SWISS expands services in its winter schedules

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 will fly to 71 destinations in 42 countries in its winter schedules, or 85 destinations including those served jointly with codeshare partners. The winter timetable period runs from October 28, 2007 to March 29, 2008.

SWISS continues to grow and expand in response to demand. Eleven Airbus A340s are now in operation with Switzerland’s national airline (the latest addition entered service on September 21), and a further A340 will join them at the beginning of 2008.

The new aircraft are enabling SWISS to further expand its long-haul operations. The latest A340 will soon be deployed onto the Zurich-Chicago route, restoring a First Class option to these services; and the Airbus A330 freed up in the process will be used to operate a new daily service between Zurich and Delhi which will commence on November 25.

Delhi becomes SWISS’s second destination (after Mumbai) in the rapidly-growing Indian market. The new route is a clear response to rising market demand for direct service between Switzerland and Delhi, among business travellers in particular but also in the tourism sector.

Strong increases in demand have also been seen for service to and from China, especially among the business community. Indeed, China is Switzerland’s second-biggest Asian trading partner. That demand will be met from early summer 2008 onwards with new non-stop SWISS services to and from Shanghai. The original starting date for such service – the start of the 2008 summer schedules – is being moved back, however, owing to a delay in the delivery of the further Airbus A340 which will be operated on the route. First flight is now planned for May 9 2008.

Demand-driven adjustments in Europe
SWISS will also offer an additional frequency between Zurich and Berlin from the start of the winter schedules on October 28, raising service on the route to four daily flights. The new service, which will be operated by an Airbus A320-family aircraft, means that SWISS customers will enjoy both early-morning and late-evening non-stop connections to and from Berlin, and will be able to choose from no fewer than seven SWISS and Lufthansa non-stop services a day to and from the city.

SWISS will also be introducing a new weekly service between Geneva and Manchester to meet the seasonal demand for such connections during the winter months. Manchester will be served every Sunday between December 16 and March 23 using Avro RJ100 equipment. SWISS will further operate a second Saturday service between Geneva and Moscow between December 29 and March 29. This, too, is in response to customer demand: Switzerland is seeing a steady increase in winter sports visitors from Russia. SWISS will thus provide non-stop service to nine destinations from Geneva in the winter schedules, or 22 including those served in collaboration with codeshare partners.

SWISS’s route network from Basel will also undergo seasonal modifications. From November 11 to March 16 a fourth weekly flight will be added to the Basel-Manchester route. The new service will operate every Sunday. And Prague will also receive a fifth weekly service from Basel between November 6 and February 26. Both new services are being provided to meet customer demand for flights to Switzerland during the winter season.

Codeshare destinations
On the partnership front, SWISS has further expanded its codeshare collaboration with fellow Star Alliance carrier TAP Portugal. A new daily SWISS/TAP codeshare service was introduced between Zurich and Oporto on September 15. The flights are operated by TAP subsidiary Portugália.

Elsewhere, the SWISS codeshare service between Zurich and Skopje, in collaboration with and operated by Macedonian Airlines, will be withdrawn on October 28. And Malaysia Airlines will be withdrawing its Kuala Lumpur-Zurich service, which it has also been operating as a codeshare flight with SWISS, on January 24. Despite these developments, however, the SWISS winter schedules will still include 14 destinations served in collaboration with codeshare partners.

SWISS quality on the ground, too
SWISS will be opening new lounges at Geneva Airport this autumn for both First Class passengers and Miles&More Senator travellers. The facilities join the new Geneva Business Class Lounge, which has been available since May.

SWISS will also be opening three new lounges for Business Class passengers, Miles&More Senators and First Class travellers at its Zurich hub to accommodate growing passenger numbers, especially of business travellers. And all SWISS customers using Zurich Airport can enjoy the facilities offered by a new airport travel office from December onwards.

Farther afield, SWISS passengers departing from Miami will be able to check in at the new South Terminal from November 1 onwards. The change of terminal is also a product of SWISS’s Star Alliance membership: all Star Alliance airlines will now perform all their check-in and boarding at the same Miami terminal.

For more information and bookings, visit Swiss.com.