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#1 Austrian Airlines Vienna, so the third Lufthansa Group hub, and the question I get from German speakers is the Zurich versus Munich one, because both are in the group, both want German speakers, and the contracts are very different. I have friends at both and this is the comparison.
SWISS from Zurich
A Swiss employment contract under Swiss law with the collective agreement negotiated by kapers, the SWISS cabin crew union. Pay in francs, which in euro terms looks high and in Zurich rent terms looks normal. Long haul on the A330, A340 and the 777, short haul on the A220 and A320 family. Zurich is expensive, clean, small and 25 minutes from the mountains. The crew are Swiss and German with a strong minority of other nationalities, and Swiss German is the crew room language, which surprises Germans who expected German.
Lufthansa from Munich
The German mainline contract under the UFO agreement, in euros, in a city that is expensive by German standards and cheap by Zurich standards. The larger network, the longer seniority list, the slower promotion. Munich is a good base: the second hub, a strong long haul network, and the Alps an hour away.
The money, honestly
SWISS pays more in absolute terms and Zurich costs more. After rent the two are closer than the headline suggests, with SWISS still ahead for most crew. The franc has been strong for years and crew who send money to the eurozone benefit. Swiss tax and social contributions are lower than German ones, which is a real difference in net.
The residence question
Working in Switzerland as an EU citizen needs a permit, which the company arranges, and living in Switzerland is the normal arrangement (some crew live across the border in Germany and commute, which has tax and permit implications that need an adviser). Germans in Zurich are common and the Swiss have opinions about that, which you will hear.
The promotion and the fleet
SWISS is smaller, promotion is faster, and the long haul comes sooner. Lufthansa is bigger and slower. A German speaker at 24 with no ties who wants long haul fast should look at SWISS seriously. A German speaker who wants the big network and does not mind waiting should look at Munich.
Austrian, since I am here
Vienna, the third option: the smallest of the three hubs, the Austrian contract in euros with a collective agreement, a network heavy on Eastern Europe and a decent long haul, Vienna as a base city that is cheaper than both and lovelier than either. Faster promotion than Lufthansa, slower than SWISS, pay below both.
Three hubs, three contracts, three cities. The group name is the same. Nothing else is.
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#2 easyJet Geneva, so the other Swiss contract, and the Swiss tax and social contribution point is the one Germans underestimate. The net in Switzerland is a different animal even at the same gross. Max is right that SWISS stays ahead after rent.
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#3 Munich, and I have watched three colleagues go to SWISS for the faster long haul and the francs. Two are happy. One came back because Zurich at 30 with no friends was lonely. The city is small. Know that.
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#4 Hamburg, and SWISS was not on my list either. The Swiss German crew room point is a real consideration for someone from the north. Adding it anyway.
