Edelweiss Air
Edelweiss Air | |
---|---|
IATA code : | WK |
ICAO code : | EDW |
Call sign : | EDELWEISS |
Founding: | 1995 |
Seat: | Kloten , Switzerland |
Turnstile : | |
Home airport : | airport Zurich |
Company form: | Corporation |
IATA prefix code : | 945 |
Management: | Bernd Bauer ( CEO ) |
Number of employees: | 1101 (2019) |
Sales: | 652 million CHF |
Passenger volume: | 2.35 million PAX |
Alliance : | Lufthansa Group ( Star Alliance ) |
Fleet size: | 16 |
Aims: | national, international |
Website: | www.flyedelweiss.com |
Edelweiss Air is a Swiss airline based in Kloten and based at Zurich Airport . Edelweiss Air is a subsidiary of Lufthansa and thus a sister company of Swiss International Air Lines and has been part of the Lufthansa Group since November 1, 2008 .
history
1995 - foundation and first years
The airline was founded on October 19, 1995 in Zurich by the travel group Kuoni and the Greek Venus Air (the parent company of Venus Airlines ). From February 10, 1996, the first Edelweiss Air flights took place with two McDonnell Douglas MD-83s , a very common model for charter flights in the short and medium-haul range at the time. In the spring of 1997 Edelweiss Air bought another MD-83.
2000 - New Airbus planes
At the end of the 1990s, Edelweiss Air decided to build a fleet of Airbus aircraft and took over the first of initially three Airbus A320-200s on February 4, 2000 . An Airbus A330-200 for long-haul flights was added at the end of November 2000 . The termination and renegotiation of the leasing contract for this A330 in 2004 led the media to speculate that Edelweiss Air would sell the aircraft.
Since 2008 - Edelweiss Air as a sister company of Swiss
The merger of the company with Swiss was announced on February 8, 2008, as part of a strategic partnership between the previous owner Kuoni and Swiss. The airline will continue to operate independently with its own management, fleet and crew, and the “Edelweiss Air” brand was retained. The takeover was completed on November 1, 2008.
In September 2013, the introduction of a new business class with completely flat beds and, for the first time, a premium economy class on long-haul flights was announced. In November 2015, Edelweiss Air presented a slightly modified aircraft paint scheme; “Switzerland” was added to the lettering on the aircraft. When the first A340 aircraft was launched in 2016, new uniforms were introduced after 21 years.
During the COVID-19 pandemic , regular flight operations were restricted from March 2020 and part of the fleet was parked in Dübendorf . Long-haul aircraft brought Swiss tourists back to Switzerland from the airline's destination and, on charter flights on behalf of the federal government, from Peru and Colombia.
Destinations
Edelweiss Air flies from Zurich to numerous European and intercontinental holiday destinations. It serves 68 destinations in 33 countries. In the North American area, the airline serves Las Vegas, San Diego, Tampa, Orlando, Vancouver, Calgary and Denver. In Central and South America, the airline serves Punta Cana, San Jose, Havana, Cancun, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Varadero. On the African continent, there are flights to Marrakech, Cape Town, Port Louis on Mauritius, Sharm-el-Sheik, Hurghada, Marsa Alam and the Seychelles. In Asia, the airline flies to Phuket, Malé, Colombo and Ho Chi Minh City. Most long haul destinations are served seasonally and once or twice a week.
fleet
As of March 2020, the Edelweiss Air fleet consists of 16 aircraft with an average age of 15.6 years:
10x Airbus A320-200
Seats: Business 12, Eco 156 = 168.
Average age: 17.1 years
A320 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Registration | Image of the airplane | delivery | Baptismal name | comment | ||
HB-IHX | 01/29/1999 | Bosco Gurin (since 2018), Calvaro (1999–2018) | ||||
HB-IHY | 02/12/1999 | Blüemlisalp (since 2016), Upali (1999–2016) | ||||
HB-IHZ | 06/25/1999 | Kaiseregg (since 2018), Victoria (1999-2018) | ||||
HB-IJU | 11/22/2015 | Corvatsch | ex. Swiss HB-IJU | |||
HB-IJV | 04/03/2012 | Schatzalp (since 2017), Macun (2012–2017) | ex. Swiss HB-IJV | |||
HB-IJW | 04/05/2014 | Braunwald (since 2017), Shayan (2014–2017) | ex. Swiss HB-IJW | |||
HB-JJK | 05/09/2018 | Sorebois | ex. LATAM Airlines Brasil PR-MHB | |||
HB-JJL | 02/11/2018 | Säntis | ex. Air Berlin D-ABNV | |||
HB-JJM | 01/28/2018 | Brienzer Rothorn | ex Air Berlin D-ABNW | |||
HB-JJN | 02/08/2019 | Stanserhorn | ex. Laudamotion OE-LOG |
Seats: Business 27, Eco + 56, Eco 232 = 315.
Average age: 6.6 years
A330 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Registration | Image of the airplane | delivery | Baptismal name | comment | ||
HB-JHQ | 02/18/2011 | Pizol (since 2008), Chamsin (2011-2018) | ||||
HB-YEAR | 03/23/2016 | Chäserrugg |
Seats: Business 27, Eco + 76, Eco 211 = 314. Average age: 16.4 years
A340 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Registration | Image of the airplane | delivery | Baptismal name | comment | ||
HB-JMD | 08/13/2018 | Glacier 3000 | ex. Swiss HB-JMD | |||
HB-JME | March 31, 2018 | Pilate | ex. Swiss HB-JME | |||
HB-JMF | 04/13/2017 | Belalp | ex. Swiss HB-JMF | |||
HB-JMG | 09/24/2016 | Melchsee-Frutt | ex. Swiss HB-JMG |
Former fleet
A330 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Registration | Image of the airplane | Working time | Baptismal name | comment | ||
HB-IQZ | 11/17/2000 - 11/17/2010 | " Bahari " | To Air Transat as C-GTSN | |||
HB-IQI | October 19, 2010 - January 31, 2017 | " Kiburi " | To Brussels Airlines as OO-SFT |
Name concept
Since it was founded, Edelweiss Air aircraft have been painted red and white with Edelweiss flowers as a symbol of the company's Swiss origins. In 2015 the painting was little changed by enlarging the edelweiss flower on the tail fin and adding <<Switzerland>> to the fuselage. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Edelweiss Air, a Zeppelin NT in the Edelweiss colors flew from spring to autumn 2015 in German-speaking Switzerland .
As of 2016, the aircraft in the fleet (now in full) have been given the names of Swiss regions where the Edelweiss is "at home". Benches (modeled on aircraft seats and referred to as Edelweiss benches ) were set up at these high-lying vantage points and supplemented by signposts showing the flight destinations that the aircraft in question is approaching with the direction and distance.
Rhaetian Railway locomotive as an advertising medium
See also
literature
- With edelweiss to warm water , Peter Brotsch, pp. 22–27, Flug-Revue, 03/2008 edition.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ [1] , accessed on November 4, 2019
- ↑ swiss.com - WEKO approves takeover of Edelweiss Air by SWISS, April 16, 2008 , accessed on July 23, 2014
- ↑ flightglobal.com - Edelweiss flowers at Luton, May 1, 1996 (English), accessed December 27, 2013
- ↑ NZZ - Swiss takes over Edelweiss airline, February 8, 2008 accessed on July 18, 2014
- ↑ Handelszeitung - Board of Directors of the Swiss subsidiary Edelweiss Air determined June 30, 2008 ( memento of July 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on July 18, 2014
- ↑ aerotelegraph.com - Edelweiss accessed very long flights on September 7, 2013
- ↑ aerotelegraph.com - Brush Strokes Demonstrating Strength , accessed December 4, 2015
- ↑ Edelweiss grows in Zurich. nzz.ch , December 1, 2016, accessed on January 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Should the state help Swiss? And if so, how should that be done? , NZZ, March 24, 2020
- ↑ Swiss Airlift , Cockpit, March 23, 2020
- ↑ Radio SRF 1 Nachrichten , March 25, 2020
- ↑ Edelweiss Air Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. Retrieved March 8, 2020 .
- ↑ process-group.com - Edelweiss Air celebrates 20th birthday with Zeppelin accessed on June 11, 2015