Robert,
are you saying that Swiss should have chosen Lufthansa instead just to tell the Germans how well we appreciate what they are doing to us?
I personally was rather reliefed when the BA decision became known.
In my view, not only selling off SWISS to a competitor set out to eliminate it sooner or later would have been a very poor decision, but on top rewarding the behaviour of the German government towards a neighbour state would have been totally unacceptable.
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MPH,
the area south of the airport, particularly the one now most affected by low level final approach flying, has been there at the time the airport was built. It is a major suburb, actually several of them on the main traffic axis from the east of the country into ZRH city.
Also, it has to be noted that the north approaches are leading over relatively sparsly inhabited lands whereas in the south there is a good 200'000 people affected by the noise.
The German villages that apparently are behind this restrictions house some 3000 people, of which, according to local news, some 250 are organized in anti noise leagues. I have trouble believeing that the German Government would risk the good neighbourly relations with a neighbour state over these few guys, I rather think it came as a convenient excuse to eliminate a then very active emerging hub (bevore the Swissair bancruptcy). In any event, as it is now, the situation is totally unacceptable.
Best regards
AN2