History of Edelweiss

Milestones in the history of Edelweiss

Founded in 1995 by Kuoni Reisen AG and Niklaus Grob, Edelweiss is today the leading Swiss holiday airline. As a sister company of Swiss International Air Lines and a member of the Lufthansa Group, Edelweiss flies guests nonstop to over 70 holiday destinations worldwide.

March 2021

Due to the Corona crisis, Edelweiss' six long-haul aircraft cannot be used productively. For this reason, the two Airbus A330s (HB-JHR and HB-JHQ) will be leased to Eurowings Discover from 1 June 2021.

January 2021

Dieter Vranckx becomes the new Chairman of the Edelweiss Board of Directors. Markus Binkert is elected as a new member of the Board of Directors.

December 2020

Key figures for the business year 2020

Key figure 2020
Key figure Number of passengers (in millions) 2020 0,87
Key figure Number of flights 2020 6’831
Key figure Available seat-kilometres (in millions) 2020 4’594
Key figure Revenue passenger-kilometres
(in millions) 		2020 3’314
Key figure Seat load factor 2020 67%
Key figure Turnover (in millions) 2020 CHF 250
Key figure Number of employees on 31 Dec. 2020 2020 1’026
Key figure Fleet on 31 Dec. 2020 2020 16

March 2020

The Corona virus hits the world and Switzerland and becomes the worst crisis for global aviation. Edelweiss has to suspend scheduled flight operations for almost 2 months due to travel restrictions. Part of the Airbus A320 fleet is temporarily parked at the military airbase in Dübendorf. In cooperation with SWISS and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Edelweiss brings thousands of Swiss tourists back home with repatriation flights.

March 2020

Host also on the ground: Edelweiss opens the "Edelweiss Café" at Zurich Airport in cooperation with Autogrill Switzerland. Guests will be able to choose from a wide range of drinks and food, based on Edelweiss' holiday destinations.

December 2019

Key figures for the business year 2019

Key figure 2019
Key figure Number of passengers (in millions) 2019 2,67
Key figure Number of flights 2019 16’152
Key figure Available seat-kilometres (in millions) 2019 12’977
Key figure Revenue passenger-kilometres
(in millions) 		2019 10’599
Key figure Seat load factor 2019 83%
Key figure Turnover (in millions) 2019 CHF 652
Key figure Number of employees on 31 Dec. 2019 2019 1‘124
Key figure Fleet on 31 Dec. 2019 2019 16

November 2019

Edelweiss launches a new culinary concept that includes the introduction of innovative inflight tableware in all travel classes.

June 2019

Edelweiss is the first airline in Switzerland to integrate voluntary CO2 offsetting into the booking process on its website. This allows Edelweiss passengers to compensate their CO2 emissions easily and conveniently when paying for their ticket. In collaboration with the Swiss non-profit organisation myclimate, these contributions are used to support projects that reduce CO2 emissions by the same amount.

June 2019

Edelweiss joins the TSA PreCheck programme of the US Transportation Security Administration. Registered passengers enjoy several advantages at US airports, including quicker and easier departures.

April 2019

Edelweiss adds another Airbus A320 to its fleet. The additional aircraft will be used to selectively expand the range of flight services and as a reserve plane for operational backup, so as to further increase flight schedule stability.

December 2018

Key figures for the business year 2018

Key figure 2018
Key figure Number of passengers (in millions) 2018 2,35
Key figure Number of flights 2018 14‘509
Key figure Available seat-kilometres (in millions) 2018 11‘162
Key figure Revenue passenger-kilometres
(in millions) 		2018 9‘055
Key figure Seat load factor 2018 82%
Key figure Turnover (in millions) 2018 CHF 378
Key figure Number of employees on 31 Dec. 2018 2018 1‘101
Key figure Fleet on 31 Dec. 2018 2018 15

January 2018

24 Edelweiss employees build a new house for an impoverished family in a poor neighbourhood of San José (Costa Rica). The project is carried out together with the Lufthansa Group charity “help alliance” and takes just two days to complete.

January 2018

Thomas Klühr is appointed as the new Chairman of the Edelweiss Board of Directors. His predecessor, Karl Ulrich Garnadt, will remain on the Board as a member.

December 2017

Key figures for the business year 2017

Key figure 2017
Key figure Number of passengers (in millions) 2017 1,73
Key figure Number of flights 2017 10‘700
Key figure Available seat-kilometres (in millions) 2017 8‘500
Key figure Revenue passenger-kilometres
(in millions) 		2017 6‘700
Key figure Seat load factor 2017 81%
Key figure Turnover (in millions) 2017 CHF 537
Key figure Number of employees on 31 Dec. 2017 2017 800
Key figure Fleet on 31 Dec. 2017 2017 10

November 2017

Edelweiss announces new long-haul destinations, with flights to the Seychelles, Colombo und Ho Chi Minh City on offer as of 2018.

November 2017

Edelweiss announces the addition of three Airbus A320 medium-haul aircraft in spring and summer 2018. The Edelweiss fleet will encompass fifteen aircraft by the end of 2018.

July 2017

Second-largest expansion of holiday destinations in the history of the airline: Edelweiss to add eleven new destinations to its route network in summer 2018, including Orlando, Denver and Varadero.

April 2017

Edelweiss expands its fleet to include a second Airbus A340.

December 2016

Key figures for the business year 2016

Key figure 2016
Key figure Number of passengers (in millions) 2016 1,46
Key figure Number of flights 2016 10‘000
Key figure Available seat-kilometres (in millions) 2016 6‘600
Key figure Revenue passenger-kilometres
(in millions) 		2016 5‘000
Key figure Seat load factor 2016 74%
Key figure Turnover (in millions) 2016 CHF 420
Key figure Number of employees on 31 Dec. 2016 2016 666
Key figure Fleet on 31 Dec. 2016 2016 10

December 2016

For the first time in twenty years, the Edelweiss crew uniforms undergoes a complete redesign. The new attire was created by the ASANDRI design studio in Zurich.

October 2016

Introduction of the first of four Airbus A340s to the Edelweiss fleet. The aircraft cabin was fully refurbished and equipped with comfortable, state-of-the-art seats. Refurbishing also involved fitting the aircraft with a new lighting concept that includes LED technology.

July 2016

The Züri Fäscht festival visitors are treated to a very special sight. Together with the PC-7 TEAM of the Swiss Air Force, an Edelweiss A320 passenger aircraft performs a spectacular flight formation in the sky above the festival.

June 2016

Decision to further expand Edelweiss’s long-haul route network, with flights to Cancún, Costa Rica and San Diego as of 2017.

June 2016

Edelweiss launches its new “Edelweiss Travel Magazine”. The magazine is available on all Edelweiss flights.

May 2016

Refurbishing of the entire A320 fleet with new seats, a fresh interior design and a wireless entertainment system that allows passengers to access movies, music and digital reading by way of their own smartphones and tablets.

April 2016

Addition of a further long-haul aircraft as part of the expansion programme. The Airbus A330-300 “Chäserrugg” is the first aircraft to be named according to the airline’s new “Where Edelweiss is at home” naming concept. In keeping with this concept, all future Edelweiss aircraft will be named after Swiss regions in which the Edelweiss flower grows.

December 2015

Key figures for the business year 2015

Key figure 2015
Key figure Number of passengers (in millions) 2015 1,21
Key figure Number of flights 2015 8‘300
Key figure Available seat-kilometres (in millions) 2015 5‘100
Key figure Revenue passenger-kilometres
(in millions) 		2015 4‘100
Key figure Seat load factor 2015 80%
Key figure Turnover (in millions) 2015 CHF 390
Key figure Number of employees on 31 Dec. 2015 2015 527
Key figure Fleet on 31 Dec. 2015 2015 10

November 2015

Addition of a further A320 to the Edelweiss fleet and the first to receive the new Edelweiss coating.

July 2015

July 2015 marks the start of the largest fleet expansion in the history of Edelweiss. The expansion will be completed at the end of 2018 when the Edelweiss fleet will encompass twelve aircraft. Edelweiss will take over four Airbus A340 long-haul aircraft from its sister company SWISS. The expansion will translate into as many as 400 new jobs in Switzerland.

May 2015

Edelweiss celebrates its twentieth anniversary. The summer celebrations include scenic flights with the Edelweiss Zeppelin at six different locations in Switzerland, available to the general public.

Edelweiss expands its long-haul route network: Rio de Janeiro, Calgary and Mauritius will be included as new holiday destinations starting in 2016.

December 2014

Key figures for the business year 2014

Key figure 2014
Key figure Number of passengers (in millions) 2014 1.06
Key figure Number of flights 2014 6,800
Key figure Available seat-kilometres (in millions) 2014 4.500
Key figure Revenue passenger-kilometres
(in millions) 		2014 3.700
Key figure Seat load factor 2014 82%
Key figure Turnover (in millions) 2014 CHF 378
Key figure Number of employees on 31 Dec. 2014 566
Key figure Fleet on 31 Dec. 2014 2014 8

September 2014

Bernd Bauer takes over as CEO of Edelweiss.

June 2014

Refurbishing of the airline’s A330 long-haul aircraft: Edelweiss introduces new Business Class comfort featuring modern fully lie-flat seats which convert into two-metre long beds. The refurbishing also includes 15 cm more legroom in Economy Max.

April 2014

Airbus A320 number 5 is added to the Edelweiss fleet.

Key figures for the business years 2010 to 2013

Key figure 2010 2011 2012 2013
Key figure Number of passengers (in millions) 2010 1.04 2011 1.11 2012 1.11 2013 1.03
Key figure Number of flights 2010 6,300 2011 7,000 2012 6,800 2013 6,300
Key figure Available seat-kilometres (in millions) 2010 3,400 2011 4.200 2012 4,500 2013 4,300
Key figure Revenue passenger-kilometres
(in millions) 		2010 2,800 2011 3,100 2012 3,500 2013 3,500
Key figure Seat load factor 2010 81% 2011 74% 2012 77% 2013 81%
Key figure Turnover (in millions) 2010 CHF 354 2011 CHF 354 2012 CHF 364 2013 CHF 369
Key figure Number of employees on 31 Dec. 2010 322 2011 379 2012 420 2013 518
Key figure Fleet on 31 Dec. 2010 4 2011 5 2012 6 2013 7

April 2012

A fourth Airbus A320 is added to the Edelweiss fleet.

February 2011

Edelweiss adds a new Airbus A330-300 to its fleet und now has two long-haul aircraft for flights to the world’s loveliest holiday destinations.

November 2008

Edelweiss becomes a sister company of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and a part of the Lufthansa Group.

January 2002

Karl Kistler takes over as CEO of Edelweiss.

November 2000

The first long-haul flight: An Edelweiss Airbus A330 takes off to the Maldives holiday paradise for the first time on 21st November 2000.

January 1999

Edelweiss replaces the McDonnel Douglas MD-83 with modern and more economical Airbus A320 aircraft. The first of three aircraft is introduced in the fleet. The fleet renewal is completed in the course of the year.

February 1996

Having received the green light for flight operations. Edelweiss carries out its first commercial flight on 10th February 1996, from Zurich to Paphos via Larnaca and back to Zurich. The fleet consists of two McDonnel Douglas MD-83.

October 1995

Edelweiss Air AG is founded on 19th October 1995 by Kuoni Reisen AG and Niklaus Grob. Niklaus Grob becomes the airline’s first CEO.