Swissair - WikiHQ

Swissair (stylised in all lowercase) was the flag carrier of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002.

Swissair was formed from a merger between Belair and Ad Astra Aero. For most of its 71 years, it was one of the major international airlines and known as the "Flying Bank" due to its financial stability, causing it to be regarded as a Swiss national symbol and icon. It was headquartered at Zurich Airport in Kloten.

In 1997, the Swissair Group was renamed SAirGroup (although it was again renamed Swissair Group in 2001), with four subdivisions: SAirLines (to which Swissair, regional subsidiary Crossair, leisure subsidiary Balair, and leasing subsidiary FlightLease belonged), SAirServices, SAirLogistics, and SAirRelations.

Due to its so-called "Hunter Strategy" of expanding its market by acquiring smaller airlines, Swissair was suffering from over-expansion by the late 1990s. The crash of Swissair Flight 111 in September 1998 killed all 229 people on board and generated a costly lawsuit and negative publicity for the airline. After the economic downturn following the September 11 attacks, Swissair's assets dramatically lost value, grounding the already-troubled airline in October 2001. The Swiss federal government later revived and sustained the airline until 31 March 2002. The final Swissair flight landed in Zurich from São Paulo on 1 April 2002.

On 1 April 2002, a former regional subsidiary, Crossair, renamed itself Swiss International Air Lines and took over most of Swissair's routes, planes, and staff. Swiss International Air Lines was taken over by the German airline Lufthansa in 2005. Swissair's holding company SAirGroup AG, completed its liquidation proceedings, which lasted over two decades, in 2024.

History

thumb|200px|Swissair [[Fokker F.VIIb-3 m (CH-192) piloted by Walter Mittelholzer in Kassala (Sudan), February 1934]]

Founding years

On 26 March 1931, Swissair – Schweizerische Luftverkehr AG (English: Swissair – Swiss Air Transport) was founded through the fusion of the airlines Ad Astra Aero (founded in 1919) and Balair (1925). Balz Zimmermann and the Swiss aviation pioneer Walter Mittelholzer were the founding fathers. In contrast to other airlines, it did not receive support from the government, which allowed it to operate independently and focus on building a strong brand identity without relying on state funding. The name "Swissair" was the proposal of Dr Alphonse Ehinger, president of the board of directors of Balair, although "Swissair" was first deemed "un-Swiss". In the first operational year, 64 people were employed, including ten pilots, seven radio operators, and eight mechanics. Their planes offered 85 seats, and operation was maintained only from March to October. The route network had a length of .

thumb|The first Swissair logo

On 17 April 1932, Swissair bought two Lockheed Orions, making them the second European airline to use American planes after the Czechoslovak operator CSA purchased a Ford Trimotor in 1930. The Orion was the fastest commercial aeroplane of its time and was put to use on the "Express Line", Zürich-Munich-Vienna. This led Lufthansa to ask Heinkel for a model that could top Orion's speed, leading to the Heinkel He 70. The first trans-Alpine route was introduced in 1933: Zürich-Milan.

For the first time in Europe, flight attendants were employed aboard the Curtiss Condor beginning in 1934. Nelly Diener, the first flight attendant in Europe, became world-famous. She was killed after just 79 flights in a crash near Wurmlingen, Germany, on 27 July 1934. The cause of the crash was determined to be material fatigue.

In 1936, Douglas DC-2s were acquired, and London was added to the route network. In 1937, the bigger Douglas DC-3 was bought. In the same year, both founding fathers died: Walter Mittelholzer died while mountaineering in Steiermark, Austria, and Balz Zimmermann succumbed to an infectious disease.

thumb|A Swissair DC-2. They would become a very loyal customer of Douglas, buying most of their commercial aircraft models.

On 27 August 1939, days before World War II broke out, the airspace over Germany and France was closed. Swissair was forced to suspend service to Amsterdam, Paris, and London. Two days later, the Swissair service was closed completely. Of 180 employees, 131 had to serve in the army. Despite the war, some routes were later reintroduced, such as Munich, Berlin, Rome, and Barcelona. In 1940, an invasion of Switzerland was feared, and Swissair moved their operations to the Magadino Plains in Ticino. Operations were suspended in August 1944, when a Swissair DC-2 was destroyed in Stuttgart during an American bombing raid.

On 30 July 1945, Swissair was able to resume commercial aviation.

Ascension

left|thumb|Swissair share, issued 17 April 1947

thumb|A Swiss Air Lines Convair 240 at [[Manchester Airport, England, in March 1950]]

thumb|200px|A Swissair Douglas DC-3 in the 1950s

thumb|right|A Douglas DC-6B at Manchester Airport in 1954

In 1947, the rise of shareholder capital to enabled long-haul flights to New York, South Africa, and South America with Douglas DC-4s. The modern Convair 240, the first Swissair plane with a pressurised cabin, was used for short- and medium-range flights starting in late 1948. The first Swissair DC-4 flight to New York was routed via Shannon, Ireland, and Stephenville, Newfoundland, on 2 May 1947. However, it ended in Washington, D.C., due to fog at New York's LaGuardia Airport. The total elapsed time was 20 hours and 55 minutes.

thumb|The former Swissair logo

The public, including the federal government, cantons, municipalities, the Swiss Federal Railways, and the Swiss postal services, took over 30.6% of the shares and enabled Swissair to get a credit of 15  million Swiss francs to purchase the airline's first two Douglas DC-6B airliners for delivery in 1951. By that act, Swissair became Switzerland's national flag carrier. The new pressurised aircraft was to replace the DC-4 on transatlantic routes.

In 1948, the airport in Dübendorf, which had served as the base of Swissair, was relocated to Zürich-Kloten. Military aviation continued in Dübendorf. The next year, Swissair plunged into a financial crisis due to a sudden devaluation of the British pound because fares, except for traffic to the United States, were calculated in British currency. At that time, traffic to England made up 40 per cent of Swissair's revenue.

In June 1950, Walter Berchtold, manager of Swiss Federal Railways, was elected to the directorial board of Swissair and served as its director. In 1971, he created the corporate culture of Swissair. He grasped the importance of corporate image and corporate identity, and after the example of BOAC's "Speedbird", he introduced the arrow-shaped Swissair logo. Giving flight personnel a distinct uniform was also an important move. At the time, flight attendants' uniforms resembled the grey-blue ones of the Swiss Women's Army Corps, so Berchtold introduced ones in a modish marine blue. Swissair initiated a veritable fashion competition among European airlines.

thumb|left|Douglas DC-7C (1957)

In 1952, the cabin layout on northern transatlantic routes was changed to one with a first and a tourist (economy) class. The first-class cabin had comfortable chairs on which one could sleep, given the name "Slumberettes". Those sleeping chairs were soon succeeded by beds, modelled after the US Pullman railway cars. Two adjacent seats were moved towards each other and formed a lower berth. The wall panel could be folded downward, forming the upper berth in which the other person could sleep. A year later, a tourist-class cabin was introduced on intra-European flights.

In 1953, Swissair, with the city of Basel, founded a charter company called Balair, reusing the name of one of its predecessors, a company that initially used older Swissair aircraft to fly to holiday destinations.

As the first European customer, Swissair bought the Douglas DC-7C, which enabled the company to provide non-stop flights to the United States. For shorter-range routes, the Convair Metropolitan was used.

In 1957, the Far East was added to the route network. Direct flights to Tokyo had intermediate stops in Athens, Karachi, Bombay, Bangkok and Manila. That same year, Swissair partnered with Aristotle Onassis to form the new Greek airline, Olympic Airways.

While competitors first looked at turboprop aeroplanes to replace their piston-engined craft, Swissair introduced jet aeroplanes. Together with SAS, Swissair bought Douglas DC-8s, which were delivered beginning in 1960. For medium- and short-range routes, the Sud Aviation Caravelle was purchased. The aircraft were maintained in concert with SAS, and manuals for operation and maintenance were co-written.

thumb|right|[[Douglas DC-8|Douglas DC-8-62 of Swissair at Zurich Airport in 1979. The DC-8 series served the airline from 1960.]]

thumb|Swissair Convair Coronado 990A (1962–1975)

Swissair was one of the few companies to order the Convair 990 Coronado for its medium- and long-range routes. Although the aircraft did not initially fulfil contractual specifications, they were liked by employees and customers. They operated on the airline's routes to South America, West Africa, and the Middle and Far East.

1966 saw the introduction of the Douglas DC-9. That aircraft became the backbone of the short- and medium-range routes and, after convincing Douglas, soon merged with McDonnell Aircraft to create McDonnell Douglas and ultimately merged with Boeing, offering a stretched variant: the DC-9-32. For the first time, Swissair was the launch customer of an aircraft type.

Armin Baltensweiler led the company for more than 20 years after taking over as president of the directorial board in 1971. In the same year, the first Boeing 747-200 jumbo jet was acquired, and in the next year, the first McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 followed. Both types shaped the long-haul fleet until the 1990s. Again, the specifications of both aircraft were developed in collaboration with SAS. Also in 1972, Switzerland introduced a prohibition of night flights, which led to the cessation of cheaper night fares.

thumb|Swissair Boeing 747-200B (1971)

thumb|Swissair McDonnell Douglas DC-10 (1972)

In 1973, the company struggled with severe turbulence: a currency crisis, collective chaos, an air traffic controllers' strike, the October War, and the first oil crisis were weathered without significant damage. In the same year, the regional representative of Swissair in Buenos Aires was kidnapped by the Montoneros. After 38 days in captivity, he was released after the payment of . The airline also phased out the CV-990s, which were a type of aircraft known for their distinctive design and performance, during that time.

Swissair was the second European airline to offer service to the People's Republic of China, introducing service to Beijing and Shanghai in 1975. In the same year, Swissair was the launch customer for the DC-9-51. In 1977, Swissair was the launch customer for the third DC-9 type, the DC-9-81 variant, now called the MD-80. Armin Baltensweiler had travelled to a meeting of the McDonnell-Douglas board of directors in St Louis to convince them to further stretch the fuselage of the DC-9-51. Baltensweiler was called the "Father of the MD-80". In 1979, Swissair was the first company to order the Airbus A310 and the jumbo jet variant with a stretched upper deck, the Boeing 747-300. Later on, the Fokker 100 short-range aircraft and the three-engined MD-11 were aircraft for which Swissair was the launch customer. 1983 saw the replacement of the older DC-9s with MD-83s.

Since the 1960s, Swissair has been a world leader in the development of cargo reservation systems (CRS). PARS and CARIDO were examples of systems enabling the booking of passenger seats and freight space.

Grounding

On 1 October 2001, Project "Phoenix" was announced, under which parts of the group sought a payment delay. The Swiss federal authorities were willing to pay back half of the loan, so they secured the continuation of service.

2 October 2001 saw an increased necessity for strong liquidity, as all suppliers insisted on cash payments of outstanding invoices following a request for payment delay announced the day before. The company's cash reserves filed on that day were barely sufficient to carry out the first morning flights. During the morning, fuel suppliers refused to fuel the waiting aircraft. At 15:45 CEST, CEO Mario Corti announced a cessation of flight operations due to the security risks caused by the crossing of the Flight Duty Regulations. These events led to the cancellation of over 230 flights, and thousands of passengers, as well as flight crews, were stranded around the world. The banks froze the flight crew's accounts, leading some hotels to expel the crew and require them to return home at their own expense. All tickets sold were voided.

4 October 2001 saw demonstrations by former Swissair employees before the UBS presentation held in Glattbrugg, and the following day saw demonstrations in Bern's Federal Square.

Around the same time, Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse purchased SAirGroup's stake in Crossair. Furthermore, Crossair took over various assets of former Swissair, including its employees, aircraft, and most European routes. Jürg Hoss's liquidation firm took over Swissair and the SAirGroup, ceasing operations on 31 March 2002. Crossair was renamed Swiss International Air Lines, or Swiss for short, and took over Swissair's intercontinental routes on 1 April 2002, officially ending 71 years of Swissair service.

Controversy surrounding Corti's decision to ground flights

An investigation by the Zurich branch of Ernst & Young into factors behind the grounding revealed that <blockquote>"...in contradiction to representations made by SAir Group, not just 14.5 million Swiss Francs, but around CHF50 million were available at the company's disposal on the morning of October 2, 2001".</blockquote> The report further stated that <blockquote>"Without the administrative inadequacies connected with the release of an escrow account, an additional CHF 73 million would have been available. Thus, overall, some CHF 123 million would have been available at SAirGroup, SAirLines, and Swissair." a view he reiterated in a 2021 interview. In his 2004 statement, Dose voiced the view that Corti and then-CFO Jacqualyn Fouse had lost oversight of Swissair's finances, accounting for this mismatch in perception of available funds.

Transition phase

On 5 October, commercial flights on most routes were gradually resumed thanks to a federal emergency loan of over CHF 450 million. This occurred, in part, to ensure Switzerland's continued accessibility as a business location and to establish a basis for the creation of Swiss.

thumb|The Swiss International Air Lines logo as of 2011

Following another federal repayable funding commitment of one billion francs, each of the 26 long-haul aircraft (MD-11s and A330s) and 26 medium-haul aircraft (A321s, A320s, and A319s) were able to be transferred to Crossair/Swiss at the end of the winter schedule of 2001/02. On Easter Monday, 1 April 2002, flight SR145 from São Paulo marked the last flight of Swissair, landing in Zürich. A 71-year-long chapter of Swiss aviation history thus came to an end. Between 1931 and 2002, Swissair transported well over 260 million passengers. The SwissairGroup (the name change from SAirGroup to SwissairGroup was announced in 2001 but never officially implemented) still existed as 'SAirGroup in Nachlassstundung' (German: Swissair in Administration) for several years until all assets were liquidated, including a large auction where many of the remaining Swissair assets, such as historic items, were auctioned. Today, Gategourmet continues as a subsidiary of Gategroup.

Factors behind collapse

Like other airlines that flew to the United States, Swissair's operations and profitability were disrupted in the wake of the terror attacks against the United States. Several politicians were among those included on Swissair's board of directors, and commentators have pointed to potential conflicts of interest as fundamental to the demise of Swissair. Media have also suggested that the board of directors failed to oversee the actions of Philippe Bruggisser (chief operating officer since 1996) and Eric Honegger (board member since 1993 and later board president) and that they left behind a convoluted corporate structure and financial commitments—amongst others, a further purchase of 35.5 per cent of Sabena's stock—which would only come to light when Mario Corti was trying to save the airline.

The judiciary is continuing to examine why Swissair acquired counselling that supported the Hunter Strategy and why Swissair continued to make certain payments despite nearing insolvency. Questions have also been raised about the federal aid given to Swissair and the politicians involved, particularly regarding how this aid may have influenced the airline's financial decisions and its eventual collapse. The highly competitive nature of the market during the business's final years also precipitated its demise: like its Belgian counterpart Sabena, Swissair fell victim to the rise of competition from all-inclusive budget airlines on their short- and medium-haul routes, such as Ryanair and EasyJet.

Imogen Foulkes from the BBC said regarding the collapse, "Something did die in Switzerland that day: not just an airline but an image the Swiss had of themselves and, more importantly, of their business leaders"

Because civil cases are still going on, some of the reasons why SAirGroup failed are still being looked into by the courts and have not been made clear legally. The following causes are widely recognised as crucial factors:

The management underestimated the dangers and difficulties in the acquisitions and investments of partially ailing airlines. Therefore, Sabena and LTU were acquired despite significant capital requirements. Also, investments in France (AOM, Air Liberté, and Air Littoral) required much capital restructuring. Sabena ultimately ceased operations due to the aforementioned financial crisis.
The indebtedness was created by an uncompromising adaptation to the realities of "hunter strategy" implementation and the lack of monitoring by the board, which ultimately contributed to the financial instability that led to Swissair's grounding and Sabena's cessation of operations, particularly exacerbated by the sharp slump in demand following the 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.
The 2001 terrorist attacks in the US led to a sharp slump in demand and, consequently, to an extreme tightening of liquidity.
An orderly transfer of operations to Crossair was denied because of the failure to reach a bridging loan and the delayed transfer of the share purchase price.
Swissair lost passenger revenues due to increasing competition from all-inclusive, low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and EasyJet in the short-to-medium-haul markets within Europe.
A full merger with Sabena was impossible due to Swissair's financial crisis.
An MD-11, operating flight 111, crashed in 1998, killing everyone on board. This event led to further troubles for the airline with negative publicity, a significant lawsuit, more financial problems and lowered customer confidence.

Legacy

In April 2002, Swiss International Air Lines began its operations. First called Swiss Air Lines, this company was based on the former Crossair and was a merger of Crossair and former Swissair employees, routes, aircraft, and intellectual property. The company Swissair continued to exist (in liquidation) but had no further assets. Due to legal problems with Swissair, the name had to be changed to Swiss International Air Lines.

Swiss took over 26 long-haul and 26 medium-haul aircraft from the defunct Swissair fleet and refurbished the liveries and interiors to turn them into the new Swiss fleet, together with the former Crossair fleet consisting of the Embraer 145, Saab 2000, MD-80 Series, and Avro RJ. The remainder of the Swissair aircraft that were grounded and were not taken by the new company were returned to their lessors.

After problems with the former Crossair pilot unions, who refused to accept different conditions than the former Swissair pilots within the same airline, a subsidiary called 'Swiss European Air Lines' was founded, which belongs 100% to Swiss International Air Lines.

In 2003, it appeared that Swiss was going to become a member of Oneworld. It had codeshares with Oneworld carriers British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Aer Lingus and Finnair and held a strategic partnership and joint operation for all service to North America and AA-operated flights beyond U.S. gateways using American Airlines. Swiss started to terminate these codeshare agreements but did not terminate the AA alliance. A theory emerged that Swiss was planning to use its partnerships, the AA alliance, and its partnership with British Airways, a strong and supportive member of OneWorld—to join Oneworld itself.

However, in 2005, Swiss was taken over by Lufthansa, the national airline of Germany. With the merger with Lufthansa, Swiss joined the Star Alliance in 2006, which Swissair planned to join before it failed. With this move, Swiss's frequent flyer club, Swiss TravelClub, became part of Miles & More, which was originally the Lufthansa Group frequent flyer club. It serves as the airline's frequent flyer program, along with many other Lufthansa Group airlines.

Management trial

A criminal trial began on 16 January 2007 in Bülach. The entire former Swissair management board faced criminal charges of mismanagement, false statements, and document forgery. The top defendants in the trial were Mario Corti, Philippe Bruggisser, George Schorderet, Jacqualyn Fouse, Eric Honegger, and Vreni Spoerry. Corti, Honegger, and Spoerry entered statements proclaiming their innocence.

On 7 June 2007, the court in Bülach cleared the defendants of all criminal charges over the airline's 2001 bankruptcy.

On 29 November 2019, Switzerland’s Federal Court upheld a 2018 decision clearing 14 former Swissair bosses of mismanagement charges related to the airline’s 2001 collapse. The court agreed with the Zurich commercial court’s finding that the company needed funding to continue operations, despite being heavily indebted. The decision confirms the conclusions of the Zurich court, though it reduces the legal costs of the case.

Continued use of the "Swissair" brand

Swiss retains the rights to the "Swissair" name, whose value was estimated at more than 10 million Swiss francs in 2010. To prevent the trademark from becoming void through disuse, Swiss licensed it to Hopscotch Air, which operates a fleet of Cirrus SR22 planes in the United States, for use from 2010 to 2013. In Switzerland, the trademark is protected through its use by an aviation sports club, Sportfluggruppe Swissair.

Fleet

Last active fleet

At the time of its demise, the Swissair fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" | Aircraft

! rowspan="2" | In service

! rowspan="2" | Orders

! colspan="4" | Passengers

! rowspan="2" | Notes

! Total

|Airbus A319-100

|—

|18

|92

|110

|Launch operator.

|Airbus A320-200

|24

|—

|18

|156

|174

|Airbus A321-100

|—

|18

|202

|220

|rowspan="2"|Airbus A330-200

|rowspan="2"|16

|rowspan="2"|—

|12

|42

|142

|196

|Regular configuration.

|—

|48

|182

|230

|High-density configuration.

|Airbus A340-600

|—

| colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" class="unsortable" |

|Originally to replace MD-11s, but orders were cancelled due to after Swissair's collapse. 6 aircraft went to South African Airways; 3 aircraft went to Iberia.

| rowspan="3" |McDonnell Douglas MD-11

| rowspan="3" |20

| rowspan="3" |—

|49

|162

|219

| Low-density configuration; it was never implemented after Swissair's bankruptcy. Planned to be retired and replaced by the Airbus A340-600.

| rowspan="2" |12

| rowspan="2" |49

|180

|241

| rowspan="2" | Regular configuration.

|187

|248

!Total

!73

!colspan="4"|

Historic fleet

In its 71 years of existence, Swissair operated the following aircraft:

{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center"

|+ Aircraft which Swissair has operated

! Aircraft

! Total

! Delivered

! Retired

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|Airbus A310-200

|1983

|1995

|Launch operator. Two aircraft were sold to Air Liberté. Three aircraft were sold to FedEx Express after being converted into freighters.

|Airbus A310-300

|1985

|2000

|Airbus A319-100

|1996

|2002

|Most aircraft were transferred to Swiss International Air Lines.

|Airbus A320-200

|20

|1995

|2002

|Most aircraft were transferred to Swiss International Air Lines.

|Airbus A321-100

|12

|1995

|2002

|Most aircraft were transferred to Swiss International Air Lines.

|Airbus A330-200

|16

|1998

|2002

|Most aircraft were transferred to Swiss International Air Lines.

|BAC One-Eleven

|1968

|1969

|Leased to increase capacity.

|Boeing 747-200B

|1971

|1984

|Boeing 747-300

|1983

|2000

|Launch customer. Sold to South African Airways.

|Boeing 747-300M

|1983

|1999

|Largest operator of its type along with KLM and Singapore Airlines. Includes one leased aircraft.

|Boeing 747-357

|1983

|1999

|Launch Customer.

|Clark G.A. 43

|1934

|1936

|First all-metal aeroplane in Swissair fleet.

|Comte AC-4

|1931

|1947

|Acquired from Ad Astra. Now in the SR Technics Hangar in Zürich.

|Convair CV-240

|1949

|1957

|Most aircraft were sold. Some scrapped, and one crashed.

|Convair CV-440 Metropolitan

|12

|1956

|1968

|Most aircraft were sold. First Swissair plane to use integrated Weather Radar.

|Convair CV-880-22M

|1961

|1962

|Leased pending delivery of Convair 990s.

|Convair CV-990 Coronado

|1962

|1975

|Most were sold, one crashed, and one is at the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne.

|Curtiss AT-32C Condor

|1934

|First European airliner to have a stewardess. It crashed in 1934.

|de Havilland Dragon Rapide

|1937

|1954

|de Havilland Mosquito

|1945

|Originally used as a Royal Air Force fighter aircraft in World War II, fell into Swiss hands. Swiss government used it and sold it to Swissair in 1944.

|Douglas DC-2

|1934

|1952

|Assembled under licence by Fokker at Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam.

|Douglas DC-3

|16

|1937

|1969

|The first 5 were assembled pre-war by Fokker at Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam. The others were converted USAF C-47's and postwar built aircraft.

|Douglas DC-4

|1946

|1959

|Used on service to New York-JFK route. Three aircraft were written off.

|Douglas DC-6

|1951

|1962

|Douglas DC-7C

|1956

|1962

|All aircraft were sold. The Swissair Fleet included the final DC-7 ever built.

|Douglas DC-8-32

|1960

|1967

|One was converted to a -53 and two were converted to -33's.

|Douglas DC-8-53

|1963

|1976

|One was converted from a -33. One was hijacked and blown-up after passengers were released.

|Douglas DC-8-62

|1967

|1984

|Two were operated as a freighter -62Fs.

|McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15

|1966

|1968

|Sent back to Douglas or sold.

|McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32

|22

|1967

|1988

|One was operated as a freighter -33F.

|Dornier Merkur

|1931

|Acquired from Ad Astra.

|Mraz M-65 Cap

|1948

|1950

|Built under licence by Fieseler Storch. Later sold to Lindt & Sprüngli.

|Fokker VII a

|1931

|1950

|Acquired from Balair. Now on display in the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne.

|Fokker VII b

|1931

|1935

|Acquired from Ad Astra and Balair.

|Fokker F27

|1965

|1972

|Operated for Swissair by Balair.

|Fokker 100

|1988

|1996

|Junkers Ju-86 B-0

|1936

|1939

|Lockheed Model 9 Orion

|1932

|1936

|Both were sold to the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. (The example at the Swiss Transport Museum never served in the Swissair fleet, but was instead bought in the 1960s by Swissair, restored to flying status, and painted in Swissair colours).

|McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30

|12

|1972

|1992

|Launch operator along with KLM. Most were sold to Northwest Airlines.

|McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER

|1980

|1992

|McDonnell Douglas DC-9-41

|1974

|1975

|Leased from Scandinavian Airlines.

|McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51

|12

|1975

|1988

|McDonnell Douglas MD-11

|22

|1991

|2002

|One crashed operating Flight 111 on September 2, 1998. The remaining aircraft were transferred to Swiss International Air Lines.

|McDonnell Douglas MD-81

|25

|1980

|1998

|Launch customer of MD-80. Most aircraft were sold to Scandinavian Airlines, Trans World Airlines.

|McDonnell Douglas MD-82

|1982

|1996

|McDonnell Douglas MD-83

|1995

|1996

|Messerschmitt M 18

|1931

|1938

|Taken over from Ad Astra.

|Nord 1000

|1948

|1953

|Sold to Federal Air Office.

|Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer

|1957

|Used for high-altitude airports.

|Sud Aviation SE210 Caravelle

|1960

|1971

|Swissair's first jet airliner. First ones leased from Scandinavian Airlines.

Destinations

Swissair served the following destinations:

Asia

Beijing - Beijing Capital International Airport
Shanghai
Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
Yaoundé – Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport
Kinshasa – N'djili Airport
Cairo – Cairo International Airport
Malabo – Malabo International Airport
Addis Ababa – Addis Ababa Bole International Airport
Libreville – Libreville International Airport
Banjul – Banjul International Airport
Accra – Accra International Airport
Abidjan – Port Bouet Airport
Nairobi – Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
Benghazi – Benina International Airport
Monrovia – Roberts International Airport
Bamako – Bamako–Sénou International Airport
Casablanca – Mohammed V International Airport
Lagos – Murtala Muhammed International Airport
Brazzaville – Maya-Maya Airport
Dakar – Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport
Cape Town – Cape Town International Airport
Johannesburg – O. R. Tambo International Airport
Khartoum – Khartoum International Airport
Dar es Salaam – Julius Nyerere International Airport
Tunis – Tunis–Carthage International Airport
Harare – Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport

Europe

Linz - Linz Airport
Vienna – Vienna International Airport
Brussels – Brussels Airport
Larnaca – Larnaca International Airport
Prague – Prague Ruzyně Airport
Bordeaux – Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport
Lyon – Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport
Paris
Charles de Gaulle Airport
Orly Airport
Strasbourg – Strasbourg Airport
Toulouse – Toulouse–Blagnac Airport
Berlin – Berlin Tegel Airport
Düsseldorf – Düsseldorf Airport
Frankfurt – Frankfurt Airport
Hanover – Hannover Airport
Munich
Munich-Riem Airport (terminated due to airport closure)
Munich Airport
Nuremberg – Nuremberg Airport
Stuttgart – Stuttgart Airport
Athens
Athens International Airport
Ellinikon International Airport (until 2001)
Thessaloniki – Thessaloniki Airport
Budapest – Budapest Ferihegy International Airport
Bologna - Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport
Florence - Florence Airport
Milan – Milan Malpensa Airport
Rome – Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport
Venice – Venice Marco Polo Airport
Amsterdam – Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Oslo
Oslo Fornebu Airport (terminated due to airport closure)
Oslo Gardermoen Airport
Kraków – Kraków John Paul II International Airport
Warsaw – Warsaw Chopin Airport
Lisbon – Lisbon Airport
Porto – Porto Airport
Moscow – Sheremetyevo International Airport
Saint Petersburg – Pulkovo Airport
Belgrade – Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport
Alicante – Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport
Barcelona – Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport
Madrid – Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport
Stockholm – Stockholm Arlanda Airport
Bern – Bern Airport
Geneva – Geneva Airport - hub
Zurich – Zurich Airport - hub
/ /
Basel, Mulhouse, Freiburg – EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg - hub
Istanbul – Istanbul Atatürk International Airport
Kyiv – Boryspil International Airport
London
London City Airport
London Gatwick International Airport
London Heathrow International Airport
Manchester – Manchester Airport

Americas

Buenos Aires – Ministro Pistarini International Airport
Rio de Janeiro – Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport
São Paulo – São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport
Montreal
Montréal–Mirabel International Airport
Montréal–Trudeau International Airport
Toronto – Toronto Pearson International Airport
Vancouver - Vancouver International Airport
Santiago – Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
Bogotá – El Dorado International Airport
Atlanta – Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Boston – Logan International Airport
Chicago – O'Hare International Airport
Dallas/Fort Worth – Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
Los Angeles – Los Angeles International Airport
New York City – John F. Kennedy International Airport
Newark – Newark Liberty International Airport
Miami – Miami International Airport
San Francisco - San Francisco International Airport
Seattle - Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
Washington, D.C. – Washington Dulles International Airport
Caracas – Simón Bolívar International Airport

Swissair Asia

Due to Taiwan's relations with China, Swissair Asia was formed to serve Taipei, Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, while Swissair maintained service to the People's Republic of China.

Corporate affairs

Swissair's head office was on the grounds of Zurich Airport and in Kloten.

KSG, Architects G. Müller + G. Berger designed the final head office complex for the airline. It was in proximity to the main airport facilities and area motorways. The first phase of the building included offices for 1,600 workers, computer rooms, printing rooms, and 500-seat restaurant facilities. The second phase included an open-plan office room, another computer laboratory, and expansions of the restaurant facilities.

Accidents and incidents

Over the 71-year history of Swissair, there were 11 major incidents reported, resulting in 414 fatalities.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto; text-align:center;

!Flight number

!Date

!Registration number

!Model

!Fatalities

!Details

|N/A

|27 July 1934

|CH-170

|Curtiss AT-32C Condor II

|12

|Crashed due to wing failure in severe turbulence. Oscillations in the wing caused a stress fracture, made worse by the storm the aircraft was flying through. However, German investigators determined that two fractures formed: one in the wing and engine mount due to defective construction and improper welding, and the second resulted from turbulence in the storm.

|N/A

|7 January 1939

|HB-ITA

|Douglas DC-2

|Crashed after striking a hill.

|N/A

|20 July 1939

|HB-IXA

|Junkers Ju 86

|Crashed following an engine fire.

|N/A

|19 June 1954

|HB-IRW

|Convair CV-240

|Crashed due to fuel starvation in the English Channel, near Folkestone. All three crew members survived, but three of the five passengers drowned as they were unable to swim. Passenger aircraft at this time were not obliged to carry life rafts or life jackets, and this was one of the many incidents which led to such a requirement becoming law.

|N/A

|15 July 1956

|HB-IMD

|Convair CV-440

|The aircraft crashed during a delivery flight from San Diego, California to Zürich via New York City, Gander and Shannon. On approach to Shannon, the pilots executed an abnormally steep turn, causing the aircraft to stall and drop to the ground.

|N/A

|18 June 1957

|HB-IRK

|Douglas DC-3

|Crashed during an exercise conducted under visual flight rules. The exercise aimed to practice flying with one engine switched off and propellers feathered.

|306

|4 September 1963

|HB-ICV

|Caravelle

|80

|The pilot taxied along the runway at a high engine setting to clear the fog. This caused the brakes to overheat, which then started a fire that damaged hydraulic lines and led to a loss of control. The accident had a significant impact on the small town of Humlikon: 43 of the just 200 residents died on that flight.

|N/A

|10 February 1967

|HB-IMF

|Convair CV-440

|Collided with a cloud-covered mountain during a training flight.

|330

|21 February 1970

|HB-ICD

|Convair CV-990

|47

|A bomb on board the flight from Zürich to Tel Aviv, detonated in the aft cargo compartment of the aircraft about nine minutes after take-off climb-out. The aircraft crashed due to a subsequent electrical fire that crippled the aircraft before the pilots could attempt an emergency landing at Zürich.

||100

|6 September 1970

|HB-IDD

|Douglas DC-8

|Swissair Flight 100, from Zürich to New York, was hijacked by a man and a woman and diverted to Dawson's Field in Jordan. The 145 passengers, along with 260 others from two other hijacked aircraft, were held hostage by the PFLP. The three empty aircraft were subsequently blown up on September 12.

| 316

|8 October 1979

|HB-IDE

|Douglas DC-8

|14

|Landed under "adverse conditions" at Athens Ellinikon International Airport, overshooting the runway and killing fourteen passengers. The plane touched down at too great a speed and too far along the runway for the pilots to use sufficient braking and reverse thrust.

|111

|2 September 1998

|HB-IWF

|McDonnell Douglas MD-11

|229

|Flying from New York's JFK International Airport to Geneva, the MD-11 crashed in the Atlantic due to an onboard cockpit fire caused by arcing and subsequent instrument failure at night off the coast of Peggy's Cove, 30  km southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia. This became the second-deadliest aviation accident in Canadian history, just after Arrow Air Flight 1285R.

References

Bibliography

Benedikt Meyer: Im Flug. Schweizer Airlines und ihre Passagiere, 1919–2002. Chronos, Zürich 2014, .

External links

Archive of Swissair.com
"Swissair." Swiss International Air Lines
Swissair Information Website.
Swissair Imagefilm "Follow Me" (1967), Condor Films
Overview of the complete Swissair fleet
How the organisational culture of Swissair affected the demise

History

Founding years

Ascension

Grounding

Controversy surrounding Corti's decision to ground flights

Transition phase

Factors behind collapse

Legacy

Management trial

Continued use of the "Swissair" brand

Fleet

Last active fleet

Historic fleet

Destinations

Asia

Europe

Americas

Swissair Asia

Corporate affairs

Accidents and incidents

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links