FARNAIR Training GmbH has gained the approval from the Austrian Authority, Austro Control, to operate a Type Rating Training Organisation (TRTO) in Neusiedl/See, Austria.
FARNAIR will therefore be able to offer Type Ratings and Instructor training on the ATR 42/72 aircraft to individual pilots and ATR operators. All instructors working for FARNAIR are highly experienced airline pilots, flying the ATR in a daily operation.
Currently FARNAIR is also developing together with Infowerk, Zirl a Computer Based Training for all variants of the ATR42/72.

At the EuroAirport Basel/Mulhouse, Swiss-AS’ neighbour FARNAIR recently went live with the advanced M&E system AMOS. The crossover from the legacy system was smooth without any operational impact and all modules went live simultaneously. AMOS is implemented enterprise-wide and for all types of aircraft at FARNAIR (including all eight outstations).
Due to the proximity of both companies, the Swiss cargo carrier attended a multitude of AMOS standard trainings in-house at Swiss-AS’ headquarters. In addition the AMOS users were familiarised with the new MRO software via e-learning and on-the-job training. Besides the obvious advantage of taking part in the non-customised training sessions at Swiss-AS’ premises, this project did not differ from any other implementation although Swiss-AS and FARNAIR are both situated at the same airport.

Read the full press release here

FARNAIR Switzerland will open an EASA qualified ATR 42/72 TRTO, situated in the vicinity of Vienna under its newly formed company the FARNAIR Training GmbH, providing easy access to airlines operating in the eastern part of Europe.
The new Farnair Training GmbH will operate as an ATR Type Rating Training Organisation, providing Type Rating Training for all variants of the ATR42/72 and Instructor Trainings for Ground and Flight Instructors as well as some specific courses for airlines and individual pilots.

Read the full press release here

2009 will go down as the blackest year in the history of aviation – especially as far as air freight is concerned. But not for Swiss airline FARNAIR Europe: in 2009, it notched up its second-best result and continues to grow – in logistics as well!

Read the full press release here

Swiss AviationSoftware (Swiss-AS) welcomes FARNAIR as the latest member of its solid customer base. As Swiss-AS and FARNAIR are both situated at the EuroAirport, Basel, the project team believes that AMOS will be implemented extremely quickly and smoothly. The project will take 2-4 months and the go-ahead is scheduled for the beginning of June, 2010.
“The FARNAIR Group has decided to go for AMOS because it has been created by end users which makes the system very user-friendly. The decision was influenced by the fact that AMOS is widely used throughout the aviation industry and that Swiss-AS is also based at the EuroAirport, Basel” said Guy Girard, CEO of FARNAIR.
“We are honoured to have been selected by FARNAIR” expressed Ronald Schaeuffele, CEO of Swiss AviationSoftware. “Partnering with our neighbours FARNAIR once more demonstrates the versatility of AMOSbeing not only suitable for airlines transporting passengers but also cargo”

Read the full press release here



Against the current trend, the Swiss airline FARNAIR Switzerland is not reducing, but rather expanding its fleet: in August, the fleet was increased to a total of 13 aircraft through the addition of the first passenger ATR-72. In addition, FARNAIR offers 51 more job opportunities than in 2008.

Read the full press release here

Despite the tight economic climate, FARNAIR Europe, the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg-based airline, continues to expand its fleet. Its ninth ATR-72F with an eight-ton cargo capacity entered into service in March; a further two are to follow.

Read the full press release here

Farnair Europe has added an additional ATR 72 freighter to its expanding ATR 72F fleet bringing the total to nine with number ten on its way. This is the fifth aircraft to be fitted with a Large Cargo door (LCD), dimensions 294 cm x 180 cm.
Farnair was the launch customer for the ATR 72F LCD and with a sill height of only 1.050m from the ground, this feature is particularly appreciated by our customers because it eases and speeds loading / unloading. The aircraft has a payload of 8500 kilos / 75 m3 and is CAT II and Dangerous Goods approved. Contact Farnair Sales on +41 61 5603 344 / sales@farnair.com with any Long Term Contract or ad hoc enquiries.

FARNAIR Switzerland AG Technical Department has moved into its new hangar facilities in mid-Feb 2009. The hangar has a floor space of 745 m2 and storage facilities for inventory of 112 m2. In addition there is a battery shop, technical documentation office, garage, and an area for future sheet metal shop.
FARNAIR has already begun to use the hangar for base maintenance with an F-27 B Check already completed in week 8 of 2009. While the set-up of the hangar is still undergoing transformation FARNAIR is looking forward to using the new facilities as an additional tool to complete maintenance tasks “in-house”.

FARNAIR Europe, based at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, is in the process of extending their fleet by a further ATR-72F and two Beech 1900 freighters. Each new plane creates ten new jobs.

FARNAIR Europe’s cargo planes fly all over Europe every night and carry out express deliveries for various integrators. Every minute counts – the demand for such reliable and on time service is increasing all the time.

15 ATR-72-Freighters is the goal
“With the newest ATR-72F we now have eight of these turboprop freighters, each with a load capacity of eight tons,” says Guy Girard, CEO of FARNAIR Europe. A further two are on order: one will be in service in November, the other in February 2009. “Our aim is to operate with 15 of these ideal cargo transporters,” Guy Girard declares. However, with the steadily increasing cost of fuel, the economical ATR planes are in demand worldwide and are hardly on the market. All eight of FARNAIR’s present ATR-72 have been converted to freighters from passenger planes. Four have special large freight doors for loading containers. Guy Girard emphasises that the ATR-72F complies with the latest noise and pollution regulations and that the turboprop aircraft are very environment-friendly to operate.

Two-ton freighter for FedEx
In addition, FARNAIR Europe’s subsidiary FARNAIR Hungary has recently put a Beech 1900C into action for FedEx in the United Kingdom. Another, this time a Beech 1900D with a bigger cabin will follow from July. These turboprop aircraft are designed to carry two tons of freight and are considered to be very quiet and eco-friendly.

Nachtkurier (Nightriders in the Sky)
Express am Himmel Europas (A European Express Story)

In his latest book, the reputed aviation journalist Sepp Moser gives an insight into the largely unknown world of express and cargo pilots. They are today’s Saint-Exupérys and the Swiss airline company Farnair has been at the forefront of this activity for the past 20 years. With its 18 aircraft, the airline is a key link in the chain of up-to-the-minute complex aviation technology and up-to-the-second logistics, without which the economy would slide to a standstill.





Sinbad along with three more lions, a mother and two sons rescued from Romania to Shamwari Wildlife Reserve South Africa via Frankfort on FARNAIR HB-AFF 31JUL07








15-21 July FARNAIR Flew the team and staff of the LIVERPOOL Football Club on HB-AFF/AFD LPL-BRN-FAB







02-06 July FARNAIR Flew the team and staff with famous coach Trapattoni of RED BULL SALZBURG





Our New familly member HB-AFN is begining her way home from May 11th.

The route is the Following:

- TPE, Taiwan
- BKK, Thailand
- BOM, India
- DXB, U.A.E.
- ESB, Turkey
- CHR, France


Farnair provides flights for Francois Bayrou – French president candidate
On 6th and 7th April Mr. Fancois Bayrou visited Corsica for the presidential election campaign. Farnair ATR42 flew Mr. Bayrou, his team and another 30 journalists from Paris to Bastia, Figari and Ajaccio.
One of the many François Bayrou campaign slogans is: "Mon programme tourné vers la femme !" – so Farnair female crew accompanied him on this trip.

Click here to download the PDF file (GERMAN Only)

Click here to download the PDF file (GERMAN Only)

Additional aircraft HB-AFM ATR 72 Cargo started its commercial operation on January 2nd 2007.

After more than 15 years our main shareholder has decided to separate from the FARNAIR Aviation Group with the objective of realizing a long-term plan of continuity.
As of December 22, 2006, FARNAIR Holding has been taken over by a group of European investors together with Falcon Aviation Group. Although the Falcon Aviation Group is not the main share holder, it is strategically the most important buyer. Falcon (Dubai) operates mainly in the Middle East and North Africa, also flying express packages to Iraq. Counting over 300 employees, the Falcon Aviation group however specializes mostly in Ground Operations and operates 1 Fokker 27 and 5 Beech 190.

The existing FARNAIR management will continue to be responsible for our future business success. This change not only guarantees the continuous growth of the FARNAIR group but also its fortification. Synergies with promising a future will present themselves through the cooperation with the Falcon Aviation Group.

FARNAIR Switzerland is reinforcing its position as leading European ATR72 cargo operator by a further significant fleet expansion.
After the purchase of the first ATR72 MSN 364 from TransAsia Airways, Taipei/Taiwan, FARNAIR Switzerland is glad to announce the transaction of two additional ATR72, MSN 381 + MSN 389 from the same operator.
This fleet expansion will bring the ATR fleet up to 11 ATR and an overall fleet size of 21 A/C. The FARNAIR Group is steadily increasing its market share in the express feeder segment and with the continuous expansion of its fleet is now predominant in the ATR72 cargo sector.

The FARNAIR Europe Group with its subsidiary FARNAIR Handling Kft based in Budapest, decided to liven up their existing handling license at Ferihegy Airport. The handling company should be fully operational in the passenger as well as cargo area latest by end of 1st quarter 2007. This decision has been taken as the development of the Ferihegy Airport looks very promising and has good prospects for the future.
With this diversification, the airline FARNAIR Hungary Kft, owner of the FARNAIR handling company, will increase significantly its business activity and presence at the Ferihegy Airport, Budapest.


FARNAIR Switzerland, the leading European ATR72 cargo operator, and launch customer for the LCD conversion, has added yet another ATR72 to its fleet. With the imminent delivery of FARNAIR’s fifth ATR72 freighter, there is already news of the next addition. Delivery is scheduled for, as soon as, October this year, bringing the ATR fleet up to nine A/C, the fleet overall to fifteen with a total of nineteen A/C in operation.
The FARNAIR Group is steadily increasing its market share in the express feeder segment and with the continuous expansion of its fleet is now predominant in the ATR72 cargo sector

Following the recent events in South Lebanon, 333 Swiss nationals as well as several dozen other nationals, accompanied by consular and medical staff, arrived in Larnaca early on Sunday morning after a smooth crossing from Beirut on the "Fast Arrow", a ship chartered by the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). They were looked after by the Swiss representative in Cyprus and then flown back to Switzerland. Various aircraft were chartered by the SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), among which was a FARNAIR ATR42 for the evacuation of the last families remaining in Larnaca.
Within a few hours, FARNAIR Ops were able to arrange the flight resulting in a very successful operation. An SDC and a T-Link representative flew out on our ATR42 to assist the last Swiss citizens to be evacuated from Larnaca and ensure that this mission went smoothly and stressfree.



France2 - TF1 17/04/2005
Video (0:55 min - Flash)


L’OL (Olympic Lyonnais) chartered our AT42-320 for the trip to Paris to take part in the French Football Championship Final on 17APR06. And not in vain … check out the attached video to see the winners being welcomed by their supporters.




As a last minute charter, we were asked to organise a State ad hoc flight from La Rioja (Spain) to Bruxelles (Belgium) and finally to Romania, with a return flight to La Rioja on 06 April 06. This State flight was prepared by our experienced Operations Centre with particular efficiency. Within just one afternoon, traffic rights were requested and obtained (thanks to the Romanian CAA for their excellent cooperation), sw were handlings and slots.
Performance calculations were run to make sure that we were able to operate to remote airports such as Tulcea, Constanza or Sibiu. In addition to this difficult preparation, a swap of crew in Buccarest had to be made to ferry the aircraft to Basel to cover our Swiss Government Operation in Kosovo and, on the next day, go back to Romania to allow our client to finish its economic promotion of La Rioja. At the end of this charter, we are proud to say that everthing went like clockwork, Swiss of course.


Reinforcing our presence amongst the airfreight market leaders, our fifth ATR72 arrived at our Basel Headquarters on March 31st, 2006. After a short period at home in Basel, the aircraft was ferried to Aeronavali in Naples for a full freighter conversion. After a conversion period of at least 10 weeks, our new baby will be ready to honour a new contract for our major customer.




The first of a series of flights for the Basel Kammerorchester took place over 3 days at the end of March 06. As part of our sponsorship program, the musicians and some of the instruments were flown to Madrid and then Pamplona, where they took the bus to San Sebastian. Other flights within Europe are planned and we will keep you updated with the Orchestra saga.
More info on the: www.kammerorchesterbasel.com

After a first trip around the Mediterranean for Starquest, an American tour Operator specialising in VIP customised adventure-tours, one of our ATR42 is now on the second tour in India. Starquest chose our ATR42 for these very demanding tours for its operational flexibility, PAX comfort and reliability. The preparation for the tour (traffic rights, landing permits, overfly permissions, fuel) took our Operations Department and Contract Manager several weeks to set up in order to be prepared for anything unforeseen; as a result, the trip went like clockwork. Impressions from the Co-pilot: Renato Breda. "Starting on October 16th with 2 day’s positioning from Basel to Delhi, the tour itself began with the famed Hindu temple complex of Khajuraho, ending the first day in Varanasi on the Ganges in the centre of India. The next day saw the site of Buddha's enlightenment in Gaya (Bodh Gaya) with a second flight to Agra south east of Delhi to visit the Taj Mahal. After a one day stop in Agra the next flight took us to the west of India into the Thar desert where everyone had a full day to explore the surroundings and desert by camel. Then we flew the passengers to Jaipur and in the afternoon to Udaipur followed by a positioning flight to Ahmedabad to park the aircraft for another day as Udaipur was unable to accommodate 48-hour parking, followed by a flight along the west coast to the state of Kerala into the busy city of Cochin known for its spices. Another 48 hour stop allowed for some shopping and sightseeing. The last leg with passengers took us to Goa and its beautiful coast. Positioning back to Ahmedabad and within the next two days back to Switzerland concluded this very interesting charter flight."

An additional ATR72 freighter (HB-AFJ) has joined the FARNAIR Switzerland fleet which now consists of four ATR72 Cargo, one ATR42 Cargo, two ATR42 PAX. FARNAIR Switzerland is constantly increasing its presence in the European Market by continuing its strategic expansion. Currently it is in the process of adding two additional ATR72 freighters to its expanding fleet.

With a fleet of 15 aircraft, FARNAIR Europe will be in a position to further increase its market shares within the cargo feeder market.




TF1 08/10/2005
Video (0:40 min - Flash)


Everything started with Air Taxi asking for a quote for a return trip Paris – Bern. A very simple quote, which became more and more complex when FARNAIR find out that the “client” wanted to depart at 0100LT from Bern Airport (which closes at 2300LT!). After contacting all the highest Swiss authorities, the runway of the Swiss Capital remained closed after 2300LT. What could we do? The alternate (Payerne military airport) was also refused due to curfew and, as no airports are open 24Hours in Helvetia, the French authorities finally authorised the opening of the French Airport of Colmar and allowed a departure at 0215LT. FARNAIR was proud to transport the prestigious Football World Champions and once again has proven that “flexibility and commitment” are not simply words without any meaning.



You can download the complete report from Migros Magazin just below:


- L'aeropostale des temps modernes - FR (pdf - 750kb)

- Pöstler der Lüfte - DE (pdf - 750kb)