The pandemic and associated travel restrictions have dealt a blow to SWISS International Air Lines. It has posted its first negative operating result in 15 years.
In its annual resultsExternal link released on Thursday, SWISS, which is part of the Lufthansa group, said that massive declines in bookings in 2020 led revenue to drop 65.2% on last year to reach CHF 1.85 billion ($2.01 billion).
It was hit especially hard in the fourth quarter, when the second wave of coronavirus infections swept across much of Europe. Revenue was down more than 75% in the fourth quarter compared to previous year levels.
Passenger volumes shrunk to a quarter of their 2019 levels, and the airline said it sees no “tangible recovery” before mid-summer 2021. The company said it is still losing around CHF2 million a day.
“The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions have posed a huge challenge for us,” said SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx, who took on the role after the previous CEO Thomas Klühr stepped down late last year. “And this, combined with the air transport sector’s relatively high fixed costs, has meant that our industry has been hit a lot harder than others.”
“Radical actions” to maintain its liquidity and lower costs in March 2020 helped stem even more losses to a certain degree. The airline also had some buffer with the Swiss WorldCargo division, which made a disproportionately high contribution to its 2020 results.
However, the airline said that it is now considering further measures to ensure its future viability.
“The situation has substantially deteriorated since 2021 began,” confirmed Vranckx. “It is now abundantly clear that the entire airline industry will undergo tangible structural change.” He added that the airline is considering radical restructuring that could impact its fleet size and route network.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
Clariant faces further ethylene price-fixing claim
This content was published on
Swiss chemicals group Clariant is facing a further claim for damages in connection with ethylene price-fixing agreements.
This content was published on
The Grande Dixence dam in Lower Valais is closed to visitors due to a rockfall last weekend. The nearby hotel also had to temporarily suspend operations for safety reasons.
Former Vatican auditor cleared of bribery in Zurich trial
This content was published on
The Zurich District Court acquitted a former financial markets supervisor at the Vatican of charges of corruption and bribery.
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 boss to quit at year’s end
This content was published on
Klühr has led SWISS since February 2016 as part of a 30-year career at Lufthansa Group, which owns Switzerland’s national carrier. He is leaving his current post for “personal reasons”, read a SWISS statementExternal link. Klühr delayed his departure to steer the company through the worst of the coronavirus pandemic that has devastated the airline…
SWISS airline turnover drops by over 60% due to pandemic
This content was published on
Swiss International Air Lines suffered a 61.8% drop in turnover in the first nine months of the year and will be cutting costs to stay in the air.
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.