Figaro

I have tickets for an October Swissair flight <BR>from Boston to Madrid and return. According to the Int. Heral Tribune, Swissair is seeking bankruptcy protection. To fly or not to fly? Afraid return trip might be canceled!

Mike

We have Swissair tickets to Rome in two weeks, return two weeks after that...what would the pros do? what can you do? The timing of this trip is crucial...the event that brings it about will not be rescheduled...As of a few hours ago Swissair will not guarantee this week's flights...any sage advice will be deeply appreciated.. <BR>Mike

s.fowler

It's complicated -- here is this morning's BBC story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/bus...00/1574658.stm

s.fowler

The crisis has deepend. Read the updated story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/bus...00/1574658.stm <BR> <BR>This affects us as we have loads of swissair miles and were planning to use swissair to get to Zurich this winter. Hopefully something will be figured out in the next few days. If they fold I'll miss the stewards

Beth

Had not heard Swissair was going bankrupt but did hear THIS morning that as of this weekend Swissair is stopping all service to Chicago and O'Hare airport, the same with Virgin Atlantic. I ahave always wondered whay would happen if you had tickets for swissair say next month, would they pay for another airlines ticket? Woulld they just give you a refund, which doesn't necessarily help if you can't get another ticket at that price on short notice and what if you already have all of you hotel resi etc. in Europe.

s.fowler

Ouch re: Chicago -- that's *my* airport <BR>Here's the url for swissairs new releases: http://srapps.swissair.com/srpress/news.po

Phil

Well, it is complicated: <BR> <BR>Swissair's holding company SAirGroup has liabilities in excess of 15 billion Swiss francs (about $10 billion) and will have to seek for the Swiss equivalent of chapter 11 protection (as far as I understand). <BR> <BR>UBS and CS have agreed to purchase the 70% of Crossair' stock (the Swiss regional carrier, which is relatively healthy) held by SAirGroup to keep Crossair operative. SAirGroup has agreed to hand over its airline operations to Crossair starting on October 28 at the latest. <BR> <BR>Most of the remaining SAirGroup companies will seek protection from its creditors, try to reorganise or be liquidated. <BR> <BR>It is planned to fire 1/3 of Swissair's flying personnel, the remainder being hired by Crossair. About one third of Swissair's planes will be sold. Operations will be trimmed, especially intercontinental flights which operate on a deficit. <BR> <BR>So far for the theory. As of today 1 p.m. Swiss time, 2 Swissair planes are being held at Heathrow airport because of delayed payment of landing fees and BP and Shell have refused to provide Swissair with fuel because of unpaid fuel bills in excess of 10 million francs. <BR> <BR>Crossair flights appear to operate regularly. <BR> <BR>I would suggest to Figaro and Mike to change their reservations. <BR> <BR>All this mess has been brought about by the reckless and ruinous "hunter" strategy pursued by former CEO Bruggisser, who acquired participations in many shaky airlines throughout the continent. His aim was to create Europe's 4th largest airline (!!). This man was left unchecked for 4 years and succeeded in bringing Swissair down. <BR> <BR>Hopefully, Crossair's staff will be able to take over the operation and turn it into a success. <BR> <BR>Phil.

ingrid

For what it's worth: I had a similar experience with Frontier (???) a couple of years ago. There were discussions about them going bankrupt, cahpter 11, chapter 7, etc, I kept on calling once it seemed clear that they'd go bankrupt, asking them for a refund with them telling me that they'd be flying, and telling me that while they were under bankruptcy protection they were under no obligation to cancel my tickets and reimburse me. Fortunately, I booked flights on another airline (because we, too, had hotel reservations). I kept on monitoring them and calling them up --- which was hard since their lines became increasingly busy, and finally requested from a supervisor to immediately refund the price for the tickets. For whatever reason this was done, unlike for people who had paid cash for their tickets. I would suggest to call your local consumer protection agency. <BR>In the case of Swissair, perhaps another airline will accept their ticket. Honestly, I can't imagine that Swissair will go completely out of business. The Swiss govt. will bail them out, but you may not want to wait that long.

Figaro

It doesn't look good. All calls to Swissair are re-routed to Australia! They claim nothing is wrong and bankruptcy a rumor! Playing it safe and going Boston to Madrid on KLM via Amsterdam. They allow you a 24-hour layover.

Phil

All Swissair planes have been grounded this afternoon until further notice. <BR> <BR>Phil.

ilene

I had the misfortune of having tickets to fly on Tower Air a couple of years ago. I happened to notice a tiny article in the Times (3 sentences) a few weeks before the trip saying that the company was filing Ch. 11 protection. (Side note: In many cases, such an action would not affect ticketholders as the company would continue to operate but under the supervision of the bankruptcy court.) However, my gut instinct was that I did not want to fly on an airline that was trying to cut costs. The situation got worse as our trip approached because it became more and more difficult to get anyone on the phone and the airline began to cut flights. THe day before we were leaving the airline was flying one flight a week back to the states from Puerto Rico. Cost was an issue for us and we didn't want to be stuck in PR paying $400 a night for a hotel for an extra week. <BR>We also received conflicting information depending on whom we got on the phone. To make a long story short, we cancelled our tickets by phone (which we were told we could do but were still nervous as the company did not seem to have a definite policy) and then sent our used tickets back to Tower (don't forget to make a copy). We then sought a refund through our credit card companies with which we purchased the tickets. I got all my money back after following the procedures of my credit card company which included filing a disputed charges report. Moral of the story - seek a refund through your credit card company and not from the bankrupt airline. Chase, Am Ex or whom ever has a lot more power as a creditor than you do as an individual. Also sometimes credit card companies will give you a credit even if they aren't reimbursedin order to keep you as a customer. You will probably need to send in your tickets if you have paper tickets. Make copies of the tickets and document everything. Good luck.

wes fowler

Prospective passengers on Belgium's Sabena Airlines should be concerned as well as those Swissair fliers. Swissair owns 49.5% of Sabena, an airline that has experienced severe financial problems in the past few years. Swissair's filing for bankruptcy protection will adversely affect Sabena, no doubt driving it into bankruptcy as well.

matt

Have any of you checked with American Airlines (part of the 'One World Alliance' with Swissair) to see if they would honor your Swissair's tickets ? Or also, any of the other airlines which are participants of this frequent flyer program? What about Sabena planes? Or check with British Airways.

Bob Brown

All flights of Swiss Air have been stopped as of today. <BR>I wonder if Delta will continue to fly to Zürich?? <BR>

s.fowler

American may be your only recourse as Sabena is shaky as a result of this shutdown. <BR> <BR>This is from the BBC article -- "The company said it was not in a position to pay compensation." <BR> <BR>The news release on their own site: www.swissair.com emphasizes the lost jobs -- my bet is that something will happen -- but not immediately.

Mika

To Mike: I hope you got your tickents for Swissair though a travel agent and not directly from Swissair. Then you have a chance if you want to change them.

dodger

Just read in CNN financial news that all flights have been cancelled and no refunds are being made on tickets purchased.

cruise ships lookin good

- <BR>Bad news. Not only has Swissair shut down, but may end up taking down Sabena with them. See portion of article, per Reuters. <BR> <BR>----------------- <BR>----------------- <BR>Tuesday October 2, 04:12 PM <BR> <BR>Swissair stops flying as cash runs out <BR>By Marcel Michelson <BR> <BR>ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss airline Swissair has stopped flying after what little cash it had left ran out, fuel supplies dried up and airports insisted on prompt payment of landing fees. <BR> <BR>"Despite intensive talks during the entire day, it was not possible to secure the liquidity necessary for the daily business and safe operations," Swissair said in a statement on Tuesday. <BR> <BR>The unprecedented, indefinite halt in Swissair's operations highlighted the immense depth of the financial crisis at the once-proud Swiss flag carrier, which on Monday was promised a hastily arranged 1.4 billion franc (590 million pound) cash infusion from Switzerland's two leading banks. <BR> <BR>Swissair said the suspension of operations would put even more jobs at risk than the 2,650 redundancies announced as part of the drastic restructuring programme that was designed to save part of the collapsed group's airline activities. <BR> <BR>At Zurich airport, the airline's home base, a message over the loudspeakers told hundreds of stranded passengers they would not be compensated for their now apparently worthless Swissair tickets and advised them to buy new tickets elsewhere. <BR> <BR>Swissair Group's finances, already stretched to the limit by a failed expansion strategy, had melted down after the September 11 airline attacks in the United States prompted a drastic fall in air traffic around the world. <BR> <BR>"The employees are very worried because nobody knows who will be in the parts that file for creditor protection and who will go to Crossair," Richard Dunkel, chairman of the Personal Union SAir Holding (PUSH), told Reuters on Tuesday. <BR> <BR>William Gaillard, spokesman for the International Air Transport Association (IATA), agreed that Switzerland, a country of 7.2 million people, needed efficient air transport. <BR> <BR>"They were always at the forefront of quality. The demise of such a company is obviously a shock to everyone," he said, noting that Swissair had been deeply in debt long before the September 11 suicide attacks put the last nail in its coffin. <BR> <BR>Swissair's woes also had immediate repercussions for other airlines. It earlier halted all flights to Brussels out of fears of a repeat action by employees at its equally troubled affiliate Sabena, which earlier this year grounded one of the company's jets in an attempt to force Swissair -- a 49.5 percent shareholder -- to pay up for its own rescue plan. <BR> <BR>Swissair Group Chairman Mario Corti told Belgium's Prime Minister on Monday that fresh cash due to Sabena would not be paid. That could spell the end for Sabena, which Swissair jointly owns with the Belgian government. <BR> <BR>Brussels responded immediately, threatening legal action against Swissair and possibly UBS and Credit Suisse. The Belgian government was exploring possibilities ranging from bridge financing to bankruptcy protection to keep Sabena flying. <BR> <BR>

BTilke

I've got a flight to Nuremberg from Brussels coming up (a free flight, no less, bought with FF miles--better use them now before they become worthless); part of the return is on Crossair. Hopefully a) I'll be able to leave and b) I won't get stranded in Zurich airport on the way back if Sabena shuts down (Crossair takes me from Nuremberg to Zurich for a plane change to Brussels). <BR>As a frequent Sabena flyer, I feel bad that Swissair hemorrhaged so much money helping Sabena upgrade its fleet dramatically. I like flying Sabena, actually, as their planes are pretty new and the staff has been quite pleasant on my last half dozen flights. Swissair has been pleasant, too. What a shame to see these airlines go down financially. Oh well, at least I can take the Thalys from Brussels to Geneva. <BR>BTilke

Figaro

When I called Swissair yesterday, not only did they deny bankruptcy, but they were prepared to ticket passengers! What were they doing, taking in as much money as possible while knowing they would not be flying? Some way of doing business!