Crossair and the Swissair Group Slug It Out
The new Swiss air carrier will not enjoy a turbulence-free takeoff. On Friday the SAirGroup, parent company of the defunct Swissair, lodged a complaint with the Zurich Commercial Court against Crossair AG, requesting that use of the term "Swiss" in the new carrier's name, and even the use of the company name "Swiss Air Lines Ltd.," be forbidden. Crossair's management immediately declared that Swissair's demands were completely unfounded and without merit, and vowed that it would fight with all means at its disposal to prevent a judicial ban on use of the brand name "Swiss" for its new flight operations. It added that, should Crossair incur any damages through the SAirGroup's action, legal measures would be taken against the latter.. .The purpose of banning the use of the name "Swiss," according to both the SAirGroup and the bankruptcy trustee for Swissair, is primarily to protect the interests of Swissair creditors. Swissair spokesman Rainer Meier declared that Crossair had allowed a Thursday deadline for negotiating an amicable settlement to lapse. Moreover, he stated, the appearance of the name "Swiss" in the airline market in February clearly showed the intention to gain maximum benefit of an extensive image transfer from Swissair to the new carrier without paying anything for it. In an interview with German-Swiss Radio, Meier said that the purpose of the legal action is not to endanger the new airline, but rather to reconcile conflicting interests. .<a href="http://luchtvaart.pagina.nl" target="_blank">Airline Industrie News</a>