Swiss (LX, Zurich) has unveiled its multi-billion franc business strategy entitled the “Next-Generation Airline of Switzerland”. At a presentation ceremony held in Zurich on Monday, October 6, the carrier said its new business plan would hinge on the introduction of new advanced aircraft, the expansion of its Zurich hub operations, and the improvement of its on-board product.
Beginning in summer 2015, the airline said it will be adding 22 new European destinations to its Zurich network of which sixteen of the new routes – Naples Capodichino, Bari, Bilbao, Porto, Toulouse Blagnac, Leipzig/Halle, Dresden, Graz, Gothenburg Landvetter, Helsinki Vantaa, Riga, Kraków John Paul II International, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Sofia and Zagreb Franjo Tuđman – will be provided with year-round service, while the other six – Palermo International, Brindisi, Malta International, Thessaloniki, Izmir Adnan Menderes and Santiago de Compostela – will only be served during summer months.
In addition, as previously reported by ch-aviation, the carrier will also roll out a 16x weekly Geneva to Lugano service beginning March 30, 2015, using Dash 8-400s wet-leased from fellow Lufthansa Group partner, Tyrolean Airways (Innsbruck).
"The innovations will give Swiss a highly attractive timetable with more non-stop connections than ever, to meet the needs of the Swiss people, the Swiss economy and the Swiss tourist sector," it said.
In terms of its fleet, effective November, Swiss will begin upgrading its fleet of A320-200s and A321-200s with their capacities to be increased by 12 seats and 19 seats respectively. Their cabin interiors and seating configurations are also set to be upgraded.
Swiss says it is also on-track to receive its first Next Generation aircraft next year with its first of thirty A220-100s due to arrive from late next year onwards. The twinjets will replace the carrier's fleet of twenty ARJ-100s operated by its Swiss European Air Lines (Zurich) subsidiary.
Looking ahead, 2016 will see the arrival of its first new A321-200s and B777-300(ER)s while between 2019 and 2022, the airline will add ten new Airbus A320neos and five Airbus A321neos to its fleet to replace ten of its older A320s and five A321s.
All in all, the new aircraft represent a total investment of some CHF5billion (USD5.172billion).
