The new inter-continental airline of Switzerland will fly under the trademark
The new inter-continental airline of Switzerland will fly under the trademark
With the introduction of the Summer timetable on March 31, SWISS will take flight. Andre Dose, Chief Executive Officer of Crossair and of the new airline, said that there were two decisive factors in the choice of name. The new airline is a unique instance in Swiss post-war history, of a collective alliance of politics, industry and the people of Switzerland. It will be the qualities, which have made our country great, on which we are banking in the building up of our new airline. These are reliability, friendliness, safety, elegance and perfect service characterised by inovation, coupled with a multi-cultural cosmopolitan attitude.
It is on this foundation, Andre Dose is convinced, that the integration of Crossair and Swissair employees in the new project can be successfully accomplished. The presentation was just the first step, the Crossair CEO stressed. This will be followed by another important milestone in March. At an organised event it will be explained in detail how the new airline will function and how the individual phases will be implemented. In this way, SWISS will become increasingly real and comprehensible to both clients and to the public.
The new brand concept and its visual appearance were presented to more than 200 national and international journalists by Andre Dose, the Canadian Creative Director, Tyler Brule and Arjen Pen, Head of Sales and Marketing for the new airline. Brule`s agency, Wink Media of London, won the contract in an international competition to create the brand of the new Swiss inter-continental airline. A brand is more than a logo, Brule said, at the media briefing in Basel it is a set of distinct traits built on a solid foundation. The brand shows who we are, what we do, how we think, what our traditions are and where we want to go. For the Canadian, resident in London and Switzerland, who has been a Swissair fan for years and who can regularly be seen here, it was evident from the start that the new airline should inscribe Swissness on its banner. Swiss quality values were not attributed solely to Crossair and Swissair. They are accepted shorthand for excellence around the world. It is on these values, said Brule, that we are building what will be the most respected airline in the world.
In order to communicate this basic position clearly and understandably. Brule and his team chose the concept of SWISS. The registered company name will be Swiss Air Lines Ltd. For legal reasons, the change from Crossair cannot be made until October and the start of the Winter timetable 2002, as it must be authorised at the next General Assembly of the shareholders.
At the media briefing in Basel, Dose and Brule presented the first examples of the planned new designs and of the qualitative improvements being planned for Economy, Business and First Class. The journalists were shown, in addition to aircraft models, a genuine Airbus A320 in the new livery and with the new logo.
Arjen Pen, head of Sales and Marketing, gave a briefing on the routes and the fleet of the new inter-continental Swiss national airline, as well as on business developments over the next few months These are proceeding better than had been foreseen in the business plan. Reservations for the next few weeks indicate that the predictions for load factors and revenues will be exceeded.
The summer timetable
SWISS, with its fleet of 128 aircraft, will start services to 123 destinations in 60 countries, with the start of the Summer timetable on March 31. With this, the new Swiss airline, in keeping with its business plan, will be offering an attractive route network during the new season. Following the timetable changes, all flights will be allocated an LX flight number and the reservation system is being continuously adapted accordingly.
The Summer timetable shows few changes from the current Winter timetable. In Europe, 86 destinations will be served in 34 countries. The international route network covers 37 destinations in 26 countries, including Switzerland. Compared with last year`s Crossair and Swissair Summer timetables, the offer has been reduced by about 30%, in line with the business plan. The optimisation of flight operations led to a reduced joint route network in early October 2001, whereby services to ten intercontinental and twelve European destinations were discontinued. The Crossair route network had previously been reduced in the 2001 Summer timetable SWISS is now in the position to make a start with a convincing and competitive offer, thus ensuring the continuity of Swiss civil aviation and further gaining the trust of its clients.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
