Swiss widens global network

Washington, Seoul, Toronto – these three destinations are now standing on the flight schedule of Swiss International Air Lines. While the first flight to Washington took place on 28MAR24, Seoul and Toronto followed on 07MAY and 10MAY, respectively. The three new routes are of great interest not only to passengers, but also to cargo customers.

Swiss WorldCargo has added three new intercontinental routes to its global network – company courtesy

This is evidenced when taking a closer look at the sector Seoul – Zurich. Until now, Korean Air has offered three rotations per week on this high-demand route. For freight forwarders and shippers, the offered transport capacity has now doubled, as Swiss also operates the route thrice weekly. The carrier deploys an Airbus A330-300, which can carry around 18 tons per take-off in its lower deck compartments. “This new route between Zurich and Seoul was a missing link in our network,” emphasized Markus Blinkert, Chief Financial Officer of Swiss, during a press conference at the Swiss Embassy in downtown Seoul on the occasion of the launching flight. “Swiss has been looking into connecting both countries for years, but it was only during the pandemic, when we started transporting urgently needed goods between the two nations, which sparked the scheduled flights now introduced,” said the manager.

Setting its footprint in a dynamic Asian market
From an air freight perspective, products from the electronics industry are of particular interest on this route. Seoul and the surrounding area have developed into an internationally acknowledged production center for high-tech products. Swiss WorldCargo’s Head of Cargo, Lorenzo Stoll, also refers to the region’s special economic dynamic catapulting the Korean market up front: “Uniting one of Asia’s thriving hubs with the epicenter of Europe, underscores our dedication to bridging gaps and fortifying trade lanes between flourishing markets. With the launch of Swiss WorldCargo’s operations in Seoul, we empower our clients with reliable, streamlined, and top-tier services across diverse sectors in the region.”

Simultaneously, the Helvetic industry also benefits from the new flight offer, as there is a strong demand in Korea for goods ‘Made in Switzerland’.

Toronto welcomes Swiss…
In the opposite direction, i.e. westbound routes, the services to Toronto are a welcome addition to the existing network across the North Atlantic. The inaugural YYZ flight took place on 10MAY and is offered five times a week. Like the ZRH-ICN flights, an Airbus A330-300 passenger aircraft with identical capacity for air freight in its lower deck compartments, is operated between ZRH and YYZ. This is the third route to Canada after Montreal, which also includes triangular flights between Zurich, San Francisco, and Vancouver.

The Toronto route solidifies Swiss’ network in North America, which stretches from Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York Newark to Los Angeles and San Francisco in California. It also plays a crucial role in serving diverse industries in the Canadian Ontario region, such as manufacturing, technology, automotive, and notably, pharmaceutical and healthcare, states a press release.

“Toronto has emerged as a critical hub in technology, automotive, and healthcare,” said Lorenzo Stoll, Head of Cargo at Swiss on the occasion of the inaugural flight. “By linking this city with our extensive network, we aim to nurture strong economic ties with the Ontario region, by providing our customers in the area with seamless logistics solutions for the transport of their care-intensive and temperature-sensitive cargo particularly in the pharmaceutical sector.”

… so does Washington D.C.
High-value goods, sophisticated technology equipment, and pharmaceuticals, also stand on top of the items traveling on board Swiss’ A330-300 aircraft between Zurich and Washington, D.C. This service was launched on 28MAR and is offered to passengers and cargo customers daily. The District of Columbia and the neighboring areas have developed into an international hotspot for pharma and biotechnological production, which is at the same time a call to action for Swiss WorldCargo that has extensive experience in handling and caring for these demanding items.

Customers can choose from a tailored range of solutions fitting their transport needs best. These include various cooling options, add-on services such as home-delivery services or the utilization of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for the air transport of their goods.

This customization of shipments is also an appeal to the industry to join the airline in limiting climate change through its own commitment. This applies not only to the Washington flights, but to the entire network serviced by Swiss International Air Lines worldwide.

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