Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is planning to launch a new seasonal service between London Heathrow and Sion in February 2017, according to an online report by ITCM.
As per the plan, SWISS will operate three round trip flights to Sion Airport to serve skiers during the busy holiday period in February. Sion Airport is located near the largest Swiss ski resorts of Verbier, Les 4 Vallees, Crans-Montana, Saas Fee and Zermatt, and SWISS offers a shorter transfer time to the resorts, between 1 and 1.5 hours.
SWISS’ Director for UK and Ireland, Felix Rodel, said: ‘We are delighted to be offering a new seasonal service in the Swiss Valais region that transports our passengers directly into the Swiss mountains and popular ski destinations. We hope the introduction of this service will provide our customers with a convenient and affordable way to visit the many beautiful regions of Switzerland during the peak winter season.’
Currently, SWISS operates up to 59 flights per week from London to Geneva during the winter period. The airline transports the first set of ski or snowboard equipment and boots free of charge in addition to the standard free baggage allowance for passengers. SWISS will likely add Sion to its UK to Switzerland network in the future, the report said.
Direct air links between the UK and the Red Sea resort have been suspended since the terrorist attack of a Russian charter flight killing all 224 people on board following its departure from the airport at Sharm el Sheikh. Following a travel advice by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office in November 2015, all UK airlines suspended their flights to Sharm el Sheikh.
Operated using a 144-seat Boeing 737-800 in a two class configuration, the Luxor service from Heathrow is available for booking with return fares starting at £380, the report noted.
