[updated:LAST EDITED ON 01-07-02 AT 04:27 AM (GMT)]New Swiss airline out of the red
AFP – Swiss, the new airline replacing Swissair which went out of business earlier this year, is expected to balance its books next year and move into profit in 2004, its chief executive said Saturday.
Andre Dose said that during its first 100 days in operation Swiss had done better than foreseen in the budget.
Seats taken were 60 percent on European routes and 82 percent on long-haul routes, while transatlantic flights were booked up till the end of August, the official told a transport museum meeting here.
The new company had a six percent share of the European market and a 2.2 percent share of the world market, but was never likely to compete with giants such as British Airways or Lufthansa, he said.
Problems facing Swiss, which rose from the ashes of the carriers Swissair and Crossair, included a forthcoming court hearing on a dispute between the company and former Crossair pilots.
The pilots accuse the management Swiss of having separately negotiated a better collective work deal with former Swissair pilots.
Dose also noted legal problems confronting Swiss in France, where the company Air lib is claiming 60 million euros (dollars) from it, of which 10 million have been blocked by French courts to cover Swissair debts.
Swiss is keen to avoid confusion between it and Swissair, saying it is a new company that rose out the former regional carrier Crossair.
Swissair, a one-time symbol of Swiss style and efficiency, sought bankruptcy protection last October amid a humiliating temporary grounding of its fleet.
It officially disappeared at the end of March after 70 years of operation. The new company Swiss was set up around Swissair’s regional operator Crossair with a controversial aid package of around 2.7 billion Swiss francs (1.8 billion euros) which included about one billion francs in public money.
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Link: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/Business/story_34566.asp
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By: Noah - 5th July 2002 at 15:11
RE: Swiss plans to breakeven next year
Have heard it mentioned, but not in much detail.
Was it in place before the Swissair collapse?
Noah
By: Bhoy - 4th July 2002 at 15:58
RE: Swiss plans to breakeven next year
there was a plan, it was called project Phoenix or something.
By: Noah - 4th July 2002 at 14:50
RE: Swiss plans to breakeven next year
My feelings too, especially since the timing of the Swissair collapse was very convenient in terms of the agreement between the Swiss government and the EU going into effect that would have made the whole exercise much more complicated in terms of fitting it in to the EU conditions.
At the same time, there are many people I have spoken to who are long term commentators on the aviation industry in Europe who deny there was any premeditated plan.
Somehow even for the Swiss I think it would be difficult to prepare such a complex financial and corporate restructuring plan over a weekend.
Noah
By: KabirT - 3rd July 2002 at 15:52
RE: Swiss plans to breakeven next year
After Swissair collapse…Swiss came relativly fast….of course they had a plan when they began, but after that i think they handled it as time went!
By: Noah - 3rd July 2002 at 13:19
RE: Swiss plans to breakeven next year
Not sure what I think about the airline yet, but their communications and PR people have done a fantastic job if one thinks back at the images of stranded Swissair passangers a few months back on the news worldwide and compares them to the kind of coverage the succesor airline is received now.
It would be interesting to know if they had a plan in place at the time or made it up along the way.
Noah
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July 1, 2002 at 4:23 am