Swissair could trace it's origins back as one of the world's oldest airlines with the founding of Frick & Co on 20 September 1919. Frick & Co was renamed Ad Astra Aero in December of that year. 'Ad astra aero' meaning flying to the stars. a profound sentiment that the early pioneers of what would become a world-class airline could not have truly understood.

In 1920 Ad Astra acquired two other pioneering post-war charter/joy-ride companies, Aero-Gesellschaft Comte and Mittelholzer & Co. With these two aviation companies Ad Astra Aero introduced pioneering scheduled services between Geneva and Nuremburg on 1st June 1922.

By 1926 Ad Astra Aero was flying scheduled services from Geneva to many European mainland destinations including Paris and Germany using Fokker 7B aircraft, as was Balair, the other airline that would make the new Swissair in 1931.