Crossair

Crossair
IATA code :	LX
ICAO code :	CRX
Call sign :	CROSSAIR
Founding:	1975 (as Business Flyer Basel )
Operation stopped:	2002 by changing the name to Swiss
Seat:	Basel , Switzerland
Turnstile :	Basel-Mulhouse Airport
Alliance :	Qualiflyer Group
Fleet size:	88 (1999)
Aims:	Europe-wide, for charter with MD-80 worldwide
Website:	www.crossair.com (forwarding to SWISS )
Crossair ceased operations in 2002 by changing the name to Swiss . The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

Crossair (officially Crossair AG , ICAO Code CRX , IATA Code LX , Callsign Crossair ) was a regional airline that was founded in 1978 by Moritz Suter as Crossair, a stock corporation for European regional air traffic . An air taxi company founded by Suter in 1975 became part of Crossair. On December 6, 2001, the name was changed to Crossair AG.

After the insolvency of Swissair in October 2001, Crossair was renamed Swiss International Air Lines AG by amendment of the statutes of May 13, 2002 and took over the tasks of a national airline in Switzerland under its new name (“Operation of a Swiss airline for the transport of passengers, freight and Post at home and abroad. The company can participate in other companies. »).

history

On April 26, 1979, the Aviation Office granted Crossair a license limited to one year. According to the entry in the commercial register , the company's purpose was to “carry out commercial flights in scheduled and non-scheduled traffic”. First destinations were Nuremberg , Klagenfurt and Innsbruck , among others , followed a little later by Luxembourg , and the following year Hanover - mostly routes on which it had no competition.

Metro II aircraft of Crossair in Kloten 1981

Twin-engine turboprop aircraft of the Swearingen Metroliner II type were used here . However, Crossair soon had to cede the routes to Germany under pressure from Swissair. On November 1, 1983, the airline received the definitive operating license from the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation after a long-term provisional arrangement . Crossair's home airport was Basel-Mulhouse airport .

1988: first share in Swissair

Crossair operated as cheaply as possible, but in 1988 still had to sell 41 percent of the shares to the then overpowering national Swiss airline Swissair in order to ensure its economic survival. In 1984 Crossair played a key role in the development of the Saab 340 , which was called the Cityliner . This type of machine formed the backbone of the Crossair fleet until the Saab 2000 was taken over .

In 1990 the first jets began to operate with three British Aerospace BAe 146-200A (registration HB-IXB / -C and -D).

Swissair becomes the owner of Crossair

In 1991 Swissair took over the majority of Crossair shares with voting rights and in 1993 the majority of Crossair shares in general, making it its subsidiary . In 1995, Crossair took over a number of McDonnell Douglas MD-82 and -83 from BalairCTA . With the help of these jets, which had a capacity of up to 156 seats, Crossair ventured into completely new territory. Some of the jets were used for tour operators to classic holiday destinations, but the mother company Swissair also flew to numerous scheduled destinations, such as Tbilisi or Yerevan .

Organization chart of the SAir Group

After Crossair was one of the first airlines to put a whole series of Saab SF340A turboprops into service in the mid-1980s, it was the first customer for the Saab 2000 in 1994 , which is still considered one of the fastest turboprop aircraft today. In total, Crossair operated up to 34 copies of this machine (identification HB-IZA-HB-IZZ and HB-IYA-HB-IYH). Incidentally, at Crossair's request, the toilets of the Saab 2000s delivered to them were provided with a window. A novelty that until then was only available on the Boeing 747 and the Russian Tupolew Tu-134 . In addition to these Concordinos (the official name based on the Concorde; based on the quality of the fastest turboprop in the world), it was decided at the turn of the millennium to equip the 50-seater segment with jets as well. The Basel company opted for the Brazilian Embraer ERJ-145 family , 25 of which were ordered and the same number opted for. The first machines were then delivered from mid-2000 and were initially used on routes that were operated for the parent company Swissair from Zurich.

As early as the end of the nineties, the BAe 146 were exchanged for newer models of the Avro RJ85 (4 pieces) and Avro RJ100 (14 pieces).

The on-board service was considered to be above average. Without exception, all aircraft were equipped with blue leather seats, the Jumbolinos , the Crossair name for the BAe and Avro aircraft, were equipped with only 5 seats (instead of 6 as with most other airlines) in a row. The on-board catering was served on china, the drinks in glasses, and the meals the passengers could take with metal cutlery. The Crossair coffee spoons were soon a popular souvenir among guests. As a welcome, there was either orange juice (hand-pressed from our own catering production) or champagne , which was bottled especially for Crossair. Without exception, all passengers on board were able to enjoy this service, whether they had paid the lowest or the highest tariff.

Due to its great success, Basel Airport was gradually expanded into a hub for Crossair from 1998 onwards. The so-called Eurocross concept was developed. This included three "waves" a day, which enabled passengers to reach destinations across Europe via Basel. The central location of EuroAirport and the fact that Crossair had planes parked overnight at most foreign destinations formed the basis for this concept. This staggering of the departures could z. For example, a passenger who came from Hamburg in the morning and then flew on to Barcelona can return to his place of origin in the evening with a return flight via the Basel hub. On Monday and Friday alone, traditionally the days with the highest volume of traffic, Crossair operated up to 110 flights a day from Basel. The destinations ranged from Helsinki, Stockholm or Oslo in the north, through Central Europe with Hamburg, Amsterdam, London and Brussels to Barcelona, ​​Rome, Lisbon or Palma de Mallorca in the south of Europe. Crossair was able to offer a total of over 1100 possible route combinations via Basel every day. This was also made possible by the fact that Crossair was practically the “top dog” in Basel and the transfer times at EuroAirport were only 30 minutes.

In Germany, Crossair served Bremen , Hamburg , Hanover , Rostock (seasonal), Westerland (seasonal), Berlin-Tempelhof , Leipzig , Dresden , Nuremberg , Düsseldorf , Cologne , Stuttgart , Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden , Munich and Friedrichshafen . Most of the destinations were flown to three times a day, some important ones like Hamburg, Berlin or Munich four times a day. Crossair also took on a pioneering role at some of the airfields that the "big" air traffic had previously flown past. It was Crossair that first regularly flew to the airports of Lugano-Agno in Ticino and Saint-Tropez on the Côte d'Azur .

At its headquarters at Basel's EuroAirport, Crossair operated a shipyard for the maintenance of its own aircraft and for external maintenance. In 2000, construction of a new ten-story office building next to the existing facilities began. A new hangar was attached to this. The building was only completed in summer 2002 after the name was changed to Swiss International Air Lines . In 2001 a training company for aircraft mechanics and pilots was founded under the name Crosscat (now Swiss Aviation Training ). There one operated u. a. Flight simulators for the Saab 2000 and the ERJ-145.

From 2000 onwards, people started thinking about how the machines of the Avro type and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 could be replaced from around 2003/2004. Crossair was significantly involved in the development of the Embraer 170 and, as with the Saab 2000, was first-time customer. Fifty copies of the 170 and larger 190 models were commissioned in Brazil. One of the prototypes was even presented in Crossair livery. When the MDs were replaced, two models were also in the running. In particular, these were the Boeing 737-800 and the Airbus A320 family . Due to the spare parts inventory operated jointly with Swissair and the synergy in pilot training, the decision was made in mid-2001 for the latter model.

Crossair as the basis of the new airline Swiss International Air Lines

After the parent company, SAirGroup in October 2001 moratorium had to apply, it was necessary to change the entire plan. The previous subsidiary Crossair now served - by renaming it in May 2001 - as the basis for the establishment of the new Swiss airline Swiss International Air Lines AG . The Airbus A320s ordered were later used by Swiss Sun , the charter offshoot of Swiss (transferred to Swiss in 2006), and the Embraer jets were not put into service (even later by Swiss) despite being the first customer.

Specialties

The airline also became known for its special paintwork, some of which were quite striking. For example, a Saab 2000 (registration number HB-IZK) was given a black and white Das-Phantom-der-Oper -painting, since Crossair acted as the official sponsor for the performances in Basel. Also spectacular was an MD-83 (registration HB-IUH) operated in completely red paint and with a large McDonald’s label. As the official sponsor of the Swedish women's ski team and due to the fact that their biggest star Anja Pärson won gold at the World Championships in St. Anton am Arlberg in February 2001 , an MD-83 (registration number HB-ISX) with a huge « Congratulation »inscription and the picture of Parson on the left.

So-called cruise flights were also popular with an affluent audience . For these flights, the seat capacity of an MD-83 was reduced (mostly business class seats were installed), and then this machine was sent on the journey with a selected crew as a constant companion for the passengers. So it went, among other things, for two weeks to South America, India and the Far East as well as Australia. On these flights all important sights were flown to, and the guests experienced a specially developed program. These flights were usually offered once or twice a year.

On May 5, 1986, the Basel – Munich flight was operated by a female pilot for the first time in the history of Swiss aviation.

Crossair advertising watch, No. 817, as a competition prize

In the on-board magazine Crosstalk , small competitions were repeatedly advertised, in which there were prizes to be won.

fleet

• 24 BAe 146
• 22 Embraer 145
• 05 Fokker 50
• 07 McDonnell Douglas MD-81
• 01 McDonnell Douglas MD-82
• 07 McDonnell Douglas MD-83
• 35 Saab 2000
• 43 Saab 340

Some aircraft have been leased to other airlines. An MD-83 operated several times in the low-volume winter months together with the Crossair crew and the like. a. also at DINAR Lineas Aereas in Argentina .

Incidents

→ Main articles : Crossair Flight 498  and Crossair Flight 3597

In 2000 and 2001, Crossair's reputation suffered from two plane crashes , each of which was due to pilot errors.

• On January 10, 2000, a Crossair Saab 340 ( aircraft registration HB-AKK ) crashed on Crossair flight 498 shortly after take-off in Zurich near Nassenwil when it was accidentally brought into a spiral fall . All 10 people on board were killed.

• On November 24, 2001 an Avro RJ100 (HB-IXM) fell below the minimum descent altitude when approaching Zurich Airport and the aircraft was flown off-road. In this CFIT ( Controlled flight into terrain ) of 33 people on board 24 were killed. The machine was on the flight from Berlin-Tegel to Zurich when it touched a tree about 5 kilometers from runway 28 in the dark and light sleet and flew into a forest (see also Crossair flight 3597 ) .

Trivia

The Cessna 172 of the Motorfluggruppe Zürich with the Crossair logo

• The Crossair brand was bought by Swiss in 2009 from the bankruptcy estate of Swissair. To ensure that the brand is protected, a Cessna 172 with the Crossair logo has been flying in Switzerland since 2011.

See also

• Crossair Europe
• Former Airlines List (Europe)

literature

• Benedikt Meyer: In flight. Swiss airlines and their passengers, 1919–2002. Chronos, Zurich 2014, ISBN 978-3-0340-1238-6 .

Web links

Commons : Crossair  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Crossair Historical website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Entry of Swiss International Air Lines AG, formerly Crossair, in the commercial register of the canton of Basel-Stadt ( Memento from 7 July 2011 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Publication of the name change  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce of July 4, 2002  
3. ↑ Meyer, 2014, p. 255
4. ↑ Meyer, 2014, p. 257
5. ↑ BAe 146 / Avro RJ in Crossair history , airfleets.net
6. ↑ Meyer, 2014, p. 294
7. ↑ Meyer, 2014, p. 260, p. 297
8. ↑ Meyer, 2014, p. 296
9. ↑ Meyer, 2014, p. 297
10. ↑ Meyer, 2014, p. 295
11. ↑ Accident report Avro RJ 100 HB-IXM , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on March 8, 2019.
12. ↑ Small planes let Swissair take off again. In: Tages-Anzeiger. November 25, 2011.