SWISS, the new airline in Switzerland, has signed a contract with Airbus for the purchase of 13 Airbus A340-300 long-range airliners, hereby confirming its earlier commitment. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery between June 2003 and August 2004.
The new four engine A340-300s will join 13 medium range A330-200s already operated by the Basel based airline.
SWISS' long range A340s will seat 228 passengers in a very comfortable three-class layout. Airbus widebody aircraft are known worldwide for the quietest cabin in the sky - an essential feature on long-range flights. The A340-300s will be used for flights to the US West Coast, Asia, South America and South Africa.
"I'm delighted that, with our partner Airbus, we have found the best solution for the upper
segment of our fleet," said Andr Dos, CEO of SWISS. "With the A340-300 we can offer our
clients a superb product in all classes, while benefiting from the advantages of synergy with the rest of our fleet as well as favorable financial and operating costs. With this contract, an
important step has been taken to ensure the profitability of our airline."
"With today's signature, SWISS has demonstrated clear confidence in its future and we are proud to be supporting the new Swiss airline as it goes forward," said Noel Forgeard, Airbus President and CEO, commenting on the order. "This choice shows the clear advantages of our products and confirms the value of our strategy: unique operational commonality within the Air-bus aircraft family, two engines for medium haul and four engines for long-haul routes," he added.
SWISS' A340-300s will be equipped with CFM56 engines from CFM International. The CFM56-5C4/P engines feature a lower fuel burn, leading to lower emissions and they operate at a lower temperature, which leads to reduced maintenance costs and significantly lower NOx levels.
In addition, Airbus' A330/A340 Family meets all international noise standards including the fu-ture Chapter 4. Airbus A340s have a low noise signature, which is especially suited to environ-mentally-conscious communities around Zurich airport. Of particular note for early morning flights returning from Asia, the landing
noise of the A340 is half that of the MD-11.
The A330 and A340 are members of the same aircraft Family, offering operators a choice of two or four engines on the same fuselage and cockpit. Combining the A330 on medium haul with the A340 on long-haul networks in a combined fleet with the lowest cost per mile. In this way the optimal aircraft can be used for each market segment rather than penalizing operations by using a long-haul aircraft for both medium and long haul networks. Nearly 80 per cent of all long-range routes (more than 5000nm) are flown by four engine aircraft. They have a better take off performance and are free from any routing constraints (no ETOPS constraints).
The A330/A340 Family is leading the market with a 54% market share and has been selected by almost twice as many operators as its closest competitor. To date, more than 700 A330/A340 Family aircraft have been sold.
A leading aircraft manufacturer Airbus is a global company with design and manufacturing facilities in France,
Germany, the UK, and Spain as well as subsidiaries in the U.S., China and Japan. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is an EADS joint Company with BAE SYSTEMS. |
