Story ID: 
Lufthansa’s Swiss Invests in Business Aviation
By: Thomas Stocker
Caption: Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss International Airlines on Thursday took over Zurich-based Servair Private Charter for an undisclosed amount and said it will int
Word Count: 167
Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss International Airlines on Thursday took over Zurich-based Servair Private Charter for an undisclosed amount and said it will integrate the company into a new business unit called Swiss Private Aviation. The Servair staff of eight have been transferred to Swiss, as well as an undisclosed number of aircraft management contracts. Out of its managed fleet, Servair offered four aircraft for charter–a Gulfstream V and GIV, a Dassault Falcon 2000 and a Cessna Citation Excel. Swiss Private Aviation will continue offering the same scope of services as Servair, including aircraft management, executive charter, assistance in buying and selling executive aircraft, flight operations, crew selection, handling and maintenance supervision. Early next year, Swiss Private Aviation will also take over the fleet of Lufthansa Private Jet, operated up to that time by Swiss European Air Lines, which will by then number 12 aircraft. Explaining his company’s move, Swiss CEO Christoph Franz said business aviation is growing faster than the airline sector and is less prone to recession.