also performed no fewer than 2,650 all-cargo flights that transported over 69,300 tonnes of cargo and provided Switzerland many with urgently-needed medical supplies such as facemasks and vaccines.

In the 20 years since its foundation, SWISS has performed 2.8 million flights of an aggregate distance of 3.8 billion kilometers or 95,000 times around the world. These flights have transported just under 266 million passengers – about 40 times the population of Switzerland – and 5.6 million tonnes of cargo, the equivalent in weight of some 560 Eiffel Towers.

Twenty Aircraft Namings and Many More Anniversary Activities Planned

SWISS is marking its 20th anniversary with a wide range of activities and attractive offers. The latter will be launched with a 48-hour sale from 2 April in which customers can take advantage of attractive fares throughout the European network. In addition, 20 of SWISS’s advanced Airbus A220 aircraft will be formally named after Swiss tourist resorts between now and year-end. The naming ceremonies will be held in selected locations throughout Switzerland, on a “We’ll come to you” basis.

Further anniversary attractions include a special jubilee video that captures the landmark moments in SWISS’s 20-year history to date. SWISS travelers will be able to immerse themselves in the SWISS story, too: from July to September, passengers will be offered a special edition of the inflight SWISS Magazine providing intriguing insights into the fascinating SWISS world of the past two decades along with our travel specialists’ favorite destinations. Also planned is a big 20th-anniversary competition offering various attractive prizes.

Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Metropolitan Airport News
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Produced by a team of aviation professionals and enthusiasts, our mission is to inform and update the more than 68,000 employees who work on the metropolitan New York airport properties, as well as the many others that provide goods and services in the surrounding communities.

RELATED NEWS & UPDATES

ITA Airways Takes Delivery Of Its 1st Airbus A330neo

ITA Airways Takes Delivery of Its First A330neo

May 26, 2023
New Terminal One at JFK Builds Out Executive Leadership Team With New Key Hires

New Terminal One at JFK Announces New Partnership with Korean Air

May 22, 2023
United Becomes First U.S. Airline to Add Live Activities for iPhone

United Becomes First U.S. Airline to Add Live Activities for iPhone

May 22, 2023
Atlantic Airways is launching the first scheduled service between the U.S. and the Faroe Islands.

Atlantic Airways Is Launching the First Scheduled Service Between the U.S. and the Faroe Islands

May 18, 2023
Alaska Airlines unveils salmon livery designed by Alaska Native artist to celebrate Indigenous culture & language

Alaska Airlines Unveils Salmon Livery to Celebrate Indigenous Culture

May 12, 2023
Delta people commemorate their airline's return to London's Gatwick Airport (LGW).

Delta Returns London Gatwick to New York-JFK

April 15, 2023
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

AIRPORT & AVIATION EVENTS
JFK Airport Hiring Event
May 31, 2023
9:30 AM to 3:00 PM
  • John F. Kennedy International Airport-(JFK)
Jamaica, New York
JFK Rotary Club Monthly Dinner Meeting
June 01, 2023
5:30 PM to 8:30 PM
  • John F. Kennedy International Airport-(JFK)
Vetro Restaurant & Lounge
Howard Beach, New York
JFK Rotary Beautification Service Project
June 02, 2023
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
  • John F. Kennedy International Airport-(JFK)
Queens Center for Progress
Queens, New York
  • >> More Airport & Aviation Events

Subscribe for Weekly Email Updates

Get the latest local airport news, events, and jobs delivered right into your inbox each week.

Metropolitan Airport News provides timely news, information and updates for both Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees and businesses that provide services at, and around the major New York airports (JFK, LGA, EWR).

John F. Kennedy International Airport
PO Box 300877
Jamaica, NY 11430 USA
Phone: (347) 396-0904
Email Us

Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn Flickr
MAY 2023 ISSUE
Metropolitan Airport News - May-2023
LATEST COMMENTS
  • Howard Kaye on Travelers Aid JFK Airport: A Helping Hand Along the Way
  • Julia Lauria-Blum on Larger Than Life
  • Robert lee on Jane Mrosko
  • Jerelyn Zontini on Larger Than Life
  • About Us
  • Advertising Options
  • Charitable Giving Program
  • Back Issue Archive
  • Contact Us
© 2023 Airport Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.