The tiny little car parked next to the imposing Boeing 777-300ER appears like a dwarf next to a giant. With its 2.5 metres in length and 1.5 metres in height, the Microlino lives up to its name. By comparison, the "Triple Seven" is 73.9 metres long and 18.5 metres high – which makes 30 times the size of a Microlino.

The picture symbolises the new collaboration of SWISS with the manufacturer Micro, that comes with a purchase of three Microlino e-vehicles to be used by the employees. Of course, the small vehicle next to the large aircraft is an extraordinary sight, but there is more to it than that: it is one of many small steps SWISS is taking towards sustainability. 

 

Efficient commuting

The fact that three Microlinos carrying the SWISS logo are now whizzing around Zurich Airport is primarily owed to the technicians who came up with the idea of replacing their petrol cars with Microlinos in order to increase efficiency. Several times a day, they commute between the hangar at Zurich Airport and the SWISS headquarters for meetings and other appointments. They often do this alone or in a maximum of two people in a petrol car. With the smaller electric vehicles, they can now help to reduce their impact on the environment and achieve SWISS' CO₂ targets. These include reducing CO₂ emissions in the air by 50% by 2030 and being CO₂-neutral on the ground. The introduction of a CO₂-neutral vehicle fleet plays a key role in this. SWISS First guests, for example, have already been chauffeured around the airport in electric limousines.

The Microlinos are the ideal solution for employees: "We regularly travel between our headquarters on Obstgartenstrasse in Kloten and the various facilities on the airport site – often several times a day. The Microlino is an ideal means of transport for these short journeys, often involving just one person. It gets us quickly from the headquarters to the hangar or elsewhere on the airport site – and it's fully electric to boot", says Marcus di Laurenzio, Sustainability Manager Technics at SWISS.

 

Efficient, cost-effective and space-saving

The three new "fleet members" have numerous advantages: They are efficient, cheaper to maintain than conventional petrol cars, take up less space and have been specially designed for short journeys. According to Micro, the average car is only used by 1.2 people and is only driven 35 kilometres per day. This means that 95% of cars are too big for their intended use. What's more: Compared to an average car, a Microlino consumes around 60% less CO₂ during operation and production, says Merlin Ouboter, co-founder of Microlino.

With its collaboration with Microlino, SWISS is sending a further signal in the direction of more environmentally friendly flight operations. It also demonstrates the extent to which employees are already sensitised to the issue of sustainability and are joining in and promoting this positive development with innovative ideas.