So, Edelweiss Air starts flying direct from Zurich to Seattle. Big deal.
Okay, I get it. Seattle's trying to be a "world-class city." That means more international flights, right? More dudes in overpriced suits yakking on their phones about "synergy" and "disruption." Fantastic. The Port of Seattle Commissioner, Hamdi Mohamed, is "thrilled." Of course she is. "Good local jobs" and a "strong regional economy." That's the PR line, anyway. Let's be real: it's about funneling more tourist dollars into the pockets of already-rich corporations.
Zurich? "Scenic backdrop and proximity to nature and water?" Give me a break. We got that here! We got mountains, we got lakes, we got enough rain to drown a small country. Why fly all the way to Switzerland to see… mountains and lakes? Oh, right, because it's Switzerland. It's got that fancy European sheen that apparently makes everything 10x more Instagrammable.
And Edelweiss CEO Bernd Bauer's spiel about "connecting Switzerland with exciting destinations around the world?" Translation: "We're gonna fill our planes with tourists who will spend a crapload of money in both countries." I ain't buying it.
Okay, I gotta admit, the AvGeek in me gets a little tingle about the Airbus A340. Four engines, long haul… it’s a classic. AirlineReporter’s David Parker Brown even got hosed down by a fire truck during the inaugural flight celebration. "Best inaugural ever," he says. Easy to get excited when you're getting sprayed with water like a toddler in a sprinkler. You can read Edelweiss Flies to Seattle & I Get Soaked! : AirlineReporter for a first-hand account of the inaugural flight. But is a cool plane enough to justify the environmental impact of another long-haul flight? I don't know... are we really supposed to be celebrating more air travel when the planet's slowly cooking itself?
And another thing: Edelweiss is part of the Lufthansa Group. So, basically, it's just another cog in the giant corporate machine. They don't care about "connecting cultures" or whatever BS they're feeding us. They care about filling seats and maximizing profits.
SEA now boasts 36 international destinations. Awesome. More crowded terminals, longer security lines, and even more overpriced coffee. They tell us about "Trusted Traveler Programs" like Mobile Passport Control and Global Entry. As if signing away more of our privacy to the government is a benefit. TSA PreCheck? Yeah, because paying extra to be treated slightly less like a criminal is something to cheer about. Offcourse, that's just me being cynical.
And let's not forget the cost. Flights between Zurich and Seattle can currently be booked for travel in September, 2025, and between May and August 2026. By then, how much will a round-trip ticket cost? More than my rent, probably. So, who really benefits from this new route? Not the average Seattleite struggling to afford groceries, that's for damn sure.
Look, I'm not saying Switzerland is a terrible place. I'm sure it's lovely. But this whole thing reeks of corporate hype and tourist-trap opportunism. Edelweiss Air to Seattle? It's not a cultural exchange; it's a business transaction. And I'm not convinced it's a good deal for anyone except the airlines and the shareholders.
