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In 1939, Pilatus, a small aircraft maintenance company for the Swiss Air Force was founded in Stans in the canton of Nidwalden. By 1944 it had produced its first aircraft: the Pilatus SB-2 Pelican. Pilatus Porter PC-6 © Pilatus Aircraft Ltd However, it wasn’t until 1959 that Pilatus really took off with the launch of the Pilatus Porter PC-6. The PC-6 was so good at taking off from short rough runways it was sometimes used as a substitute for helicopters. It was a global hit. Airlines as far...

This week, ch-direct, an association of public transport providers that sets ticket prices, announced there would be no ticket price rises in 2019. Instead the prices of some tickets will fall slightly on 1 June 2018. © Sergiomonti | Dreamstime.com The price small cuts on standard fares in June relate to the shift from 8.0% to 7.7% VAT at the beginning of the year. Inflation this year is forecast at 0.6%, which means stable prices could deliver a small real inflation-adjusted saving to public...

For those who fly regularly, living close to an airport might be convenient, but it’s also noisy. © Ifeelstock | Dreamstime.com To reduce noise, Basel-Mulhouse airport has decided to reduce the number of flights taking off between 11pm and midnight by half, according to a press release. Unlike Geneva airport, which is located entirely on Swiss soil but still operates a French side, Basel-Mulhouse, Switzerland’s third major airport is on French territory, but run by the Swiss. The history of...

The cantons of Neuchâtel (14.7%) and Geneva (14.6%) have the highest percentages of taxpayers owing money, according to the newspaper SonntagsBlick. © Siriporn Kaenseeya | Dreamstime.com Fribourg (12.6%), Bern (9.5%) and Luzern (6.5%) complete the top-five. Vaud (5.9%), Basel-City (5.5%) and Zurich (2.4%) are further down. Aargau (2.0%) and Uri (1.0%) sit at the bottom with fewest with oustanding tax payments. These figures are only part of the picture. Those who borrow to pay their taxes are...

Statistics published today show a further rise in Swiss healthcare costs. © Aviahuismanphotography | Dreamstime.com In 2016, spending on healthcare rose by 3.8% reaching over CHF 80 billion, 12.2% of GDP. In 2015, Swiss healthcare spending was equal to 11.9% of GDP. The challenge of rising healthcare costs is not confined to Switzerland. In the UK in 2015, healthcare costs rose 3.6% to reach 9.9% of GDP. Switzerland has a system of compulsory private health insurance, however the government...

Swiss unemployment is at its lowest for 3.5 years, according to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). © Gpointstudio | Dreamstime.com The last time Swiss unemployment reached March 2018’s level was in October 2014. After reaching a peak of 3.7% in January 2017, the rate had fallen to 2.9% by March 2018. Unemployment has some seasonality however the rate for last March (2.9%) is low even when compared to March 2016 (3.5%) and March 2017 (3.4%). As usual French-speaking...

Philomena Colatrella, the CEO of Swiss insurer CSS Insurance, has stirred the lively debate around Switzerland’s rising cost of health insurance by proposing deductibles of CHF 5,000 and CHF 10,000 – deductibles set the amount people pay out of their own pockets before their insurance kicks in. CSS Versicherung_source Facebook Colatrella discussed the idea in an interview with Blick. The response to her comments was widely covered by Switzerland’s media, including by the broadcaster RTS....

Across the road from Lake Geneva, sits Geneva’s and the world’s most expensive hotel suite. The Hotel President Wilson’s Royal Penthouse Suite is reported to cost $83,500 per night – the price is not listed on the hotel’s website but costs this much according to CNN. © Tacettin Ulas | Dreamstime.com For most of those planning to visit Geneva, this price is, thankfully, an outlier. According to a report by the accounting firm PwC, the average nightly cost of a hotel in Geneva was €242.90 in...

In some parts of Switzerland welfare payments are effectively loans that must be repaid when the recipient’s financial situation improves. © PeJo29 | Dreamstime.com According to the Aargauer Zeitung, a welfare recipient in the commune of Klingnau in the canton of Aargau received a bill of 173,000 francs after he came into some money. A windfall of 173,000 francs is rare, according to Rolf Walker, head of administration at the commune. Where the money came from in this case was not disclosed,...

According to Tribune de Genève, Hervé Falciani was arrested in Madrid last week at Switzerland’s request. Hervé Falciani – source: Wikipedia In 2008, Falciani a French-Italian who grew up in Monaco, took confidential information from the Geneva offices of HSBC, his employer, and fled to Lebanon where some claim he attempted to sell it. Later he shared the information with authorities in France and sought refuge there in 2009. The information contained client information, some of which related...