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Home | Update | LATEST ISSUE | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 3/98 CROSSAIR ENTERS THE EU THROUGH NEW COMPANY by Heiko Reuter 6 December 1992, a fateful date for Switzerland. It's citizens had to decide, whether the small Alpine republic was going to join the EEC. In the run up to the referendum many industrialists warned, that a negative decision was going to push the country into economical isolation. However, these warnings were not heeded. The many Euro-sceptics were not to be convinced. And on that day the Swiss, who were in favour of Europe, had to experience their own Waterloo. The vote against the EU has fatal consequences especially for the Swiss airlines. Swiss carriers are excluded. While German, French or Italian competitors are able to act almost at will in the by now entirely liberalised EU market, Swissair, Crossair and Air Engiadina have to get involved in inconvenient negotiations with the authorities of the target countries over the rights over certain routes the way they had to in the old times. Some of the new liberties are completely out of the question. Kabotage - connections between EU home destinations, for example the route Paris-Marseilles is out of bounds to any Swiss airline. Even investing in majority stakes in EU airlines is forbidden. Now Swiss carriers are trying their luck by buying big shares in airlines - very often close to the 50 per cent limit. There is Swissair for example : After taking over 49.5 per cent of the Belgian based carrier Sabena, this traditional airline is currently negotiating to buy up a big chunk of the Italian newcomer Air One. The Swissair daughter Crossair has come up with a very clever ploy. In order to avoid isolation for which it is entirely blameless, the Regio-Carrier has created a daughter airline based in France and following French law, because France is a fully fledged member of the EEC. The clever Swiss maintain : the creation is being sold under the name of "Airline for the Alsace". It is stated that the aim of this ambitiously named airline "Europe Continental Airways" is to link the Alsace with the rapidly growing European regional air traffic. Home base is the French part of the Euro-Airport Basle-Mulhouse-Freiburg - Crossair's base. Insiders reckon that the talk about Alsace is just a pretext to get a foot in the door and have access to the EU air transport market. Even Crossair boss Moritz Suter admits that the new creation is acting as a bridgehead. The Europe Continental Airways is really a traditionally set up. 30 per cent of the FF20 million registered capital (6.7 million DM) are in the hand of German investors. A quarter is held by the German industrialist Friedrich von Bohlen und Halbach.French investors hold a 30 per cent share. Crossair herself holds the maximum of shares with 40 per cent. Nomen est omen: The new airline has been re-named into Crossair Europe, in order to profit from the good image of the Crossair trademark. It is going to start very small. At the end of March it is going to start operations with two leased Saab-340 Turboprops belonging to the mother company. For the remainder of the year Crossair Europe is estimating a turnover of 14 million DM transporting 44,000 passengers. Only a two douzen people are being employed. It is not meant to stay like this forever. Company Secretary Philip Perrin de Nelle states, "We want to conquer all of Europe". By winter a Boeing MD-83 is will be added by the mother airline. Insiders think it possible that Crossair routes will go piecemeal to the French subsiduary. Especially since Crossair Europe employees are given French work contracts. "Fixed costs and salaries are higher in Switzerland," an employee adds. However, Crossair Europe president Gilbert Leiber rejects plans of cannibalisation categorically, "We are predominantly aiming for new routes." Last year Crossair had to ground a lot of its Italian services because of grave difficulties with the Italian air transport authorities. And now Milan and Venice are destinations of the European subsidiary, as well as Marseille. According to managerial wishes, the Ciampino Airport in Rome is going to be added in September. Expansion of routes in Eastern Europe will follow later on. The Crossair network still has a lot of gaps in that region. The desired targets include Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia is as much as de Nelle will give away. He would also like to fly to Germany. However, in a few years the fuss around Crossair Europe will possibly be regarded as little more than hype. From page 26 of FLUG REVUE 3/98 Home | Update | LATEST ISSUE | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 3/98 Copyright 1998 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved. Last updated February 5, 1998 FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany