The flights from Geneva to New York are lucrative for the Swiss Lufthansa subsidiary. But now it faces competition from Delta on the Geneva – New York-JFK route.
It’s a traditional connection. In 1947, Swissair began flights between Geneva and New York. When she announced in 1996 that she was giving up all her long-haul flights from the city in western Switzerland, she caused a huge uproar in French-speaking Switzerland. The route to the east coast metropolis was the only one to survive at the time.
This is not a wonder. Geneva and New York are both major United Nations headquarters. The proportion of business guests who sometimes book at very short notice and pay very high ticket prices is correspondingly high.
Attractive clientele
And so Swissair’s successor, Swiss, kept the flights between Geneva and New York-JFK on offer. During the pandemic, the route was temporarily suspended and some in western Switzerland feared the flights would not be returning. But Swiss has been operating the route again for a year. She flies back and forth between the two cities every day in an Airbus A330.
But now Star Alliance member Swiss is getting competition from the Skyteam alliance. Delta Air Lines has decided to also offer daily Geneva-New York-JFK flights starting April 10, 2023. On the route, the American airline uses Boeing 767-400s with a converted cabin with the classes Business, Premium Economy and Economy as well as Economy Plus.
Second Star Alliance flight
Delta last served the Geneva route with New York-JFK in 1993. However, Star Alliance is represented a second time between the two cities. United serves Geneva from New York-Newark.