SWISS strengthens its positioning and commitment to the French-speaking part of the country as it renews its Geneva fleet with the Bombardier CS300. To demonstrate this commitment, SWISS has commissioned a special livery designed by Romand artist Mathias Forbach, also known as Fichtre.
As a testimony to its commitment, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is dedicating its very first Bombardier CS300 to Swiss Romandy and its citizens. A wide-scale two-phase competition was held over a number of months. Firstly, SWISS asked the Swiss Romands: “What does Swiss Romandy mean to you?” The response quote was phenomenal: more than 7,000 people answered with a slogan, a phrase or just a word. Their replies once again demonstrated the diversity and richness of Swiss Romandy. But all the answers had one thing in common: pride in the region, its nature, its inhabitants and their achievements. There was also a second question: “Who is your Swiss Romand hero?” SWISS received many testimonies inspired by very poignant personal stories, sometimes amusing but mostly moving. SWISS then chose 49 of these stories at random and their heroes’ names are each printed on one of the seats of the new aircraft.
The artist: Mathias Forbach, also known as Fichtre
The artist was truly inspired by the competition results. Mathias Forbach, also known as Fichtre, immersed himself in the replies before producing a graphic interpretation of the plethora of ideas put forward on this beautiful region. He says of the project: “Every artist’s goal is to broadcast their art and give it wings … what better way to do that than on an aeroplane!”
A special livery for the first SWISS CS300
“The Swiss Romands’ aeroplane”, the CS300, will wear its new colours for the next 12 months. No less than 300 square metres of special film were printed and carefully applied to the plane in a 36-hour-long process. The aircraft will be based in Geneva and will serve 27 destinations including Palma (in summer), St. Petersburg (in winter) and Dublin (all year round).
SWISS renews its Geneva fleet
The CS300 has 145 seats, 20 more than the CS100. By the end of 2018, the SWISS short-haul fleet in Geneva will consist exclusively of Bombardier C Series. In total, the company plans to add one CS100 and seven CS300s to replace (amongst others) the seven Airbus A320-family aircraft currently stationed at Cointrin airport. SWISS is thus reaffirming its commitment to the Geneva site and Swiss Romandy as a whole.
Biography – Mathias Forbach
Mathias Forbach (Fichtre) studied at the École Cantonale d’Art in Lausanne and graduated from there in 2005 with a Bachelor in Media & Interaction Design. He began teaching illustration at the École Cantonale d’Art in Sierre, Valais in 2009, and decided in 2012 to proceed his artistic education by following the Work.Master programme at the Haute École d’Art et de Design in Geneva. In 2014, he co-founded STADIO art gallery in Vevey with Joëlle Nicolas, Guillaume Ehinger and Jacques Duboux, and was awarded a Masters degree in Visual Arts in 2015. As a freelance graphic artist, he uses drawing and illustration as means for experimentation and research. The exhibition space is core to his approach, and he is constantly questioning and changing it. It is a multi-faceted vector, with infinite possibilities, a revival of graphic languages. The result is a “hyperarea”, a continent with undefined edges, which reminds us that visual art is limitless, as is the variation of its medium.
14 June 2017
Photo: copyright (c) SWISS
