Milestones 20 years of SWISS

SWISS celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022. In this picture overview, we look back on the most moving moments that have shaped the "Airline of Switzerland" over the past two decades. 

Many still remember the extremely difficult time of the founding years, when it quickly became clear that it would be important for SWISS to have the right structure and strong partners in order to survive in this highly competitive market. In association with the Lufthansa Group (since 2005) and the Star Alliance (since 2006), SWISS was able to bring more than 18 million passengers safely to their destinations in 2019 after years of climbing.

But then the Corona pandemic dragged the aviation industry and SWISS into the biggest crisis in its history. SWISS was plunged into severe turbulence over the following two years. But even in this challenging period, we continued to succeed in connecting Switzerland to the world, thanks to the enormous commitment of the SWISS team together with our partners. Especially in times of crisis, the great importance of Switzerland as an airline became apparent. SWISS is now well on the way to becoming successful again and structurally more sustainable, so that we can fly successfully into the future. 

2002

André Dosé and Tyler Brulé stand in front of a Airplane.
On 31 January, André Dosé, SWISS's first CEO, and Canadian designer Tyler Brulé present the new brand. © keystone
Captain Markus Chatelain stands in the cabin in front of the cockpit to answer questions from a journalist.
Captain Markus Chatelain flies the first SWISS aircraft (an Avro RJ85) with 65 passengers from Basel to Zurich on 31 March.

 

2003

The first Airbus A330-300 receives a water salute from the fire brigade at Zurich Airport.
SWISS launches the modernisation of its long-haul fleet with the entry into service of the first Airbus A340-300 on 1 July.

 

2004

Two men sitting at a table a few microphones from media in front of them.
André Dosé announces his resignation as CEO to the media on 10 March. Pieter Bouw takes over the function of CEO on an interim basis.
Two men shaking hands.
Chairman of the Board Pieter Bouw welcomes the new CEO Christoph Franz, on 1 July.
SWISS airplane takes off.
The last commercial flight with an MD-11 from Chicago to Zurich takes place on 31 October.
An aircraft model lies on typing keyboard.
Swiss AviationSoftware, the developer of maintenance software programmes, celebrates its foundation as a spin-off from SWISS.

 

2005

Three men sitting on a table signing a book.
Green light for the takeover of SWISS by Lufthansa. The purchase agreement is signed on 22 March.
A Saab 2000 from SWISS aircraft is landing.
SWISS will bid farewell to the Saab 2000 fleet with a final flight from Palma de Mallorca to Basel on 29 October.

 

2006

A group of woman, wearing uniforms of Star Alliance member carriers standing in front of an aircraft in a hangar.
SWISS becomes the 17th member of the Star Alliance on 7 April.
A Embraer 145 aircraft from SWISS in the air.
On 31 July, the era of the Embraer 145 ends at SWISS.

 

2007

Women standing in the departure hall of Zurich Airport wearing indian dresses.
The first long-haul opening in SWISS's history: the first SWISS flight to Delhi takes off on 25 November.

 

2008

A woman in a red dress sitting in a mock-up of the new business class seat. Tree men standing next to the seat.
The actress and former Miss Switzerland, Lauriane Gilliéron, presents a world first on 21 May: the new, horizontally adjustable business class seat with the innovative air cushion.
Women in red chinese dresses and four other people standing in a row holding a red ribbon an cutting it.
SWISS flies to the Chinese business metropolis of Shanghai on 31 May.
Five men holding their hands together to symbolise an agreement.
Kuoni and SWISS enter into a comprehensive strategic partnership on 1 November. Kuoni will be able to offer its hotel portfolio via swiss.com and SWISS will take over Edelweiss Air from Kuoni.

 

2009

An Airbus A330-300 Aircraft is parked in the hangar surrounded by a group of journalists with cameras.
As part of the fleet renewal, SWISS takes the first Airbus A330-300 into service on 20 April.
Harry Hohmeister is standing in front of an aircraft looking into the camera.
On 1 July Harry Hohmeister becomes CEO of SWISS. He succeeds Christoph Franz.
A group of flight crew member standing in a row on a stage wearing new SWISS uniform parts.
On 7 December, the SWISS crew receives a new uniform. Until then, it had been composed of parts of the former Crossair and Swissair uniforms.

 

2010

An Airbus A340-300 aircraft with a special flower power livery is pulled out of a hangar by a traktor.
A SWISS Airbus A340-300 in the Flower Power design takes off for the opening of the Zurich-San Francisco route on 2 June.

 

2011

Three people are hanging up a new logo to the surface of the Zurich Airport building. Left the old cube logo.
A SWISS Airbus A340-300 in the Flower Power design takes off for the opening of the Zurich-San Francisco route on 2 June.

 

2012

Five people are helding a flower bouquet in front of an aircraft door in a gangway. A photographer is taking pictures.
On 11 February, SWISS will be flying to Beijing again, after having had to abandon the destination in 2003 for reasons of cost-cutting.
Aircraft Maintenance
SWISS Technik takes over the line maintenance of the entire SWISS fleet from SR Technics.

 

2013

Four men on a stage holding cow bells in their hand and ringing them.
SWISS is launching its first direct flight to Singapore on 12 May. Until 2009, SWISS flew to the Asian financial metropolis via Bangkok.

 

2014

A moleskine book is open and shows some writen phrases of the new SWISS strategy.
SWISS announces its new strategy and the investment of billions in the fleet and expansion of the European network in Zurich and Geneva.

 

2015

A Avro RJ-100 aircraft is taking off from EuroAirport in front of the terminal building.
SWISS ceases flight operations in Basel at the end of May.

 

2016

The first Boeing 777-300 ER overflies the airfield of Zurich Airport accompanied by two jets of the swiss airforce.
On 29 January, the first of twelve Boeing 777-300-ERs lands at Kloten Airport.
Harry Hohmeister and Thomas Klühr holding a steering horn of an Boeing 777 aircraft.
Harry Hohmeister hands over the steering gear to the new CEO Thomas Klühr.
View into the first class lounge in Dock E showing the wooden bar.
The new First, Senator and Business Class lounges are opened in Dock E at Kloten Airport.
The world's first Bombardier CS100 for SWISS, accompanied by the Super Constellation flying over the Zurich Airport airfield.
On 1 July, the world's first Bombardier CS100 for SWISS, accompanied by the Super Constellation, lands at Kloten Airport.

 

2017

The first CS300 (Airbus A221) with a special livery stand on the tarmac.
On 26 March, SWISS begins its fleet renewal in Geneva with the Bombardier C Series (Airbus A220 family). It is dedicating the first CS300 (Airbus A221) to the people of French-speaking Switzerland with a special livery. ©
A group of people with a banner standing in front of the last Avro RJ-100 aircraft.
The last commercial flight from Geneva to Zurich will take place on 15 August. The aircraft, also known as the Jumbolino, has formed the backbone of SWISS's European fleet since its inception.

 

2018

A man sitting in Economy Class and reading on his tablet computer.
SWISS achieved a passenger record in 2018. It carried around 18 million passengers and exceeded last year's result by 6.2%.
Sitting corner in the lounge with wooden walls in warm light.
SWISS opens new First Class Lounge in Dock A at Zurich Airport with its own check-in and security check.

 

2019

A man is sitting in economy class. A flight attendant is explaining him the inflight enteratinment system.
On 7 March, the first of the five Airbus A340s took off for Tokyo, following extensive upgrades to the in-flight product in all three travel classes.

 

2020

outside view of the new LAT building with two white flags with European Flightacademy and SWISS logo in the front.
Lufthansa Aviation Training Switzerland (LAT) has moved into its new training center for pilot and cabin crew training in Opfikon, Zurich.
An Airbus A320neo aircraft is parked in the hangar. In front is a group of men in black dresses with black huts playing their alphorn instruments.
On 20 February, SWISS took delivery of the first of a total of 25 aircraft in the Airbus A320neo family. The newest member of the fleet will be christened "Engelberg".
on the left of the picture their is the roof of the Washington Capitol building, on the right the Osaka castle tower.
SWISS operated its first flight to Osaka on 1 March. However, the direct connection to the Japanese metropolis had to be discontinued shortly afterwards due to the Corona pandemic. Washington D.C., another planned new long-haul destination, was never launched.
Aerial view from the Dübendorf airfield where several aircrafts are parked in an row.
The corona pandemic is dragging the aviation industry, including SWISS, into the biggest crisis in its history. SWISS has to reduce its European and worldwide flight operations to a minimum. Temporarily, 24 short- and medium-haul aircraft are parked in Dübendorf. The Airbus A330 long-haul aircraft are parked in the Jordanian desert.
View into the Economy Class section of a Boeing 777 where the seas have been removed to make space for on board cargo pallets.
Three Boeing 777s are being converted to carry important medical supplies such as medicines and protective materials from China, so that the cabin can also be loaded with cargo.

 

2021

Dieter Vranckx ist standing on the tarmac facing the camera in front of an aircraft.
Dieter Vranckx is to become the new CEO of SWISS. He succeeds Thomas Klühr, who is retiring.
A swiss Birchermusli bowl is placed on an table in the economy class of an aircraft.
At the end of March, SWISS will introduce the SWISS Saveurs catering concept, which has already been successfully launched in Geneva, in Economy Class on short- and medium-haul flights to and from Zurich. SWISS is working exclusively with the internationally renowned and traditional Swiss family-owned company Confiserie Sprüngli.
Four men standing in front of the 30th Airbus A320 in the hangar holding a certificate.
SWISS took delivery of its 30th Airbus A220 at the end of May, marking an important milestone in the largest fleet renewal project in the company's history. The Airbus A220-300 with the registration HB-JCU will be christened "Davos" upon arrival.
Aviation fuel is pumped into a wing of an aircraft.
In collaboration with various partner companies, SWISS has for the first time established a holistic logistics chain for the import of sustainable fuel (SAF) into Switzerland. This makes SWISS the first scheduled airline to use sustainable fuel for its regular flight operations from Switzerland.

 

2022

View into an aircraft cabin, which is illuminated in orange-red light.
SWISS is introducing the innovative "Airspace" cabin concept on its Airbus A320neo family aircraft in January. The new cabin concept includes significantly larger overhead bins, a modern lighting system geared to people's biorhythms and improved seating comfort.
The photo shows the new Premium Economy seat.
SWISS today unveiled the first aircraft equipped with the newly introduced Premium Economy Class at Zurich Airport. This new travel class will complement the existing Economy, Business and First Class.
Chart with facts and figures about the new AeroSHARK surface technology.
SWISS will be the first passenger airline worldwide to use the new AeroSHARK surface technology and thus further reduce its CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. All twelve Boeing 777-300ERs will gradually be fitted with the material developed jointly by Lufthansa Technik and the chemical group BASF.
A large area with solar panels in the background a sunset.
SWISS and the Lufthansa Group have agreed on a strategic cooperation with Synhelion for the market launch of solar fuel. SWISS will thus become the world's first airline to use so-called sun-to-liquid fuel. The process developed by Synhelion will produce CO2-neutral fuel in the future with the help of concentrated sunlight.
Logo of the new digital SWISS Magazine
SWISS is opening a new digital chapter with the SWISS Magazine at the beginning of December. After 182 issues, the success story of the printed in-flight magazine came to an end with the anniversary issue celebrating SWISS's 20th anniversary. Since then, the SWISS Magazine has been available in a digital form.

 

The history of SWISS

Here you can access the e-book (German only) Buch

Documentary about 20 years history of SWISS

Compiled by: Reto Hoffmann

 

Published on 7 February 2012