{
  "id": 10599892,
  "title": "DATENANALYSE - 25 Jahre nach dem Grounding: Die Swiss fliegt in deutlich weniger Länder als die Swissair",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/datenanalyse-25-jahre-nach-dem-grounding-die-swiss-fliegt-in-deutlich",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-29T03:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "NZZ Wirtschaft",
    "slug": "nzz-wirtschaft",
    "url": "https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/25-jahre-nach-dem-grounding-die-swiss-fliegt-in-deutlich-weniger-laender-als-die-swissair-ld.10025255"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "Twenty-five years after Swissair's grounding, Swiss Airlines operates significantly fewer destinations than its predecessor. A comparison of flight schedules reveals that Swissair could offer more destinations from Zurich in 2001 than Swiss could in 2026. In particular, long-haul flights to Africa were drastically reduced. In 2001, 260 Swissair aircraft were grounded worldwide due to financial difficulties. Today, the successor Swiss is thriving once again, but a comparison of summer flight schedules from 2001, 2006, 2016, and 2026 shows that Swiss flies to fewer countries, albeit more frequently on certain routes. NZZ.ch requires JavaScript for essential functions, which is currently blocked by your browser or ad blocker. The flight network and the number of flights have both changed. In the summer of 2001, Swissair offered 1,800 weekly flights from Zurich, while Swiss offered 1,100 in 2006. Since then, Swiss has increased its offerings, with 1,450 weekly flights in the summer of 2026. Therefore, Swiss has shrunk more than Swissair in terms of destinations, with only about one-fifth fewer flights in its program. This is due to the significant increase in capacities on numerous routes. The most important market remains the domestic market in Europe, accounting for over 80 percent of all flights. However, Africa is now visited only one-third as often as it was back then, even though it comprised many destinations. The number of flights to North and Latin America has barely changed, with approximately 100 per week. Germany and Italy remain the main destinations at the country level. In the summer of 2026, Swiss will fly to Germany 222 times and Italy 180 times. Swissair operated 375 flights to Germany in 2001, a 41 percent decrease. Meanwhile, Swiss has significantly expanded its flights to southern Europe. Spain is now the third most important destination, followed by the United Kingdom and France. The country is booming due to tourism. Swissair once served as a national pride, with a compact flight network as part of its identity. Swiss, on the other hand, is part of the Lufthansa Group and aligns its route planning with other airlines in the group. Whether Swiss offers a destination ultimately depends on whether the route is profitable. Daniel Riediker was the co-pilot of Swissair when it went bankrupt in 2001. Today, he flies for Swiss and says that everything is very different from what it was back then. Primarily because it is now a German airline. The promise of \"Swiss remains Swiss, even with Lufthansa\" is no longer applicable. Swiss employees fear that the airline may eventually disappear entirely within the Lufthansa Group. The Crossair founder believes that the Swiss airline would have been successful even without Lufthansa. Through the sale, Switzerland has lost one of its most important assets.",
  "summary": "Ein Vergleich der Flugpläne zeigt: 2001 konnte man ab Zürich mit der Swissair mehr Ziele anfliegen als 2026 mit der Swiss. Vor allem Langstreckenflüge nach Afrika wurden drastisch reduziert.",
  "key_points": [
    "Swiss Airlines operates fewer destinations than Swissair in 2026",
    "Swissair had 1,800 weekly flights from Zurich in 2001, Swiss has 1,450 in 2026",
    "Africa visited by Swissair three times less than in 2001"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}