Edelweiss Air

Edelweiss Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
WK[1] EDW EDELWEISS
Founded 19 October 1995[2]
Operating bases Zürich Airport
Fleet size 9
Destinations 54[3]
Company slogan Der Sonne entgegen.
(English: Into the sun.)
Parent company Lufthansa Group
Headquarters Kloten, Switzerland
Key people
  • Nick Grob, Founder
  • Bernd Bauer, CEO
Employees 540 (January 2015)
Website flyedelweiss.com

Edelweiss Air is a Swiss leisure airline wholly owned by Swiss International Air Lines and the Lufthansa Group. It operates flights to European and intercontinental destinations from its base at Zürich Airport.[4]

History

A now retired Edelweiss Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83 in 1997

The airline was founded on 19 October 1995 in Bassersdorf, Switzerland, with just one aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83. The company's name is derived from the Swiss unofficial national flower, the Edelweiss, which is also painted on its airplanes.

The fleet was subsequently expanded and renewed. In 1998, new Airbus A320-200s were introduced to replace the MD-83s, and in 1999 long-haul flights were commenced using the Airbus A330-200.

For seven consecutive years between 2001 and 2008, Edelweiss Air received the golden Travelstar Award for its excellent achievements.[5]

Until November 2008, Edelweiss Air was wholly owned by Kuoni Travel Ltd and had 190 employees,[6] when the operating rights were sold to Swiss International Air Lines, in exchange for sale rights of hotel capacities via the Swiss sales network. Following Swiss International Airlines being been acquired by the German Lufthansa Group in 2005, Edelweiss Air also became a subsidiary of Europe's largest airline group at the same time it was acquired by Swiss.[7]

As of March 2011, Edelweiss Air added the larger Airbus A330-300 to its fleet, with an order having been placed on 5 April 2010.[8] In July 2015, it has been announced that Edelweiss will receive three Airbus A340-300s between 2017 and 2018 previously operated by its parent Swiss International Air Lines. The aircraft will be used to expand the route network.[9]

In November 2015, Edelweiss introduced a revised livery on one of its Airbus A320-200s which will be applied on their entire fleet.[10]

Destinations

Fleet

Edelweiss Air Airbus A320-200
Edelweiss Air Airbus A330-200

As of April 2016, the Edelweiss Air fleet consists of the following aircraft:[11]

Edelweiss Air Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
J Y+ Y Total
Airbus A320-200 6 — 12 — 150 162 HB-IJU in revised livery
Airbus A330-200 1 — 22 50 203 275
Airbus A330-300 2 — 27 56 232 315
Airbus A340-300 — 3[9]
TBA
 to be taken over from Swiss International Air Lines from October 2016[9][12]
Total 9 3

References

  1. ↑ "IATA - Airline and Airport Code Search". iata.org. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Edelweiss Air Destinations List
  4. ↑ "Ground Map." (Archive, See image) Edelweiss Air. Retrieved on 17 September 2011.
  5. ↑ Edelweiss Air History & Awards
  6. ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 76.
  7. ↑ Swiss International buys Edelweiss Air
  8. ↑ Edelweiss Air order A333
  9. 1 2 3 ch-aviation.com - Edelweiss Air to add one more A320, three Swiss A340s 9 July 2015
  10. ↑ http://www.zrh-spotter.ch/airport-news-leser/edelweiss-switzerland-flugzeuge-erhalten-neues-design.html
  11. ↑ http://ch-aviation.com/portal/airline/8R#al_profile_tab_fleet
  12. ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2016/02/15/wk-340update1/

External links

Media related to Edelweiss Air at Wikimedia Commons

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