SWISS Increases Punctuality and Passenger Numbers During Summer Season
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has reported a mixed performance for the 2024 summer holiday period. Despite a challenging season marked by external disruptions, the airline managed to improve its year-to-date punctuality rate to 64%, a slight increase from 61% in the same period last year. This improvement was achieved even as SWISS transported 8% more passengers compared to summer 2023, with over 2.8 million travelers flying between July and mid-August. The airline also performed 20,797 flights during this time, a 6% increase from the previous year.
To prepare for the busy summer months, SWISS implemented over 80 preemptive actions aimed at ensuring smooth flight operations. However, despite these efforts, the airline faced significant challenges, including thunderstorms, air traffic control bottlenecks, and resulting delays. These external factors accounted for 75% of the delays experienced during the peak travel period.
July 14th marked the busiest day for SWISS, coinciding with the start of the school summer holidays in Zurich, when the airline carried 63,453 passengers. The increase in passengers also led to a rise in baggage handling, with over two million bags transported during the summer period, an 8% increase from last year.
Heike Birlenbach, SWISS Chief Commercial Officer and Interim CEO, acknowledged the difficulties faced by the airline, citing the impact of weather and air traffic control issues. Despite these challenges, Birlenbach praised the efforts of the SWISS team and expressed optimism about further improving punctuality in the coming months.
SWISS also saw a significant increase in customer service demand due to higher passenger volumes and unexpected issues like IT failures and weather disruptions. The airline’s call center handled around 320,000 calls during the summer, with average waiting times of less than two minutes. Written inquiries were resolved within four days on average, as the airline continues to enhance its digital services to provide faster assistance.