Travel Poster India Swissair Airline

Original vintage travel poster issued by the Swiss airline Swissair to promote India as a desctination. Photomontage image of a lady in sari with an elephant in the background. Swissair was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002. It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero (To the Stars). For most of its 71 years, Swissair was one of the major international airlines and known as the "Flying Bank" due to its financial stability, 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, regional subsidiaries Crossair and Balair, and leasing subsidiary FlightLease belonged), SAirServices, SAirLogistics, and SAirRelations. Burdened by over-expansion as a result of 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 later revived and kept alive until 31 March 2002 by the Swiss Federal government. The final Swissair flight landed in Zürich on 1 April 2002. Good condition, bumps and folds on margins, loss on top right corner. Country of issue: Switzerland, designer: Nikolaus Schwabe, size (cm): 102x64, year of printing: 1961