SWISS rejig European network… AGAIN

18.11.2004

SWISS to expand services from EuroAirport Basel

SWISS is to offer a broader range of services from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg from the start of the 2005 summer schedules. Valencia and Palma de Mallorca join the Basel-based network; and seasonal flights will also be offered to Corsica, Sardinia and Naples from June to September. Service to London (City) Airport will also be increased.

SWISS is convinced that Basel’s “TriRhena” catchment area (comprising Northwest Switzerland, Alsace and Southwest Baden-Württemberg) holds sizeable business potential, and intends to further develop its current market position. To do so, SWISS will be selectively expanding its present range of services from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg to offer customers an attractive network that is tailored as closely as possible to their air travel needs. The services will be operated with a fleet of nine Saab 2000 aircraft. The expanded network will come into effect with the new summer schedules at the end of March 2005.

The changes will see SWISS expand its services between Basel and Spain with the addition of two new destinations: Palma de Mallorca, the popular tourist destination, which will receive five weekly services; and Valencia, the venue for the next America’s Cup, which will be served four times a week.

SWISS will also be increasing the range of vacation destinations available to the TriRhena region by offering services to more points in the Mediterranean during the summer months. Ajaccio (Corsica), Olbia (Sardinia) and Naples will all be served from Basel from mid-June to mid-September.

A further expansion sees the key London market receive a fourth daily frequency. All SWISS’s Basel-London flights operate to City Airport, which is conveniently close to the central business district.

“We are convinced that our new expanded network offers an attractive product to the TriRhena region,” says SWISS Vice President TriRhena Stefan Gutknecht. “It should help keep us well anchored in this important tri-national market, with a timetable that is finely tuned to both business and leisure travellers’ needs.”

SWISS Corporate Communications
P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel
Phone: +41 848 773 773
Fax: +41 61 582 3554
E-mail: [EMAIL=communications@swiss.com]communications@swiss.com[/EMAIL]

It looks good, but the omissions are more startling than what’s written…

It’s amazing what a bt of Competition can do… 5 Weekly services to PMI… Now do you think that’ll be more popular on a Saab 2000 than Air Berlin/Hapag-Lloyd’s daily 738 service which starts next Summer timetable (bearing in mind AB have a hub at PMI, anyway)?

All the ‘New’ Seasonal Services were previously operated by Crossair, and even by Swiss themselves, with the exception of this year. Nonetheless, they weren’t operated this year, so that must make them new routes.

An extra daily flight to LCY? Well, Praise be. After all, I’m sure all the Business types at Canary Wharf were dissapointed that they now only had the option of BA 3x daily ex-LHR, EZY 2x daily ex-LTN and once daily ex-STN and LX 3x daily ex-LCY as options for getting to BSL. And just as well that none of the Business types in Basel would never dream of connecting at LHR, that, in fact, when ever they head towards London, that is indeed their final destination (irrespective of BA moving BSL, GVA and ZRH to Terminal4 to better cope with longhaul transfer traffic).

Also, there’s no mention of routes being dropped in this Press Release. I’m told the twice daily BSL-BHX route will be dropped. Does this open the door for BACX or bmi regional to grab the route? Apparantly it was well utilised by business people. Or maybe Swiss are scaling back their operations in the Midlands/Northwest due to the success of easyJet’s daily LPL-BSL route? (trust me, the amount of People with Scouse accents in the Pub I work at has rocketed since the route started in April) Or is it the rumours that easyJet applied to opperate MAN-BSL, too (It was one of the daily ops that’d supposedly applied for with aircraft #5 on that particular thread)? Although obviously, LX will keep their MAN-BSL route, as it has no local competition…

To deal with the ‘increase’ in flights, they’re reactivating 3 extra Saab 2000’s. All fine and well, but what are they going to do with them outwith all the seasonal flights thay’ve detailed here?

PS it’s not all bad news, I think Valencia should work well as a route.