‘Fly your way’ - Helvetic Airways launches flexible part-time model and ‘Helvetic Homeshare’

Swiss-based regional airline Helvetic Airways is introducing a totally individualized part-time working model for its cabin attendants under which they will largely decide for themselves how to structure their duty assignments. The company is also providing numerous rooms for its employees to rent in the Zurich Airport region.

Helvetic Airways has been offering a wide range of attractive part-time employment options for its cabin personnel for several years now. In addition to the conventional part-time working model with fixed duty days each week, these include ‘Fly&Study’ for students and ‘Ski&Fly’ for seasonal employees such as skiing instructors. Now, with the start of 2023, the Swiss-based regional airline is also embarking on a totally new approach: ‘Fly your way’, an innovative and fully flexible part-time employment model under which cabin attendants can directly channel their individual wishes and needs into their working arrangement.

Under ‘Fly your way’ the employee can, for instance, elect to work 50% with one week of work followed by one week off, or adopt the same 50/50 on-off pattern but on a monthly basis. A full six months on and six months off would also be possible. “For our younger and older colleagues alike, being able to design your own working hours is very important today,” explains CEO Tobias Pogorevc. “At Helvetic we’re always open to new ideas. And we’ll be doing our level best to ensure that these innovative new employment models meet today’s working needs – which should once again help us stand out from our competitors.”

The flexible new working model which can be tailored to each cabin attendant’s wishes should particularly appeal to both new recruits and existing employees seeking an individualized work roster to meet their private needs. “These individually designed terms and conditions of employment can be adjusted at six months’ notice up to twice a year,” CEO Pogorevc continues. “So our part-time employees can also realign their working arrangements if there are any major changes in other areas of their lives.”

With the new working model, too, Helvetic Airways will continue to make safety, quality and training its prime priorities. Newly employed cabin attendants with flying experience (such as senior cabin attendants) can take advantage of the ‘Fly your way’ model after just two to three months, while cabin attendants with no previous flying experience will be able to switch to such part-time working after an initial six-month period.

Rooms for employees in the Zurich Airport region
Finding suitable accommodation can be quite a challenge for new Helvetic Airways employees who are not already based in the Zurich region. With early duty starts often required – be it in the cockpit, the cabin or the maintenance hangar – having local accommodation, a car or good public transport connections is essential.

In response to this issue, Helvetic Airways is now launching its ‘Helvetic Homeshare’ programme to help its employees find suitable local rooms. Under the programme, the airline will be renting apartments in the Zurich Airport region and renting-on their individual rooms to its personnel. “In creating this programme we’re seeking to help our new employees, by ensuring they can focus fully on their training and their work and don’t need to spend valuable time and energies looking for a room or an apartment,” CEO Pogorevc explains.

The new Helvetic Homeshare programme will initially be available solely to new employees. But if its trial phase proves successful and if warranted by demand, it may be expanded with the addition of further apartment rentals and made available also to existing employees who would like to rent a room in one of the ‘Helvetic Homeshare’ premises.