New Route of the Day (8 October 2021): Edelweiss between Zurich and Tanzania

SWISS subsidiary Edelweiss (IATA code WK) began a new service involving two destinations in Tanzania on Friday 8 October with the introduction of service from Zurich to Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar, operated as a triangle route. The inaugural service (flight number WK 76 operated by an Airbus A340-300, registration HB-JMG) departed Zurich at 23:10 and touched down in Kilimanjaro seven hours and 41 minutes later at 07:51, the following day, local time. It then departed Kilimanjaro at 10:06 and reached Zanzibar 47 minutes later at 10:53. At 12:15 the aircraft left Zanzibar and headed back to Switzerland, arriving back in Zurich at 19:36 local time, after a flight of eight hours and 21 minutes. Initially the service is set to operate just weekly.

Fleet of 14 including four long-haul aircraft

Edelweiss operates a fleet of 14 aircraft according to planespotters.net; four A340-300s and 10 A320s. Until 2008 it was the leisure airline of Kuoni Travel before being acquired by SWISS. Prior to the pandemic it operated non-stop service to almost 70 destinations from Zurich, including 10 winter-only routes. This August, according to Cirium Data and Analytics schedule information, it operated at least daily service to nine destinations; Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Ibiza, Larnaca, Mykonos, Palma de Mallorca, Pristina, Rhodes and Tenerife TFS.

The highest frequency routes in November are set to be 8-weekly service to Gran Canaria, Hurghada and Tenerife TFS. This winter will see the resumption of more long-haul services plus a new service to Liberia in Costa Rica starting on 28 November.