Swiss International Air Lines facts for kids
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| Founded | 31 March 2002 (preceded by Swissair) |
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| AOC # | CH.AOC.1006 |
| Hubs | Zurich Airport |
| Secondary hubs | Geneva Airport |
| Frequent-flyer program | Miles & More |
| Alliance | Star Alliance |
| Subsidiaries | Edelweiss Air |
| Fleet size | 88 |
| Destinations | 120 |
| Parent company | Lufthansa Group |
| Headquarters | EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg near Basel, Switzerland Register: Basel |
| Key people | Dieter Vranckx, CEO |
| Revenue |  CHF 4.41 billion (2022) |
| Operating income | CHF 456 million (2022) |
| Employees | 8,048 (December 2022) |
Swiss International Air Lines AG, often called SWISS, is the main airline of Switzerland. It's like the country's official airline! SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group, a big airline family. It's also a member of Star Alliance, which is a group of airlines that work together.
SWISS flies to many places around the world. You can find their planes in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. Their main base, called a hub, is at Zurich Airport. They also have a second important hub at Geneva Airport.
The main office for SWISS is located near Basel, Switzerland, at the EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg. They also have an office at Zurich Airport.
SWISS was created in 2002. This happened after Swissair, the airline that was the flag carrier before, went out of business. The new airline was built from a regional airline called Crossair. SWISS kept Crossair's special code, LX, for flights. They also took on Swissair's old code, SWR, to make sure they could keep flying to all the same international places.
In 2021, Dieter Vranckx became the new CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of SWISS. He has a lot of experience working with airlines in the Lufthansa Group.
Contents
The Story of SWISS Airlines
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How SWISS Started Flying
SWISS was formed in 2002. This was after Swissair, Switzerland's previous national airline, faced big financial problems and stopped flying. A smaller airline called Crossair, which was part of the same group as Swissair, became the foundation for the new airline.
Crossair changed its name to Swiss International Air Lines. The new airline officially started flying on March 31, 2002. At first, SWISS lost a lot of money. They needed help to become a strong airline.
Finding a Partner Airline
SWISS had to decide its future. They could try to stay small and independent, or they could join a larger airline group. They chose to look for a partner. SWISS talked with big airlines like Air France–KLM, British Airways, and Lufthansa.
It was a bit tricky because SWISS was in debt. This made them seem like a risky choice for other airlines. After some time, Lufthansa Group decided to help SWISS.
Joining the Lufthansa Family
On March 22, 2005, the Lufthansa Group announced they would take over SWISS. They started by buying a small part of the company. SWISS slowly became part of Lufthansa's operations. The full takeover was finished on July 1, 2007.
Joining Lufthansa was a big step for SWISS. It helped them become profitable again. In 2006, SWISS made a profit of $220 million. By 2007, their profit grew to $570 million. This showed that the airline was getting back on track.
As part of the Lufthansa Group, SWISS also joined the Star Alliance. This is one of the world's largest airline alliances. It means SWISS passengers can connect easily with many other airlines around the globe.
New Planes and Updates
SWISS has continued to update its fleet of planes. In 2007, they ordered new Airbus A330-300 planes. These planes have three different seating classes for passengers.
In 2013, SWISS ordered six Boeing 777-300ERs. These are some of the largest planes in their fleet. They have updated cabins with comfortable seats, including private suites in First Class. The Boeing 777s helped replace some of their older Airbus A340 planes.
SWISS also updated its smaller planes. They replaced older Airbus A320s and A321s with newer versions. They also brought in Airbus A220 aircraft (which were first known as Bombardier CSeries planes). SWISS was the very first airline to use the Airbus A220.
How SWISS Operates
Where is the SWISS Head Office?
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The main office for SWISS International Air Lines is at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg. This airport is special because it's located near Basel, Switzerland, but it's actually in France. However, the SWISS office part of the airport can only be reached from Switzerland.
SWISS also has offices at Zurich Airport and Geneva Airport.
Companies Part of SWISS
The SWISS International Air Lines Group includes several other companies:
- Edelweiss Air: Another airline that flies for fun and holidays.
- Swiss AviationSoftware: A company that deals with software for airplanes.
- Swiss Aviation Training: This company trains pilots and other airline staff.
- Swiss WorldCargo: This part of SWISS handles cargo and freight using space in passenger planes.
- SWISStours: A travel company.
Food and Drinks on SWISS Flights
When you fly with SWISS in Europe, you'll get drinks. Depending on how long the flight is, you might also get snacks. Shorter flights might have cold snacks, while longer ones could have hot snacks.
In Economy class on short flights, you'll always get a bottle of water. Before landing on any flight, passengers receive a small bar of Swiss chocolate! It's a sweet treat with the "SWISS" logo on it. For some flights out of Geneva and Zurich, SWISS also offers a "buy on board" system called Swiss Saveurs, where you can buy more food.
SWISS Air Rail and Bus Services
SWISS has a service called SWISS Air Rail. This allows passengers to take a train from Zurich Airport to Basel SBB railway station and Lugano railway station at no extra cost. This makes it easy to connect from your flight to a train journey.
Where SWISS Flies
SWISS flies to many places around the world. They also work with other airlines to offer even more destinations.
SWISS has special agreements called codeshares with many other airlines. This means that you can buy a ticket from SWISS, but part of your journey might be on a plane operated by another airline. It helps passengers have more choices and easier connections.
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air France
- Air India
- All Nippon Airways
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Brussels Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- Croatia Airlines
- Edelweiss Air (This is a SWISS subsidiary)
- Egyptair
- El Al
- Eurowings
- KM Malta Airlines
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Scandinavian Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways International
- United Airlines
- Vistara
Other Airline Partnerships (Interline Agreements)
SWISS also has interline agreements with many other airlines. This is another way airlines work together to make travel smoother for passengers, even if they don't share flight codes.
- 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
- Helvetic Airways
- Iberia
- Icelandair
- ITA Airways
- 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
The SWISS Fleet: Planes They Fly
Current Aircraft in Service
As of October 2023, SWISS International Air Lines uses these types of planes. Also, another airline called Helvetic Airways flies some planes for SWISS.
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | B | P | E | Total | Ref. | ||||
| Airbus A220-100 | 9 | — | — | — | — | 125 | 125 | SWISS was the first airline to use this plane. | |
| Airbus A220-300 | 21 | — | — | — | — | 145 | 145 | ||
| Airbus A320-200 | 12 | — | — | — | — | 180 | 180 | 8 planes came from Swissair. 1 plane has a special Star Alliance paint job. |
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| Airbus A320neo | 6 | 11 | |||||||
| Airbus A321-100 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 219 | 219 | All planes came from Swissair. | |
| Airbus A321-200 | 3 | — | |||||||
| Airbus A321neo | 4 | 4 | 219 | Some orders might change to Airbus A321LR. | |||||
| Airbus A330-300 | 14 | — | 8 | 45 | — | 183 | 236 | ||
| — | 4 | 43 | 21 | 159 | 227 | Future seating from 2025. | |||
| Airbus A340-300 | 4 | — | 8 | 42 | 21 | 144 | 215 | These planes will be replaced by Airbus A350-900 by mid-2025. | |
| Airbus A350-900 | — | 5 | 3 | 45 | 38 | 156 | 242 | New planes arriving from mid-2025 to replace the A340s. | |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 12 | — | 8 | 62 | 24 | 226 | 320 | ||
| Total | 88 | 20 | |||||||
Planes SWISS Used to Fly
SWISS has used many different types of planes since it started. Here are some of the aircraft that are no longer part of their fleet:
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Replacement | Notes/Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 8 | 2002 | 2020 | Airbus A220-300 | Came from Swissair. |
| Airbus A330-200 | 15 | 2012 | Airbus A330-300 | ||
| Avro RJ85 | 4 | 2007 | Airbus A320 family | Came from Crossair. | |
| Avro RJ100 | 21 | 2017 | Airbus A220 | ||
| Embraer ERJ-145 | 25 | 2007 | Airbus A320 family | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11 | 16 | 2005 | Airbus A340-300 | Came from Swissair. | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 1 | 2003 | Airbus A320 family | Came from Crossair. | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 10 | 2002 | 2005 | ||
| Saab 340B | 2 | 2004 | Avro RJ85 | ||
| Saab 2000 | 31 | 2005 | Avro RJ100 |
Flight Safety: Incidents and Accidents
Aviation safety is very important. Here is one incident involving SWISS:
- On July 10, 2002, Swiss International Air Lines Flight 850, a Saab 2000 plane, had an accident at Werneuchen Airfield. This happened because of bad weather information and unclear runway markings. The landing gear broke, and a fire started. Luckily, everyone on board survived, but the plane was too damaged to be used again.
See also
In Spanish: Swiss International Air Lines para niños
