Crossair Europe


Crossair Europe was an airline headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport [Basel Mulhouse Freiburg] in Saint-Louis, Haut Rhin, France, near Basel, Switzerland. It operated scheduled services to destinations in Italy and France.

History

In 1998, Crossair launched Crossair Europe, as a subsidiary airline, operating flights from the French side of EuroAirport to circumvent challenges of European Union restrictions on Swiss air traffic and routes. Initial flights were offered to Marseilles, Milan and Venice, starting in April 1998. Swissair held a majority stake of 60% in the new airline, whilst Crossair retained 40%. Initially Crossair Europe operated dry-lease Saab 340B aircraft, later moving to the larger Saab 2000 models. The airline helped boost Crossair's 1998 passenger total to a record 4.43 million. In combination with Crossair, Swissair boosted destinations served from Basel to 71 in 2000.
When Swissair became Swiss International Airlines, Crossair Europe remained owned by the new airline as the 99.9% shareholder. In March 2005 it was announced that Crossair Europe would be closed by the end of the month and their routes were taken over by Swiss.

Livery

Crossair Europe utilized a similar livery to Crossair, predominantly white aircraft with red and blue icons across the fuselage. The tailfin however, retained the red of the Swiss national flag, but replaced with a white arrow, with a European Union star circle behind. The airline also later utilized planes with a "Eurocross" branding across the fuselage, with the European Union flag given prominence on the tail.

Fleet

During its eight-year existence, Crossair Europe operated the following aircraft:
AircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredNotes
Saab 340B319982005
Saab 2000120042005Operated for Swiss International Air Lines.