25 April, 2011

Swiss

Reservations
Swiss                      +41 848 700 700
Germany               +49 1805 110036
France                   +33 892 232 501  
United Kingdom  +44 845 601 0956
USA                        +1 877 359 7947

Our rating    4  stars.

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Swiss,  or Swiss Air as it's still sometimes called is the new, or newish national airline of Switzerland, it's a rebirth of a carrier from the former Swissair.   The service on it's flights is rather unremarkable and understated and the relatively new aircraft are comfortable.  Their medium and long haul Airbus aircraft have inseat entertainment systems with a wide choice of music and video entertainment.   The fares are very reasonable and comparative to most other airlines.  In fact on some routes they are even cheaper than their low cost rivals -  worth remembering if you're flying just within Europe.   

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Meals in business class have recently won awards thanks to the airlines tie up deals with top class hotels and restaurants and chefs,  it really is a taste of Switzerland,  In economy the meal service is fresh, exciting and tasty.  Service is nice and don't forget to leave room for the cheese!  We say yes please,  Swiss is a nice airline,  right at the heart of Europe offering good service at a reasonable and competitive fare.  Average on time record,  which is slowly getting better make Swiss an ideal choice.






Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) serves 72 destinations in 39 countries all over the world (as of summer 2011) from its Zurich hub and the further Swiss international airports of Basel and Geneva with a fleet (as of summer 2011) of 89 aircrafts. Switzerland’s airline embodies typical Swiss values such as hospitality, quality in every detail and personal care: SWISS aims to make all its customers feel totally at home.    
SWISS is committed on various fronts to the careful and sustainable use of natural resources, and regards a responsible attitude to the environment as an integral part of its corporate culture. As part of the Lufthansa Group and a member of Star Alliance, SWISS remains true to its mission of providing quality air services that link Switzerland with Europe and the world. 



VISION

We want to be the best airline of Europe -  also part of the Lufthansa Group.

MISSION

We are the airline of Switzerland – connecting Switzerland and Europe with the world.

Based on our strengths in personal care, SWISS hospitality and SWISS quality we make our guests feel as if they were at home.

As a part of the Lufthansa group we develop SWISS in a self-governed manner.

MANAGEMENT BOARD

Chairman of the BoardBruno Gehrig
Chief Executive OfficerHarry Hohmeister
Chief Financial OfficerMarcel Klaus
Chief Operating OfficerRainer Hiltebrand
Chief Commercial OfficerHolger Hätty

EXTENDED MANAGEMENT

Chief Cargo OfficerOliver Evans
Chief Technical OfficerPeter Wojahn
Head office
Basel, Switzerland 

AIRCRAFT FLEET (SUMMER 2011)

Aircraft typeNumberAverage age in years
Airbus A319713.6 years
Airbus A3202113.3 years
Airbus A321712.0 years
Airbus A330-200211.8 years
Airbus A330-30010 1.0 years
Airbus A340-30015 9.8 years
Avro RJ1002012.9 years
TOTAL8211.6 years

FURTHER AIRCRAFT ARE OPERATED FOR SWISS UNDER WET-LEASE ARRANGEMENTS:

Aircraft typeNumberPartner
Saab 20001Darwin Airline
BBJ2 (B737-800)1Privatair
Fokker 1002Contact Air
Fokker 1003Helvetic
Total7

KEY TRAFFIC FIGURES FOR SCHEDULED SERVICES
(JANUARY - MARCH 2011)

Passengers carried3 432 658
Flights operated36 956
Available seat-kilometres (million)9 438
Revenue passenger-kilometres (million)7 206
Seat load factor systemwide76.4%


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23 April, 2011

Air Zimbabwe Flights Resume

Air Zim resumes flights to London | Air Zimbabwe, pilots strike, Captain Eben Murapa, Captain Alex Makanda, Air Zimbabwe Acting Chief Executive Officer, Innocent Mavhunga
THE first international flight marking an end to Air Zimbabwe pilots’ month-long strike left for London, Gatwick Thursday morning, after government brokered a deal to end the impasse between the employer and employees.

Hong Kong Airlines Is Training Its Flight Attendants in Kung Fu

Unruly airline passengers beware!  Hong Kong Airlines is requiring its flight attendants to learn kung fu, something the airline hopes will help its crew deal with drunk and unruly passengers.

22 April, 2011

Cuts To Airline Capacity As Fuel Prices Rise

 

US carriers are continuing to cut capacity as they try to cope with the effects of higher fuel prices.


Both United Continental and American Airlines are trimming planned capacity over the next few months after being hit by rising oil costs.

 

United Continental said that fuel had cost an extra 34.5% or $725 million for the first quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year.


While American saw a 24% rise in its fuel costs adding an extra $351 million to its quarterly bill compared to 2010.
Jeff Smisek, United Continental’s chief executive officer, said: “United and Continental are much better positioned to manage through the current high-cost fuel environment as a combined carrier than either would have been as stand-alone carriers.”
United and Continental officially merged in October 2010 and the combined company recorded a net loss of $213 million for the quarter including $77 million of costs from the integration of the two airlines.
The airline is cutting capacity by one percentage point from May with a further four point reduction from September. Despite the cuts, capacity will be roughly the same as last year.
American’s parent company AMR Corporation reduced its net loss for the first three months of 2011 to $436 million compared to a deficit of $505 million on the same period in 2010.
AMR chief executive Gerard Arpey said: “High fuel prices remain one of the biggest challenges to our industry and our company. 
“We believe our steps to aggressively increase revenues, reduce capacity, control non-fuel operating costs, and bolster liquidity will help us to better manage the challenges we currently face.”


American is cutting capacity on its domestic routes although it will still increase seat numbers on international routes. It is now expecting an overall capacity rise of 2.8% compared to last year.

U.S. airlines results hit by soaring fuel costs

 

Skyrocketing fuel costs and disasters in Japan took a bite out of major U.S. airline earnings reported on Thursday, but higher fares helped the carriers, including United Continental Holdings, meet or beat Wall Street forecasts.

United Continental, parent of United Airlines, posted a quarterly loss and said the decline in demand for travel to Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami lowered its first-quarter passenger revenue by about $30 million.

JetBlue swings to profit despite high fuel costs

JetBlue Airways Corp met analyst expectations in a volatile cost environment, swinging to a quarterly profit despite sharply higher fuel prices.
Net income for the first quarter was $3 million, or a penny per diluted share. This compares to a net loss of $1 million, or nil cents a share, a year ago.
Analysts expected a gain of a penny per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Operating revenue of $1 billion was also in line with Wall Street expectations.
JetBlue paid 34 per cent more for fuel over the year-ago period, but it recorded $2 million in hedging gains.
For the second quarter, unit costs, including fuel, are expected to increase between 18 and 20 per cent.


Air France A380 strikes Delta CRJ

The horrific moment when a wing tip of an Air France Airbus A380 hits the tail of a Delta Connection aircraft on the ground.   So much more could have gone wrong in this situation,   more attention to large aircraft movements on the ground must me made.  The FAA is investigating along with both airlines, but from the initial reports it appears as sloppy ground control is to blame for what really was a lucky escape.

11 April, 2011

FLIGHT 447 CRASH SITE FOUND

FLIGHT 447 CRASH SITE FOUND

The French Air Accident Investigations Bureau has stated that wreckage from the Air France A330, lost over the Atlantic in 2009 has been found.
Richard Benedikz - 4-Apr-2011

Investigators now hope that the flight data recorders can be retrieved, solving the mystery of what caused the Airbus A330-200 to crash on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with the loss of all 228 people on board.
According to Airbus, the cause of the crash cannot be determined unless the flight recorders are found. So far the only information available is a malfunction of the aircraft’s airspeed sensors although it is believed other factors also played a part.
Search vessels, financed by Airbus and Air France located the wreckage of Flight 447 using equipment similar to that used to explore the remains of the Titanic in 1985. A salvage team is heading to the site to assist in lifting the aircraft from a depth of 4,000m.
Retrieving the flight data recorders has become more urgent following the decision last month by a French judge to place both Airbus and Air France under formal investigation for involuntary manslaughter


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13 September, 2010

33 Survive In Conviasa Airlines Crash

An amazing 33 people have survived a horredus plane crash in Venezuela that has claimed the lives of at least 14 people.

The accident happened on Monday  13 September on a domestic flight in the Latin America country. 
The aircraft was  carrying 47 passengers and four crew, and was on it's way to the resort city of Isla Margarita,   it apparently burst into flames mid-air and broke almost in two as it came down near a steel works owned by the Sidor group in Bolivar state.

"A total of 33 people are being cared for at different clinics," Bolivar governor Francisco Rangel Gomez said. "We have 14 bodies that are being identified and we are searching for four people" in the wreckage.

The Conviasa Airlines ATR-42-300 plane went down about six miles (10 kilometers) from Puerto Ordaz. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.    Officials said the quick response by the emergency services after the pilot warned air traffic control that the flight was in trouble had prevented a higher death toll.
"Unfortunately we do have deaths but... given the condition of the plane, I think that we were lucky," Transport and Communications Minister Francisco Garces said.
Rescuers arrived at the scene quickly with medical helicopters on hand to transport the wounded to local hospitals that had been placed on alert. A burns unit was also on stand-by to treat those caught in the blazing wreckage.
The plane went down at a site mostly used by Sidor to store scrap industrial material. None of its employees were injured in the crash, but they were among the first at the scene helping rescue passengers, Gomez said.
 

The governor said the pilot appeared to have "lost control" of the plane and had radioed a control tower to warn that the flight was having technical difficulties.
A spokesperson for ATR, the aircraft manufacturer, said the firm was investigating the accident.
"We are working in close cooperation with the company (Conviasa) and authorities to understand the causes of the accident. At the moment we do not know what caused it," a spokesman in Paris told AFP.


ATR aircraft like the one that crashed Monday are made by a European consortium composed of EADS and Alenia.
The firm, based in Toulouse, France, employs some 850 people and is considered a global leader in the manufacture of small turbo-propelled planes with 50-75 seats, with some 52 percent of the market.
It has received over 1,000 orders from 150 companies in 80 countries since its creation, and made around 1.1 billion euros in 2009.
Conviasa is a state-owned airline started in 2004 that flies to destinations as varied as Tehran, Damascus, Buenos Aires and several Caribbean nations.
The last major air accident in Venezuela was in February 2008 and also involved an ATR-42-300, which crashed in the Andes, killing 46.
Three years earlier, 160 people were killed in a Venezuelan crash that was one of the world's deadliest ever.
The flight was en route to Martinique and the majority of those killed -- 152 of the passengers -- were from the small Caribbean island. An investigation into the disaster later concluded human error was to blame.

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