Swiss Express

[efcop]

Swiss, one of the few airlines with some minor problems:-) announced today that they wanted to take up operations in October with a regional spin off airline. More to follow this afternoon after the official press conference.
I wonder what this will do to the emotions of the employees...

[finalschecks]

I guess most of em will be happy just to keep their jobs, no matter what the name is...

[Robert Vesco]

Ah how nice ! Just like the old Swissair and the old Crossair ! This somehow reminds me of the ´virually´ bankrupt SAir Group.... ;)

The Belgians and the French (Sabena and Air Lib) and many other creditors of the SAir Group will have a field day suing Swiss for damages.

Another brilliant move ! :ok: :{

[Red Snake]

From today's FT:

Swiss makes U-turn and launches budget airline
By William Hall in Zurich
Published: May 2 2003 8:22 | Last Updated: May 2 2003 8:22


Swiss International Air Lines, Switzerland's struggling new national airline, has announced a major reversal of its strategy by deciding to spin off its regional operations as a low-cost European carrier in a make-or-break move to insure its own long-term survival.


Swiss will spin off its regional operations into a separate entity operating under the "Swiss Express" name which will commence operations with the start of the winter 2003/04 timetable.

Swiss said that the action was being taken in response to "new market conditions to offer low-cost air connections, especially within Europe."

Rumours have been circulating for weeks about the future of Swiss, which was hastily re-launched after the sudden collapse in 2001 of the 70-year-old Swissair.

The collapse in Swiss's share price and the refusal of UBS and Credit Suisse, Switzerland's two biggest banks, to lend more money has raised doubts about whether the airline could survive.

The Swiss government, the biggest single investor in the new airline, rebuffed Swiss's pleas for extra financial help at last Wednesday's regular government meeting.

Swiss stressed that there was "no question of the airline being grounded". It currently has SFr861m ($642m) of liquidity and expects to have SFr500m by the year end even if its bankers do not provide more loans.

The surprise announcement of the establishment of the new regional airline comes little more than a year after Switzerland's new national airline was re-launched by merging the remnants of the bankrupt Swissair with Crossair, Swissair's regional carrier, which had a lower cost base than its 70-year-old parent.

Swiss's decision to reverse its strategy of positioning itself as a quality airline appealing to business passengers, and start competing head-to-head with low-cost European regional carriers, is a high risk move. Many of its bigger rivals, such as British Airways, have found it near impossible to marry the culture of a low-cost airline with an inter-continental network.

However, Swiss has been forced into the decision because of the increasing competition of low-cost carriers on several of its busiest routes, and its failure to get former Crossair pilots to agree to new terms and conditions that are less beneficial than those of the former Swissair pilots.

The Swiss public and private sector have invested around SFr4bn in total in the bailout out of the old Swissair and the re-launch of the new airline, which is currently valued at around SFr150m on the stock market.

Most of Switzerland's top companies invested in the new airline in the belief that the Swiss economy, and the country's main airport at Zurich, would be seriously damaged if Switzerland did not continue to have a large inter-continental airline.

However, the sharp downturn in the world airline industry, combined with Swiss's own internal problems, have questioned the viability of a Swiss business plan which involves maintaining a large inter-continental network in direct competition with bigger carriers such as Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa.

[jeppesen75]

Alas, this is not a new project.
It was exactly stated in the initial top secret business plan.
But now, because everybody seems to now too much informations about it I am ready to reveal it to you:
....
suspense....
unbearable....
it was write at the midlle of a sheat of paper all the elements you need to steer this compagnie during the next three years....

......

the plan is PHOENIX !

So 1) hire everybody from Swissair in Crossair

2) destroy all the organization of Crossair in BSL
3) rebuild all the organization of Swissair in ZRH
4) fired the maximum of foreigners
5) create a new REGGGGIONAL with the name Swiss express
6) keep the high salary for Swissair
7) Offer half of half salary at Swiss express
8) reduced all the Swiss regional part, fire pilots from here
9) give them the choice to fly for half price
10) change the name of the main from Swiss to Swissair.

Belive me, all the plan was to recreate the monster.
Nothing new so, exept for the Crossair pilots....but are they really pilots ?

Evacuate, Evacuate !!!

[finalschecks]

Haha jepp, very funny, but the scary part is that it's TRUE !:{:ugh:

I would like to thank the moderators again for the speed with which this thread is being moved off the "front page".

The fact that the regional part is going to bear most of the burden to keep this megalomanic project in the air will prove to be its downfall.

And that's NOT very funny with 1800( oops, 1630) pilots employed!!!
Especially with the sharks (M. Suter) already lurking around in the Swiss-aviation "waters"

[Departures Beckham]

Well you've read the FT's opinion, now read easyJet's definitive opinion:


News that the loss-making Swiss International Air Lines, Switzerland's struggling new national airline, has chosen to spin-off part of its European operations into a low-cost carrier should have its investors crying into their muesli this morning.

If ever there was a tombstone that failing airlines carry, it is the word 'Express' - the history of aviation is littered with them. Some of these are still around and limping from one business model to another. Others have found that it is the Express way to failure:

United Express
Delta Express
Air Lib Express
People Express
Continental Express
Virgin Express (Ireland) Limited

Swiss Express is trying to cut costs by 20%. To compete with easyJet it will have to cut costs by 70%.

This just reinforces that the only good Express is a one with an 'o' at the end. Make mine a double, please.




Source: easyJet news online (http://www.easyjet.com/EN/news/20030502_03.html)

[F104G]

It´s a shame. I feel very sorry for the xair pilots and the good and solid operation, they had to give up last year for such a mess !:{

[PAXboy]

On the 'Express' theme ..

South African Express ain't doing too well these last couple of years either! The question is, will SAA taken them in and save them going bust, or will they wait until they go bust and then pick up the pieces a whole lot cheaper?

That said, SAX has just listed a less than expected loss for this year. I do hope someone is not trying to plump up the books, ready for a quick sale? No, we have never seen that anywhere else in the world ... :rolleyes:

[BAe 146-100]

Hi,

Does anyone know what aircraft Swiss Express will operate?

Regards :)
BAe 146-100

[jeppesen75]

letter from a dosé,ceo swiss:


"SWISS Express is a full-owned subsidiary of Swiss International Airlines Ltd and is expected to commence its operations with the introduction of the 2003/04 winter schedules. The fleet will comprise SAAB2000, ERJ145, RJ100 and, later on, EMBRAER170 and EMBRAER195 aircraft. The sales organisation and the administration of SWISS Express will be assured by the parent SWISS company for the time being."

my personal oppinion:
it is not a question of building a new low cost , just to separate Swissair and Crossair and set the second one in a position that it will be impossible to grow .
just remember that crossair scared Swissair by ordering Airbus A320 two years ago and that should not happen again at any price .

:{

[efcop]

We are all wrong! I just read a statement from our new spokesman:p :p

http://www.mypage.bluewin.ch/brainchip/Swisspilots/020503_swiss.gif

[BAe 146-100]

Hi,

That is a big fleet :).

Regards
BAe 146-100

[from A to Better]

Finalchecks,

I was thinking the same; why is this (again) kept from the frontpage? Mmmm.

[Robert Vesco]

Now I know that you poor lads are stuck on a large (old fashioned) island, but the world does not stop at the UK coast line !

There are some major events taking place in Swiss and Switzerland but the moderators only seem to have an eye for what happens in the UK and within foreign airlines which have a large English/Anglo Saxon pilot corps.
Somehow the term "splendid isolation" comes to mind... ;)

PPRuNe is really losing a lot of credibility as a platform for the global aviation community.

Would the moderators of this site please consider to create a "Swiss" subsection on PPRuNe ? This way you can keep the Rumours and News section clean of anything which does not belong there and at the same time this would allow for an exchange of opinions regarding the serious events happening at Swiss.

[bmibaby.com]

This is purely my personal opinion as I look into swiss, and would not like to see my post as being of offence to anyone, however ...

In my opinion, I think that swiss should take a look over to Air Canada in North America.

Air Canada, was being swamped by competition from new no-frills, and regional airline start-ups and decided to launch off-shoot carriers from the main brand so that the mainline carrier was not trying to be all things to all people, but had an off-shoot to compete in areas AC couldnt.

For example:
it merged its regional carriers into one, jazz by Air Canada to compete on thin regional routes.
it launched a no-frills brand, tango, that was simply respraying and re-configuring its aircraft to compete on the East Coast, but launched a dedicated low-fares-airline, zip, to compete on the West Coast (it launched two carriers due to certain restrictions)

[efcop]

bmibaby,

what is exactly your point?
and don't forget that Canada has a somewhat larger market than Switzerland.

efcop

[bmibaby.com]

efcop my point is that swiss should maybe look at launching sub-brands rather than mainline trying to be all things to all people, so that they can effectively compete in the no-frills and regional markets.

[blue belly]

Swissair and Crossair should never have been merged.
It's a shame that it has taken more than 12 months to realise this....
Swissair has always saved Crossair...at least 3 times from bankruptcy as far as I can remember... now we are back to square one!

Good luck all!

[viking146]

Excuse me Blue Belly!

I am not one to utter my opinion but:

"Swissair has always saved Crossair...at least 3 times from bankruptcy as far as I can remember... now we are back to square one!"

NEWSFLASH mate: It was the other way around. LX saved SR or at least the poor soles that otherwise would be on the dough, scraping up the pasta from their plates.

FACT the ABC of economics: SR needed the likes of LX due to much ;) much ;) lower prduction costs and a much higher productivity. Two major ingridients for the success of an airline, but I guess Aeropers missed that lesson in economics. Now SR would never have been able to survive as long and great as it did had it not been for LX taking the bulk of their production at a very reasonable cost. The cost structure of SR was astronomical in compariosn to the revenue generated.

CONCLUSION: Even if SR did come to the rescue of LX at previous occasions it was only because SR knew very well that they were unable to produce the seats at an economically vaiable cost, thus only accelerating the bankrupcy process......

SO: Yes in a way we are back to square one but only coz. SWISS Express will emerge as a counterwieght for the overbudget Aeropers paychecks. Again the ex-LX guys have to carry the burden of Aeropers arrogance....

Sorry mate but bailling our LX three times was only in your interest, as it prolonged the glory years. Don't shed a tear for fantasy, welcome to reality..... :ok: