Swiss International Air Lines facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Swiss International Air Lines AG

A Swiss Boeing 777-300ER
Founded	31 March 2002; 23 years ago (2002-03-31)
AOC #	CH.AOC.1006
Hubs	Zurich Airport
Secondary hubs	Geneva Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Miles & More
Alliance	Star Alliance
Subsidiaries	Edelweiss Air
Fleet size	90
Destinations	120
Parent company	Lufthansa Group
Headquarters	EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, Basel, Switzerland
Key people	Jens Fehlinger (CEO)
Revenue	CHF 4.41 billion (2022)
Operating income	CHF 456 million (2022)
Employees	8,048 (December 2022)

SWISS is Switzerland's main airline. It's part of the Lufthansa Group and a member of the Star Alliance, a big group of airlines. SWISS flies to many places in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. Its main base is Zurich Airport, and Geneva Airport is another important hub.

The company's main office is at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg in Basel, Switzerland. They also have offices in Kloten, which is close to Zurich Airport.

SWISS was created in 2002 after Swissair, Switzerland's old national airline, went out of business. The new airline was built from Crossair, which used to be Swissair's regional airline. SWISS uses Crossair's airline code LX. It also took Swissair's old code SWR to keep its international flight rights.

History of SWISS Airlines

SWISS' first logo, used from 2002 to 2011.

SWISS took over some McDonnell Douglas MD-11 planes from the old Swissair.

Three Airbus planes from SWISS in their first paint design.

A SWISS Boeing 777-300ER, one of their biggest planes.

How SWISS Started

SWISS was formed in 2002 after Swissair went bankrupt. Crossair, a smaller airline, got 40% of its money from Swissair. The new SWISS airline lost a lot of money between 2002 and 2005.

Big banks like Credit Suisse and UBS sold parts of Swissair to Crossair. Both Swissair and Crossair were part of the same company, SAirGroup. Crossair then changed its name to Swiss International Air Lines. The new airline officially started flying on March 31, 2002.

At first, different groups owned SWISS. These included large investors (61.3%), the Swiss government (20.3%), and local areas (12.2%). SWISS also owned other smaller companies like Swiss Sun and Crossair Europe.

Joining a Big Airline Group

SWISS had to decide its future. It could stay small, shrink, or join a larger airline group. They chose to join a group. SWISS talked with Air France–KLM, British Airways, and Lufthansa. However, SWISS had many debts, making it seem like a risky choice.

After a long time, SWISS was almost part of the Oneworld airline group. But British Airways blocked them because they flew on many of the same long-distance routes. In June 2004, SWISS decided not to join Oneworld. They didn't want to combine their frequent flyer program with British Airways'. SWISS felt the deal wasn't fair to them.

Getting Back on Track

SWISS started to lose less money each year. By 2006, it made a profit of $220 million. In 2007, the profit grew to $570 million. This showed the airline was getting stronger.

On March 22, 2005, Lufthansa Group announced it would take over SWISS. Lufthansa first bought a small part (11%) of a new company holding SWISS shares. SWISS slowly became part of Lufthansa's operations in late 2005. The full takeover finished on July 1, 2007. SWISS joined the Star Alliance and Lufthansa's Miles and More program on April 1, 2006.

SWISS also created a regional airline called Swiss European Air Lines. This airline had its own flying license. SWISS also owns Swiss Aviation Training and Swiss WorldCargo, which handles cargo on passenger planes. Swiss European Air Lines later merged back into SWISS.

In 2008, SWISS bought Edelweiss Air. They also bought Servair, which was later called Swiss Private Aviation. Swiss Private Aviation stopped flying in February 2011 as part of changes.

In 2007, SWISS ordered nine Airbus A330-300 planes. These new planes replaced older A330-200s and had three different seating classes. The first A330-300 started flying in April 2009.

After the Lufthansa Takeover

After Lufthansa Group took over, SWISS changed its regional planes. They switched from Embraer and Saab planes to Avro RJs. These were flown by a company called Swiss Global Air Lines. Most of SWISS's other planes became Airbus aircraft, except for the Boeing 777. SWISS also made new deals for things like ground services, plane repairs, and food. Lufthansa kept SWISS as a separate brand.

In 2010, SWISS and Lufthansa were part of an investigation about fixing prices. However, they were not fined because they helped the investigation.

On August 18, 2011, SWISS introduced a new company logo. It looked similar to the old Swissair logo.

Challenges During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected SWISS. In 2020, their income was much lower than before.

In August 2020, SWISS received a large loan from the Swiss government. This loan helped the airline during the pandemic. Some people questioned this because SWISS is owned by the German airline Lufthansa. They thought the German government should be responsible for Lufthansa's companies.

In November 2020, Dieter Vranckx became the new CEO of SWISS. He had worked for the Lufthansa Group for 20 years. In June 2024, Jens Fehlinger took over as CEO. Dieter Vranckx moved to a role on Lufthansa's main board.

Expanding Flights

SWISS continues to expand its flights. For example, in January 2025, SWISS announced it would restart daily flights from Zurich to Tel Aviv starting February 1, 2025. They use Airbus A320 planes for this route.

SWISS Business and Operations

Head Office Locations

The SWISS head office at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg.

A SWISS lounge at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

SWISS's main office is at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg near Basel, Switzerland. This airport is partly in France and partly in Switzerland. The SWISS office is in the Swiss part of the airport.

The SWISS head office used to be the head office for Crossair. In 2002, the "Crossair" sign was changed to "Swiss International Air Lines". In 2004, about 1,000 employees worked in the Basel offices. About 850 employees worked in the Zurich offices.

SWISS also has offices at Zurich Airport in Kloten and at Geneva Airport.

Companies Part of SWISS

The SWISS International Air Lines Group includes these companies:

• Edelweiss Air
• Swiss AviationSoftware
• Swiss Aviation Training
• Swiss WorldCargo
• SWISStours

Food and Drinks on Flights

On flights within Europe, SWISS serves drinks. Depending on how long the flight is, they might also give out snacks. Shorter flights get cold snacks, while longer flights get hot ones. Economy class passengers on short flights receive a bottle of water and a small bar of Swiss chocolate. For shorter and medium flights from Geneva Airport and Zurich Airport, SWISS offers a system called Swiss Saveurs where passengers can buy food and drinks.

Train and Bus Services

SWISS has a service called SWISS Air Rail. This allows passengers to take any SBB train for free from Zurich Airport to Basel SBB railway station and Lugano railway station. SWISS also used to have a Swissbus service from Ottawa Railway Station to Montréal–Trudeau airport in Montreal.

Where SWISS Flies

Partner Airlines

SWISS works with many other airlines. This means you can sometimes book a flight with SWISS but fly on another airline's plane. This is called a codeshare agreement.

• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air France
• Air India
• All Nippon Airways
• Asiana Airlines
• Austrian Airlines
• Avianca
• Bangkok Airways
• Brussels Airlines
• Cathay Pacific
• Croatia Airlines
• Edelweiss Air (A SWISS company)
• Egyptair
• El Al
• Eurowings
• ITA Airways
• KM Malta Airlines
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Lufthansa
• Scandinavian Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• TAP Air Portugal
• Thai Airways International
• United Airlines

SWISS also has agreements with other airlines for connecting flights, called interline agreements.

• 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
• Finnair
• Gol Transportes Aéreos
• Gulf Air
• Hahn Air
• Helvetic Airways
• Iberia
• Icelandair
• Japan Airlines
• Jetstar
• Kenya Airways
• KLM
• Korean Air
• LATAM Chile
• Luxair
• Malaysia Airlines
• Mandarin Airlines
• Middle East Airlines
• Oman Air
• Pakistan International Airlines
• Precision Air
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Rossiya Airlines
• Saudia
• Shanghai Airlines
• SunExpress
• SriLankan Airlines
• Turkish Airlines
• Vietnam Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic

SWISS Aircraft Fleet

Planes SWISS Uses Now

As of April 2025, SWISS International Air Lines uses these planes:

Also, Helvetic Airways flies ten Embraer E190 planes for SWISS. Helvetic Airways will also fly Embraer 190-E2 planes for SWISS in the future.

New Planes for SWISS

In September 2010, Lufthansa ordered 48 new planes, and some of them were for SWISS.

In March 2013, SWISS ordered six Boeing 777-300ERs. In March 2015, Lufthansa Group ordered three more Boeing 777-300ERs for SWISS. These 777s have a new First Class cabin with private suites and a large TV. They also have Business Class seats that turn into flat beds. The first of these new planes arrived in January 2016. The Boeing planes replaced most of SWISS's A340 planes.

In 2014, SWISS announced it would update its A320 planes. Older A320s and A321s were replaced by newer A320/A321neos. The A319s and Swiss Global Air Lines' Avro planes were replaced by Bombardier CS300 aircraft. The last Avro RJ100 plane flew its final flight in August 2017.

SWISS was the first airline to use the Airbus A220 (which was first called the Bombardier CS300). Its first A220-100 plane arrived in June 2016. The first commercial flight was from Zurich to Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

The Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A220-100/-300 planes were flown by Swiss Global Air Lines until that company stopped operations in April 2018. This was done to make SWISS's fleet simpler.

In December 2024, it was announced that SWISS would receive five more Airbus A350-900 long-haul planes starting in 2027. These are in addition to five others already ordered, which will arrive between mid-2025 and 2031.

Planes SWISS No Longer Uses

Flight Incidents

• On July 10, 2002, Swiss International Air Lines Flight 850, a Saab 2000 plane, crashed at Werneuchen Airfield. This happened because of wrong weather information and unclear runway markings. The landing gear broke, and a fire started. Everyone on board survived, but the plane was too damaged to be used again.
• On December 23, 2024, an Airbus A220-300 (HB-JCD), flying as Swiss International Air Lines Flight 1885 from Bucharest to Zurich, had to make an emergency landing at Graz Airport. This was due to smoke in the cabin. Passengers and crew used emergency slides to leave the plane, and some were taken to the hospital.

See also

In Spanish: Swiss International Air Lines para niños