Swissair Asia

Swissair Asia
Swissair Asia
Traditional Chinese	瑞士亞洲航空
Simplified Chinese	瑞士亚洲航空
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Ruìshì Yàzhōu Hángkōng
Wade–Giles	Jui-shih Ya-chou Hang-k'ung
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	Sūi-sū A-chiu Hâng-khong

Swissair Asia AG
瑞士亞洲航空
Founded	18 January 1995
Commenced operations	7 April 1995
Ceased operations	31 March 2002
Focus cities	Taipei–Taoyuan; Zurich;
Frequent-flyer program	Qualiflyer
Fleet size	6
Destinations	3
Parent company	Swissair

Swissair Asia was a subsidiary of Swissair founded due to the legal status of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and territory disputes with the People's Republic of China in order to allow Swissair to continue flying to Taiwan from Switzerland.^{[clarification needed]}

‹The template below is included via a redirect (Template:Chinese) that is under discussion. See redirects for discussion to help reach a consensus.›

History

Swissair Asia was formed to serve Taipei, Taiwan, within the Republic of China, while Swissair maintained service to the People's Republic of China.^[1] It began operating a twice-weekly service between Zürich and Taipei via Bangkok on 7 April 1995.^[2] The airline ceased operations when the parent company Swissair went bankrupt in 2001;^[3] no successor airline was organized by Swissair's own successor, Swiss International Air Lines, which does not operate flights to Taipei (either directly or under a subsidiary).

Livery

The aircraft used by Swissair Asia had the Chinese character "瑞" (ruì), the Chinese character for "propitious" or "lucky" and first character in the phonetic (in southern Chinese languages) translation of Switzerland, "瑞士" (Jyutping: seoi6 si6; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Sui-sṳ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sūi-sū; Pinyin: Ruìshì), on the tail fin instead of the Swiss cross. The kanji character was designed by the Basel-based Japanese calligrapher Sanae Sakamoto (坂本早苗, Sakamoto Sanae).^[4]^[5]

Destinations

Asia

Thailand
- Bangkok – Don Mueang International Airport (Stop-over)
Republic of China (Taiwan)
- Taipei – Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (Focus city)

Europe

Switzerland
- Zurich – Zurich Airport (Focus city)

Fleet

A Swissair Asia McDonnell Douglas MD-11 taxiing at Zurich Airport in August 1999

The same McDonnell Douglas MD-11 following the collapse of Swissair, retaining the Swissair Asia tail but with Swiss International Air Lines' logo

Swissair Asia operated the following aircraft:

Swissair Asia Fleet
Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers				Notes
Aircraft	In service	Orders	F	C	Y	Total	Notes
McDonnell Douglas MD-11	6	—	12	49	180	241
Total	2	—

References

↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 28 March-3 April 2000. -.
↑ Aircraft & Aerospace. Vol. 75. Peter Isaacson Publications Pty. Limited. 1995. p. 8.
↑ "Swissair Asia history from Europe, Switzerland". Airline History. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
↑ "Swissair Asia". Sanaesakamoto. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
↑ "Sanae Sakamoto: "Tao and Zen"" (PDF). Xlaudiageiser.ch. Retrieved 7 November 2021.

[1] "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 28 March-3 April 2000. -.

[2] Aircraft & Aerospace. Vol. 75. Peter Isaacson Publications Pty. Limited. 1995. p. 8.

[3] "Swissair Asia history from Europe, Switzerland". Airline History. Retrieved 2021-11-03.

[4] "Swissair Asia". Sanaesakamoto. Retrieved 7 November 2021.

[5] "Sanae Sakamoto: "Tao and Zen"" (PDF). Xlaudiageiser.ch. Retrieved 7 November 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]