RootsAir From Costa Rica, joined Feb 2005, 4179 posts, RR: 45 Posted (3 years 8 months 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 14568 times:
That's some news for the nostalgics of Swissair.
Swiss has bought the Swissair brand for 10 million CHF .
Now the question is: Will Swiss want to fly under the Swissair brand again or are they buying it so no one else can use it?
BmiBaby737 From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2005, 1635 posts, RR: 10 Reply 1, posted (3 years 8 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 14413 times:
I don't know if it's a reliable source or not, but the "World Radio Switzerland" have this to say:
Quote: Swiss buys Swissair trademark
The airline Swiss has bought the rights to the trademark Swissair, the airline it took over seven and a half years ago, but has no plans to use the brand itself.
Swiss says it only bought the Swissair brand so that no one else could use it.
The airline won’t say how much it paid for the trademark, but estimates are around CHF 10 million, far less the value attributed to the brand when the company collapsed, which was about CHF 500 million.
Slz396 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 2, posted (3 years 8 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 14358 times:
Quoting BmiBaby737 (Reply 1): Swiss says it only bought the Swissair brand so that no one else could use it.
It's not uncommon for successor airlines to buy the name of their predecessor once it becomes available, just to avoid seeing somebody else launch a new airline with the old name...
PanHAM From Germany, joined May 2005, 7762 posts, RR: 26 Reply 3, posted (3 years 8 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 14212 times:
A re-branding in these days is out of reach cost wise alone.
Swiss just has to make sure that some railroad or trucker or a manufacturer of pneumatic tools or mattresses does not buy and use the name for their purpose.
Swissy From Switzerland, joined Jan 2005, 1734 posts, RR: 5 Reply 5, posted (3 years 8 months 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 13724 times:
It makes sense for LX to secure the SR name for an reasonable price... just to protect their brand.... I still cannot believe how many people still refer to Swiss by the name Swissair..... even 9 years after the end... so the SR legacy lives on... Re-branding would not make any sense for LX as LX is slowly but surly creating its own brand.....
ZRH From Switzerland, joined Nov 1999, 5535 posts, RR: 40 Reply 8, posted (3 years 8 months 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 13376 times:
As I posted in the Swiss Aviation thread, they could omit the "International" in the name "Swiss International Airlines" and more important change back to "SR" instead of "LX". I always hated the code "LX". The ICAO code was and is still SWR.
Jfk777 From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 7342 posts, RR: 7 Reply 9, posted (3 years 8 months 1 day ago) and read 13202 times:
One of my great regrets is never flying SwissAIR. One morning years ago I was at GVA waiting for a BA flight to LHR to go to Miami. I saw that 747-300 landing in from JFK, when they were NEW, and thought how great it looked. I wished I had taken that 743 to JFK.
Conti764 From Belgium, joined Dec 2007, 233 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (3 years 8 months 23 hours ago) and read 12747 times:
I don't see a reason to change back to Swissair. People will still remember this airline as the defunct airline and the Swiss brand had a good reputation in aviation...
Desediez From Germany, joined Oct 2006, 77 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (3 years 8 months 21 hours ago) and read 10573 times:
Quoting RootsAir (Thread starter): Now the question is: Will Swiss want to fly under the Swissair brand again or are they buying it so no one else can use it?
FLYjoe From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 250 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (3 years 8 months 19 hours ago) and read 9701 times:
Quoting Swissy (Reply 5): I still cannot believe how many people still refer to Swiss by the name Swissair.....
Unfortunately that's a habit that some never will break. People still refer to US Airways here as USAir, even thought it's been about 12-13 years since the name has changed.
Does Swissair have a good name brand recognition, outside of it's collapse?
GVAJFKflyer From Switzerland, joined Aug 2009, 99 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (3 years 8 months 19 hours ago) and read 9680 times:
Renaming our national airline "Swissair" could certainly make sense. The brand had a good reputation abroad, and was loved in Switzerland. I do not believe it would carry the memory of the October 2001 grounding to the serious detriment of the operations.
However, as pointed out in the article from Tribune de Genève, re-branding always creates a risk of confusion. It is, in addition, a very expensive process. Since the "Swiss" brand has earned itself a good reputation, I take the view that they should not change it.
As for a return of the SR prefix, as ZRH mentioned, it would certainly be welcome by me, and a few others
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 21464 posts, RR: 24 Reply 14, posted (3 years 8 months 19 hours ago) and read 9433 times:
Quoting Babybus (Reply 6): Keeping their current crisp white image but changing their name back to Swissair wouldn't be such a bad idea.
Quoting GVAJFKflyer (Reply 13): Renaming our national airline "Swissair" could certainly make sense. The brand had a good reputation abroad, and was loved in Switzerland.
You are forgetting that Switzerland is more than ZRH. Swissair had a terrible image in the GVA area after they basically abandoned GVA in the mid-1990s as part of their strategy to move longhaul flights that previously served GVA to ZRH to establish ZRH as their single longhaul hub (leaving only one daily GVA-JFK flight). Until then Swissair had many longhaul flights from GVA, especially to Africa, and even GVA-LAX nonstop. Swissair also eliminated many European routes from GVA at that time, forcing 90% of GVA passengers who wanted to fly Swissair almost anywhere to connect at ZRH. Although it's a new company, some GVA residents still won't fly LX because of their memory of how Swissair treated GVA during that period.
I don't disagree with Swissair's policy then as Switzerland is too small for two hubs, and it was the only way for Swissair to compete with other major European carriers with one strong hub, but it seriously hurt their image in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Since so many people outside Switzerland still refer to LX as Swissair anyway, I don't see any benefits from changing the name.
Jetblast From United States of America, joined Nov 2004, 1198 posts, RR: 11 Reply 16, posted (3 years 8 months 18 hours ago) and read 8252 times:
Quoting FLYjoe (Reply 12): Unfortunately that's a habit that some never will break. People still refer to US Airways here as USAir, even thought it's been about 12-13 years since the name has changed.
I still do this and know several people who do. I see nothing wrong with it, Swissair is easier to say than Swiss International Airlines, and people know what you are talking about.
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 21464 posts, RR: 24 Reply 18, posted (3 years 8 months 17 hours ago) and read 8162 times:
Quoting Jetblast (Reply 16): Swissair is easier to say than Swiss International Airlines, and people know what you are talking about.
Nobody ever says "Swiss International Airlines". The only place you see that is in the small print in advertising etc. where they show their legal name. I've never heard anyone call it anything but "Swiss" in Switzerland, and elsewhere often Swiss Air, just like many Americans in particular call BA "British Air".
GVAJFKflyer From Switzerland, joined Aug 2009, 99 posts, RR: 0 Reply 20, posted (3 years 8 months 17 hours ago) and read 7611 times:
Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 14): You are forgetting that Switzerland is more than ZRH.
As a GVA resident, I hardly forgot how Swissair treated us. However, I believe that the tidal wave created by the decision to "repatriate" virtually all longhaul flights, and many shorthaul flights, to ZRH was eventually placated by the exceptional reaction of the airport management in GVA, who managed to make for it very well (from the early development of EasyJet operations to the most recent opening of two new intercontinental destinations: IAD and YUL).
Those who, in French-speaking Switzerland, turned their back to Swissair because of their decision to "abandon" GVA, did not forget it with the adoption of the Swiss brand. And, at the time of the grounding in October 2001, there was a nationwide emotion for the fate of Swissair (although I admit there might have been a little Schadenfreude in the French-speaking part of the country), and a strong sense of solidarity for Swissair employees.
That being said, as I mentioned in my earlier post, I agree that the Swiss brand should not be changed back to Swissair.
FRAspotter From South Korea, joined May 2004, 2315 posts, RR: 10 Reply 23, posted (3 years 8 months 14 hours ago) and read 6203 times:
Quoting Slz396 (Reply 2): It's not uncommon for successor airlines to buy the name of their predecessor once it becomes available, just to avoid seeing somebody else launch a new airline with the old name...
I wish someone would have done that for the old Pan Am trademark instead of having it used again multiple times for regional/charter airlines that were a complete joke IMO compared to the once grand airline of yesteryear...
"Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak."
Very true and ''Swiss'' is a strong brand in its own right
Yes, but the problem with "Swiss" is that it's not just a brand. It's an entire nationality.
American, British, Canadian, Indian, Thai, Australian, Malaysian, Saudi Arabian, South African, among others, are (or were) airlines as well as nationalities. Why should Swiss be a problem?
25 Carls: And what is the problem with this???? For many people Swiss means: Quality, punctuality, great cheeses, great chocolates, great people and also a bea
26 Dreadnought: I would hope the change their name back to Swissair. Swiss, frankly, is a dumb name. You always think something is missing. "I flew in on Swiss..." -
27 Viscount724: Then why don't you think something is missing when someone says, "I flew in on American", or any of the other airlines that use a name that's also a
28 Revelation: Interestingly enough, if you google "swissair" you get a lot of hits for Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. tickets on the first page... So computers
29 Rheinwaldner: That could be the reason why LX may not want to change the name to Swissair. For the Swiss people the brand Swissair at least partially stands for de
30 Dennys: Sorry , but i still hope the SR code come back to illustrate Swissair flights . What about GVA ? I still think SWR should be more present on the EU ne
31 Slz396: How about flying Austrian? Scandinavian? Mexicana? Or what to think about United? Cathay Pacific? It's just a habit really. At first it did indeed so
32 Higherflyer: Well, that probably doesn't bode well for them in the long run!
33 Rheinwaldner: I agree about "Thanks to LH"! But regarding the appeal for connecting pax: Is it not the alliance membership that changed this? Being owned by LH alo
34 Putnik: I don't understand why there is still such resentment towards SR in Geneva? From what I see moving all long haul flights to ZRH was one of the few sm
35 Offloaded: SR was an excellent and profitable airline for 60+ years, then management made some strange decisions such as joining with 2 of Europe's most basket c
36 Babybus: For example I would always put the word airlines or airways as appropriate when refering to these airlines. If you stop at 'British' it could mean a
37 Slz396: Of course, but then wasn't the STAR alliance membership also 'thanks to LH'? I remember that in the months before being bought out by the Germans, a
38 Rheinwaldner: That's what I meant. It could have been any alliance. The ownership change alone did bring something for sure but as I am aware not the majority. To
39 Slz396: But would any alliance have done the trick? I doubt OneWorld is such a good alliance to belong to as STAR, especially as middle European airline... H
40 ZRH: Actually it is not only "higher load factors" but even more the strong program of Christoph Franz to cut costs and become much more efficient. At the
41 Aviationmaster: IMO LX's success in OneWorld would have depended on how much BA would have been willing to cooperate. Would GVA have had enough capacity in order to a
42 Viscount724: I totally agree, but when the national carrier suddenly drops about 75% of their flights and routes from the 2nd largest market in their home country
43 Deltajets: Swissair wouldn't be Swissair without a 747 in the fleet.
44 RootsAir: I even wonder why they took over Crossair's code and not a totally new one ! This decision has definitely been one of the worst Swissair could make.
45 Dennys: all quite true about GVA . sad for SWR anyway ! but should Swissair fly again , that would be great , even if the carrier will still be based in ZRH .
46 ZRH: You are comparing apples with oranges. EZY and SWISS are completely different airlines. EZY, as an only short haul LCC airline offers mainly point to
47 RootsAir: I should have been more precise! I was talking about the european flights that Swissair cancelled from GVA. At a moment, there were only 3 european f
48 SandroZRH: You didn't get ZRH's point, re-read his post.
49 Bojangles: As so often happens on airliners.net people speak from their own cultural/national experience without perhaps realising that people from other parts
50 Malaysia: Has there ever been a case where a previous carrier was acquired and someone else decided to restart that carrier due to the acquirer never bothering
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