Desk Driver
2nd Oct 2001, 15:35
Taken from ANNANOVA.COM
Swissair is no longer receiving deliveries of jet fuel.
And two of its jetliners have been seized at Heathrow because it owes £300,000 in landing fees.
The airline has also cancelled flights to Belgium, saying it feared its planes would be seized.
Swissair spokesman Patrick Gendrin said the flights blocked in London were an A330 from Zurich and an A321 from Geneva.Passengers on the Airbuses were switched to different airlines.
The airline announced the stoppage of fuel deliveries would affect all European flights.
It made the announcement at Kloten airport in Switzerland over the public address system.
The airline said it will give further information at 2.30 pm.
Yesterday Swissair said it was seeking protection from creditors in an overhaul of the airline that will put regional subsidiary Crossair in charge.
The move gives the airline time to reorganise without having to file for bankruptcy, which has threatened it since the terror attacks on the United States.
Story filed: 11:48 Tuesday 2nd October 2001
swashplate
2nd Oct 2001, 16:08
Bloody Hell - there was a Swissair A330 at Zurich on Sunday morning as my easy 737 was taxiing out!! :eek:
Looked like it was getting ready to go - but would they use a big A330 on such a short route?
Seems like swashy's minor footnote in history will be:
"I was at Zurich airport the weekend before Swissair collapsed"
....very sad..... :( :(
[ 02 October 2001: Message edited by: swashplate ]
What_does_this_button_do?
2nd Oct 2001, 16:13
from news.bbc.co.uk
Ailing carrier Swissair has suspended all its flights, as some of its planes were impounded and fuel suppliers refused to deliver.
The airline had hoped to relaunch most of its services as normal on Tuesday, after agreeing a partial rescue bid by two banks, and filing for protection from total bankruptcy.
But it was immediately hit by a series of blows, including the seizure of two of its aircraft at London's Heathrow airport, and the refusal of fuel companies to supply its operations in Zurich.
At the same time, the Belgian government said it was considering legal action over Swissair's refusal to commit funds to Sabena, the airline in which it holds a 49.5% stake.
The Sabena board is due to meet later on Tuesday in order to dicuss ways to keep the troubled carrier going, which could include voluntary bankruptcy.
No guarantee
Swissair said it would look again at its flight schedule later on Tuesday, in the hope of being able to restart operations in the afternoon.
Even before the suspension, flights to Brussels were not operating, having been cancelled for "security reasons" after Swissair was unable to pay its portion of a rescue plan for Belgian airline Sabena.
Swissair was due to provide 60% of the bailout funds for Sabena, which were jointly agreed with the Belgian government.
Banks to the rescue [Buttons: clearly not Barclays]
The Belgian government called the decision a "flagrant violation" of the agreements - both it and Sabena have said they may take Swissair to court.
Swissair's own rescue package is limited to the flight operations, which will be reorganised under the control of Crossair, its European regional arm.
The non-flight operations will seek bankruptcy protection, jeopardising thousands of jobs in catering, airport retailing and ground services.
Swissair chairman and chief executive Mario Corti emerged from emergency talks on 1 October to say the airline would sell the 70% stake it currently holds in Crossair to Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse.
The banks' offer is worth 1.36bn Swiss francs (£569m; $840m).
Job losses
Mr Corti blamed the suicide airliner attacks in the US on 11 September for causing billions of Swiss francs in costs for the cash-strapped group.
But the company was already struggling under a mountain of debt caused by a failed expansion strategy, before the US tragedy.
Mr Corti said there was likely to be 2,560 job cuts, 1,750 of them in Switzerland, and SAirGroup and the SAirLines and Flightlease divisions would seek creditor protection.
The combined Swissair/Crossair fleet will be reduced by 24 aircraft, the chief executive of Crossair and head of newly-formed Swiss Airlines, Andre Dose said on Monday.
He said the long-haul fleet would be reduced to 26 aircraft from 35, while the European fleet would be scaled back to 26 jets from 41.
'No alternative'
The deal saves Switzerland's banks from accusations that they allowed one of the country's most high-profile businesses to go out of business, analysts said.
"I do not think there is much of an alternative under current circumstances," Nicholas Van den Brul, airline industry analyst at BNP Paribas in London said.
Switzerland's federal government - which holds a 3% stake in Swissair - said it will not take a stake in the new airline.
"An intervention of the (Swiss) confederation is not necessary," said Swiss Vice President Kaspar Villiger.
"The creation of a new company is the best solution for the future under the given circumstances."
But Credit Suisse still wants the federal and regional governments to take up a 30% stake in the new Crossair.
Sabena repercussions
The rescue deal will have serious repercussions for Belgium's troubled national carrier Sabena, which Swissair jointly owns with the Belgian government.
The airline made a record loss last year
Sabena grounded more than a quarter of its flights on 1 October as a pilots' strike went into a fourth day in protest against plans to restructure the ailing Belgian airline.
Swissair had been due to make a 200m euro payment to bail out Sabena on that day but Mr Corti confirmed it had not done so.
Mr Corti said payments of more than 100m francs due to former French partner airline Air Littoral could also not be made.
"The payments to France have the same status as the payments to Belgium," he said.
Sabena shareholders are due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the carrier's recapitalisation plan.
Sabena's pilots suspended their strike for 24-hours on Tuesday.
The Belgian Cockpit Association, which represents 900 staff at Sabena said it will resume strike action unless the chief executive resigns and the airline abandons plans to cut 2,000 out of 12,000 jobs.
Swissair shares
Swissair's shares remain suspended until the evening of 2 October.
Merill Lynch has said the shares now "effectively look worthless".
[ 02 October 2001: Message edited by: What_does_this_button_do? ]
jongar
2nd Oct 2001, 16:37
I have to echo the above comment - why were they running a 330 to LHR. I have flown with SR many times on that route and they always use 32x i though
Well, SR operated the first morning ZRH-LHR with an MD-11 for a long time. Now is is usually an A321, but also sometimes an A330. The same used to be true for the first flight in the morning from ZRH to MUC, while it was a code share with AA. I suppose they took part of the seats. Weird flying in "First" on a 40-minute flight.
Momo