Swissair To Be Baptised With New (Christian?) Name Today

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

11 January 2002

The board of Swissair's reincarnated progeny built around regional carrier Crossair is meeting today to decide on a name for the new airline; but a referendum in Zurich canton on Sunday may sound an ominous warning for the newly-baptised child. Playing the role of the evil fairy Carabosse in this production is Christian Blocher, arch-enemy of the pro-business Zurich oligarchy which has played an important role in Swissair's re-birth.

Citizens of Zurich, home to the airline's main hub, will be voting on whether they should invest SFr300m in the new Swiss flag carrier,

If Zurich, whose economic prosperity rests heavily on its airport hub, refuses to back the airline, then many smaller Swiss cantons will also refuse; and Christoph Blocher, Switzerland's leading nationalist politician, is arguing for a rejection of the investment. As seen by Mr Blocher, the rescue of Swissair has been rushed through by the FDP, the party of big business that has traditional close ties to the old Swissair and its disgraced board of directors. Mr Blocher would score a point against his old enemy by persuading Zurich to vote against the FDP's rescue plan.

The airline has more than enough money from the Swiss Government and private investors to begin operations, but a "No" vote in Sunday's referendum would raise fresh doubts over the wisdom of committing SFr4.2bn to the project. In a recent poll, only 7% of Swiss said they thought the airline has a "very good chance of survival". Even Deutsche Bank, the Swiss government's adviser, has described the affair as a high risk investment.

Now to the really interesting bit: the name! All sorts of names have been suggested, from the boring old ‘Air Switzerland’, and the even more boring‘Swiss Airlines’, to more fanciful ideas such as ‘Phoenix Air’ or even ‘Mountain Air’. But advertising executives and airline industry analysts say the new name will almost certainly have to have a national flavour.

So why not Swissair? “It’s really not clear whether or not this would work,” said Kaspar Loeb, who works for the Swiss branch of international advertising giant DDB, “It’s possible that a new airline bearing the name Swissair might become liable for the debts incurred by the old company.”

“The name is the first point of contact for potential customers,” Loeb told swissinfo, “so it is important that it explains the origin and nature of the business.” Because of this Loeb believes suggestions like ‘Swiss Airlines’ or ‘Air Switzerland’ are the most likely candidates for the new airline’s name.

“The more fanciful names like ‘Phoenix’ are not really a good solution,” explained Loeb, “because they lose all the brand power of Swissness. The term Swiss still means quality, efficiency, and punctuality, and these are all major values in the airline industry.”

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