Switzerland national flag carrier SWISS plans to resume its prestigious Geneva to New York flights on select days of the week starting mid-December 2021. In a statement released on September 22, 2021, the Zurich Airport (ZRH)-based airline says it plans to increase its winter schedule in the run-up until Christmas.

During the vital winter ski season, SWISS says it will increase its schedule based on demand. Although the ongoing COVID-19 medical emergency has reduced air travel, SWISS says it plans to operate at least half the number of flights it had for the same period in 2019.

SWISS aims to keep Switzerland connected

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) says that despite the continuing and still-changeable travel restrictions, SWISS will offer a wide range of flights in its coming winter 2021/2022 schedule. The plan is to ensure that Switzerland remains connected to Europe and the rest of the world with frequent, reliable flights.

When speaking about its winter schedule and the return of Genève Aéroport (GVA) to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), flights SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour stated:

“We have crafted our schedules for the coming winter timetable period to give our customers the widest possible range of air services and connections while still maintaining a robust and reliable route network. Of the 92 aircraft that make up the SWISS fleet, our winter schedules will see us operating up to 47 short-haul transports plus four aircraft of our wet lease partner Helvetic Airways, along with 22 long-haul aircraft.”

An extensive schedule with fewer frequencies

According to SWISS, its 2021/2022 winter schedule will be as extensive as it was pre-pandemic in 2019, albeit with fewer frequencies. In total, SWISS will offer 81 destinations from the financial center of Zurich and 26 from the global diplomatic hub of Geneva. In a nutshell, SWISS plans to fly to all the cities it served during the winter of 2019 but with around 50% less capacity.

Of the flights from Zurich Airport (ZRH), SWISS will operate flights to 60 short-haul destinations and 21 long-haul destinations during the winter months. The most frequencies out of Zurich will be flights to the European cities of Belgrade, Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Kyiv, Lisbon, London, Malaga, and Stockholm. Critical long-haul destinations will include flights to Chicago, Miami, New York, São Paulo, Dubai, Johannesburg, and Tel Aviv.

SWISS also plans to continue flights to popular summer destinations such as Alicante, Malta, Marseille, Palermo, and Thessaloniki during the coming winter. Sarajevo and Tallinn will also receive SWISS scheduled flights, as will the Albanian capital of Tirana, for which SWISS took over service this summer from its sister airline Edelweiss.

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SWISS flights from Geneva

Regarding SWISS flights from Geneva, the airline plans to serve 25 destinations in Europe, of which the most frequent will be to Athens, Lisbon, and Porto. Other destinations served during the summer that SWISS plans to continue flying to include Madeira, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife, and the all-important Geneva to New York route. Regarding the GVA to JFK flights, SWISS says it plans to offer four flights per week starting from December 14, 2021.

With an emphasis on winter sports, SWISS will introduce non-stop flights to the Danish capital of Copenhagen and several cities within the United Kingdom.

SWISS says it will publish its 2021/2022 winter schedule in two stages for greater flexibility. Flights operating up to January 16, 2022, will be posted on September 22, 2021. Flights operating from mid-January 2022 until March 2022 will be published in October 2021.

What do you think about the SWISS winter 2021/2022 schedule? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments.