Overview
Established in March 1931, Swissair did have quite a full lifetime in the industry, ceasing operations roughly 7 decades later. Its primary hubs were Flughafen Zurich, Geneva Cointrin, and Europairport Basel. The Qualiflyer was its frequent flyer program and its member lounge was the Swissair Lounge. Being a member of the alliance, Qualiflyer, Swissair manned its operations from its headquarters based in Kloten, Switzerland. Under SAirGroup, Swissair operated a fleet size of 72 aircrafts with flights to 157 destinations – this figure was as of the year 2002.
Company Profile and History
Under Swiss Air Transport Company Limited, Swissair was actually Switzerland’s national airline. Swissair was actually the result of a merger between Ad Astra Aero and Balair back in 1931. During its approximately 71-year run in the industry, Swissair was considered a major international airline and was even hailed the “Flying Bank”, which was due to the fact that the airline was indeed quite financially stable. The citizens of Switzerland and even the rest of the world regarded the airline as a symbol and icon of Switzerland herself.
In 1997, the Swissair Group decided to rename itself, then becoming SAirGroup. There were then 4 subdivisions created, SAirServices, SAirRelations, SAirLogistics, and SAirlines. Swissair and Crossair belonged to the subdivision, SAirlines.
The latter portion of the 90s saw the implementation of the “Hunter Strategy”, wherein expansion plans were set into place. These efforts did pay off; however, when the aviation tragedy of September 11 struck, the airline just was not able to get back on its feet. The airline was not doing quite well already back in October 2001 and when 9/11 struck, the airline’s assets lost value dramatically. The airline’s operations did remain active for a while just until March 2002. Its successor airline, Swiss International Air Lines, was then founded, with the former Crossair as its basis. The successor then proceeded to take over most of the planes, routes, and the staff of the former airline.
Swissair and the Hunter Strategy
During the 1990s, the airline initiated what is known as the Hunter Strategy, the expansion program that was devised by McKinsey & Co., a consulting firm. With the strategy, the airline aimed for growth in its market share by acquiring small airlines instead of entering alliance agreements.
This led to a buying spree on the part of the airline, which dented the funds of Swissair’s parent company in a major way. Because the airline was not able to keep up with the payments to its creditors, the entire fleet was eventually grounded. This led to the shutdown of operations and the rest is history, literally.
