SWISS International Air Lines

The prices of crude oil and jet fuel have seen further steep rises to new record levels over the last few weeks. A number of major European airlines have already increased their fuel surcharges in the light of these developments. SWISS is now following suit, and is adjusting its own fuel surcharges.

SWISS will be joining Lufthansa on its dedicated travel trade programme eXperts, which now includes the newly updated co-branded website lufthansaexperts.com. The site has been designed to improve communications with the trade and offer 24-hour day support with all the latest product and pricing information.

SWISS customers will be able to travel on an electronic ticket to any SWISS destination from June 1 onwards. SWISS will offer electronic tickets (e-tickets) for all its services from June 1 onwards. The extended facility should soon make paperless tickets the norm for all travellers throughout the SWISS network.

SWISS will be raising its fares slightly at the end of May. The price of a SWISS flight from Switzerland will be increased by an average of around 2.5 per cent. With the cost of crude oil having reached new record highs over the past few weeks and months and with little prospect of any easing of the situation even in the mid-to-long-term future, SWISS has decided to follow its competitors and effect a moderate increase to its fares.

SWISS will be offering its customers culinary delights from Bern, Switzerland’s capital, from May 28. Gregor Zimmermann, executive chef at the city’s Bellevue Palace, has concocted some innovative combinations exclusively for SWISS’s First and Business Class travellers in collaboration with foodservice provider Gate Gourmet.

SWISS is adopting a mould-breaking new seating concept for its intercontinental Business Class cabins. The new seats – the first of their kind anywhere in the world – will be gradually installed throughout the SWISS long-haul fleet from spring 2009 onwards. The new seating will give SWISS Business travellers a “bed above the clouds” which is fully reclinable and two metres long.

SWISS inaugurated its new daily service between Switzerland and Shanghai yesterday when flight LX 188 departed from Zurich at 13:05 operated by an Airbus A340. The passengers aboard the first flight included Swiss Federal Councillor and Minister for Economic Affairs Doris Leuthard.

Swiss International Air Lines has been voted joint number-one for Europe – together with Austrian Airlines und Lufthansa – in the classic scheduled airline segment in the 2008 ‘Airline of the Year’ survey of the readers of Germany’s Capital magazine. SWISS was also placed sixth among intercontinental carriers, level with Lufthansa.

WEKO, the Swiss Competition Commission, has given its green light for the merger of the two airlines. The authorities have not imposed any special conditions. Edelweiss Air will continue to operate as an independent member company of the Swiss Group. Kuoni remains Edelweiss Air’s biggest customer.

SWISS and US Airways have concluded a new codeshare agreement that will offer both partners’ customers an even wider selection of air destinations. SWISS travellers will be able to fly from Zurich to Philadelphia on US Airways-operated flights from April 26 onwards; and US Airways customers will have onward connections from Zurich operated by SWISS to ten new European destinations.

The programme to re-equip all 52 aircraft of SWISS’s European fleet with new seats has now been completed. As a result, passengers on all SWISS flights within Europe can now enjoy the greater legroom and seating comfort offered by the new high-quality seats.

SWISS has launched the airline’s first services to its new destinations of Florence and St. Petersburg and Sofia. Three new European destinations have thus joined SWISS’s Zurich-based network. SWISS is also adding a new Belgrade flight from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg; and the SWISS Geneva-based network has been expanded with new services to Bucharest and Istanbul.

SWISS customers will enjoy more non-stop services from the airline’s Zurich hub and its further Swiss airports of Geneva and Basel from the start of this year’s summer timetable period.

SWISS will be treating its customers to fine delights from Canton Lucerne in Central Switzerland from tomorrow onwards. The menus have been created by Renee Rischmeyer, the renowned executive chef at the Park Hotel Weggis on Lake Lucerne, for the latest instalment in the airline’s “SWISS Taste of Switzerland” culinary concept for its First and Business Class passengers, and will be served aboard SWISS flights until the end of May.

The prices of crude oil and jet fuel have seen further steep rises to record levels over the last few weeks. A number of major European airlines have already increased their fuel surcharges in the light of these developments.

Swiss International Air Lines has been selected “Airline of the Year for 2007” for short-haul services by the readers of ReiseBlick, beating no fewer than 61 competitors to capture the award. The accolade was presented this week at the joint award ceremony hosted by ReiseBlick and the travel trade publication Schweizer Touristik.

SWISS has named one of its Airbus A321 aircraft “Zermatt” after the world-famous tourist resort in Southwest Switzerland. The aircraft – registration HB-IOD – was symbolically named in a ceremony held on the town’s Kirchplatz yesterday. The aircraft itself was high above the clouds at the time, en route from Zurich to Barcelona.

Alexander Arafa, who is currently in charge of Sales & Marketing Europe, has been appointed SWISS’s new Head of Cabin Crew. He succeeds Andrea Koch, who is stepping down at her own request after four years in the post to take a personal break. Arafa will assume his new duties on April 14.

Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. and Swiss International Air Lines are to embark on a comprehensive strategic partnership. The customers of both companies will benefit from the wider range of products and services that the collaboration should provide.

The SWISS long-haul route network will see a further innovation this summer. Douala will receive non-stop service to and from Zurich three times a week.

SWISS Airbus A321 HB-IOC now bears the name “St. Moritz”. The name of the famous resort in Canton Grisons, Southeast Switzerland was symbolically bestowed on the aircraft in a ceremony on the Corviglia above the town today. HB-IOC was flying between Geneva and Zurich at the time.

SWISS continues to invest in its ground product and services. This week saw the formal opening of three new facilities at its Zurich Airport hub in a ceremony attended by CEO Christoph Franz, Peter Erikson, Chief Commercial Officer of Unique Zurich Airport and René Fasel, President of the International Ice Hockey Federation and an Executive Member of the IOC.

Swiss International Air Lines has again been voted “Best Airline for Europe” by the readers of Germany’s reputed Business Traveller magazine. Switzerland’s quality airline secured the top spot in the 2007 Business Traveller Awards in the individual “Cabin Crew”, “Ground Services and Lounges” and “Cabin Comfort” categories to earn overall first place as “Best Airline for Europe” and maintain the success it had achieved in last year’s Awards.

A year after expanding its non-stop services from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg from four to ten destinations, SWISS has reported positive results from the enlarged network and plans to further increase the services available to its EuroAirport-based customers.

SWISS is taking to the rails: Switzerland’s national airline has put three special “SWISS Soccer Trams” onto the streetcar networks in Zurich, Basel and Geneva in the run-up to the 2008 European football championships, which will be held in Switzerland and Austria this summer.

SWISS is to mark the first anniversary of the introduction of six new destinations to its EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg operations. And it will be doing so with the customers who have made the new services such a success: from January 14 onwards, SWISS will be giving away 40 free flights from Basel in various competitions and promotions.

SWISS is making seasonal adjustments to its schedule in response to customer needs. As of December 22, Switzerland's national airline will fly five times weekly from EuroAirport to Manchester. Prague will be served six times weekly from January 10.

SWISS Airbus A320 HB-IJM was formally named “Richterswil” at Zurich Airport at lunchtime today. The aircraft is also SWISS’s ‘Flying Fanclub’, decked out in a special supporters’ livery for the run-up to the European soccer championships next year.

SWISS will be delighting its inflight guests with delicacies from Switzerland’s Canton Grisons from today onwards.

The first flight on SWISS’s new Delhi route took off from Zurich last week with 211 passengers on board. The flight – numbered LX 146 and operated by Airbus A330-200 “HB-IQK” – marks the first time the young company has added a further long-haul destination to its route network.

On December 20, SWISS will take residence in Terminal 4 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. SWISS has agreed with the operators of Terminal 1, its present home, that it will move to Terminal 4 in an effort to improve the particular situation for SWISS, and help ease traffic congestion at one of the world’s busiest airports.

Two new SWISS lounges will open for business at Geneva Airport have now opened, one for SWISS’s First Class customers and one for Miles&More Senator travellers.

SWISS is to raise its fares by an average of two to three per cent next year. The action, which is being taken in view of rising costs, will apply to all tickets issued in Switzerland from January 4, 2008 onwards. The new provisions will not apply to any tickets issued before this date.

A new SWISS House has opened in the SOS Children’s Village in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The house’s construction was funded by the generous donations of SWISS passengers during 2005. SWISS has been supporting the SOS Children’s Villages international charity for disadvantaged children for some time now through its “Your small change can make a big change” campaign to collect loose foreign currency aboard its flights.

SWISS continues to invest in developing its key Geneva network node: new non-stop services to Rome and Bucharest are to be added in the 2008 summer schedules. SWISS is also increasing its present frequencies on the Geneva-Moscow route.

SWISS will add its first new long-haul destination – Delhi – to its network in the coming winter schedules. SWISS’s European services from Basel and Geneva will also see some seasonal modifications. And capacity on the Zurich-Berlin route will be increased by around 33% through the provision of an additional daily flight.

SWISS long-haul Airbus A340s HB-JMC and HB-JMD will carry the names “Basel” and “Liestal” all over the world from now onwards. The names of the city and the town in Northern Switzerland were formally bestowed at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg this afternoon in a ceremony attended by SWISS CEO Christoph Franz, Regula Gysin-Grieder, the Mayor of Liestal, Hanspeter Gass, Head of Safety & Security for Canton Basel-Stadt, SWISS Vice President Paul Kurrus and various representatives from the business and tourist sectors of the Basel region.

SWISS has been voted “Europe’s Leading Airline” in the 14th World Travel Awards. The distinctions, which are among the most prestigious within the travel industry, were presented in Newcastle, UK on October 9.

Having established itself at a stable cruising altitude, SWISS is providing its personnel with a generous share of its bottom-line success. A new and forward-looking profit participation plan should ensure that employees benefit from the company’s profits with retroactive effect from July 2007. The new plan is supported by all the staff associations represented at the company.

The Miles & More frequent flyer programme is getting even better: from October 1, SWISS customers will be able to redeem their miles for attractive products online in the new SWISS SHOP. The products offered include a wide range of items from top Swiss manufacturers and international brands. They also include the four different lines of the new SWISS travel baggage range, which is available exclusively at the SWISS SHOP.

SWISS is to invest substantially more than CHF 1 billion in renewing its intercontinental aircraft fleet, replacing nine Airbus A330-200s with bigger and more advanced A330-300s. With the service entry of the new aircraft, SWISS will provide First Class cabins throughout its long-haul fleet.

SWISS customers will soon be able to enjoy an improved product on the ground and in the air. The acquisition of four additional Airbus A320 aircraft allows SWISS to add new European destinations to its timetable and increase existing services. A major expansion of SWISS facilities at Zurich and Geneva airports provides customers with a relaxing, personalised travel experience.

SWISS is further expanding its Geneva-based network with the introduction next April of a thrice-weekly service to and from Bucharest. The new route extends the range of non-stop services operated by SWISS from Geneva to ten destinations.

SWISS has teamed up with direct insurer Zurich Connect to offers its Miles & More members an attractive new mileage-earning opportunity: any member concluding a motor vehicle insurance policy with Zurich Connect will now earn 5000 award miles.

One of SWISS’s Airbus A340 long-haul aircraft is now carrying the name “Schaffhausen” all over the world. The aircraft was formally named today by Marcel Wenger, the present Mayor of the city in Northern Switzerland.

SWISS is further expanding its Geneva-based network with the introduction next April of a thrice-weekly service to and from Bucharest. The new route extends the range of non-stop services operated by SWISS from Geneva to ten destinations.

SWISS is now treating its customers to food specialities from Canton Vaud in Western Switzerland. The meals have been created by Didier Schneiter, the renowned executive Chef of the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, for the latest chapter in the airline’s “SWISS Taste of Switzerland” inflight catering programme.

Swiss International Air Lines generated earnings before interest and taxes of CHF 285 million for the first six months of 2007. The result compares to CHF 98 million for the same period last year. Consolidated net profit for the first six months of 2007 amounted to CHF 295 million (compared to CHF 76 million for the prior-year period).

With the prices of crude oil and jet fuel having seen further substantial increases to record new highs over the last few weeks, several major European airlines have raised their fuel surcharges in the past few days. SWISS is now following suit, and is adjusting its fuel surcharge for intercontinental flights.

SWISS has made it simpler than ever to book its flights online. The company’s SWISS.COM website now sports a new look, and is even easier to use and navigate than before.

Swiss International Air Lines has been voted Best European Network Carrier by the readers of Germany’s Capital magazine in its 2007 Airline of the Year awards. SWISS also secured an excellent third place in the Best Intercontinental Carrier category.

Swiss International Air Lines, official airline and supplier of Alinghi, flew the victorious America’s Cup team back to Switzerland today. SWISS had transported the defending champions in the latest America’s Cup contest throughout the defence of their trophy.

SWISS will offer daily service to Los Angeles, Johannesburg and Santiago de Chile (via São Paulo) from mid-July onwards. Riyadh will also receive an additional weekend flight during the summer months. In offering these further intercontinental fights, together with service to more European destinations, SWISS is meeting its customers’ demands for greater flexibility and choice.

SWISS is to add its first new long-haul destinations to its network, with the introduction of scheduled services to the key cities of Delhi (India) and Shanghai (China).

SWISS will be serving its guests tasty food creations from Zurich this summer in the latest phase of its “SWISS Taste of Switzerland” inflight culinary concept. Once again, the airline has won a leading local chef to contribute to its innovative on-board cuisine: Felix Eppisser of the Hotel Rigiblick, Zurich.

SWISS added a further Airbus A320 to its European fleet today. The aircraft, which bears the registration HB-IJH, took off from Zurich shortly after 07:00 this morning for Madrid on its first revenue flight. The arrival of the new transport concludes the expansion of the SWISS European Airbus fleet which was announced last autumn, and which has seen the company add five more A320-family aircraft to its European operations.

A SWISS Airbus A340 with registration HB-JMG was today named “Luzern” as part of the 50th anniversary of air transport service between Switzerland and Japan. Lucerne mayor Urs W. Studer performed the naming ceremony, which was also attended by Lucerne Tourism director Marcel Perren and SWISS CEO Christoph Franz. The newly named aircraft took off for Tokyo at 13:00.

SWISS today named one of its Airbus A340 aircraft “Zürich”. The naming ceremony was performed by Zurich mayor Elmar Ledergerber and SWISS CEO Christoph Franz. The Airbus A340 with registration HB-JMB then took off for Tokyo punctually at 13:00. Home to SWISS’s operating hub, Zurich is also important as a major business and tourism location in Switzerland.

Ten destinations, attractive fares starting from CHF 99 (with taxes and fees included) and daily connections for business travelers - this has been the SWISS product offer at EuroAirport since January 15.

SWISS is to add three new destinations to its European network under codeshare agreements with partner air carriers. Salzburg will receive direct service from Zurich in a codeshare operation with Cirrus Airlines; and Naples and Catania will be served under a codeshare agreement between SWISS and Air One.

SWISS customers are helping to build an SOS Children’s Village near Phuket in Thailand, thanks to their generosity last year. The money was raised through the “Your small change can make a big change” campaign, under which SWISS collects donations aboard its flights for the benefit of disadvantaged children.

Swiss International Air Lines will be offering its customers tasty treats from Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland this spring. The new inflight attraction is the latest chapter in the airline’s innovative “SWISS Taste of Switzerland” culinary concept, which focuses on its home country’s varied regional cuisine.

SWISS is offering attractive product innovations in its 2007 summer schedules, with more intercontinental services and a wide range of European connections. With Valencia added to the network, SWISS will serve 70 destinations in 42 countries in its summer timetable.

Travellers can save time and money by booking through swiss.com as SWISS has now broadened its online service. The latest innovations in website booking give passengers a quicker overview of all fares and more options in terms of fare selection.

SWISS has been named “Best Airline for Europe” in this year’s coveted Business Traveller Awards. The overall top spot was the result of the airline’s excellent rankings in various specific areas: the readers of Germany’s Business Traveller magazine placed Switzerland’s quality carrier first in the “Cabin Crew”, “Ground Services”, “Cabin Comfort” and “Inflight Food & Drink” categories.

SWISS customers will soon have even more choice in their air travel plans. Already the only airline providing direct flights between Switzerland and Japan, SWISS will be offering daily service on its Zurich-Tokyo route from February onwards.

Flight LX 1934 from Basel to Barcelona, operated by aircraft HB-IXN, took off on time at 09:55 yesterday morning as the first of SWISS’s six new services from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, which are introduced today. The new connections raise to ten the number of destinations with non-stop service to and from Basel.

SWISS today welcomed its tenth million passenger of the current year aboard one of its aircraft and awarded a voucher for two persons to the timely traveller. On reaching the 10 million mark, SWISS has already surpassed the number of passengers carried last year by a margin of about nine percent.

An Airbus A320 with the registration letters HB-IJB has become the 70th SWISS aircraft in commercial service. As announced back in September, this aircraft enables SWISS to take advantage of the growth in European air transport. It will be deployed on various existing routes within Europe.

The SWISS fleet today welcomed its eleventh Airbus A330 and twentieth long-haul aircraft to commercial service today. Bearing the registration letters HB-IQR, the A330 took off for Montreal on its first SWISS flight at mid-day today. As announced back in June, SWISS will use this additional aircraft to add frequencies on various intercontinental routes to North America, the Middle East and Africa.

“SWISS Taste of Switzerland”, SWISS’s innovative inflight culinary concept, is offering passengers a special winter treat: for the next three months, the Swiss specialities served aboard SWISS flights will be the creation of not one top chef but the entire Swiss National Culinary Team. “SWISS Taste of Switzerland” has already garnered several distinctions; and last month SWISS earned the Pax International Readership Award for the “excellent catering” offered on its European flights.