Swissair

For over seventy years the name Swissair stood for all things Swiss on the airways. The ‘flying arrow’ emblem of Switzerland’s national airline represented a company with deep financial reserves, enabling it to invest in the latest jets and the most modern technology. Yet from the 1970s onwards world events brought about a dramatic reversal in its fortunes. A new strategy of growth through investment in many other airlines misfired when these carriers became a loss-making burden, and the decision of the Swiss population to remain outside the European Economic Area restricted the airline’s opportunities for increasing passenger uptake. By 2001, in the wake of the collapse in traffic following the 9/11 atrocities, the carrier was reliant on government loans for its continued survival, and in 2002 Swissair ceased all operations, its routes and equipment being resurrected by rival Crossair. The humiliation did not end there. In 2007 Swissair’s entire former management board stood trial on charges relating to mismanagement, making false statements, and forgery.

Commercial aviation author Charles Woodley has pieced together the story of Swissair’s rise to a glittering reputation for quality and reliability, and the factors leading to its downfall.