Aircraft Maintenance Technology

APR 2017

The aircraft maintenance professional's source for technological advancements, maintenance alerts, news, articles, events, and careers

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www.AviationPros.com 55 The MD-11, for which Swissair had been a launch customer, was used initially, but was not an ideal choice and beginning in June 2003, SWISS began to replace them with A340-300s, creating a fleet that peaked at 15 aircraft. The A330-200s were also replaced with A330-300s, which provided more seats at a similar operating cost. In Europe, the regional jets and turboprops disappeared, the A320 group was tweaked and the Avros soldiered on. THE SEARCH FOR A REPLACEMENT — WITH LONDON CITY CAPABILITY But these Avros had accumulated quite a few cycles — one was over 20 years old. They were also an older technology and were somewhat fuel thirsty; yet they remained because they had a vital capability — the ability to operate from London's City Airport (LCY). Nonetheless, the search for a replacement was undertaken and, after considerable research SWISS and the Lufthansa Group opted for the still-in-development Bombardier C Series (CS100). The aircraft offered the necessary range/ payload requirements and, most importantly, could operate from LCY. The commitment to the C Series has had some challenging moments as the aircraft fell far behind schedule and financing wore thin. The folks at SWISS were candid in their worries as to whether or not the aircraft would a) ever come to be and b) live up to promised specifications. Yet now, as the number of aircraft in service continues to grow, the wait and the investment appear to have been vindicated. THE FIRST commercial flight of the C series ferried Star Alliance CEOs and journalists from Dublin to Zurich. SWISS

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