Tag Archives: Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss to fly to Larnaca from Geneva

Swiss is expanding its route network from Geneva by offering a new connection to Larnaca (Cyprus) from July 3, 2019. This coastal resort joins the list of new summer destinations announced by Swiss in December.

Swiss International Air Lines is adding the Cypriot city of Larnaca to its destinations departing from Geneva, offering its passengers six new destinations for the summer of 2019. With the addition of the new flights to Ibiza, Mykonos, Brindisi, Faro, Alicante and Larnaca, the company will fly to 43 direct destinations from Geneva.

From July 3, 2019, SWISS will be offering a weekly flight between Geneva and Larnaca.

The flight will operate every Wednesday from July 3 to August 28, and every Saturday from September 7 to October 26, 2019.

Swiss puts its passengers in a festive mood

Swiss International Air Lines issued this report:

Swiss has lined up a further host of specials and surprises for its customers in the coming Advent and Christmas season. The festivities begin with an exclusive Yuletide flight that will take several lucky families up to Lapland for a feast of Christmas magic. The airline will also be serving special seasonal meals in all seating classes on its long-haul flights from Switzerland.

In the light of last year’s success, Swiss will again be bringing a gleam to children’s eyes by conjuring up all the magic of the Christmas season. On the weekend of December 1-2 the airline flew an Airbus A320 from Zurich to Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland in Northern Finland. A lucky 120 persons have been selected to take part in this seasonal “LXmas” social media event and experience the unique Yuletide ambience within the Arctic Circle in a packed programme of activities and attractions. A number of families who are supported by the Sternschnuppe children’s help foundation will also be aboard.

“Mandelsterne”, “Grittibänzes” and seasonal amenity kits

SWISS will be serving freshly-baked “Grittibänz” breads in the morning and gingerbread men in the afternoon on selected European flights from Zurich on Thursday 6 December to mark St. Nicholas’s (“Samichlaus”) Day.

The airline will also be offering traditional Swiss Christmas fare from the beginning of December. Economy Class travellers on afternoon European flights will be served a snack of Christmas cookies and mandarins. And on long-haul services between 24 and 26 December SWISS Business travellers can enjoy “Berner Mandelsterne” (almond stars), in keeping with the current chapter of the SWISS Taste of Switzerland programme, which spotlights the cuisine of Canton Bern. The present range of Victorinox Business Class amenity kits will also be given a seasonal touch, with the addition of a further model in the shape of a Christmas stocking. And the traditional Swiss Chocolates will get a December makeover in the form of a special gold “Season’s Greetings” wrapping.

Seasonal meals, too

SWISS will be serving special Christmas meals to travellers in all classes on long-haul flights from Switzerland between 19 and 25 December. In addition to the usual fine menu selection, SWISS First customers can opt for a starter of truffled veal terrine with fig and nut chutney, a main course of dry-aged Angus beef (Fillet Wellington) with Périgord truffle sauce and vegetables and a seasonal dessert of baked apple with cinnamon ice cream and vanilla sauce.

The seasonal SWISS Business extras start with a trilogy of salmon (smoked, gravad and tartare), continue with corn-fed chicken with truffle sauce and bread dumpling slices, red cabbage and Brussels sprouts, and conclude with chestnut cake with spiced orange compote. And SWISS Economy travellers will be additionally offered a potato and chestnut salad with gravad salmon, followed by turkey breast with potato dumplings, red cabbage and lingonberry jam, along with a dessert of cinnamon mousse with baked apple compote.

The special SWISS First and SWISS Business meals can also be rounded off with a seasonal Etter “Weihnachtspflümli” Christmas plum liqueur, while SWISS First customers can additionally enjoy a Sirocco “White Christmas” or “Winter Moments” tea.

All photos by Swiss.

Swiss and Helvetic Airways expand their collaboration

Swiss International Air Lines is to expand its partnership with Helvetic Airways, and will deploy up to eight Helvetic Airways Embraer E190-E2 aircraft (above) or similar equipment on its route network from 2019 onwards under wet-lease (i.e. the lease-in of aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) arrangements.

The expanded collaboration reconfirms the high quality of Helvetic Airways’ services and its premium partner credentials. It will also provide greater planning security and ensure the optimum utilization of the Helvetic Airways fleet.

Four Embraer E190s of Helvetic Airways are currently in service for Swiss. The aircraft are deployed on Swiss flights to over 40 European destinations.

Helvetic Airways AG currently operates a fleet of seven Embraer E190 and five Fokker 100 aircraft. The latter will be withdrawn next year and replaced with further Embraer equipment. The new Embraer E190-E2 aircraft will enter service from September 2019 onwards. Four of the company’s Embraer E190s are presently operated on behalf of Swiss International Air Lines under a long-term ACMI lease agreement. The remaining aircraft in the Helvetic Airways fleet are operated under other ACMI leases or perform the company’s own scheduled and charter flights.

All photos by Helvetic Airways).

Lufthansa Group converts purchase options for 24 Airbus A320neo and three A321neo aircraft into firm orders

Lufthansa Group has made this announcement:

On September 28, 2018 the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG approved the purchase of 27 short- and medium-haul aircraft.

Purchase options for 24 Airbus A320neo and three A321neo will be converted into firm orders.

With this decision, the Lufthansa Group is reacting to the positive market and earnings development and thus ensuring the necessary fleet size in the coming years. The total investment of this order amounts to a list price of about three billion US dollars.

This increases the total number of A320neo and A321neo orders to 149 for the Group, 13 of them are already operating with Lufthansa.

The A320neo and A321neo (short for “New Engine Option”) are scheduled for delivery in 2023 and 2024.

Ten of the 27 new aircraft are intended for Swiss, the remaining aircraft will be in service by other flight operations within the Aviation Group. One part of the order will be equipped with Pratt & Whitney engines (PW1100G), the other with LEAP-1A engines from CFM International. This means that both engine types will continue to be available to the Lufthansa Group in roughly equal proportions for the “Neo” family.

The innovative engine technologies developed by Pratt & Whitney and CFM International as well as the aerodynamic wingtips (sharklets) with which the aircraft are equipped reduce fuel consumption significantly by up to 20 percent per seat kilometer. As all Lufthansa A320 Family aircraft, the A320neo and A321neo are serially equipped with noise-reducing vortex generators. An A320neo taking off has a noise carpet that is around 50 percent smaller than that of other aircraft of this type.

Top Copyright Photo: Lufthansa Airbus A320-271N WL D-AINM (msn 8456) FRA (Marcelo F. De Biasi). Image: 943646.

Lufthansa aircraft slide show:

Swiss will add new services this winter

Swiss International Air Lines has announced it will expand its European network from Zurich in the coming 2018/19 winter timetables.

A new service will be introduced to Bremen in Northern Germany; and Bordeaux (France), Kiev (Ukraine), Brindisi (Italy) and Sylt (Germany) become all-year destinations.

Swiss will also be introducing a new service between Geneva and Kittilä (Finland), and will offer new winter Geneva flights to Palma de Mallorca.

Swiss will initiate a new 12-times-weekly service between Zurich and Bremen in Northern Germany in the coming winter schedules. Two daily flights will be offered Mondays to Fridays, along with a Saturday morning and a Sunday evening service. The new route is aimed at both business and leisure travellers.

New all-year destinations

Bordeaux, the center of Southwest France’s famous winegrowing region, will also receive winter service from Zurich with 12 weekly flights. Swiss will also be continuing the four-times-weekly Zurich-Kiev service that was introduced this summer throughout the coming winter timetable period. The Ukrainian capital will be served Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Travellers can also fly Swiss from Zurich to Brindisi in Southern Italy this winter, with a twice-weekly (Fridays and Sundays) service. And Swiss will further be offering winter flights to the popular German North Sea island of Sylt, with Wednesday and Saturday services over the Christmas and New Year period.

More frequencies on selected routes

Swiss will also be increasing its frequencies on existing routes from Zurich this winter, in response to strong demand. Madrid in particular will receive ten additional weekly flights, which will also offer customers from the Madrid region enhanced connections onto Swiss’s intercontinental network via its Zurich hub. And frequencies will further be increased between Zurich and the German destinations of Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf.

More services from Geneva

Swiss customers in the Geneva region will enjoy new flights to Kittilä in Lapland (Finland) in the coming winter timetable period. The weekly Saturday service will operate between December 22, 2018 and March 2, 2019, and is bookable exclusively via Kontiki, the specialist Scandinavian tour operator.

Geneva-based travelers will also be offered a new weekly (Saturday) service to Palma de Mallorca between December and March this winter. The island is a popular destination also in the winter months, especially among sports-minded vacationers.

Swiss will further be raising its frequencies from Geneva to Madrid (Spain), and will now offer both an evening and a morning flight on Mondays through to Thursdays. Services will also be seasonally increased between Geneva and Porto (Portugal), Moscow (Russia) and Marrakech (Morocco).

The winter timetables come into effect on October 28, 2018.

Copyright Photo: Swiss International Air Lines Bombardier CS300 (BD-500-1A11) HB-JCE (msn 55014) ZRH (Andi Hiltl). Image: 941490.

Swiss aircraft slide show:

Swiss flew the Swiss squad to Russia for the World Cup

Swiss International Air Lines has made this announcement:

As official airline of the Swiss Football Association, Swiss flew the men’s Swiss national soccer squad to the World Cup in Russia. Swiss soccer fans can also take advantage of a special charter flight to Rostov during the tournament, and of increased capacities to Moscow. And selected flights within Europe will feature culinary creations by the Swiss squad’s chef during the World Cup competition.

Swiss International Air Lines flew the men’s Swiss national soccer squad to Samara in Southwest Russia, where the squad will be based for the coming World Cup tournament, starting on Monday June 11. The special flight to Samara Airport was operated with an Airbus A321 (above). Swiss will also be flying the Switzerland squad back home from Russia after the event.

Fan charter and more capacity to Moscow

Swiss will also be offering Swiss soccer fans numerous opportunities to go and experience the coming Russia World Cup. On behalf of TRAVELclub, the official tour operator of the Swiss Football Association, Swiss will be providing a charter flight to Rostov on Sunday June 17 for Switzerland’s first group game against Brazil. Swiss will also be increasing its capacities to Moscow during the World Cup tournament, including operating its flagship Boeing 777-300ER (below) on the route on selected days.

Above Copyright Photo: Swiss International Air Lines Boeing 777-3DE ER HB-JNA (msn 44582) (Faces of SWISS – images of employees) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 942356.

Players’ favorite meals on board

In a further special feature for the World Cup event, Swiss is offering passengers the chance to sample the food which the national team’s players will be eating during the tournament. From mid-June to mid-July, culinary creations by long-serving team chef Emil Bolli will be served to both Business and Economy Class travellers on selected European flights. Emil Bolli has created four starters, eight main courses and eight desserts for Swiss, based on the meal plan of the Swiss soccer squad.

Top Copyright Photo: Swiss International Air Lines Airbus A321-212 WL HB-ION (msn 5567) PMI (Ton Jochems). Image: 938350.

Swiss aircraft slide show:

Swiss orders two additional Boeing 777-300ERs

Swiss International Air Lines has ordered two additional Boeing 777-300ERs to take its long-haul fleet to a total of 31 aircraft.

The aircraft are expected to go into operation in early 2020 and will be used to extend the route network.

Swiss already operates ten Boeing 777-300ERs.

A decision will be made on the routes to be served by the two new aircraft within the next year.

Following the commissioning of the two new aircraft, the Swiss long-haul fleet will comprise a total of 12 Boeing 777-300ERs, five Airbus A340-300s and 14 Airbus A330-300s.

Swiss International Air Lines serves over 100 destinations in 43 countries worldwide from Zurich and Geneva and carrying some 17 million passengers a year with its 90-aircraft fleet. Swiss is part of the Lufthansa Group, and is also a member of Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline grouping.

Swiss aircraft slide show:

Swiss and Etihad to codeshare on the Zurich – Abu Dhabi route

Swiss International Air Lines and Etihad Airways are teaming up to offer passengers new codeshare connections in expansion of global route networks.

Swiss passengers may now book flights from Zurich to Abu Dhabi via Swiss (first flight on March 26, 2018). Swiss transfer passengers may fly into Zurich aboard a Swiss flight, then continue on to Abu Dhabi aboard an Etihad Airways flight operated under a Swiss flight number. Luggage may be checked in at the point of departure for collection at the final destination.

On the Zurich-Geneva route, a codeshare arrangement will also allow Etihad Airways’ customers to continue direct to Geneva via the Zurich hub.

The new codeshare flights form part of the cooperation concluded between the Lufthansa Group and the Etihad Aviation Group in December 2016.

Top Copyright Photo: Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner A6-BLA (msn 39646) ZRH (Andi Hiltl). Image: 926629.

Etihad Airways aircraft slide show:

Swiss opens its new Zurich First Class Lounge

The new Swiss First Lounge A at Zurich Airport will open its doors on Monday, March 5.

The 650-square-meter lounge features check-in facilities, its own security checkpoint, an à la carte restaurant and a barista bar serving a wide range of Swiss grappas and further fruit brandies. Swiss will also be introducing an exclusive new chauffeur service in Zurich this summer for its inbound First Class guests.

Swiss International Air Lines will be offering its First Class travellers and HON Circle Members of the Lufthansa Group an exclusive new Swiss First Lounge in Zurich Airport’s Terminal A from next Monday onwards. The new lounge, which is accessible via an escalator from the Terminal A departure concourse, enables guests to check in simply and conveniently at the welcome desk, hand in their registered baggage and then pass through a dedicated security checkpoint. Travellers departing in winter for warmer climes can also deposit their coat free of charge in a lockable wardrobe facility.

A wide range of work and rest options

The new 650-square-meter lounge has been designed in the style of the existing Swiss First Lounge in the airport’s Terminal E, and offers lounge suites, a lounge club with inviting leather sofas, a business zone and a meeting room with a view of the apron area. Further facilities include a relaxation room with two loungers, and a smokers’ lounge with its own outside section and a choice of fine whiskies. With its bright oiled-oak parquet floor, its Jura limestone walls and its elegant furnishings by Swiss designers such as Vitra and de Sede, the new lounge exudes an ambience of refined exclusivity.

Culinary variety and an extensive barista bar with Swiss products

The centerpiece of the new Swiss First Lounge A is its extensive barista bar, at which guests can sample various speciality coffees and choose from over 100 Swiss grappas and further fruit brandies. On the culinary front, the new lounge offers both an à la carte restaurant and a front cooking option. So every guest is free to decide whether they wish to be served their food and drinks or prefer to help themselves.

The new Swiss First Lounge A is primarily intended for guests who wish to enjoy their time at the airport before their short-haul flight. Travellers to long-haul destinations will be taken directly by limousine from Lounge A to the Swiss First Lounge in Terminal E, which is the departure point for long-haul flights. The new Swiss First Lounge A is available to all Swiss First Class guests and HON Circle Members of the Lufthansa Group. The lounge will be open daily from 05:30 to 22:30.

An exclusive chauffeur service for Swiss First customers arriving in Zurich

Swiss will also be offering an exclusive new service this summer to its First Class customers arriving in Terminal E, in Terminal B or at a remote aircraft stand. The new chauffeur service will collect the customer from the aircraft door and take them directly to the relevant passport or security control in Terminal A or B.

Photos: Swiss.