SWISS to withdraw its last Saab 2000s

29.10.2005

The Saab 2000 era at Swiss International Air Lines will draw to a close on Saturday, October 29 with the arrival in Basel of flight LX 2167 from Palma de Mallorca. The regional turboprop has been in service with SWISS and its predecessor Crossair for over eleven years, notching up more than 500 000 takeoffs and landings. The seven remaining Saab 2000s in the SWISS aircraft fleet are being withdrawn with the end of the 2005 summer schedules.

It was back in August 1994 that Crossair, the predecessor to SWISS, took delivery of its first Saab 2000. Crossair was also the launch customer for the new aircraft type. For over eleven years since, the Saab 2000 has proved its high reliability in day-to-day flight operations. The 50-seater aircraft is especially renowned for its combination of engine and propeller technology, which enables this turboprop to reach almost jet-aircraft speeds. It is also the only regional aircraft in the world that offers a window view from its toilet facility.

Crossair took delivery of its final Saab 2000 in 1999, when the fleet reached its maximum size of 34 aircraft. SWISS has continued to operate seven Saab 2000s to and from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg during the 2005 summer timetable period. But the company decided this August to operate an all-Avro-RJ regional fleet from the start of the 2006 summer schedules. In a first move towards this streamlined fleet structure, the remaining Saab 2000s are thus being withdrawn with the cutover to the 2005/06 winter timetable period.

In their over eleven years of service, the Crossair/SWISS Saab 2000 fleet accumulated around 557 000 flight hours and performed some 550 000 takeoffs and landings.