Migros has been making a push to encourage electric cars on the Swiss market
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 200m2 Migros m-way store opens at rue de Lausanne 54 in Geneva today, near the Cornavin station, in the same historic registered building that houses the Brazilian Mission.
It’s the first electric mobility shop for Migros in French-speaking Switzerland, and to make sure the public beats a path to it the store is offering 25 percent off on everything except cars to customers who spend CHF1,000 or more.
M-way is the public face of Migros’s push to encourage green energy and the shop sells electric scooters, bikes but also electric cars and home charging stations plus all the other accoutrements of a life that includes electric vehicles.
Summer, Grimsel Pass, Alpmobil partnering with Migros for silent, less polluting electric cars
The company is extending its programme of charging stations, and it’s been active in working with Alpine resorts to introduce fleets of electric cars for tourists, to reduce pollution in the mountains.
More evening trains on weekends on the newly renovated track 1 out of Geneva
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Check your train schedules carefully in the next few weeks if you’re used to stopping at either Cointrin or Vernier-Meyrin on the Geneva-La Plaine route, for both are changing their names.
The stops’ new names go into effect with the new CFF Swiss rail schedule 11 December.
Cointrin will in future be called Vernier and Vernier-Meyrin will be called Meyrin, at the request of the canton.
One of the reasons behind the change is to avoid confusion on the part of travelers heading for Geneva Airport, which used to be called Cointrin Airport.
It changed its name officially to Genève Aéroport in April 2011.
Other changes for Geneva travelers:
- a fast train from La Plaine to Geneva will be added in the morning, when the trains carry students heading to school, leaving at 07:11 and arriving at 07:26
- the Coppet-Lancy-Pont Rouge line will run every 30 minutes until the trains stop for the night, on Fridays and Saturdays.
More on the 2011 train schedule changes, including improved service for some communes on the Lausanne-Geneva line.
Geneva Cointrin Airport's new mobile terminal
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Cointrin Airport in Geneva inaugurated its trial mobile check-in desk Wednesday 9 February, to meet unexpected or sudden increases in traffic due to delays or other problems.
The new unit is easy to assemble and take apart, so it can be moved around the airport relatively quickly.
The new, heated unit is currently on the city side of the airport, on the departures level. It will be tested for the rest of the winter season, but will be taken down by 31 May at the latest, according to the federal permit it has been given.
Heated, with a metallic outside, the new mobile terminal has all the connections of an annex to the main Geneva airport terminal
Winter, the airport’s busiest season, is the time of greatest unpredictability and therefore the risk is highest that passenger traffic will hit snags.
Loading Easyjet bags at Geneva's Cointrin Airport
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) -Geneva’s Cointrin International Airport posted a record number of passengers in 2010 despite discouraging factors such as economic gloom, skies gray with ash, runways thick with snow, strikes in neighbouring countries and even overweight planes. Some 11.9 million passengers used the airport, a 4.9 percent increase, and cargo traffic rose by nearly 33 percent to some 560 million tons.
The increases are surprising given both the many constraints and the small increase in the number of flights, up 2.74 percent, from 172,671 flights in 2009 to 177,400 in 2010.
Easyjet easily largest Geneva airline
Easyjet was the heavyweight at the airport in 2010, with 36 percent of the traffic, while Swiss was number two with 15 percent. Easyjet’s passenger traffic grew by 8.38 percent while Swiss traffic rose by 21.98 percent, reflecting the company’s commitment to build better routes for Geneva passengers.
Easyjet has been in the news for the past three days as the story has made media rounds about a December flight from Birmingham to Geneva, delayed while the staff worked to convince the 30-plus last passengers to board that they had to leave the plane because it was too heavy to take off. Some media have reported that they were threatened with arrest if they refused to leave the plane.
How airplanes are weighed
A golden rule of flying is that you cannot take a commercial plane into the air if it is overweight, but Easyjet says it is investigating how or why the 11 ton over-fueling occurred. Airliners are too big to simply roll onto scales as they head out of their berths, but their weight is routinely calculated. Eurocontrol, a European air safety organization, told GenevaLunch that the maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) can vary per aircraft but also per flight. Takeoff weight is a calculation of dry operating weight + payload + fuel on board – taxi fuel.
“Commonly in aviation when talking about MTOW we mean the structural takeoff weight,” says a spokesperson. “This MTOW will be found in the aircraft manuals and official papers. It can sometimes be lowered due to several parameters such as lengths of the runway or atmospheric pressure or altitude.”
New Geneva connections, more seats in the works for 2011
Several new connections have been announced recently for Geneva: Easyjet is adding Mykonos in Greece, Lot is adding three morning flights for Warsaw, Poland and Emirates is adding daily Dubai flights. Lufthansa is moving to “thinner seats” to add more seats.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Geneva’s Cointrin International Airport has announced that there are currently some flights arriving and departing, but travellers are cautioned to check with their airlines before going to the Geneva Airport. European weather continues to cause severe disruptions: flights have been cancelled or postponed in London, Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt due to snow, wind and icy conditions.
The web site of Geneva’s airport has been overloaded several times and only part of the site is accessible, but airport authorities are advising passengers to check directly with their airlines for flight information.
Here is the list of airlines from www.gva.ch 19 December, reproduced in pdf as a public service announcement. Note that if looking at this list later it will not include any contact information changes.
Update from Heathrow, 16:15
“Heathrow Airport will not be accepting arrivals on Sunday, and will only manage a handful of departures as our airfield team continues to deal with the impacts of yesterday’s bad weather.
“No flights will operate from Terminals 1 or 4 and a limited number of departures will leave from Terminals 3 and 5. We are extremely sorry for the disruption this will cause to passengers and airlines and we stress that passengers must check with their airlines before travelling to the airport. We will provide regular updates and you can contact your airline here.
“This morning, we listened carefully to the advice of our airside operations team and reluctantly judged that while Heathrow’s northern runway remains clear, the change in temperature overnight led to a significant build up of ice on parking stands around the planes and this requires the airfield to remain closed until it is safe to move planes around.
“We have 200 aircraft parking stands and have a team of several hundred people working to treat these airside areas and to keep passengers in the terminal as warm and as comfortable as possible while we do everything we can to get Heathrow moving.
“We are removing 30 tonnes of snow from each stand, but the temperature remains firmly below zero and Heathrow’s capacity is limited to the extent that all parking stands are occupied by aircraft, making the job of clearing and treating them more difficult.
“Safety is our first priority and we hope this course of action will allow us to offer a fuller service to passengers and airlines using Heathrow tomorrow.” (link)
Update from Amsterdam Schiphol, 16:15
“Due to weather conditions in Europe flights are delayed or cancelled. Please see the latest flight information on this website or contact the website of you airline. Before travelling to the airport we kindly advise you to check the latest flight information. If your flight is cancelled, please contact your airline before travelling to the airport.” (link)
Update from Paris Charles de Gaulle, 16:15
“Flights can be delayed or cancelled due to snow over Europe. Please contact your airline before going to the airport.” (link)
Update from Frankfurt, 16:15
“Flight delays and cancellations might occur at Frankfurt Airport due to wintry weather and reduced visibility. Passengers are kindly requested to contact their airline and to check traffic reports, e.g. on the radio or on teletext.” (ed. note: all flights on the departures page are cancelled or delayed), link
Geneva flights disrupted by French air traffic controllers' strike
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – An air traffic controllers’ strike in France, against “one Europe” plans, began to disrupt air traffic late Tuesday, affecting several flights in and out of Geneva’s Cointrin Airport. Flights from London arrived late Tuesday evening, but as the strikers stepped up their labour action Wednesday, more companies were affected. Air France flights vary from 50 percent to 100 percent coverage, with short-haul flights more affected.
For details, check arrivals and departures at Cointrin, as well as individual airlines, including Air France, BA and Easyjet
Inauguration of Altitude, part of the recent overhaul of restaurants and bars at Geneva Airport
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Geneva Airport is in the black for 2009: the good news about its CHF40 million in profits for last year comes as the airport is getting back to work after a six-day closure due to volcanic ash from Iceland.
Geneva International Airport had turnover of CHF295 million for 2009, and airport authorities, in announcing the figures Monday, say development plans for the airport can move ahead.
Geneva's Cointrin International Airport, departure lounge
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The spring schedule for Cointrin Airport in Geneva went into effect Sunday 28 March with several companies adding flights and two near airlines coming to Geneva. Ukraine Int’l offers three flights a week to Kiev, a new destination for Geneva. And Twin Jet has 10 flights a week to Milan’s Malpensa Airport.
Among the destinations added or increased:
Update 5 11:35 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Snow has been falling in the Lake Geneva region since early Wednesday morning, 13 January, and the Geneva Cointrin Airport was closed for several hours as a result. It re-opened shortly before 11:00 but note that all flights not cancelled are delayed, so expect long waits. Several European cities, notably in the UK, France and Germany, are closed due to snow or fog, reports TSR (Fre).
Long-haul flights were diverted to Zurich Airport while Geneva was closed. The weather in Zurich is cold, but no snow. Dozens of flights to the UK, France, Germany and elsewhere have been cancelled.
Note: the airport strongly recommends using public transport to reach Cointrin because of poor road conditions in the area.
Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for updates. Geneva airport site and arrivals/departures information.
French Alps, view leaving Geneva airport
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The UK-based travel company Thomson, has issued the following statement for passengers who lost their luggage when a small group of baggage handlers went on strike in Geneva 2 January. Thousands of bags were misplaced 2-3 January and many are still being returned, to Thomson customers but also those of some airlines.
“Customers returning from Geneva Airport (GVA) Saturday 2 January 2010
We regret that due to an unofficial handling strike by ramp agents at Geneva Airport (GVA) on Saturday 2 January 2010, ski baggage was not returned to the UK.
Update 12:30, 11 January 2010
We can confirm that all bags from the 2nd of January 2010 have been returned back to the UK from Geneva for onward processing by our Baggage Handling Teams. The remaining bags are currently being matched and tagged for onward delivery.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Thousands of airline passengers trying to head for the UK have found themselves stranded at Geneva’s Cointrin Airport, with flights canceled because of the coldest weather in the UK in 30 years and fresh snow in many parts of Britain. Airport spokesperson Bertrand Staempfli has recommended that passengers contact their airlines for more information. London is the top destination from Geneva. Flights from Zurich and Basel have also been delayed or cancelled.
Cointrin Airport, Geneva
Update 4 January 09:15 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Baggage handlers at Geneva’s Cointrin Airport will continue Monday the strike they began 2 January, but fewer than 50 employees are expected to be striking and their absence is being covered by crews sent in from Zurich, according to the Tribune de Geneve. Swissport baggage handlers will continue their strike Monday, but Dnata employees who joined them 2 January agreed to go back to work Sunday, after receiving pay increases.
The airport was hectic over the weekend, and while local media said the strike appeared to have a minimal impact, travellers are reporting that the chaos included lost luggage. Vivian, moving to Geneva with her family (see comment below), says “The place was mass confusion. People were sitting on the floors. The place was packed with people. I’m pretty sure they broke fire codes with the number of people in that place. My children slept on the bare floor as we searched for the luggage.” The family had a bag stolen and some luggage, including a bag with the children’s favourite toys, is still missing.
The two companies are members of the SSP and SIP unions. They have been striking for better work and pay conditions: while Swissport employees have had a collective contract with the airport Dnata employees have not, which the two group say creates unfair competition.
Links to other sites: GVA airport, Tribune de Geneve
Kloten International Airport, Zurich, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Geneva’s Cointrin International Airport will most likely end 2009 with 2 percent fewer passengers, a figure that is healthier than those most airports will show this year. The figure was provided by Robert Deillon, president of AIG, which manages the airport, in an interview with Swiss wire service ATS. Deillon says that only four months showed drops, while traffic increased by 4 percent each month in October and November, compared to a year earlier.
Zurich’s Kloten airport is expected to show similar figures, says Deillon.
The figures contrast with the bigger industry picture, provided 15 December by Iata (International Air Transport Association) at an annual press conference in Geneva.
Geneva's Cointrin Airport Saturday 17 October: long lines, but quick service
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – British Airways flight A319 turned back Wednesday 14 October after striking a bird at Cointrin Airport while climbing out of Geneva, reports Aviation Herald, which tracks airline incidents. The crew reportedly landed in Geneva 12 minutes after takeoff, after noticing a burning smell: emergency services were on standby, and the flight was delayed by two hours.
The incident was not, in fact, that unusual, but it might have given pause to the crowds of people flying out of Geneva Saturday 17 October at the start of the Geneva school holidays. The new security check area, which has replaced the old passport control booths, had two long lines of travelers, but the system appeared to operate efficiently: some 300 people were moved through several security gates in 20 minutes.
Noise guns to disperse birds in a direction away from the tarmac are used after other preventive measures fail
Cointrin takes its bird incidents very seriously: “bird strikes” as they are known in the business cause the aviation world $1.1 billion a year and they can provoke deadly airline crashes, such as one at JFK airport in New York in 1975 and another in Paris in 1996. Geneva airport had more than 60 strikes in 2008, but most caused no serious harm and only a handful were responsible for more serious damage, according to airport figures.
Geneva,Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Cointrin International Airport in Geneva shows no signs of suffering from the global economic downturn, with 2008 results showing a record year in terms of profits. The airport’s newly released figures show profits up 17 percent to CHF61 million, with turnover up 7 percent to CH300 million. The airport’s income was nearly evenly divided between flight-related services such as passenger income and other sources such as parking fees, 49.2 and 50.3 respectively.
Geneva Airport, arrivals
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Geneva’s International Airport announced Wednesday 30 April that it has raised its own “business continuity measures” by a level, to four, in the wake of the WHO’s upgrading to alert level 5 on Tuesday. The Airport Security Service is prepared to swing into action in case passengers arrive who show symptoms of swine flu, but airport authorities stress that to date the airport is operating normally and passengers are not being inconvenienced.
Wheels down: landing in Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – Economic crisis or not, we still love to travel, as traffic at Geneva’s Cointrin International Airport made it clear over the Easter holidays: 84,000 passengers flew in or out Easter weekend, the same as for Easter 2008.
The other busy travel area was Lake Geneva, with the opening of the CGN lake boats season: 23,000 people were out on the lake in big boats during the relatively balmy holiday.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Tribune de Geneve 13 February carries a lengthy article about the problems passengers have with taxis at the airport, in particular the illegal refusal of some drivers to accept clients for short drives to nearby hotels.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The electricity was out for six hours Monday at Cointrin International Airport in Geneva due to an electrical fault, and the airport is encouraging passengers to arrive two hours earlier than usual to check in while the system gets back to normal.
Staff are also advising that passengers check departures and arrivals before heading for the airport, with flights from several parts of Europe still suffering delays due to heavy snowfalls.
Geneva, Switzerland (20 Minutes Fre) – There is good news for the 100,000 people expected to pass through Geneva’s Cointrin Airport during each of the three holiday weekends coming up: border guards are opening up four instead of the usual two passport controls.
Switzerland (24 Heures, Fre) – The next step in Switzerland’s gradual move into the Schengen region comes 1 December, when passport controls at road borders will end, although customs officials point out that checks for merchandise will continue.
Geneva, Switzerland and Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – A strike by pilots at Air France, in its fourth day, is expected to end at midnight Monday, but only 65-70% of long-haul flights are operating Monday and about 50% of medium-haul flights.
Geneva, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve, Fre) – Geneva’s Cointrin Airport departures area is about to lose its only barber, whose shop for some 40 years has been open seven days a week on the departures level, to clip anyone needing a last-minute trim before catching a flight.
