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SWISS airline expands its US-bound flights and ups frequency

The national flag carrier Swiss operates several direct flights from Switzerland to North American airports, including the new service to Washington DC.

SWISS airline expands its US-bound flights and ups frequency
The national airline will continue to fly to the US throughout winter 2025. Photo: Pixabay

In March, Switzerland’s flag carrier inaugurated its direct service from Zurich to the US capital as part of its summer timetable.

These flights will continue through winter 2024, the company said.

The airline will also increase the frequency of some its other US-bound flights.

Its services between Zurich and Los Angeles and San Francisco “will each be increased to daily operations, while twice-daily service will be offered on the Zurich-Miami route,” SWISS said.

The existing nonstop flights to New York, Newark and Chicago will be maintained as well, as will other North American routes, such as to the Canadian city of  Toronto, which was inaugurated on May 10th.

European routes

Other flights that were introduced into the 2024 summer schedue and will continue to operate through the winter include the daily service from Zurich to London Gatwick, and thrice-weekly one to both Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Košice (Slovakia).

Where else will SWISS fly this winter?

SWISS’s 2024/25 winter schedule, which starts on October 27th and ends on March 29th, 2025, will serve a total of 93 destinations from Zurich and Geneva: 65 European and 23 intercontinental points from Zurich, as well as 22 short-haul ones and one to the US from Geneva, the airline said.
 

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TRAVEL NEWS

SWISS airline to make 80 changes in bid to avoid summer delays

The airline Swiss has introduced over 80 new measures to avoid delays this summer, after a difficult 2023.

SWISS airline to make 80 changes in bid to avoid summer delays

The changes come after the airline admitted that only 57 percent of SWISS flights departed on time in May and June of 2023. 

Further embarrassment came when the Swiss carrier ranked 48 behind budget airlines Easyjet and Wiztair in the 2023 Airhelp Score.

Preparations for the summer holidays. include the hiring of more than 2,000 ground staff and customer service staff after shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with many on hand to deal with complaints – an area that was highlighted in the Airhelp results. 

An improved baggage system at Zurich airport and new weather forecasting systems are further changes the airline hopes will avoid delays. 

In the future, passengers will also be able to use the SWISS mobile phone app to be notified about compensation and lost luggage. 

“We have made our preparations”, Oliver Buchhofer, SWISS’s COO told Blick. 

Unique challenges

Switzerland’s position and geography make it a challenging space for airlines to operate. 

The alpine topography of the country and the associated weather patterns generated means flight corridors are highly trafficked and can be easily shut down by severe weather. 

READ MORE: SWISS airline expands its US-bound flights and ups frequency

Adverse conditions are not something to risk – there have been 29 air crashes causing 445 fatalities since records began, according to the Aviation Safety Network. 

The country’s location also makes delays more likely. At the very heart of Europe, there are hundreds of flights crossing the country’s airspace, with Zurich airport connected to 205 destinations worldwide. 

Changing fortunes

SWISS has experienced a decline in standing over the past two decades. 

As Swissair, it was considered one of the world’s premier airlines in the decades following its founding in 1931. 

However, over-expansion in the 1990s caused the airline’s financial position to become more precarious. The 1998 crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Nova Scotia, coupled with the September 11 attacks in 2001, caused it to go bankrupt in 2002. 

The airline rebranded as SWISS, was then acquired by the Lufthansa group in 2005.

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