Edelweiss Air AG is a Swiss leisure and charter airline and the sister company of Swiss International Air Lines and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. It operates flights to European and intercontinental destinations from its base at Zurich Airport.[5]
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 19 October 1995[2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AOC # | CH.AOC.1007[3] | ||||||
| Operating bases | Zurich Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 18 | ||||||
| Destinations | 65 | ||||||
| Parent company | Swiss International Air Lines[4] | ||||||
| Headquarters | Kloten, Zurich, Switzerland | ||||||
| Key people | Bernd Bauer (CEO) | ||||||
| Founder | Nick Grob | ||||||
| Employees | 540 (January 2015) | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
History
editEarly years
editThe 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 aircraft.
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 achievements.[6]
Until November 2008, Edelweiss Air was wholly owned by Kuoni Travel and had 190 employees,[7] 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 Air Lines being 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.[8]
Developments since 2010
editIn March 2011, Edelweiss Air added the larger Airbus A330-300 to its fleet, with an order having been placed on 5 April 2010.[9] In July 2015, it was announced that Edelweiss would receive four Airbus A340-300s between 2017 and 2018 previously operated by its parent Swiss International Air Lines. The aircraft were used to expand the route network.[10]
In November 2015, Edelweiss introduced a revised livery on one of its Airbus A320-200s which was subsequently applied to the rest of the airline's fleet.[11] In December 2016, Edelweiss Air phased out its sole Airbus A330-200, which was transferred to Brussels Airlines and replaced by Airbus A340-300s inherited from parent Swiss.[12] In 2021, Lufthansa moved Edelweiss Air's two Airbus A330-300s to Eurowings Discover.[13]
Destinations
editAs of August 2024[update], Edelweiss Air flies (or has flown) to the following destinations:[14]
Codeshare agreements
editFleet
editCurrent fleet
editAs of June 2024[update], Edelweiss Air operates the following aircraft:[38]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y+ | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 14[39] | — | — | — | 174 | 174 | |
| Airbus A340-300 | 5[39] | — | 27 | 76 | 211 | 314 | To be retired.[40] |
| Airbus A350-900 | — | 6 | 30 | 63 | 246 | 339 | To replace Airbus A340-300 from 2025.[40][41] |
| Total | 19 | 6 | |||||
Former fleet
editIn the past, Edelweiss Air has previously operated the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A330-200 | 2 | 2000 | 2016 | [12] |
| Airbus A330-300 | 2 | 2011 | 2021 | [13] |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 3 | 1996 | 1999 | [42] |
References
edit- ^ "IATA - Airline and Airport Code Search". iata.org. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "Edelweiss Air Fleet Details and History". Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- ^ "List of AOC Holders with Complex Airplanes" (PDF). Federal Office of Civil Aviation. 28 March 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ "Deutsche Lufthansa AG" (PDF). Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Ground Map". Edelweiss Air. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- ^ "Edelweiss Air History & Awards". Archived from the original on 5 June 2009.
- ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 3 April 2007. p. 76.
- ^ "Swiss International buys Edelweiss Air" (Press release).
- ^ "Edelweiss orders A330".
- ^ "Edelweiss Air to add one more A320, three Swiss A340s". ch-aviation. 9 July 2015.
- ^ "Edelweiss Switzerland Flugzeuge erhalten neues Design" [Edelweiss Switzerland aircraft get a new design]. ZRH-Spotter (in German). 14 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Switzerland's Edelweiss Air ends A330-200 operations". ch-aviation. 27 December 2016.
- ^ a b aerotelegraph.com (German) 1 July 2021
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca "Holiday Destinations". Edelweiss Air.
- ^ "Media Relations | Edelweiss". Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ "Zürich-Flughafen, 6. Juli 2022".
- ^ "Edelweiss Air adds 3 African routes in 4Q20". Routesonline. 27 August 2020.
- ^ "Edelweiss expands long haul network with two new destinations as of summer 2025".
- ^ a b "EDELWEISS AIR SCHEDULES COLOMBIA LAUNCH IN NOV 2023". aeroroutes.com. 13 April 2023.
- ^ "Edelweiss with five new holiday destinations in summer 2025".
- ^ a b c d e "Media Relations | Edelweiss". Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ "Flug Zürich - Puerto Plata, Dominikanische Republik | Edelweiss".
- ^ "Edelweiss Air NW24 MENA Network Expansion".
- ^ a b c d e f "Zürich-Flughafen, 6. Juli 2022".
- ^ "Edelweiss Air Expands Finland Service in NW24".
- ^ a b c "Edelweiss Air Expands Finland Service in NW24".
- ^ "Zürich-Flughafen, 4. Juni 2022".
- ^ a b "EDELWEISS AIR ADDS JORDAN SERVICE FROM FEB 2023". Aeroroutes. 9 September 2022.
- ^ "Flüge von Zürich nach Amman, Jordanien | Edelweiss".
- ^ "Flüge von Zürich nach Amman, Jordanien | Edelweiss".
- ^ "Edelweiss Air NW24 MENA Network Expansion".
- ^ a b c "Media Relations | Edelweiss". Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ "Media Relations | Edelweiss". Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ "Edelweiss expands Summer 2025 network with five new holiday destinations". aviation24.be. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ "Zurich". Cornwall Airport Newquay. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ "Edelweiss expands long haul network with two new destinations as of summer 2025".
- ^ "Air Canada Begins Edelweiss Air Codeshare in NS24".
- ^ "Fleet | Edelweiss". www.flyedelweiss.com. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ a b "SWISS and Edelweiss Air - Lufthansa Group". www.lufthansagroup.com. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Swiss Leisure Airline Edelweiss Will Procure LATAM's Airbus A350-900 To Phase Out Its A340-300 Long-haul Fleet". FL360Aero. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "Edelweiss modernises its long-haul fleet with the Airbus A350-900". Edelweiss Air (Press release). Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "Edelweiss Air Fleet of MD80". Airfleets Aviation. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
External links
edit Media related to Edelweiss Air at Wikimedia Commons