Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), the national airline of Switzerland, has become the world’s first airline to offer commercial flights with the Bombardier C Series aircraft to and from London City Airport.
The sophisticated short- and medium-haul Bombardier CS100 will operate SWISS’s scheduled services to and from London City. Accordingly, the first commercial SWISS Bombardier CS100 flight to London City Airport arrived from Zurich at 17:47 (local time London) on August 8. SWISS will also use its Bombardier C Series aircraft on its Geneva-London City route starting next summer.
Commenting on the new service, Richard Hill, Chief Commercial Officer, London City Airport, said: ‘The inaugural commercial flight of the Bombardier C Series by Swiss International Air Lines is a landmark moment for London City Airport, and it is a pleasure to welcome the first passengers and crew from Zurich, following five years of preparation.’
‘This next-generation aircraft is one of the quietest in operation, with greater fuel efficiency and longer range, setting a new standard for SWISS operations and London City,’ he added.
With its short runway and its steep landing approach, pilots are required to undergo additional training for such operations at London City Airport. In addition, the aircraft itself is to be certificated to perform the steep landing approach at London City. The aircraft’s manufacturer, Bombardier of Montreal, Canada, obtained this in April of this year.
‘We have prepared our pilots down to the finest detail to perform our new scheduled Bombardier C Series flights to London City,’ said Peter Koch, SWISS’s C Series Fleet Chief. ‘And we’re delighted that we can now offer all the many attractions of the C Series, in inflight comfort and more, on this important route.’
SWISS is shifting to its C Series aircraft mainly to replace its Avro RJs, which were used to commence scheduled services to and from London City 25 years ago. The last commercial SWISS Avro RJ100 flight will be from Zurich to London City and back on Monday, August 14, the airline said.
