SWISS offers expanded summer schedules
19-Mar-2010 Despite a still-difficult economic environment, Swiss International Air Lines is adding a further major long-haul destination to its network in its 2010 summer schedules (which run from 28 March to 30 October) as well as continuing to offer its customers a wide and varied range of air services.
New to the SWISS network is San Francisco, which will receive six-times-weekly service from June onwards. Within Europe, customers will enjoy two daily services to Malaga from May. SWISS will operate to 73 destinations in 39 countries in its summer schedules. Over 50 further points will be served non-stop from Zurich under codeshare agreements with partner airlines, two-thirds of these with sister carrier Edelweiss Air. Thanks to the company's partnership with Singapore Airlines, SWISS customers will also enjoy daily Airbus A380 service between Zurich and Singapore from 28 March onwards.
SWISS will operate to 48 points in Europe and 25 intercontinental destinations in the 2010 summer schedules with its 85-aircraft fleet. The current replacement of the carrier's Airbus A330-200s by the new A330-300s will be completed by the end of the year. SWISS will operate a total of 2 862 flights a week in its new summer timetable.
In San Francisco, SWISS is extending its network to a second destination on the US West Coast. The new six-times-weekly service to one of the USA's most important business centres and tourist destinations will commence on 2 June.
Intercontinental frequencies readjusted to demand
The capacity removed from SWISS's operations in the winter 2009/10 timetable period will be largely reinstated in summer 2010. Los Angeles, São Paulo and Chicago had their daily services restored in February. And Newark and New York on the US East Coast each gain an additional frequency from the start of the summer schedules. Newark will thus receive six weekly services, while service to New York returns to two daily flights. Services to Montreal and Shanghai will also be restored to daily operations. One weekly flight will be withdrawn from the Delhi, Bangkok and Cairo routes, in response to seasonal traffic trends.
SWISS continues to invest in its aircraft fleet, too. So the highlights of the new summer schedules include not only the network and service expansions but also the introduction of the Airbus A330-300 to routes from Zurich to Nairobi/Dar es Salaam and Yaoundé/Douala. Customers to and from East and Central Africa will enjoy the A330-300's totally new cabin product from April on. In addition, the two daily services between Zurich and New York JFK will be operated solely by A330-330 equipment from June onwards. SWISS's Airbus A340s are also being steadily retrofitted with the new SWISS Business seat, enabling even more intercontinental customers to enjoy its outstanding seating comfort.
Frequencies added in Europe In its European network, SWISS is adding five more weekly flights to the Zurich-Malaga route to provide twice-daily non-stop service to the Costa del Sol. Thanks to a collaboration with German-based Ostfriesische Lufttransport GmbH (OLT), SWISS travellers have also been offered two daily services between Zurich and Bremen since last month. And in addition to SWISS's own extensive range of services to London, Manchester and Birmingham, UK-bound customers can travel non-stop from Zurich to Edinburgh from summer onwards under a new codeshare agreement with partner carrier bmi.
Services from Geneva and Basel Thanks to a partnership with Turkish Airlines, SWISS customers will be able to travel non-stop to Istanbul from Geneva or Basel from April onwards. SWISS will serve 11 destinations with its own flights from Geneva in the summer timetable, and a further 23 under codeshare arrangements. Geneva-New York services have also been operated with new Airbus A330-300 equipment since January. And SWISS has been offering six daily flights from Geneva to London Heathrow since the beginning of the year. From Basel, SWISS will operate its own services to nine destinations in the 2010 summer schedules, with a further five points served non-stop under codeshare arrangements.