Crossair - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Crossair Ltd. Co. for Regional European Air Transport was a regional airline

Airline

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg

EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg

EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is an international airport northwest of Basel , southeast of Mulhouse , and south of Freiburg . It is located in France, on the administrative territory of the commune of Saint-Louis near the Swiss and German borders...

in Saint-Louis

Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin

Saint-Louis is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.The inhabitants are called Ludoviciens.-Geography:...

, Haut-Rhin

Haut-Rhin

Haut-Rhin is a département of the Alsace region of France, named after the Rhine river. Its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departements of Alsace, although is still densely populated compared to the rest of France.-Subdivisions:The department...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, near Basel

Basel

Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. It became Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss International Air Lines AG is the principal airline of Switzerland operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Airport...

after taking over most of the assets of Swissair

Swissair

Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...

following that airline's bankruptcy in 2002.

History

Founded as a private company under the name Business Flyers Basle by Moritz Suter, it changed to Crossair on 18 November 1978, before the beginning of scheduled services on 2 July 1979 with flights from Zürich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

to Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

, Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

and Klagenfurt

Klagenfurt

-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...

. It was headquartered at Zürich International Airport

Zürich International Airport

Zurich Airport also called Kloten Airport, is located in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, and managed by Flughafen Zürich AG. It is Switzerland's largest international flight gateway and hub to Swiss International Air Lines. It is partially in Kloten, Rümlang, Oberglatt, Winkel and Opfikon...

in Kloten

Kloten

-External links:* -References:...

in 1985.

It added charter

Charter

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...

services for major shareholder Swissair

Swissair

Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...

in November 1995. On 31 March 2002, Swissair passed out of existence as most of its assets were taken over by Crossair which then changed names to Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss International Air Lines AG is the principal airline of Switzerland operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Airport...

Fleet

Crossair operated the following aircraft.

Aircraft	Total	Delivered	Retired	Notes
Piper L-4J	1	1975
Cessna 310P Cessna 310 The Cessna 310 is an American six-seat, low-wing, twin-engined monoplane that was produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engined aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II.-Development:...	1	1975
Cessna 421B Cessna 421 -See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Taylor, John W.R. . Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN 0-354-00538-3....	1	1976
Cessna 551	1	1977
Fairchild Swearingen Metro II Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....	3	1979
Fairchild Swearingen Metro II Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....	9	1980? (actual year unknown)
SAAB 340 Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a discontinued Swedish two-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by a partnership between Saab and Fairchild Aircraft in a 65:35 ratio...	34	1984	2002	flew mainly from Basel replaced by Embraer ERJ 145
Fokker 50	5	1990	1995
Fokker F27 Fokker F27 The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...	3	1984	1984
BAe 146 BAe 146 The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...	3	1990	1994
Avro RJ 85 BAe 146 The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...	4	1993	2002	named Kärpf, Piz Julier, Montchaibeux, Lindenberg
Avro RJ 100 BAe 146 The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...	16	1995	2002	all were named
Saab 2000 Saab 2000 \|-See also:-References:* Lambert, Mark. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–94. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Data Division, 1993. ISBN 0 7106 1066 1....	32	1994	2002	all were stored or sold, though what happened to one is not known was world's largest operator of the type in 2000 flown mainly from Basel replaced by Embraer ERJ 145
McDonnell Douglas MD-83	12	1979	2004	some were named, all were sold, though what happened to one is not known mostly used on larger routes from Zurich, and some from Basel
EMBRAER ERJ 145 LU	25	2000	2005? (actual year unknown)	all were named or sold used on routes from all three hubs replaced SAAB aircraft
EMBRAER ERJ 145 LR	1	2002		named Gemsstock used on routes from all three hubs replaced SAAB aircraft

Swissair leased an MD-11 to Crossair for the Zurich-Palma De Mallorca route.

Destinations

Crossair flew from Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lugano and Zurich. Crossair was very interested in serving from several hubs and, therefore set up a multi-hub business plan. Crossair set up a Eurocross scheme from their Basel base which was set up to help them serve smaller airports and transfer their passengers to larger hubs with short transit times (only 20 minutes!) This helped Crossair link with their partners, such as Swissair from Zurich. Crossair also operated flights between Swiss airports.

Crossair Services

Crossair operated a high standard of service towards their passengers. Even on their short 20 minute flights, Crossair would offer their passengers a selection of drinks and high quality snacks. These included: Orange juice, Champagne and Water. All drinks and snacks were free of charge. Crossair also operated Business and Economy class flights and their business class passengers would have access to special services, such as airport lounges and priority luggage services. Crossair's luggage policy was very "passengers friendly". Passengers could take with them up to 30 kilos of hold luggage with them and 5 kilos of hand luggage

Hand luggage

Hand luggage or cabin baggage is the type of luggage that passengers are allowed to carry along in the passenger compartment of a vehicle instead of moving to the cargo compartment...

. Crossair would also help their passengers further by offering them a 'delivery at aircraft door' service. This is where passengers could leave heavy or large items of hand luggage at the aircraft stairs and then collect them their again on arrival. For passengers needing special assistance, such as wheelchair or UM passengers, Crossair would assist them, by offering them priority boarding and assistance at the airport.

Incidents and accidents

On 10 January 2000, Crossair Flight 498
Crossair Flight 498
Crossair Flight LX498 was a commuter flight from Zurich, Switzerland to Dresden, Germany that crashed two minutes after takeoff in the Swiss municipality of Niederhasli on 10 January 2000. The seven passengers and three crewmembers aboard the two-turboprop engine Saab 340 aircraft all died on...

crashed just after take-off in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

. All 10 people aboard were killed.
On 24 November 2001, Crossair Flight 3597
Crossair Flight 3597
Crossair Flight LX 3597 was an Avro RJ100 regional airliner, registration HB-IXM, on a scheduled flight from Berlin, Germany to Zurich, Switzerland that crashed during its approach to land at Zurich Airport on 24 November 2001...

crashed near Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

, killing 24 of 33 people aboard, including the famous La Bouche
La Bouche
La Bouche was a Eurodance/Dance-pop duo formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1994, originally consisting of Melanie Thornton and Lane McCray, scoring two major worldwide hits in the mid-1990s with "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams"....

singer Melanie Thornton
Melanie Thornton
Melanie Janene Thornton was an American pop singer who found fame in Germany and fronted the Eurodance group La Bouche, who found success with the singles "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams" in the mid-1990s. She forged a moderately successful solo career in Germany before her death...

and 2 of the 3 girls from German eurodance group Passion Fruit
Passion Fruit (band)
Passion Fruit was a Eurodance/bubblegum dance group consisting of three girls of German, Spanish and Dutch descent:*Maria Serrano Serrano *Nathaly van het Ende...

. One survived along with 8 other passengers, and suffered minor injuries and 3rd degree burns.
On 10 July 2002, Crossair Flight 850
Crossair Flight 850
Crossair Flight 850 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Basle, Switzerland, to Hamburg, Germany. On 10 July 2002, the flight was unable to land at Fuhlsbüttel Airport due to weather. Attempts were made to divert to other airports at Berlin and Eberswalde before the crew decided to...

made an emergency landing at Werneuchen Airfield, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair when it hit an earth bank placed across the runway, the markings of which did not conform to standards.

Head office

Crossair was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg