Swiss International Air Lines AG, stylised as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, as well as a Star Alliance member. It operates scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its main hub, and Geneva Airport as its secondary hub.
The company maintains its registered office and operational headquarters in Kloten, near Zurich Airport.
The airline was formed following the bankruptcy in 2002 of Swissair, Switzerland's then-flag carrier. The new airline was built around what had been Swissair's regional subsidiary, Crossair. Swiss retains Crossair's IATA code LX (Swissair's code was SR). It assumed Swissair's old ICAO code of SWR (Crossair's was CRX) to maintain international traffic rights.
History
Beginnings Swiss was formed after the 2002 bankruptcy of Swissair, Switzerland's former flag carrier. Forty per cent of Crossair's income came from Swissair. The new airline lost US$1.6 billion from 2002 to 2005. Swissair's biggest creditors, Credit Suisse and UBS, sold part of Swissair's assets to Crossair, which had been Swissair's regional counterpart. At the time, both Swissair and Crossair were part of the same holding company, SAirGroup. Crossair later changed its name to Swiss International Air Lines, and the new national airline officially started operations on 31 March 2002. The airline was initially owned by institutional investors (61.3%), the Swiss Confederation (20.3%), cantons and communities (12.2%), and others (6.2%). Swiss also owns subsidiaries Swiss Sun (100%) and Crossair Europe (99.9%). It has a total of 7,383 employees.
According to Marcel Biedermann, the managing director of intercontinental markets for Swiss, there were three possibilities: stay independent as a niche carrier, shrink to an unrecognisable level, or attach to another airline group. The last choice was made. 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 the Swiss joining them. British Airways was open, and Oneworld partners thought Zurich 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 3 June 2004, Swiss announced its decision not to join Oneworld because they did not want to integrate their current frequent flyer programme into British Airways' Executive Club. Furthermore, Swiss thought the relationship was one-sided, where British Airways drained the benefits of the airline, but they would get no return.
Recovery The airline annually halved its losses and in 2006 recorded a net profit of $220 million. The net profit for 2007 was $570 million. Biedermann stated in the March 2008 edition of Airways that "this was the beginning of getting our house back in order." He expressed the need for assistance and cited Lufthansa as a model, indicating a natural convergence despite their differences. Even with the smaller network, Swiss carried the same number of passengers as it did in 2002.
On 22 March 2005, Lufthansa Group confirmed its plan to take over Swiss, starting with a minority stake (11%) in a new company set up to hold Swiss shares called Air Trust. Swiss operations were gradually integrated with Lufthansa's in late 2005, and the takeover was completed on 1 July 2007. Swiss joined Star Alliance and became a member of Lufthansa's Miles & More frequent flyer program on 1 April 2006.
The airline set up a regional airline subsidiary called Swiss European Air Lines. The carrier had its own air operator's certificate. Swiss also owns two divisions – Swiss Aviation Training and Swiss WorldCargo (which uses the belly capacity of passenger planes). Swiss European Air Lines (later renamed Swiss Global Air Lines) has since ceased operations and merged with its parent, Swiss.
In 2008, Swiss International Air Lines acquired Edelweiss Air and Servair, later renamed Swiss Private Aviation. In February 2011, Swiss Private Aviation ceased operations as a result of restructuring. The company recommended using Lufthansa Private Jet Service instead.
In 2007, Swiss ordered nine Airbus A330-300s to gradually replace existing A330-200s and have three-class seating. The first A330-300 was put into service on the flagship Zürich to New York-JFK route in April 2009. In spring 2010, Swiss International operated five A330-300s on medium- and long-haul routes. The remaining four A330-300 aircraft joined the fleet in 2011.
Takeover by Lufthansa Following Lufthansa Group's takeover, the regional fleet was changed from Crossair's Embraer ERJs, Saab 340s, and 2000s to Avro RJs, which were flown by a wholly owned subsidiary, Swiss Global Air Lines. The rest of the fleet was rationalised and now mainly consists of Airbus aircraft, apart from the Boeing 777. Swiss also renegotiated their supplier contracts, including ground handling, maintenance, food service, and labour. Swiss shareholders received a performance-based option for their shares. The payment was in 2008, and the amount depended on how well Lufthansa's shares compared with competitors' shares. Lufthansa continues to maintain Swiss as a separate brand.
In 2010, Swiss and Lufthansa were named in a European Commission investigation into price-fixing but were not fined due to acting as a whistleblower.
On 18 August 2011, Swiss introduced a new company logo which resembled the logo of the defunct Swissair.
COVID-19 losses and bailout The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected Swiss International Air Lines. It reported revenues for 2020 of CHF 1.85 billion, which were 65.2% below its prior-year level.
In August 2020, Swiss International Air Lines received a CHF1.5 billion ($1.65 billion) state-backed loan from the Swiss government to weather the pandemic. The use of Swiss state funds was criticised by some commentators because Swiss is a fully owned subsidiary of German airline Lufthansa, making questions regarding its survival the responsibility of the German government, which had similarly lent a helping hand to Lufthansa during the pandemic.
On 18 November 2020, it was announced that Dieter Vranckx would assume the position of CEO as of 1 January 2021. Vranckx has 20 years of experience within the Lufthansa Group and has been CEO of Lufthansa Group member Brussels Airlines since the start of 2020.
In June 2024, it was announced that Vranckx would step down by the end of the month and be replaced by German national and Lufthansa CityLine Managing Director, Jens Fehlinger. Heike Birlenbach, the Chief Commercial Officer, temporarily led Swiss until Fehlinger took office in October 2024. Dieter Vranckx transferred to the executive board of parent company Lufthansa on 1 July 2024 and remains with Swiss as vice chairman of its board of directors.
Expansion of flight operations On 16 January 2025, it was reported that Swiss would resume its flight operations to Tel Aviv from 1 February 2025. The airline would fly daily from Zurich to Tel Aviv using its Airbus A320 aircraft.
Corporate affairs Business trends The key trends for Swiss International Air Lines are (as of the financial year ending 31 December): Revenue(€m)Operatingincome(€m)Number ofemployeesNumber ofpassengers(m)Loadfactor(%)FleetsizeReferences20113,9422597,91816.381.19320124,220191 8,37816.982.49220134,2238,64717.083.39420144,2412788,69417.283.39220154,5424299,00917.582.88820164,4714149,40917.980.289 20174,7275429,49718.681.49120184,8705939,94120.483.110520195,14455810,53121.583.910720201,732−68910,0555.660.810920212,098−4178,7437.156.810720224,8054769,04515.079.810720235,9058099,90919.384.410920246,47280110,87021.084.011220256,48160011,21721.483.0116
Head office
Swiss International Air Lines has its operational headquarters at Kloten Airport, where it also maintains its registered office.
It previously had its operational headquarters on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg near Basel, Switzerland. The French-Swiss airport is located on French territory and has customs-free access to Switzerland. The former Swiss head office is located in the Swiss section of the airport, and it is only accessible from Switzerland. ATTENTION! It is only possible to reach SWISS at the EuroAirport Basel via the Swiss customs or the customs-free road! According to the commercial register, the legal seat was in Basel itself.
The head office of Swiss International Air Lines was formerly the head office of Crossair. In 2002 the "Crossair" sign on the building was replaced by a "Swiss International Air Lines" one. According to a company statement, the new name replaces Crossair at the corporate headquarters in Basel. As of 2004, the Basel area offices housed about 1,000 employees, while the Zurich area offices housed about 850 employees. When Swiss started as a company, about 1,400–1,500 worked at the Basel offices. Circa 2014, the CEO of Swiss planned to move his primary office from Basel Airport to Kloten Airport, while the former would be a secondary office.
Swiss also operates offices at Geneva Airport.
Subsidiaries The following companies are part of the Swiss International Air Lines Group: Edelweiss Air Swiss AviationSoftware Swiss Aviation Training Swiss WorldCargo SWISStours
In-flight service On European flights, Swiss serves drinks. Depending on the time of day and the duration of the flight, Swiss may also serve snacks. Cold snacks are served on shorter flights, and hot ones on longer flights. Economy class on short-haul flights only includes a bottle of water and a small bar of Swiss chocolate branded with the word "SWISS", and the distinctive tail fin is provided to passengers before landing on all flights. For its short- to mid-haul flights out of Geneva Airport and Zürich Airport, SWISS has a buy-on-board system called Swiss Saveurs.
Trains and buses Swiss' SWISS Air Rail service allows passengers to take any SBB train at no extra charge from Zurich Airport to Basel SBB railway station and Lugano railway station. Swiss previously operated a Swissbus service from Ottawa Railway Station to Montréal–Trudeau airport in Montreal.
Destinations
Partners
Other Lufthansa Group airlines Swiss is part of the Lufthansa Group, which also owns the following airlines:
Austrian Airlines Brussels Airlines Discover Airlines Eurowings Lufthansa ITA Airways
Joint venture agreements Swiss has the following joint venture agreements:
Atlantic Joint Venture among Air Canada, United Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings Europe Singapore Pacific Joint Venture among Singapore Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, and SWISS Europe Japan Joint Venture among All Nippon Airways, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS Europe China Joint Venture among Air China, Shenzhen Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, and SWISS
Codeshare agreements Swiss codeshares with the following airlines:
Air Canada Air China Air France Air India Airlink All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Austrian Airlines Avianca Bangkok Airways Brussels Airlines Cathay Pacific Croatia Airlines Discover Airlines Edelweiss Air Egyptair El Al Eurowings ITA Airways KM Malta Airlines LOT Polish Airlines Lufthansa Singapore Airlines South African Airways TAP Air Portugal Thai Airways International United Airlines
Interline agreements Swiss has interline agreements with the following airlines:
Aerolíneas Argentinas Aeroméxico Air Austral Air Dolomiti Air Mauritius American Airlines Bangkok Airways British Airways China Airlines China Eastern Airlines China Southern Airlines Condor Delta Air Lines Emirates