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Swiss to reinvent itself as the “Next-Generation Airline of Switzerland” with 22 new European routes and a new cabin design

Swiss International Air Lines (Zurich) is reinventing its European network with 22 new routes from Zurich for the next summer season and a new cabin look. The new strategy is called the “Next-Generation Airline of Switzerland”. The airline issued this statement:

Swiss (styled as “SWISS”) will be investing billions of Swiss francs in advanced aircraft, attractive destinations and further product enhancements over the next few years as part of its “Next-Generation Airline of Switzerland” strategy. The airline will be adding 22 new European destinations to its Zurich network with the start of the 2015 summer schedules, and will also be commencing a new Geneva-Lugano service. On board, meanwhile, the carrier will introduce a new-look cabin on its European Airbus fleet from the end of November onwards, along with fresh new Swiss products for its inflight foodservice in the Swiss Economy cabin.

Swiss, The Airline of Switzerland, will be investing several billion Swiss francs in its aircraft fleet and in making its products and services even more appealing to its guests. In doing so, it will also be putting an even firmer focus on the Swiss population’s air travel needs, and on keeping Switzerland even better connected with the world.

New European destinations from Zurich and Geneva

From the start of the 2015 summer schedules, Swiss will be supplementing its traditional hub concept with a new point-to-point system and expanding its Zurich-based European network through the addition of 22 new destinations. Sixteen of the new points – Naples, Bari, Bilbao, Porto, Toulouse, Leipzig, Dresden, Graz, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Riga, Krakow, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Sofia and Zagreb – will be provided with year-round service, while six of them – Palermo, Brindisi, Malta, Thessaloniki, Izmir and Santiago de Compostela – will be served in the summer months. Parallel to this, Swiss will also be expanding its range of services from and to Geneva, with the addition of 16 weekly Geneva-Lugano flights. The innovations will give Swiss a highly attractive timetable with more nonstop connections than ever, to meet the needs of the Swiss people, the Swiss economy and the Swiss tourist sector.

Refurbishment of the European Airbus fleet

Swiss will also be introducing extensive innovations for its European aircraft fleet. Work will begin this November on a number of enhancements to its Airbus A320s and A321s that will also increase their seating capacity. By adopting a new type of seat which offers more legroom than at present, the new configurations will offer passengers the same comfort levels as today, and even more comfort in the Business Class section. At the same time, capacity will be increased by 12 seats on the A320 and by 19 seats on the A321. The new cabin interiors (including the seat covers) will also be modified to the style already seen in the Swiss Lounges and on the long-haul fleet. The first A320-family aircraft with the new-style cabin will be back in service towards the end of November.

New Swiss Economy foodservice on European flights

The refurbishment of the European Airbus fleet will also see the adoption of a new foodservice concept for the Swiss Economy cabin. Under the new approach, all the products will be sourced fresh daily from local Swiss producers. And these will include – depending on the flight’s length – warm quiches, fresh bakery items or (on longer flights) fresh salads and warm desserts. The meals will also be served in an attractive new packaging. As a result of these innovations, Swiss will now offer quality Swiss products in Swiss Economy on all European flights.

Billions of investment in one of the most advanced aircraft fleets

Swiss is continuously investing in its aircraft fleet. On the short- and medium-haul front the airline will be taking delivery of 30 new Bombardier CS100s from next year onwards to replace the present Avro (BAe) RJ100 fleet. The Airbus fleet will be further expanded with the arrival of a new Airbus A321ceo in 2016. And between 2019 and 2022 Swiss will add ten state-of-the-art new Airbus A320neos and five Airbus A321neos to its fleet to replace ten of its older A320s and five A321s. Swiss also holds ten further options on A320neo-family aircraft. And on the long-haul front, six Boeing 777-300 ERs will join the Swiss fleet from 2016 onwards. All in all, the new aircraft represent a total investment of some CHF 5 billion.

Swiss:

Swiss to drop the Zurich-Kiev route on October 1

Swiss International Air Lines (Zurich) will drop the Zurich-Kiev route on October 1. It currently operates five flights a week with Airbus A320 family aircraft.

The airline issued this short statement:

Swiss will be withdrawing its present Zurich-Kiev service with effect from October 1. The service is being terminated for economic reasons, as business on the route has failed to develop in line with expectations. The service was introduced in the 2013/14 winter schedules.

Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner/AirlinersGallery.com. Up-close action. Airbus A320-214 HB-JLT (msn 5518) with Sharklets touches down on the runway at the Zurich hub.

Swiss:

Swiss reaches agreement with two pilot groups, names its first A320 with Sharklets “Grenchen”

Swiss International Air Lines (Zurich) has issued this statement:

Swiss International Air Lines and its Aeropers and IPG pilots’ unions have reached an agreement in their negotiations on the future overall structure and working parameters for the company’s cockpit crew corps.

Swiss and its Aeropers and IPG cockpit crew unions have been in discussions since the end of last year with a view to establishing forward-looking working structures and laying the foundations for a single pilot corps. After intensive negotiations, the parties have found a viable compromise in the last few days that has met with the approval of both unions and the company.

The key issues in these discussions have been creating an integrated Swiss European and Swiss International pilot corps, efficiently introducing the new Bombardier CS100 and Boeing 777 aircraft types, sustainably maintaining Swiss’ competitive edge, securing cockpit jobs and establishing and developing the company’s new Geneva crew base.

The agreement reached will now be used to work out the corresponding amendments to the collective labour agreements (CLAs) of the two pilot corps between now and the end of this year. These amendments will then be presented to the unions’ respective members for approval. The aim here is to have all collaborations under the new employment parameters from April 2014 onwards.

With the result of these negotiations, and the corresponding integration of Swiss European Air Lines into Swiss International Air Lines, Swiss is both setting a vital course for its own corporate future and breaking new ground within the airline industry.

In other news, Swiss International Air Lines has named its Airbus A320 HB-JLT “Grenchen” (above) after the town in northwest Switzerland. The aircraft is something of a celebrity in the Swiss fleet: it’s the first member of Swiss’ Airbus A320 family to be equipped with sharklets, the winglets developed by the manufacturer to enhance inflight performance.

The symbolic naming ceremony was held in Grenchen and was attended by Boris Banga, the current Mayor of Grenchen, Daniel Bärlocher, Swiss’ Head of Corporate Communications and Peter Fasler, Head of Licence and Rating Training at Swiss Aviation Training subsidiary. Performing the honor was top Swiss ski jumper Simon Ammann, the four-time Olympic gold medallist, World Champion and World Cup Winner, who serves as an ambassador for watch manufacturer Breitling, which is headquartered in the town.

The sharklet-equipped HB-JLT is the 38th member of the Airbus A320 family to be delivered to Swiss. The aircraft is deployed on medium-haul routes in Europe and on services to Africa and the Middle East.

The sharklets reduce aerodynamic drag in the wingtip area. Airbus calculates that the resulting fuel savings reduce the associated carbon dioxide emissions by some 1,000 tons per aircraft per year – the equivalent of the CO2 produced by around 200 averagely-used family cars.

Copyright Photo: Nik French/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 WL HB-JLT (msn 5518) with Sharklets and a new name departs from Manchester.

Swiss:

Swiss’ first half operating profit improves by 18% to $77 million

Swiss International Air Lines (Zurich) reported an operating profit of $77 million for the first half of 2013 and issued the following statement:

SWISS achieved an operating profit of CHF 72 million ($77.7 million) for the first six months of 2013, an 18% improvement on the same period last year. Total income from operating activities was raised 3% for the period to CHF 2,515 million. These encouraging first-half results are attributable to a stabilization of the SWISS market environment and a strong business performance in the second-quarter period.

Swiss International Air Lines (Group) effected a further increase in its total first-half income from operating activities this year: the CHF 2,515 million generated was a 3% improvement on the CHF 2,452 million of January-June 2012. Operating profit for the period was also improved from CHF 61 million to CHF 72 million, an increase of 18%. The first half of 2012 had, however, seen a pronouncedly negative earnings trend.

SWISS delivered a particularly strong business performance this year in the second-quarter period. The quarterly operating profit of CHF 96 million was a full 48% above its prior-year equivalent (CHF 65 million); and total operating income for the quarter also increased 3.1%, from the CHF 1,284 million of April-June 2012 to CHF 1,325 million.

The reasons for these positive developments can be found in the slight stabilization of market conditions in the second-quarter period and in the impact of numerous actions taken under the Lufthansa Group’s SCORE programme to enhance earnings performance and results. “We have detected a change in market trends,” confirms SWISS CEO Harry Hohmeister. “But with the still-high fuel prices in particular, the situation remains far from easy, and we haven’t achieved our results turnaround yet. We’re currently in the midst of some major structural adjustments to our European operations, like our new organization and fare model for Geneva,” Hohmeister continues. “And we must continue to consistently develop and embark on such bold new paths.”

Initiatives in Europe and on the fuel management front

SWISS unveiled a new fare concept for customers departing from Geneva in the course of the second-quarter period. The new concept, which also offers one-way fares, will come into effect this autumn, replacing the present pricing model. “Our new Geneva fare concept offers an innovative new pricing approach while still providing all our traditional SWISS quality,” Harry Hohmeister explains. The developments in Geneva have extended to the appointment of a new local management team for the regional market of Western Switzerland and adjacent French border areas, while plans are also well under way to establish a new Geneva crew base. All these endeavours are intended to better meet the region’s specific air travel wishes and needs.

Elsewhere, SWISS has been taking further action on the fuel management front. The additional measures here – which include reducing aircraft weights, revised flight planning, new flight procedures and the adoption of new technologies – should cut SWISS’s annual fuel bill by a double-digit million-franc amount by 2015.

Passenger volumes and load factors up again

SWISS carried a total of 7.77 million passengers in the first six months of 2013, a 0.9% increase on the 7.70 million of the same period last year. Total flights performed in the period declined 3.1%, from 75,269 to 72,899 flights. First-half systemwide seat load factor amounted to 82.6%, a further 1.3-percentage-point improvement on the 81.3% of the prior-year period.

SWISS offered 2.9% more available-seat-kilometre (ASK) capacity systemwide in the first six months of 2013 than it had for the same period last year. Total first-half traffic volume, measured in revenue passenger-kilometres (RPKs), was up 4.5%.

Total cargo sales for the first-half period were a 2.3% improvement in revenue-tonne-kilometre terms. Cargo load factor (by volume) slipped slightly to 78.6%.

Personnel

SWISS remains a key economic driver and creator of jobs, offering young aviation enthusiasts the chance to make their career dreams come true. This year, too, the company will add over 200 new positions to its cockpit and cabin crew corps, and the establishment of the new crew base in Geneva will create some 150 new local jobs by year-end. On 30 June 2013 the SWISS workforce amounted to 6,960 full-time equivalents (compared to 6,722 FTEs at the end of june 2012). These positions were shared among 8,171 personnel (compared to 7,975 at the end of june 2012).

Fleet, product and network

SWISS continues to invest in refining its product and modernizing its aircraft fleet. Its latest intercontinental destination – Singapore – received new non-stop service from and to Zurich in May. And the current aircraft order books feature 30 Bombardier CS100s, six Boeing 777s, a further Airbus A330-300 and a further Airbus A321.

Outlook

In view of the recent stabilization of the market environment, SWISS’s management is confident of posting an operating profit for 2013 as a whole that will exceed last year’s CHF 212 million in swiss francs. “We will have to further intensify all our efforts, though,” says CEO Harry Hohmeister, “if we are to achieve the kind of sustainable profit base we need to finance our growth and investment policy between now and 2020.”

Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 HB-JLT (msn 5518) with the new Sharklets taxies at the Zurich hub.

Swiss:

Swiss takes delivery of its first first Airbus A320 with Sharklets

Swiss International Air Lines (Zurich) on March 20 received from Airbus its first new A320 with Sharklets. Sharklets are newly designed wing-tip devices that improve the aircraft’s aerodynamics and significantly cut the airline’s fuel burn and emissions by four percent on longer sectors.

Swiss: