Edelweiss Air Explained
| Airline: | Edelweiss Air |
| Iata: | WK[1] |
| Icao: | EDW |
| Callsign: | EDELWEISS |
| Founded: | [2] |
| Aoc: | CH.AOC.1007[3] |
| Bases: | Zurich Airport |
| Fleet Size: | 18 |
| Destinations: | 65 |
| Parent: | [4] |
| Headquarters: | Kloten, Zurich, Switzerland |
| Founder: | Nick Grob |
| Key People: | Bernd Bauer (CEO) |
| Num Employees: | 540 (January 2015) |
Edelweiss Air AG (edil-vyss) 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]
History
Early years
The 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
In 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
, Edelweiss Air flies (or has flown) to the following destinations:[14]
Codeshare agreements
Fleet
Current fleet
, Edelweiss Air operates the following aircraft:[38]
Edelweiss Air fleet| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|
| J | Y+ | Y | Total |
|---|
| 14[39] | - | - | - | 174 | 174 | |
| Airbus A340-300 | 5 | - | 27 | 76 | 211 | 314 | To be retired.[40] |
| Airbus A350-900 | - | 6 | 30 | 63 | 246 | 339 | To replace Airbus A340-300 from 2025.[41] |
| Total | 19 | 6 | | |
|---|
Former fleet
In the past, Edelweiss Air has previously operated the following aircraft:
Edelweiss Air former fleet| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Ref |
|---|
| Airbus A330-200 | 2 | 2000 | 2016 | |
| Airbus A330-300 | 2 | 2011 | 2021 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 3 | 1996 | 1999 | [42] | |
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: IATA - Airline and Airport Code Search. iata.org. 11 April 2015.
- Web site: Edelweiss Air Fleet Details and History. 21 October 2010. 23 February 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110223001614/http://www.planespotters.net/Airline/Edelweiss-Air. dead.
- Web site: List of AOC Holders with Complex Airplanes . 28 March 2018 . . 20 April 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180421094802/https://www.bazl.admin.ch/dam/bazl/en/dokumente/Fachleute/Flugverkehr/Flugoperationen/flugbetriebe1/list_of_aoc_holdersatob.pdf.download.pdf/list_of_aoc_holdersatob.pdf . 21 April 2018 . dead .
- Web site: Deutsche Lufthansa AG . . Deutsche Lufthansa AG . 2 February 2020.
- Web site: Ground Map. Edelweiss Air. 17 September 2011.
- Web site: Edelweiss Air History & Awards. https://web.archive.org/web/20090605221457/http://www.edelweissair.ch/e/company/history/. 2009-06-05.
- News: Directory: World Airlines . . 76 . 2007-04-03.
- Swiss International buys Edelweiss Air.
- Web site: Edelweiss orders A330.
- Web site: Edelweiss Air to add one more A320, three Swiss A340s. ch-aviation. 9 July 2015.
- Web site: Edelweiss Switzerland Flugzeuge erhalten neues Design. Edelweiss Switzerland aircraft get a new design. de. ZRH-Spotter. 14 November 2015.
- Web site: Switzerland's Edelweiss Air ends A330-200 operations. ch-aviation. 27 December 2016.
- https://www.aerotelegraph.com/aus-edelweiss-wurde-eurowings-discover aerotelegraph.com
- Web site: Holiday Destinations. Edelweiss Air.
- Web site: Media Relations | Edelweiss . 30 December 2023 . 21 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181121104348/https://www.flyedelweiss.com/DE/about-edelweiss/media/press-releases/Pages/2017-11-06-buenos-aires.aspx . dead .
- Web site: Zürich-Flughafen, 6. Juli 2022 .
- Web site: Edelweiss Air adds 3 African routes in 4Q20. Routesonline. 27 August 2020.
- Web site: Edelweiss expands long haul network with two new destinations as of summer 2025 .
- Web site: EDELWEISS AIR SCHEDULES COLOMBIA LAUNCH IN NOV 2023. aeroroutes.com. 13 April 2023.
- Web site: Media Relations | Edelweiss . 30 December 2023 . 28 August 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180828030615/https://www.flyedelweiss.com/DE/about-edelweiss/media/press-releases/Pages/2017-07-05-new-destinations.aspx . dead .
- Web site: Flug Zürich - Puerto Plata, Dominikanische Republik | Edelweiss .
- Web site: Edelweiss Air NW24 MENA Network Expansion .
- Web site: Zürich-Flughafen, 6. Juli 2022 .
- Web site: Edelweiss Air Expands Finland Service in NW24 .
- Web site: Edelweiss Air Expands Finland Service in NW24 .
- Web site: Edelweiss Air Expands Finland Service in NW24 .
- Web site: Edelweiss Air Expands Finland Service in NW24 .
- Web site: Zürich-Flughafen, 4. Juni 2022 .
- Web site: EDELWEISS AIR ADDS JORDAN SERVICE FROM FEB 2023. Aeroroutes. 9 September 2022.
- Web site: Flüge von Zürich nach Amman, Jordanien | Edelweiss .
- Web site: Flüge von Zürich nach Amman, Jordanien | Edelweiss .
- Web site: Edelweiss Air NW24 MENA Network Expansion .
- Web site: Media Relations | Edelweiss . 30 December 2023 . 28 August 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180828030624/https://www.flyedelweiss.com/DE/about-edelweiss/media/press-releases/Pages/2017-11-30-new-destinations.aspx . dead .
- Web site: Media Relations | Edelweiss . 30 December 2023 . 28 August 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180828030633/https://www.flyedelweiss.com/DE/about-edelweiss/media/press-releases/Pages/2018-02-14-la-palma.aspx . dead .
- Web site: Zurich . 2022-07-05 . Cornwall Airport Newquay . en.
- Web site: Edelweiss expands long haul network with two new destinations as of summer 2025 .
- Web site: Air Canada Begins Edelweiss Air Codeshare in NS24 .
- Web site: Fleet Edelweiss . 10 December 2022 . www.flyedelweiss.com . en.
- Web site: SWISS and Edelweiss Air - Lufthansa Group . www.lufthansagroup.com . 26 August 2023 . en.
- Web site: Swiss Leisure Airline Edelweiss Will Procure LATAM's Airbus A350-900 To Phase Out Its A340-300 Long-haul Fleet. . FL360Aero . 18 September 2023 . en.
- Edelweiss modernises its long-haul fleet with the Airbus A350-900. Edelweiss Air. 18 September 2023.
- Web site: Edelweiss Air Fleet of MD80. Airfleets Aviation. 24 April 2021.
