Wikipedia
Swissair AG/ S.A. ( German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was for many years the national airline of Switzerland.
It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero (To the Stars), in 1931. For most of its 71 years, Swissair was one of the major international airlines and known as the "Flying Bank" due to the financial stability of the airline, causing it to be regarded as a Swiss national symbol and icon. The airline thrived into the 1980s, when it was one of the "Seven Sisters" of Western European commercial aviation. It was headquartered at Zurich Airport and in Kloten.
In 1997 the Swissair Group was renamed SAirGroup (although it was again renamed Swissair Group in 2001), with four subdivisions: SAirlines (to which Swissair, Crossair, Balair and FlightLease belonged), SAirServices, SAirLogistics and SAirRelations.
Burdened by over-expansion due to the controversial “Hunter Strategy” in the late 1990s and after the economic downturn following the September 11 attacks, Swissair’s assets dramatically lost value, grounding the already-troubled airline in October 2001. The airline was kept alive until 31 March 2002 by the Swiss Federal government.
On 1 April 2002 successor airline Swiss International Air Lines was founded on the base of former Crossair, taking over most of the routes, planes and staff of the former Swissair. Today, The SAirGroup company still exists and is in the process of being liquidated. Swiss International Air Lines was taken over by the German airline Lufthansa in 2005.