Swiss Air planes were grounded in Zurich in 2001 due to lack of liquidity. There was so little money left that there wasn't enough money to pay for fuel. This was even more surprising since this airline was located in one of the richest countries in the world, Switzerland. Swissair has managed to establish itself as a quality airline throughout its home country of Switzerland and in Europe. Swiss Air celebrated its 70th birthday in March of that year with no indication of what would happen in early October of 2001. Swissair was founded in 1931 by shareholders of two major Swiss airlines. The combination of these shareholders gave birth to the new company Swiss Air. These two airlines were Ad Astra-Aero and Balair. At that time the two airlines had 13 planes and 64 employees who operated 4 domestic and 14 international flights covering all of Zurich. More recently Swissair converted to an all-Airbus fleet where 3 members of the A320 and A330-200 family provided services. From 18 initial routes it grew into a stronger network spanning much of Europe. In 1934 Swissair became the first airline to hire European stewardesses. The airline was known for its fleet decisions and catering, among other services. In 1958 they formed their first alliance with Scandinavian Airlines. In 1968 they became the third European airline to operate a full jet fleet, which put them above and beyond all other airlines in the world. In 1988 Swissair became the first airline in the world with an entirely category 3 fleet equipped for landings in poor visibility conditions; once again the airline was at the forefront of technology. Then, in 1991, they were the first airline in the world to publish an environmental impact report showing the effects of their jets on the environment and noise on communities. In 1996 it became the first airline in the world to serve organic food in all classes of flights departing from Switzerland. It's clear that innovations have a lot to do with what Swissair created, but it wasn't the only factor in the equation. It was the last European airline to go from an 8 to 9 step in economy on its DC planes and from a 9 to 10 step in economy on its Boeing planes 747.