Terms and conditions

1. Scope

These General Terms and Conditions govern all orders in the online shop, all Stemme passenger flight bookings, voucher purchases, individual quotes and Academy courses and coaching offered by Swiss-Sailplane GmbH, Sandrainstrasse 2, 3007 Bern, Switzerland ("we", "us").

The Stemme flight terms, the voucher terms and the returns and warranty conditions published on this website form an integral part of these terms for the respective services. Deviating terms of the customer apply only if we have confirmed them in writing.

2. Offer and conclusion of contract

Product and service presentations on this website are non-binding invitations to place an order. By submitting an order or booking, you make a binding offer. The contract is concluded when we confirm the order or booking by email.

Obvious errors in prices, descriptions or availability may be corrected before the contract is concluded; in that case you are free to withdraw your order.

3. Prices and VAT

All prices are in Swiss francs (CHF) and include statutory Swiss VAT (currently 8.1%). For deliveries to addresses abroad, the Swiss VAT share is deducted during checkout and the sale is treated as a VAT-exempt export; customs duties and import charges in the destination country are borne by the customer.

Shipping costs and any other mandatory charges are shown before you complete your order.

4. Payment

Card payment: cards are processed by our payment provider Stripe on its hosted checkout page. The order or booking is confirmed once payment succeeds.

Bank transfer (prepayment): you receive an invoice with a Swiss QR-bill. Goods are shipped and bookings are finally confirmed once the full amount has been received. If payment is not received by the date stated on the invoice, we may cancel the order or release the reserved date.

Vouchers: flight vouchers are redeemed in accordance with the voucher terms.

5. Card payment surcharge

Card payments carry a surcharge corresponding to the card processing fee (currently 2.9% plus CHF 0.30 for Swiss cards and 3.25% plus CHF 0.30 for foreign cards). The surcharge is shown as a separate line item before you pay. Payments by bank transfer carry no surcharge.

6. Delivery

We deliver to the shipping address provided in the order. Delivery dates are estimates unless a fixed date has been expressly agreed. Partial deliveries are permitted where reasonable.

If an ordered item is unavailable, we will inform you without delay and refund any payments already made for it.

7. Retention of title

Delivered goods remain our property until the purchase price has been paid in full.

8. Warranty and returns

The statutory warranty applies. Under Swiss law there is no general right of withdrawal for online purchases. The details and the return procedure are set out in our returns and warranty conditions, which form part of these terms.

9. Flights and vouchers

Stemme passenger flights are additionally governed by the Stemme flight terms (including the cancellation and weather rules). Vouchers are additionally governed by the voucher terms. Both documents form part of these terms.

10. Academy courses and coaching

Registration for courses and coaching takes place by request. The contract is concluded when we confirm the registration in writing or when you accept our quote. Course fees are due before the course starts unless stated otherwise.

If you cancel a confirmed registration, the following applies: more than 14 days before the start, full refund; 7 to 14 days before the start, 50% refund; less than 7 days before the start, no refund, unless we agree otherwise at our discretion.

We may cancel or reschedule a course for insufficient participation, weather or safety reasons. In that case you may choose between an alternative date and a full refund of the course fee. Travel and accommodation costs are not reimbursed.

11. Liability

We are liable without limitation for damage caused intentionally or by gross negligence and wherever the law mandates liability (in particular for personal injury and under product liability law).

Liability for slight negligence and for indirect or consequential damage (such as lost profit or travel costs) is excluded to the extent permitted by law. The mandatory liability rules of aviation law for the carriage of passengers remain unaffected; they are referenced in the Stemme flight terms.

12. Data protection

The processing of personal data is described in our privacy policy.

13. Final provisions

Swiss substantive law applies; the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is excluded. The place of jurisdiction is Bern, Switzerland; mandatory statutory places of jurisdiction — in particular for consumers — remain reserved.

Should individual provisions of these terms be invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions is not affected.

These terms are published in German and English. In the event of discrepancies, the German version prevails.