Crossair management decided to launch a new airline, under French law, to take advantage of airline liberalisation in the EU.

The airline was established in 1997 and started operations on 29 March 1998. Operations began as an independent company, based in Basel, under the trade name "Crossair Europe".

The Crossair and then the Swiss International Air Lines subsidiary ceased operations at the end of March 2005.

IATA code : QE
ICAO code : ECC