Word: swissair
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...hasty merger between the defunct national airline - crippled by a failed expansion plan and the post-Sept. 11 travel drought - and its regional subsidiary Crossair. Banks, private industry and the government chipped in ?1 billion to launch the company. To signal a new era while capitalizing on Swissair's traditional image of quality, the name and logo were changed only slightly. The fleet of 128 planes serves 126 cities in 60 countries, 30% fewer destinations than before the merger. "Some people expect this airline to follow Swissair's model," says Stephane Garelli, professor of international business policy at Lausanne University...
...collision between a Russian passenger jet and a cargo plane that killed 71 people. Now air pockets of labor disputes, technical difficulties and a conflict among pilots have hit Swiss, the country's newly renamed national airline. Still smarting from the bankruptcy last fall of their old flag carrier, Swissair, the Swiss hope the recent glitches do not signal another disaster...
...airline is expecting to turn a profit in 2004. But there are other storms as well. One is an increasingly bitter dispute with former Crossair pilots. Their union has rejected a proposed 16% salary increase on top of last year's 28% raise, saying that former Swissair pilots were offered a better deal. Industry insiders say long-standing animosity between Swissair and Crossair pilots is at the root of the bickering. Different corporate cultures pitted the young and ambitious Crossair crew against the better-paid Swissair pilots, who, says aviation expert Sepp Moser, sometimes projected an arrogance that...
François Clavadetscher, a newly retired Swiss captain who came from the Swissair side, says the conflict has been fueled by jealousy. "We are better trained, have higher qualifications and undergo stricter selection criteria," he says. "It is normal that our salaries are higher. No airline will pay the same to long-haul pilots and those flying commuter planes." If the union persists in its demands, Swiss spokesman Markus Baumgartner warns, the company would have to restructure its route network in order to save money for the payout, a move that could cripple the fledgling airline. Meanwhile, management...
...airline has at least one edge in the competitive market. "Switzerland's image and reputation sell well overseas," Garelli says. And the Swiss, who took the demise of Swissair as an affront to their national identity, have an emotional stake in the new carrier's success. "If we created an airline and called it Cuckoo Air, maybe we wouldn't care as much," Garelli says. "But we put our flag on its tail, so we have a collective responsibility to make sure it flies...