Swissair
From Free net encyclopedia
Swissair, short for "Swiss Air Transport Company Limited", was Switzerland's national airline for 71 years (1931–2002), established when the airlines Balair and Ad Astra Aero ("To the Stars") merged. For most of its lifetime, Swissair's financial stability made it renowned as a "flying bank" and it came to be regarded as a national symbol. It ended, however, in fiasco. About 30% of the Swissair shares belonged to the national government and at its demise, Swissair belonged to the holding company SAIRgroup, together with the regional airline Crossair and the charter company Balair. Its major hubs were at Geneva Cointrin International Airport and Zürich International Airport.
Contents |
History
The 1990s "Hunter Strategy" and Swissair's collapse
In the 1990s Swissair initiated a large expansion program known as the "Hunter Strategy" in which it aimed to grow by buying small airlines rather than forming alliances. It acquired 49½ % of Sabena, the national Belgian airline and bought two minor French airlines, Air Liberté and AOM.
The Hunter Strategy, however, proved too costly and, facing a cashflow crisis, Swissair was grounded¹ on October 2, 2001. The largest bank in Switzerland, UBS AG, was blamed by many for refusing to extend Swissair's line of credit, and protestors who demonstrated the day after the grounding carried a banner reading "Bin Ospel".
When flights resumed, captains had to carry large sums of cash in order to provide collateral for fuel purchases at foreign airports. Finally, on March 31, 2002, Crossair took over most of Swissair's assets, Swissair passed out of existence and Crossair was renamed Swiss International Air Lines. It is now usually known simply as "Swiss".
Factors behind Swissair's collapse
Like other airlines, Swissair's operations and profitability were disrupted in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States. However, as Swissair's directors included many politicians, commentators have pointed to potential conflicts of interest as fundamental to Swissair's demise. The judiciary is continuing to examine why Swissair bought 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.
Designator code
Swissair used the IATA designator code SR and the ICAO designator code SWR. Its successor Swiss International Air Lines is using the old Crossair sign LX and the ICAO code SWR.
History of accidents and incidents
| June 19, 1954 | A Convair CV-240 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 life-jackets. |
| July 15, 1956 | A Convair CV-440 crashes during a delivery flight from San Diego, California to Zürich via New York, Gander and Shannon. On approach to Shannon, the pilots execute an abnormally-steep turn, causing the aircraft to stall and drop to the ground. Four crew members die. |
| June 18, 1957 | A Douglas DC-3 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 feathered. |
| September 4, 1963 | Without authorisation, the pilot of a Swissair Sud Aviation Caravelle carrying seventy-four passengers and six crew taxis halfway along a runway at Zürich Airport in order to inspect and clear fog. He then returns to the start of the runway and takes-off. Ten minutes later the aircraft crashes, killing all on board. During its initial ascent, witness state they saw smoke issuing from one of its engines. Subsequent investigation establishes that braking during the pilot's unauthorised manoeveur overheated a tyre, causing it to burst, damage a fuel line and start the fire that ultimately led to loss of aircraft control. |
| February 10, 1967 | A Convair CV-440 collides with a cloud-covered mountain; four crew members die. |
| February 21, 1970 | A bomb on board a Convair CV-990 destroys the aircraft nine minutes after take-off from Zürich to Tel Aviv. Forty-seven die. |
| September 6, 1970 | Three empty hijacked jet airliners, one belonging to Swissair, are blown up by terrorists at Dawson's Field, Zerqa, Jordan. See Dawson's Field hijackings. |
| October 8, 1979 | A McDonnell Douglas DC-8 lands under "adverse conditions" at Athens International Airport, overshooting its 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. |
| September 2, 1998 | A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 travelling from New York's JFK International Airport to Geneva crashes due to fire and subsequent instrument failure at night over the Atlantic Ocean, fifty miles southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia. All 215 passengers and 14 crew members die. See Swissair Flight 111. |
Notes
¹ As a consequence "grounded" entered the Swiss-German lexicon, and the film Grounding was released in 2006.
References
- Aviation Safety Network
- Nolmans, Erik (Nov. 14, 2005). "UBS Fastens its Seatbelts". FORTUNE, p. 20.
See also
|
Lists of Aircraft | Aircraft manufacturers | Aircraft engines | Aircraft engine manufacturers Airports | Airlines | Air forces | Aircraft weapons | Missiles | Timeline of aviation |