Swiss International Air Lines has reported a 17 per cent drop in operating profit in 2011 due to a slump in business and rising fuel costs.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
Operating profit was SFr306 million ($330 million), the Lufthansa-run company reported on Thursday. The drop was “substantial” compared with 2010, and the result of a 87 per cent year-on-year fall in the fourth-quarter operating profit.
CEO Harry Hohmeister said he saw little prospect of any improvement at present, with “these difficulties being exacerbated by very high oil prices and the strength of the Swiss franc”.
He said fuel prices could only be offset to a certain extent by raising Swiss’ own fuel surcharges. The company will also be reviewing fare increases.
Swiss has brought in short-term measures to cope with the situation, including a hiring freeze in some areas and cutting down on the costs of outside consultants. It expects these efforts to improve operating results by SFr100 million.
The company transported 15,317,275 passengers in 2011, an 11 per cent increase on 2010.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss airline more popular than ever
This content was published on
In a statement on Friday, the airline – a subsidiary of Germany’s Lufthansa – said its previous high was 14.17 million, which it set in 2010. Swiss was created after the collapse of the national carrier Swissair ten years ago under a mountain of debts. After getting off to a rocky start, the fledgling airline…
This content was published on
In a statement, Swiss said the result more than doubled the operating profit of SFr61 million for the first half of 2010. Total income from operating activities for January to June 2011 was SFr2,406 billion, a seven per cent year increase compared with the year before. The company said the second quarter saw “a particularly…
This content was published on
Both sides are close to a compromise on different issues, according to a spokeswoman at Swiss. The pilots union Aeropers said the result of protracted negotiations was “a milestone” paving the way for the recruitment of more pilots. The details of the new accord are still to be settled and are subject to a approval…
This content was published on
The last-minute deal, agreed on Saturday, headed off rumours that pilots were planning to call a strike to coincide with Swiss summer holidays starting next week. A spokesman for Swiss, Jean-Claude Donzel, said the company had agreed to increase the pilots’ overall salary package – including holidays, days off, pension contributions and salary – by…
This content was published on
The grounding of Swissair on October 2, 2001, was the end of national myth and a dark day in Swiss aviation history. Ten years later, Swiss International Airlines has taken over the mantle of national carrier and soared back into profits under the aegis of Germany’s Lufthansa.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.