The Internationalization of Switzerland's Airline

Swiss International Air Lines is more cosmopolitan than its predecessor --but just as efficient.

Until the demise of Swissair in October 2001 (having nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks but with terrible financial decisions and surprising accusations of malfeasance by the former airline's management), everything about the national airline of Switzerland was and felt 100 percent Swiss. Its successor, Swiss International Air Lines (which calls itself SWISS in literature and on the aircraft fuselage) is less Swiss and more international.

In the Economy section of the Los Angeles-Zurich flight, I was surprised that the splits of wine were not Fendant and Dole but rather a nameless Australian blend bottled for SWISS, and that the packaged cheese was Tillamook, the butter was Land o' Lakes, the packet of salad dressing was Heinz and the dessert was a brownie from Love & Quiches of Long Island -- of all places. This in the airline of a country known for its cheeses and chocolates. There was a time when only Swiss products were served aboard the national airline of Switzerland, regardless of where the flight originated.

But then, today's SWISS is not 100 percent Swiss. It is part of Germany's Lufthansa Group. But it remains a bastion of Swiss efficiency. The flight not only left LAX on time but actually arrived in ZRH almost an hour ahead of schedule. Perhaps the German and Swiss combination demonstrates the new airline math: punctual + punctual = early. OK. So it was the tailwind -- but it was still pretty impressive!