R3D Airlines
18th in a Series: A Fictional Swiss Airline
R3D Luftverkehr-AG, operating as R3D Airlines, is a privately held international boutique airline headquartered on the grounds of Geneva Airport (GVA), Le Grand-Saconnex, Meyrin (Geneva), Switzerland. Geneva-GVA serves as the carrier’s only hub.
R3D operates primarily as a leisure airline, offering seasonal flights to several popular winter and summer European resort destinations, alongside providing day to day nonstop air service between Geneva-GVA and several cities across Europe.
History
It Began With A Winning Lottery Ticket
In March 2012 a young Swiss couple, Markus Leuenberger (b 1984) and Elin Vogel (b 1985), took a skiing vacation to Colorado. Both were employees at the legacy carrier EuroSuisse Airlines, where Markus worked as a 1st officer pilot while Elin served as a flight attendant. While they were visiting Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the couple bought a few MegaBucks lottery tickets.
While making their way through the Denver airport on the way home to Switzerland, a TV screen displayed a newscaster showing the winning lottery ticket drawing. Markus and Elin checked their tickets and discovered they had actually won the lottery’s cash option grand prize - with a payout of over $500 million! The couple skipped their return flight to go collect their winnings.
When they returned home, Markus and Elin decided to start an airline of their own, and hired several colleagues from EuroSuisse to come along. The two decided to name their new airline R3D Airlines. (R3D is actually pronounced RED; the R3D reference comes from the last 3 Base36 digits on their winning lottery ticket number: 69XJ0-R3D.) Since red was both the couple’s favorite color and one of the national colors of Switzerland, they decided to use red and white as the livery color scheme.
Startup
Elin and Markus flew to Dublin, Ireland and visited with JetStream Aircraft Leasing (now JetStream Aerospace) to acquire aircraft to be leased. To make their money go as far as possible in their startup efforts, Markus and Elin decided to initially eschew the use of jet aircraft entirely and instead begin with turboprop airliners, which could be acquired at less than 1/3rd the cost. They first considered the Bombardier DHC-8 Q400, but the couple ultimately signed up to lease three ATR 72-600 aircraft instead. Markus himself became the company’s first pilot to attain the ATR 72 type rating.
R3D Airlines began scheduled operations on 3 December 2012 from Geneva-GVA, flying scheduled and charter air service to destinations around Europe using a standard 2:2 seating configuration in 18 rows (72 pax).
Two of the ATR 72s were assigned to fly regularly scheduled flights on the Geneva-GVA «» Amsterdam-AMS, Geneva-GVA «» Barcelona-BCN, Geneva-GVA «» Berlin-BER, Geneva-GVA «» Frankfurt-FRA and Geneva-GVA «» Paris-ORY routes. The 3rd ATR 72 aircraft was assigned to be a dedicated charter aircraft as well as a backup for the 2 scheduled aircraft; the 3rd ATR 72 flew passengers as direct-service scheduled charters, flying to and from skiing destinations during wintertime and sunbathing destinations during summer. Markus frequently flew as captain on the chartered flights, while Elin occasionally served on the same flights as a member of the cabin crew.
2014: A New 60-Pax Seating Configuration
By 2014, R3D Airlines was effectively breaking even. Having worked as a flight attendant on countless flights, Elin Vogel gradually perfected the company’s in-flight service model, making it exceptionally customer-friendly in numerous ways. From early on R3D had encouraged the use of the company’s mobile phone app, offering customers a €5 or CHF 5 discount on airfares for mobile phone users as well as various frequent flier perks.
But Elin also served as an impromptu sounding board for R3D’s customers, many of whom were unaware that she was actually a co-owner of the airline. Elin routinely interviewed passengers during flights, persuading them to give reviews of their individual passenger experiences. Customers readily obliged and offered her plenty of opinions, enumerating all the pros and cons of their travel experiences, both with R3D and with other carriers.
In time, a consensus emerged that while customers generally liked the airline’s friendliness, technology and pricing well enough, they also wanted more options in terms of seating and comfort. At the time R3D offered only a single class configuration, but about half of customers expressed a willingness to pay more to get a better in-flight experience, while the other half preferred the lower fare option.
After much discussion, Elin convinced Markus to have R3D undertake a different strategy: Instead of sticking with the single-class, low cost carrier (LCC) model, why not become more of a boutique airline and offer 2 or even 3 seating classes, and offer passengers a choice? At the same time, the airline could upgrade the cabin as a whole to make it better for customers.
Elin and Markus agreed to refit one or two of the ATR 72s with a 2 or 3 class arrangement as an experiment to see how it performed.
When they leased two additional ATRs, R3D worked with their lessor, JetStream Aerospace, to configure them in the new, 2-class layout. Because the main entrance to the ATR 72s is located at the rear of the aircraft, the last 6 rows were set up with state of the art 1:1 seats for 12 passengers, with greater width and with each seat featuring a table next to the aisle. This section was named Comfort Class (German: Komfortklasse; French: Classe Confort), offering 34 inch pitch seats with contoured cushions, larger backrests and an elevated level of service that would be complimentary with the airfare.
Meanwhile, the remaining 12 rows set in the front of the aircraft - 48 seats - were kept in the standard 2:2 configuration for 12 rows and a 31 inch pitch. This section was named Standard Class (German: Standardklasse; French: Classe Standard) and would continue to offer its amenities on a pay as you go basis. Their seats were comfortable but more spare.
The new aircraft had an overall total of 60 seats - 12 fewer than previous aircraft - but the cabin was redecorated end to end with wooden accents, beautifully covered seating, and relaxing mood lighting that would operate from gate to gate and change coloration according to flight phase and the time of day outside.
These two new 60-pax aircraft were rolled out during the fall of 2014, and proved to be such a success that all of the company’s scheduled aircraft were migrated over to the 60-pax configuration, while the carrier’s remaining charter aircraft were kept in the traditional 72-pax arrangement until receiving their conversions during 2018.
From 2016 Elin Vogel and Markus Leuenberger began working full time from the company’s head offices at Geneva-GVA, although they both continued to take flights occasionally serving as cabin crew and flight crew, respectively. Although Elin was listed as the company’s CEO and Markus as the COO (chief operating officer) on paper, the two continued to collaborate on virtually everything.
Meanwhile, Elin gave birth to their daughter Emma Vogel in 2017 and their son Matteo Vogel in 2019. Elin had previously arranged for onsite daycare at the company’s Geneva-GVA offices back in 2013 to accommodate the company’s working parents, so of course the couple availed themselves of the company benefit as well.
2019: Adding The Airbus A220 To The R3D Fleet
In 2017, R3D Airlines decided it was time to start adding jets to their fleet.
The plan was to continue using the tried-and-true ATR 72s on the company’s shorter distance routes, while deploying jets on longer and higher traffic routes. The Boeing 737-700 and Airbus A319 were initially discussed, and the company gave considerable thought to going with either the Bombardier CRJ700 or Embraer E190 regional aircraft to save costs.
In the end, the new Bombardier CS300 seemed to best fit the bill. Markus and Elin admired the CS300’s superior range, fuel burn, and passenger capacity. They had seen the aircraft on display at various air shows in recent years, and admired its look as well. When aircraft lessor JetStream Aerospace made them an enticing lease offer, R3D signed on the line to take delivery on the aircraft starting in early 2019.
But after some financial and legal struggles, Bombardier was forced to enter into a joint venture with Airbus, and by 2018 the CS300 was rebranded as the Airbus A220-300. Regardless, R3D took delivery of its first A220 in early December 2018, and it was configured with 20 Comfort Class reclining seats placed at the front and set at 2:2 with a 36 inch pitch, while the remaining 115 Standard Class seats were placed at the rear of the cabin and configured at 2:3 with a 31 inch pitch. The A220s were also given similar interior designs to the 60-pax ATRs.
The A220s entered scheduled service on 14 January 2019 and began flying on the 4 major European hub routes: Geneva-GVA «» London-LHR, Geneva-GVA «» Paris-CDG, Geneva-GVA «» Amsterdam-AMS and Geneva-GVA «» Frankfurt-FRA routes. Further A220s were added to other routes over time.
Aria Aircraft Migration Plans and Codesharing Agreements
While they were visiting the 2019 Paris Air Show, Markus and Elin decided to consider migrating the non-Airbus A220 part of the R3D Airlines fleet over to Aria Aircraft’s emerging V Series VTOL aircraft, namely the Aria V12 VTOL and Aria V42 VTOL. After much deliberation, the couple signed a favorable lease agreement with JetStream Aerospace to start taking delivery of the new equipment when the V Series aircraft were to be introduced during the early to mid 2020s, becoming one of the first European carriers to adopt the type.
Meanwhile, during the same Paris event R3D was able to enter into congenial codesharing agreements with several intercontinental airlines, among them Jade Air (China), L’Avion (France), Nuages Airline (France), IceJet (Iceland), Levant Airlines (Lebanon), Nederland Airlines (Netherlands), Ambient Airlines (UK), and Floridair (USA).
2020: Covid 19
Covid 19 arrived in Switzerland in late February 2020 via Milan, Italy. Predictably, the disease spread quickly and the Swiss government began imposing various protective measures from March 2020 to combat the spread of it. Switzerland did not implement a complete lockdown as many other European nations did, but the country did greatly limit use of public transport, including air travel.
During the spring of 2020 nearly all passenger air transport was shut down, and R3D Airlines responded by suspending about 90% of its flight schedule. The remaining flights were generally limited to carrying cargo and essential personnel only, mostly within Switzerland and to a couple of other European cities, mainly Geneva-GVA «» Paris-CDG and Geneva-GVA «» Milan-MXP.
By August 2020 air travel began to resume but with masking requirements. Around the same time, R3D Airlines received a much-needed state backed loan of CHF 750 million (about USD 824 million) from the Swiss federal government to sustain its operations. The loan came at a crucial time, as the company was approaching potential bankruptcy; the loan helped sustain the company through the rest of the pandemic.
By February 2022, most Covid related restrictions were lifted, and R3D Airlines began to restructure its route network accordingly.
2020s
In December 2021, R3D Airlines introduced direct air service to several regional airports near major ski resorts within Switzerland, France and Italy. While R3D had already provided winter service for years to larger European ski resorts like Grenoble-GNB, Innsbruck-INN, Klagenfurt-KLU and Urgell-LEU, R3D leased a set of Daher Kodiak 9-passenger utility aircraft to carry customers nonstop to smaller, more remote airfields. The Kodiaks were initially placed on routes from Geneva-GVA «» Chambery-CMF, Geneva-GVA «» Courchevel-CVF, Geneva-GVA «» Annecy-NCY, Geneva-GVA «» Lugano-LUG and Geneva-GVA «» Sion-SIR. Service was later added to Geneva-GVA «» Samedan-SMV and Geneva-GVA «» Saanen-LSGK.
The Kodiak flights were all timed to occur every two hours or so during the day, so that thru-passengers to these destinations could be expeditiously connected to their ongoing flight. During the off season the same Kodiak aircraft were kept busy providing sightseeing and charter flights ferrying tourists around Switzerland, eastern France and northern Italy.
In April 2022, R3D Airlines expanded its codesharing network by signing a new year-round codeshare agreement with Nisiá Airlines of Greece. The new agreement was an important strategic move, because Nisiá’s regional route network covered an array of island spots within Greece from its hubs at Athens-ATH and Thessaloniki-SKG. Nisiá and R3D began coordinating flights between Geneva-GVA and these airports to optimize passenger connections, while providing Nisiá with a virtual hub at the heart of central Europe that provided air service across the rest of the continent. This arrangement also furnished strong year round connections between the Greek islands and the rest of Europe, not just during during the summer months. Because of the agreement, R3D’s revenue stream became strong enough that by the spring of 2024 the company was able to pay back its state-backed Covid 19 loan ahead of schedule.
In November 2022, R3D expanded its seasonal Daher Kodiak air service to include access to several ski resort airports from Zurich-ZRH. The new direct service from ZRH was especially profitable due to that airport’s greater worldwide air service networks.
In February 2023, R3D entered into a very important codesharing agreement with the major US based carrier Columbia Airlines. The agreement offered smooth connecting service to several US cities through Geneva-GVA, including Geneva-GVA «» Boston-BOS, Geneva-GVA «» Chicago-ORD, Geneva-GVA «» Dallas-DFW, Geneva-GVA «» Denver-DEN, Geneva-GVA «» Houston-IAH, Geneva-GVA «» Miami-MIA, Geneva-GVA «» New York-JFK, Geneva-GVA «» San Francisco-SFO and Geneva-GVA «» Washington-IAD. Columbia also slightly realigned its flight schedules to and from Geneva-GVA to help accommodate the deal, even providing extra flights to Denver-DEN and Miami-MIA.
During 2023 the new Aria V12 VTOL and Aria V42 VTOL aircraft began to arrive at Geneva-GVA. The V12s began to replace the existing leased Daher Kodiak planes, while the V42s were used to create a few new regional routes, such as Geneva-GVA «» Lyon-LYS, to upgrade several seasonal routes to year round service, and to replace some of the company’s older ATR 72s turboprops.
At the 2023 Paris Air Show, R3D Airlines entered into a leasing agreement to acquire the new Aria T72 Transonic jetliner, which was designed to operate as a Flexible Fuel Aircraft (FFA) that could operate on standard Jet A, SPK (synthetic paraffinic kerosene). Further, Aria is implementing plans to make the Aria T72 (as well as its T42 and T102 airliners) into convertible hybrid aircraft by the late 2020s, capable of being upgraded to hybrid electric or hybrid hydrogen airliners. R3D plans to use the T72s to retire the remainder of its ATR 72s, thus becoming a joint Airbus A220-Aria based fleet by the mid to late 2020s.
In late 2023, Elin Vogel gave birth to their 3rd child, daughter Ella Vogel.
2024: Flex Seating
In early 2024, R3D Airlines introduced a new cabin option for both its Airbus A220 and ATR 72 aircraft, known as Flex Seating.
Designed by a team of employees led by Elin Vogel and manufactured by O'Hagan Aircraft Seating, the new Flex Seating scheme was configured so that any aisle seat within a given 2-seat set on the aircraft could be quickly converted into a single premium seat with table by allowing its companion window seat to instantly become a Comfort Class seat. The table could be installed by cabin crew and/or ground crew in under 30 seconds by folding the aisle seat forward to its locked position, then setting the Comfort Class table on top and locking it into place. The tables feature a slightly recessed area in which passengers can safely set down drinks and mobile phones, etc, without fear of them sliding off the table surface.
These Comfort Class tables are designed to be stowed in a forward compartment inside the aircraft’s cargo hold. They can be lifted into the aircraft from the right hand front door by ground and cabin crew, who together can install as many of them as required within a few minutes during the aircraft’s turnaround time. Thus, when Comfort Class passengers would board the aircraft, they would find their assigned seat to be pre-configured with the table, ready to go.
In time the carrier intends to implement Flex Seating throughout all of its ATR 72 and Aria T72 aircraft and on the 2-seat side of its A220 planes, while leaving the 3-seat side of the A220s unchanged, although all seating would be given updated upholstery.
Flex Seating has been implemented on a handful of newer A220s and ATR 72s since the spring of 2024, and the concept is currently undergoing in-field testing. Early results have proven to be very positive, and R3D intends to phase in the new seating arrangement on other aircraft as they come in for maintenance.
What’s Next
R3D Airlines has begun taking delivery of its incoming Aria V12 VTOL and Aria V42 VTOL aircraft since late September 2024, including year round air service to more airports within Switzerland and nearby countries. The company also expects to start receiving its new Aria T72 Transonic jetliners in early to mid 2025.
Further lease agreements are being negotiated with aircraft lessor JetStream Aerospace to help R3D to upgrade Zurich-ZRH into a focus city airport, providing that city with nonstop R3D A220 and T72 flights to several major European destinations. Expansion plans to add more European and North African cities to the R3D continue to be made, as well.
Meanwhile, there have been various rumors going around about Elin Vogel and Markus Leuenberger indicating they might be either 1) getting married soon or 2) about to separate, and/or 3) selling R3D Airlines and cashing out. R3D Airlines has refused to officially comment on any of these rumors, but in a recent interview with a Swiss newspaper Elin Vogel appeared to deny them all, saying:
Markus and I are happy to be exactly where we are, doing what we are doing. Honestly, we are in no hurry to change our arrangement.
Destinations
Year Round Service
R3D Airlines operates year round air service between Geneva-GVA and the following destinations.
Amsterdam-AMS, Netherlands
Athens-ATH, Greece
Barcelona-BCN-Spain
Basel-BSL, Switzerland
Berlin-BER, Germany
Bilbao-BIO, Spain
Birmingham-BHX, UK
Bologna-BLQ, Italy
Bordeaux-BOD, France
Brussels-BRU, Belgium
Bucharest-OTP, Romania
Budapest-BUD, Hungary
Copenhagen-CPH, Denmark
Dublin-DUB, Ireland
Düsseldorf-DUS, Germany
Edinburgh-EDI, UK
Florence-FLR, Italy
Frankfurt-FRA, Germany
Geneva-GVA, Switzerland - HQ and Main Hub [ Map Link ]
Genoa-GOA, Italy
Gran Canaria-LPA, Spain
Graz-GRZ, Austria
Hamburg-HAM, Germany
Hannover-HAJ, Germany
Lisbon-LIS, Portugal
London-LTN, UK
Madrid-MAD, Spain
Manchester-MAN, UK
Marseille-MRS, France
Milan-MXP, Italy
Montpellier-MPL, France
Munich-MUC, Germany
Nantes-NTE, France
Naples-NAP, Italy
Nice-NCE, France
Nuremberg-NUR, Germany
Oslo-OSL, Norway
Palma de Mallorca-PMI, Spain
Paris-CDG, France
Prague-PRG, Czech Republic
Reykjavik-KEF, Iceland
Rome-FCO, Italy
Salzburg-SZG, Austria
Stockholm-ARN, Sweden
Strasbourg-SXB, France
Stuttgart-STR, Germany
Tenerife-TFS, Spain
Thessaloniki-SKG, Greece
Toulouse-TLS, France
Turin-TRN, Italy
Valencia-VLC, Spain
Venice-VCE, Italy
Vienna-VIE, Austria
Warsaw-WAW, Poland
Zurich-ZRH, Switzerland
Seasonal Service (Summer)
Summer seasonal air service is offered between Geneva-GVA and the following destinations.
Annecy-NCY, France
Arrecife-ACE, Spain
Cagliari-CAG, Italy
Calvi-CLY, France
Catania-CTA, Italy
Corfu-CFU, Greece
Figari-FSC, France
Fuerteventura-FUE, Spain
Geneva-GVA, Switzerland - HQ and Main Hub [ Map Link ]
Ibiza-IBZ, Spain
Madeira-FNC, Portugal
Málaga-AGP, Spain
Malta-MLA, Malta
Menorca-MAH, Spain
Mykonos-JMK, Greece
Pamplona-PNA, Spain
Rimini-RMI, Italy
Santorini-JTR, Greece
Toulon-TLN, France
Seasonal Service (Winter)
Winter seasonal air service is offered from both Geneva-GVA and Zurich-ZRH to the following destinations, except where otherwise noted.
Albertville-LFKA, France
Andorra/La Seu d'Urgell-LEU, Andorra/Spain (GVA only)
Annecy-NCY, France
Aosta-AOT, Italy
Chambéry-CMF, France
Courchevel-CVF, France
Geneva-GVA, Switzerland - HQ and Main Hub [ Map Link ]
Grenoble-GNB, France
Gstaad/Saanen-KSGK, Switzerland
Innsbruck-INN, Austria
Kittilä-KTT, Finland
Klagenfurt-KLU, Austria
Lugano-LUG, Switzerland
Megève-MVV, France
Méribel-MFX, France
Östersund-OSD, Sweden
Perpignan-PGF, France (GVA only)
Poprad/Tatry-TAT, Slovakia
Plovdiv-PDV, Bulgaria
Rovaniemi-RVN, Finland
Samedan/Davos-SMV, Switzerland
Sibiu-SBZ, Romania
Sion-SIR, Switzerland
Trondheim-TRD, Norway
Zurich-ZRH, Switzerland - Focus City
Fleet
Current Fleet
R3D Airlines currently uses the following aircraft for scheduled and chartered air services.
† = JStream original aircraft
Airbus A220-300 - 2019-Present
Aria V12 VTOL - 2024-Present †
Aria V42 VTOL - 2024-Present †
ATR 72-600 - 2012-Present - Retiring 2026
Daher Kodiak 900 - 2021-Present - Retiring 2025 †
Future Fleet
R3D Airlines has placed firm orders for the following aircraft, which are expected to be delivered in the near future.
† = JStream original aircraft
Aria T72 Transonic - Expected 2025 †
=Nota Bene=
R3D Airlines is entirely fictional and not derived from any real life airline. (I’ve never heard of anyone using a winning lottery ticket to start an airline, have you? But I suppose there’s a first time for everything.)
The R3D ATR 72 flights and their later expansion to smaller jets were vicariously inspired by the real life Porter Airlines of Canada, which against much probability was able to successfully launch an all-turboprop airline from a smaller airport in Toronto - though they did it using de Havilland Dash 8 and Embraer E195-2 aircraft instead.
I basically gamed out the idea of having a boutique airline operating from Switzerland that would be heavily focused on leisure - at least in the beginning.
I also decided to have the owners be millennial fun-seekers by nature. I don’t know if such folk could’ve pulled it off in North America, but I do think someone like them could maybe do it in Europe. So I selected Switzerland for grins, because of its west-central European location, its its proximity to lots of resorts, and its popularity as a leisure destination. I originally based R3D in Basel-BSL, but decided to move it to Geneva-GVA because GVA turned out to be more conveniently located. I figured Zurich-ZRH would be a suitable home base for Switzerland’s major/legacy carrier, so R3D would do best in one of the other two cities. (BTW I plan to write an article featuring the bigger Swiss legacy carrier at a later date.)
I also wanted Elin and Markus to be in the airline business but not be personally wealthy, for a change. (I already did with banking family scions Alain Niyonkuru and Ben Bronkhorst in my earlier Umurundi Airlines story…). So I decided their funding mechanism needed to be a windfall event, like winning the lottery. At first I was going to have them win the EuroMillions lottery, but later I decided to double the prize to $500 million by having them win in the US, which had a real life win of around that amount back in early 2012. They won specifically in Colorado because, well they love skiing so why not?
Switzerland is one of my favorite countries. I visited Basel, Zurich and Lucerne a couple of years ago and loved it there. I’m planning to visit that part of Europe again in 2025, so maybe I can get around to seeing Geneva and vicinity this time.
The Daher Kodiak 900 template was designed in-house by me. It looks a bit cartoonish for my taste, but that’s the actual shape of the plane! I’ll probably revisit its design at some point, to fine tune it a bit. C’est la vie!
Originally I wasn’t going to include the Aria V Series aircraft - which were also designed in-house by me - but then all these funky little Altiport class airports kept popping during my research around Geneva-GVA and Lyon-LYS (and Turin-TRN!). I realized that Elin and Markus, likely being environmentally friendly and climate change aware, would come to appreciate the Aria V12 VTOL and Aria V42 VTOL for their hybrid/clean-fuel power and VTOL capabilities. The region would be very ideal for VTOL planes, so I added them in just for fun.
All liveries depicted in this article were conceived and drawn by the Author.
Aria aircraft templates displayed in this article are fictional aircraft, whose original templates were drawn by the Author.
The Daher Kodiak 900 aircraft template is an all original, in-house made content created by the Author.
All other aircraft templates shown in this article were licensed from Norebbo and augmented by the Author for display. Blank side view templates of these aircraft are available for purchase through ShopNorebbo.
Route Maps were created using Great Circle Map.