Boarding PassBordkarte
BRNBern
THFBerlin-Tempelhof
- Passenger
- Everyone who flew
- Flight
- 3L · First flight
- Date
- 25 Mar 2002
- Gate
- Lake Constance
- Seat
- 1A
- Departure
- 2002
- Final landing
- 2015
- Guests
- 2 million+
From Bern to Lake Constance · 2002–2015
We gave Lake
Constance wings.
Launched in Bern in March 2002, flying from Friedrichshafen as well from 2003 and fully at home on Lake Constance from 2005: until November 2015 InterSky connected Switzerland, Lake Constance and Austria with Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Vienna and the Mediterranean. This site remembers the airline and everyone who flew it. Told by Roger Hohl, who was there from 2003 until the very last day, finally as CEO.
Boarding PassBordkarte
Departures Abflug · Scheduled flights 2015
FromToFrequencyStatus
Scheduled routes according to the InterSky press kit 2015. Status valid since 6 November 2015.
Welcome on board since 2001
An airline out of nowhere, just after 9/11
In autumn 2001 aviation pioneer Rolf Seewald sold Rheintalflug to Austrian Airlines. Two Dash 8 aircraft stayed in the family, and after the attacks in New York neither of them could be sold. At the same time Bern Airport was urgently looking for an airline. So on 1 December 2001 Renate Moser and Seewald founded InterSky in Bregenz, by its own account the first airline in the world founded by a woman.
On 25 March 2002 the first passenger flight took off from Bern to Berlin-Tempelhof. When the low-cost carriers from Britain conquered the continent, InterSky reinvented itself: low fares, online booking, ticketless travel. From October 2003 a second base grew in Friedrichshafen, and from 2005 the Lake Constance airport became home.
In September 2003 a 19-year-old from Zurich joined: Roger Hohl, fresh out of business school in Zurich, started as an assistant in finance and controlling. He built up the IT department, headed marketing and became the airline’s spokesperson in 2008. In 2011 he became Chief Commercial Officer, on 1 January 2015 CEO, and he stayed until the very last day.
The years that followed were the golden ones: profits without any bank loans, a fleet of four Dash 8-300 and on 9 October 2009 the one millionth passenger. 2010 brought volcanic ash, Germanwings competing on the flagship route to Cologne and the first loss in the company’s history. In July 2011 Renate Moser and Rolf Seewald took the controls again themselves, and InterSky was back in profit before the year was out.
In 2012 Hans Rudolf Wöhrl and Peter Oncken came on board with INTRO Aviation. Two brand-new ATR 72-600 followed, IATA membership, new routes from Zurich and Memmingen, charter flights for national football teams and two world records. On 1 January 2015 Roger Hohl, aged 30, became managing director together with Renate Moser. In autumn 2015 the takeover by a new investor fell through. On 6 November 2015 the aircraft stayed on the ground.
Logbook
Fourteen years, leg by leg
Facts & figures
Logbook in numbers
1,000,000passengers, reached on 9 October 2009 in Friedrichshafen
1,064guests in a single day, record set on 26 April 2013
95.9%on time in December 2014: 5th of 463 airlines worldwide, no. 1 in Europe
2,682 kmlongest commercial flight ever by an ATR 72-600, 5 h 25 min
Passengers per year
Source: InterSky “Facts and figures”, press kit May 2015. Revenue excluding passenger charges. The source gives no passenger figure for 2003. 2013 includes two leased aircraft (ACMI).
Fleet
Two turboprops you could recognise by ear
Bombardier Dash 8-300
The workhorse from day one: it all began in 2002 with a Dash 8 from the Rheintalflug fleet. By 2008 the fleet had grown to four aircraft, paid for out of the airline’s own profits.
- Seats50
- Cabinwhite leather seats
- Engines2 × Pratt & Whitney PW100
- In service2002 – 2015
OE-LSBOE-LIAOE-LICOE-LIE
ATR 72-600
The first ATR 72-600 in the region where Germany, Austria and Switzerland meet. Factory-new from Toulouse, burning on average half the fuel of a comparable jet. With 76 seats she offered one and a half times the capacity of the Dash 8.
- Seats76
- Cabinblue leather seats, “Armonia”
- Valuearound US$24m each
- In serviceJan 2013 – 2015
OE-LIBOE-LID
Wet lease: guests in the InterSky schedule
When one of its own aircraft was in maintenance or the schedule needed more capacity, aircraft from other airlines flew on behalf of InterSky, with their own crew, maintenance and insurance. In 2013 an Embraer 120 from Budapest Aircraft Service (BASe) was also used.
ATR 72-200 Avanti Air
Avanti Air flew its ATR 72-200s for InterSky on a wet lease basis. For this, D-BCRN received the InterSky logo in the hangar in May 2010.
- OperatorAvanti Air, with its own crew
- ContractWet lease (ACMI)
- Engines2 × Pratt & Whitney PW124B
- For InterSky2010 and 2013
D-BCRND-ANFC
Route network
From Lake Constance in every direction
Scheduled
Holiday & charter
World record flight
Base
Hover over an airport to see its routes.
The holiday flights to the Mediterranean, to Elba, Sardinia, Naples and the Croatian Adriatic coast, were run in cooperation with the Vorarlberg tour operator High Life Reisen.
A selection of all the routes InterSky flew between 2002 and 2015, scheduled or on behalf of tour operators, including Elba from 2002, Menorca, Naxos, Naples, Jersey & Guernsey, Pula, Zadar and Hévíz.
Records & stories
Tales from the apron
The Joan of Arc of Tempelhof
When Berlin-Tempelhof was due to close in 2004, Renate Moser went to court with an urgent application and won a reprieve until October 2008. InterSky flew there until the last day, said goodbye with sightseeing flights for Berliners and was one of the very last aircraft to take off there.
November 2013
World record to Krasnodar
For FC St. Gallen’s Europa League match the ATR 72-600 flew non-stop from Friedrichshafen to Krasnodar: 2,493 km in 5 h 23 min across seven countries. No ATR 72-600 had ever flown a longer commercial flight. It earned InterSky the Aviation Excellence Award 2014. “Only with such an outstanding crew can we offer precision and reliability at world-champion level,” said Roger Hohl at the ceremony.
Record no. 2: Belfast – Tirana
With the Albanian club Skënderbeu Korça on board, InterSky beat its own record: 2,682 km in 5 h 25 min across ten countries. “Never before has a longer commercial flight been made with this aircraft type,” said a delighted CEO Roger Hohl.
World champions on board
The German national team flew the ATR from Frankfurt to Bolzano for its World Cup training camp and back to Düsseldorf ten days later. A few weeks after that they were world champions. “This is a special football mission!” said Roger Hohl at the time. Croatia, Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart, 1. FC Nürnberg, GC Zurich, Red Bull Salzburg and Fiorentina also booked InterSky.
Flying through the ash cloud
When Eyjafjallajökull shut down European airspace, InterSky kept flying with a special permit: 28 flights and around 600 passengers in one day. The day after, it was the only airline flying from Friedrichshafen to Berlin, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg and Münster/Osnabrück.
Europe’s most punctual airline
According to Flightview, 95.9% of flights arrived on time in December 2014, and 97.4% of departures left on time. That meant 5th place among 463 airlines worldwide and 1st in Europe, with newspaper, snack and drink included. “A big compliment and our sincere thanks to everyone!” said a delighted Roger Hohl.
Safe to IATA standards
In January 2011 InterSky passed the IOSA safety audit at the first attempt with an excellent result. In September 2012 it became a member of IATA. Maintenance was carried out around the clock by its own engineering department in Friedrichshafen.
To Kiel with the German champions
Borussia Dortmund flew to the cup quarter-final at Holstein Kiel, with InterSky of course. Kiel’s runway is less than 1,260 metres long, too short for a jet but not for the Dash 8. As Kiel had no airport fire service of its own, the InterSky team led by Roger Hohl arranged for volunteer fire brigades from the area to cover the landing. Dortmund won 4–0.
“Better small and healthy than big and sick.”
Hans Rudolf Wöhrl, INTRO Aviation, 2013The founders
Renate Moser & Rolf Seewald
Without the two of them there would never have been an InterSky. They founded the airline in 2001 with aircraft from Rheintalflug, financed its growth with their own money and without bank loans, and took the controls again themselves in the difficult years.
Founder & managing director
Renate Moser
Born in Vienna, she came to aviation through communications. She was head of press at Philips Austria and communications manager at Vienna Airport, then ran her own PR agency. From 1989 she worked for Rheintalflug as press spokesperson and head of sales. In 2001, at almost 60, she founded InterSky. By her own account that made her the first woman in the world to found an airline.
For her fight to keep Berlin-Tempelhof open the media called her the “Joan of Arc of Tempelhof”. In 2004 she received the Bern Entrepreneur Award. In 2006 she stepped back to the role of shareholder. In July 2011 she took over as managing director again, brought InterSky back into profit and won INTRO Aviation as a partner in 2012. She remained on the management board to the end.
- 1942 born in Vienna
- 1989 Rheintalflug
- 2001 founded InterSky
- 2004 Bern Entrepreneur Award
“We have finally proven that we are far more than a mayfly.”Renate Moser, on the 10th anniversary in 2012
Co-founder & aviation pioneer
Rolf Seewald
The Austrian aviation pioneer and entrepreneur founded Rheintalflug. In 2001 he sold it to Austrian Airlines. Two Dash 8 stayed in the family, and with them the story of InterSky began.
As co-owner he ran flight operations and remained responsible for them after 2006. In July 2011 he and Renate Moser took over operational management again, with him in charge of flight operations and maintenance. To some he was a mentor, for example to Andreas Geldner, who had started at Rheintalflug in 1985 and joined InterSky at his call in 2004. After INTRO Aviation came on board in 2012, he and Renate Moser kept a 25.1% stake.
- Rheintalflug founder
- 2001 co-founded InterSky
- 2006 still head of flight operations
- 2011 flight ops & maintenance
“Always by her side, her husband Rolf Seewald, who was always a great support to her.”From the press release for the 10th anniversary, 2012
“InterSky is no longer a family business but a two-family business. What more could you wish for your life’s work?”
Renate Moser, 2012, after INTRO Aviation came on board
People
Around 150 people, one crew
Pilots, cabin crew, engineers, the call centre in Bregenz, operations control, sales and administration. A regional airline lives from a few people who do a great deal. The staff were the reason for the punctuality, the records and the many loyal passengers.
At the company’s controls
- Renate Moser founder, managing director 2001–2006 and from July 2011
- Rolf Seewald co-founder, aviation pioneer, shareholder, head of flight operations
- Claus Bernatzik & Jörg Schwingeler management from 2006
- Hans Rudolf Wöhrl & Peter Oncken INTRO Aviation, majority owners from 2012
- Roger Hohl with InterSky from 2003: marketing, sales and spokesperson, CCO from 2011, CEO in 2015
From assistant to CEO
Roger Hohl
He joined InterSky in September 2003 as an assistant in finance and controlling, fresh out of business school in Zurich. He worked in IT, marketing, sales and press relations, became CCO in 2011 and in 2015, aged 30, one of the youngest airline bosses anywhere. He stayed until the end. Today: rogerhohl.com
12years at InterSky, 2003–2015
6positions from controlling to CEO
0.5 → 8€ million revenue from charter & ACMI under his lead
30years old when he became CEO
- 2003Assistant Finance & ControllingStarting out in Bregenz: presentations for management, budgeting, contact with banks, auditors and owners.
- 2004Head of ITPioneering work: he built up the department with network, servers, intranet and the online booking system.
- 2005–2008Marketing ManagerCampaigns, trade fairs, newsletters to up to 45,000 subscribers, the first social media channels and the world’s first singing flight attendant, featured from Stefan Raab’s show to NBC.
- 2008–2015SpokespersonHead of Corporate Communications: press conferences, live interviews and internal communications.
- 2009–2010Chief Marketing OfficerRebuilding marketing, CI/CD, route analyses, project lead for the booking system migration and a €1 million budget.
- 2011–2014Chief Commercial OfficerThe biggest expansion in the company’s history: fleet +125 %, staff up from 75 to 150, charter and ACMI from €0.5 to 8 million. World record to Krasnodar, authorised signatory from 2013.
- 2015CEOManaging director together with Renate Moser: 170 staff, €35 million revenue, restructuring proceedings and the search for investors until the very end.
Alongside
- Head of Inflight Product2008–2014 · cabin, catering, onboard sales and inflight magazine
- Crisis team (LERAP)2008–2015 · emergency crisis team and external communications
- Manager on Duty Flight Operations2011–2014 · decision-maker during irregular operations
- Business Development2005–2014 · sparring partner to management on strategy and investments
- Authorised signatory2013–2014 · extended management for the commercial division
- CEO Seewald Leasing GmbH2015 · crew leasing with 100 staff for InterSky
“Our punctuality is real added value for our passengers.”
Roger Hohl, January 2015, when InterSky was Europe’s most punctual airline
Gallery
From the photo archive
Inflight cinema
Turboprop sound to replay
Videos from the official InterSky channel “flyintersky” and from spotters. A video only loads when you click it, and only then is a connection to YouTube made.
Please help yourself
Inflight magazine
It used to be in the seat pocket, now it is here. Click an issue to open the PDF (in German).
6 November 2015
Final landing
For months the owners and management negotiated with potential investors. On 6 November 2015 the last of them unexpectedly withdrew. Ticket sales were stopped and the aircraft stayed on the ground. Insolvency proceedings were opened on 9 November, and on 12 November 2015 InterSky Luftfahrt GmbH was closed. Around 135 employees lost their jobs.
Thank you for 14 years, more than two million guests
and countless on-time landings.
Renate Moser & Rolf Seewald · Founders of InterSky
Roger Hohl · InterSky 2003–2015, finally CEO
Ladies and gentlemen, we have landed. Please remain seated with your seatbelt fastened until the memories have come to a complete standstill.