Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Swissair shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Swissair offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Swissair at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Swissair? Wrong! If the Swissair is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Swissair then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Swissair? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Swissair and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Swissair wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Swissair then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Swissair site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Swissair, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Swissair, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
{{Infobox_Airline| airline = Swissair| logo = Swissair logo.svg| logo_size = 175px| destinations = 157| headquarters = Zürich,
Switzerland| hubs = [Zürich AirportGeneva Cointrin International Airport| frequent_flyer = Qualiflyer| fleet_size =| website = www.swissair.com (archive)-->
Swissair (
Swiss Air Transport Company Limited) was the former national [airline of Switzerland. It was formed of a merger between
Balair and
Ad Astra Aero (
To the Stars), in
1931. For most of its 71 years, Swissair was known as the "Flying Bank" due to the financial stability of the airline, causing it be regarded as a Swiss national symbol and icon.
Nearly 30 percent of Swissair stock was owned by the Swiss government, and at the demise of the airline, Swissair belonged to the holding company SAirGroup, the regional airline Crossair, and the charter company Balair. Its major Airline hub until the early 1990s were at Zürich International Airport and
Geneva Cointrin International Airport. Its successor, Swiss International Air Lines, is using the old Crossair sign
LX and the ICAO code
SWR.
History
The "Hunter Strategy"
In the 1990s Swissair initiated the "Hunter Strategy", a major expansion program devised by the consulting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Using this strategy, Swissair aimed to grow its market share through the acquisition of small airlines rather than entering into alliances agreements. Swissair was advised to acquire 49.5 percent of the unprofitable
Belgium flag carrier,
Sabena, and significant stakes in the carriers
Air Liberté,
Air Outre Mer,
Air Littoral, Volare,
LOT, Air Europe, TAP Portugal,
Turkish Airlines, South African Airways,
Portugalia and
LTU International Airways.
The buying spree created a major cash flow crisis for parent company SAirGroup, and was exacerbated by the environment caused by the
September 11 attacks. Unable to make payments to creditors on its mountain of debt, and the refusal of UBS AG to extend its line of credit on October 2, 2001 the entire Swissair fleet was abruptly grounded.{{cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1574658.stm
| title = Swissair grounds all flights
| publisher = [BBC News
| date = 2001-10-02
| accessdate = 2007-08-02
--> Many blamed the UBS for the fiasco causing demonstrators to take to the streets with signs referring to UBS chairman,
Marcel Ospel as "
Bin Ospel" and redefining the bank's acronym, "UBS" as the
United Bandits of Switzerland.
Two large
bridge loans from the Swiss government were required to then finance continuation of flight operations. This notwithstanding, with the resumption of flight service, it was necessary for flight deck crew to carry large sums of cash for fuel purchases at foreign airports. After the acquisition of assets by Crossair, and liquidation firm, Jürg Hoss Liquidators, on March 31
2002, Crossair was renamed Swiss International Air Lines, and Swissair officially ceased to exist.
Factors behind collapse
Like other airlines, Swissair's operations and
profitability were disrupted in the wake of the
September 11 attacks on the
United States. As Swissair's Board of directors included many politicians, commentators have pointed to potential conflict of interest as fundamental to the demise of Swissair. 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
federal aid given to Swissair and the politicians involved.
Management Trial
The criminal trial began January 16,
2007 in Bülach. The entire Swissair management board stood facing criminal charges of mismanagement, false statements, and forgery of documents. Top defendants in the trial were Mario Corti,
Philippe Bruggisser, George Schorderet,
Jacqualyn Fouse, Eric Honegger and
Vrena Spoerry. Corti, Honegger and Spoerry entered statements proclaiming their innocence.{{cite web | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/16/business/EU-FIN-Switzerland-Swissair-Trial.php
| title = Swissair executives assert innocence at first day of Switzerland's biggest corporate trial
| publisher = International Herald Tribune
| author = Harry Rosenbaum
| date = 15 Jan 2007
| accessdate = 2007-02-22
-->
On
June 7,
2007 the court in
Bülach cleared the defendants of all criminal charges over the airline's 2001 bankruptcy.{{cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6729261.stm
| title = All Swissair defendants cleared
| publisher = BBC News
| date = 2007-06-07
| accessdate = 2007-08-02
-->
Swissair Legacy
Crossair restarted the company in 2001 and the successor airlines
Swiss International Air Lines and
Swiss European Air Lines were born. These two airlines are divisions of
Swiss (airline), the parent company. Recently, Swiss merged into the Lufthansa the flag carrier of
Germany.
With the merger with Lufthansa, Swiss joined the Star Alliance as Lufthansa is a member of
Star Alliance. The two airlines operate their flights on behalf of each other, making up something similar to a joint flag carrier of Germany and Switzerland.
At one point, it appeared that Swiss was going to become a member of the Oneworld alliance. 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 supportive member of Oneworld, to join Oneworld itself. Swiss took a sudden turn in 2005 with its alliance with Lufthansa, and continued into the Star Alliance network. Throughout this the American Airlines alliance remained, but did not expand. Swiss then created an alliance with Star Alliance member United Airlines and replaced some of the American Airlines codeshare destinations from Dallas and JFK, AA's hubs with United codeshare service out of O'Hare (the only place where
American Airlines and
United share a hub) and Washington Dulles International Airport. Therefore, the American Airlines alliance was weakened.
American Airlines and Swiss both plan to terminate all codeshare service including their alliance agreement altogether. Most routes out of O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, American's hub, are currently operated by United, which also uses O'Hare for a hub. Therefore, the American Alliance will be terminated little-by-little, and with every inch the AA alliance weakens, the United alliances gains the same amount. It is likely that United will have taken over the American-Swiss alliance sometime during 2007.
Swiss recycled the Swissair fleet and refurbished the liveries to turn it into the new Swiss fleet. Swiss has since retired all of its Boeing and McDonell Douglas fleet and operates all Airbus models from the
Airbus A320#A319 to the
Airbus A340 aircraft. Swiss retired its Saab 2000 and Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft, and operates the
British Aerospace Avro RJ and
Avro RJ aircraft. Swiss's frequent flyer club, Swiss TravelClub became part of Miles & More, which was originally the Lufthansa frequent flyer club. It acts as both airlines' frequent flyer program.
Accidents and incidents
{| class="wikitable"| nowrap="yes" align=center|
June 19, 1954 ditches due to [fuel starvation in the English Channel, near Folkestone. All three crew members survive, but three of the five passengers die as they are unable to swim. Passenger aircraft at this time were not obliged to carry life rafts or
Personal flotation device, and this was one of the many incidents which inspired this obligation to be passed as law.|-| nowrap="yes" align=center|
July 15,
1956 crashes during a delivery flight from [San Diego, California to
Zürich via New York,
Gander International Airport and
Shannon International Airport. On approach to Shannon, the pilots execute an abnormally steep turn, causing the aircraft to
Stall (flight) and drop to the ground. Four crew members die.|-| nowrap="yes" align=center|June 18,
1957 crashes during a flight exercise conducted under [visual flight rules with nine people aboard. All die. The aim of the exercise was to practise flying with one engine switched off and propellers List of aviation, aerospace and aeronautical terms#F.|-| nowrap="yes" align=center|
September 4,
1963 carrying seventy-four passengers and six crew members taxies halfway along a [runway at Zürich Airport in order to inspect and clear fog. He then returns to the start of the runway and
take-off. Ten minutes later the aircraft crashes, killing all on board. During its initial ascent, witnesses state they saw smoke issuing from one of its engines. Subsequent investigation establishes that braking during the pilot's unauthorised maneuver overheated a tyre, causing it to burst, damaging a
fuel line and starting the fire that ultimately led to loss of aircraft control.], 1967, [1970 cripples [Swissair Flight 330 nine minutes after take-off from Zürich to
Tel Aviv. Forty-seven die when the aircraft crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Zürich.],
1970 jet airliners, one belonging to Swissair, are blown up by terrorists at Dawson's Field, [Zerqa, Jordan. See Dawson's Field hijackings.],
1979 lands under "adverse conditions" at [Athens International Airport, overshooting the runway and killing fourteen passengers. The plane touches down at too great a speed and too far along the runway for the pilots to use sufficient braking and
reverse thrust.], 1998 travelling from New York's [JFK International Airport to
Geneva Cointrin International Airport crashes due to fire and subsequent instrument failure at night over the
Atlantic Ocean, 80 km southwest of
Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. All 215 passengers and 14 crew members died. See
Swissair Flight 111.|}
See also
References
- Aviation Safety Network
- Nolmans, Erik (Nov. 14, 2005). "UBS Fastens its Seatbelts". FORTUNE, p. 20.
External links
- Last Swissair Page on the web, from the Internet Archive
- Swissair Fansite
- Private site focusing on Swissair's Grounding
- Airliners.net article: Swissair, Gone with the Wind...
- Swissair and Swiss Fan Site
{{Infobox_Airline| airline = Swissair| logo = Swissair logo.svg| logo_size = 175px| destinations = 157| headquarters =
Zürich, Switzerland| hubs = [Zürich Airport
Geneva Cointrin International Airport| frequent_flyer =
Qualiflyer| fleet_size =| website = www.swissair.com (archive)-->Swissair (Swiss Air Transport Company Limited) was the former national [airline of
Switzerland. It was formed of a merger between
Balair and
Ad Astra Aero (
To the Stars), in
1931. For most of its 71 years, Swissair was known as the "Flying Bank" due to the financial stability of the airline, causing it be regarded as a Swiss national symbol and icon.
Nearly 30 percent of Swissair stock was owned by the Swiss government, and at the demise of the airline, Swissair belonged to the holding company
SAirGroup, the regional airline
Crossair, and the charter company Balair. Its major
Airline hub until the early 1990s were at
Zürich International Airport and Geneva Cointrin International Airport. Its successor, Swiss International Air Lines, is using the old Crossair sign
LX and the ICAO code
SWR.
History
The "Hunter Strategy"
In the
1990s Swissair initiated the "Hunter Strategy", a major expansion program devised by the consulting firm of
PricewaterhouseCoopers. Using this strategy, Swissair aimed to grow its market share through the acquisition of small airlines rather than entering into alliances agreements. Swissair was advised to acquire 49.5 percent of the unprofitable Belgium flag carrier, Sabena, and significant stakes in the carriers
Air Liberté,
Air Outre Mer, Air Littoral, Volare, LOT, Air Europe, TAP Portugal,
Turkish Airlines, South African Airways, Portugalia and LTU International Airways.
The buying spree created a major
cash flow crisis for parent company SAirGroup, and was exacerbated by the environment caused by the
September 11 attacks. Unable to make payments to creditors on its mountain of debt, and the refusal of UBS AG to extend its line of credit on October 2,
2001 the entire Swissair fleet was abruptly grounded.{{cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1574658.stm
| title = Swissair grounds all flights
| publisher = [BBC News
| date = 2001-10-02
| accessdate = 2007-08-02
--> Many blamed the UBS for the fiasco causing demonstrators to take to the streets with signs referring to UBS chairman, Marcel Ospel as "
Bin Ospel" and redefining the bank's acronym, "UBS" as the
United Bandits of Switzerland.
Two large bridge loans from the Swiss government were required to then finance continuation of flight operations. This notwithstanding, with the resumption of flight service, it was necessary for flight deck crew to carry large sums of cash for fuel purchases at foreign airports. After the acquisition of assets by Crossair, and liquidation firm,
Jürg Hoss Liquidators, on
March 31 2002, Crossair was renamed
Swiss International Air Lines, and Swissair officially ceased to exist.
Factors behind collapse
Like other airlines, Swissair's operations and
profitability were disrupted in the wake of the
September 11 attacks on the United States. As Swissair's
Board of directors included many politicians, commentators have pointed to potential conflict of interest as fundamental to the demise of Swissair. 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 federal aid given to Swissair and the politicians involved.
Management Trial
The criminal trial began
January 16,
2007 in
Bülach. The entire Swissair management board stood facing criminal charges of mismanagement, false statements, and forgery of documents. Top defendants in the trial were Mario Corti, Philippe Bruggisser,
George Schorderet, Jacqualyn Fouse,
Eric Honegger and Vrena Spoerry. Corti, Honegger and Spoerry entered statements proclaiming their innocence.{{cite web | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/16/business/EU-FIN-Switzerland-Swissair-Trial.php
| title = Swissair executives assert innocence at first day of Switzerland's biggest corporate trial
| publisher = International Herald Tribune
| author = Harry Rosenbaum
| date = 15 Jan 2007
| accessdate = 2007-02-22
-->
On
June 7,
2007 the court in
Bülach cleared the defendants of all criminal charges over the airline's 2001 bankruptcy.{{cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6729261.stm
| title = All Swissair defendants cleared
| publisher = BBC News
| date = 2007-06-07
| accessdate = 2007-08-02
-->
Swissair Legacy
Crossair restarted the company in 2001 and the successor airlines
Swiss International Air Lines and
Swiss European Air Lines were born. These two airlines are divisions of
Swiss (airline), the parent company. Recently, Swiss merged into the Lufthansa the flag carrier of Germany.
With the merger with Lufthansa, Swiss joined the Star Alliance as Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance. The two airlines operate their flights on behalf of each other, making up something similar to a joint flag carrier of Germany and Switzerland.
At one point, it appeared that Swiss was going to become a member of the Oneworld alliance. 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 supportive member of Oneworld, to join Oneworld itself. Swiss took a sudden turn in 2005 with its alliance with Lufthansa, and continued into the Star Alliance network. Throughout this the American Airlines alliance remained, but did not expand. Swiss then created an alliance with Star Alliance member United Airlines and replaced some of the American Airlines codeshare destinations from Dallas and JFK, AA's hubs with United codeshare service out of O'Hare (the only place where
American Airlines and
United share a hub) and Washington Dulles International Airport. Therefore, the American Airlines alliance was weakened.
American Airlines and Swiss both plan to terminate all codeshare service including their alliance agreement altogether. Most routes out of O'Hare International Airport in
Chicago, American's hub, are currently operated by United, which also uses O'Hare for a hub. Therefore, the American Alliance will be terminated little-by-little, and with every inch the AA alliance weakens, the United alliances gains the same amount. It is likely that United will have taken over the American-Swiss alliance sometime during 2007.
Swiss recycled the Swissair fleet and refurbished the liveries to turn it into the new Swiss fleet. Swiss has since retired all of its Boeing and
McDonell Douglas fleet and operates all Airbus models from the Airbus A320#A319 to the
Airbus A340 aircraft. Swiss retired its
Saab 2000 and
Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft, and operates the British Aerospace Avro RJ and
Avro RJ aircraft. Swiss's frequent flyer club,
Swiss TravelClub became part of Miles & More, which was originally the Lufthansa frequent flyer club. It acts as both airlines' frequent flyer program.
Accidents and incidents
{| class="wikitable"| nowrap="yes" align=center|
June 19, 1954 ditches due to [fuel starvation in the English Channel, near
Folkestone. All three crew members survive, but three of the five passengers die as they are unable to swim. Passenger aircraft at this time were not obliged to carry life rafts or Personal flotation device, and this was one of the many incidents which inspired this obligation to be passed as law.|-| nowrap="yes" align=center|
July 15,
1956 crashes during a delivery flight from [San Diego, California to Zürich via
New York, Gander International Airport and
Shannon International Airport. On approach to Shannon, the pilots execute an abnormally steep turn, causing the aircraft to Stall (flight) and drop to the ground. Four crew members die.|-| nowrap="yes" align=center|
June 18, 1957 crashes during a flight exercise conducted under [visual flight rules with nine people aboard. All die. The aim of the exercise was to practise flying with one engine switched off and propellers
List of aviation, aerospace and aeronautical terms#F.|-| nowrap="yes" align=center|
September 4, 1963 carrying seventy-four passengers and six crew members taxies halfway along a [runway at Zürich Airport in order to inspect and clear fog. He then returns to the start of the runway and take-off. Ten minutes later the aircraft crashes, killing all on board. During its initial ascent, witnesses state they saw smoke issuing from one of its engines. Subsequent investigation establishes that braking during the pilot's unauthorised maneuver overheated a tyre, causing it to burst, damaging a fuel line and starting the fire that ultimately led to loss of aircraft control.],
1967, [1970 cripples [Swissair Flight 330 nine minutes after take-off from Zürich to
Tel Aviv. Forty-seven die when the aircraft crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Zürich.], 1970 jet airliners, one belonging to Swissair, are blown up by terrorists at Dawson's Field, [Zerqa, Jordan. See Dawson's Field hijackings.], 1979 lands under "adverse conditions" at [Athens International Airport, overshooting the runway and killing fourteen passengers. The plane touches down at too great a speed and too far along the runway for the pilots to use sufficient braking and
reverse thrust.],
1998 travelling from New York's [JFK International Airport to Geneva Cointrin International Airport crashes due to fire and subsequent instrument failure at night over the Atlantic Ocean, 80 km southwest of
Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. All 215 passengers and 14 crew members died. See
Swissair Flight 111.|}
See also
References
- Aviation Safety Network
- Nolmans, Erik (Nov. 14, 2005). "UBS Fastens its Seatbelts". FORTUNE, p. 20.
External links
- Last Swissair Page on the web, from the Internet Archive
- Swissair Fansite
- Private site focusing on Swissair's Grounding
- Airliners.net article: Swissair, Gone with the Wind...
- Swissair and Swiss Fan Site
Swissair.ch - Flugzeugfotos by Andreas Spring
swissair.ch ist eine Homepage mit Flugzeugfotos von Airlines aus der ganzen Welt
Swissair.ch
swissair.ch
Swissair - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Swissair (Swiss Air Transport Company Limited) was the former national airline of Switzerland. It was formed of a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero (To the Stars), in 1931.
Swissair Flight 111 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Swissair Flight 111 (SR-111, SWR-111) was a Swissair McDonnell Douglas MD-11 on a scheduled airline flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United ...
BBC NEWS | Business | All Swissair defendants cleared
All 19 people accused of crimes linked to the collapse of Swissair are cleared by a Swiss court. ... All 19 defendants accused of crimes linked to the collapse of national carrier ...
BBC NEWS | Programmes | Crossing Continents | A nation in shock ...
The humiliating demise of Swissair has left the Swiss nation in shock. Henry Bonsu goes to Zurich to uncover a story of corporate recklessness and incompetence.
mobile.swiss.com
National airline using aircraft and personnel from its predecessors: Crossair and Swissair. Includes timetable and bookings. [Links to multiple language dependant pages provided]
Swissair Fan Site
Investigating the Swissair Flight 111 In
Investigating the Swissair Flight 111 In-flight Fire using the SMARTFIRE CFD fire simulation software. AT 8.18pm on 2 September 1998, Swissair Flight 111 (SR 111), took off ...
Swiss Air bumpy landing at London City Airport - Strong crosswinds ...
Swiss Air bumpy landing at London City Airport - Strong crosswinds make for a treache... ... Swiss Air bumpy landing at London City Airport: Strong crosswinds make for a ...
