Swiss reports highest profit in its history
Published: Thursday, Mar 7th 2024, 09:51
Updated At: Thursday, Mar 7th 2024, 09:51
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Last year, Swiss returned to pre-pandemic revenue levels for the first time. The airline even set a new record for operating profit.
Swiss' turnover amounted to CHF 5.3 billion last year, as the airline announced on Thursday. This is a significant increase on the previous year (PY CHF 4.4 billion). Above all, however, it is the same amount as in 2019 after the pandemic crisis. "With 2023, we are finally leaving the crisis years behind us," CEO Dieter Vranckx is quoted as saying in the press release.
Swiss even achieved a record operating profit. It increased this to CHF 718.5 million from CHF 456 million in the previous year. This is once again well above the last record result of CHF 636 million in 2018.
This result is due, among other things, to a strong demand for air travel combined with a competitive cost structure, according to the statement.
More people and less freight transported
In total, the airline carried around 16.5 million passengers last year, almost 30 percent more than in the previous year. According to the press release, the number of flights rose by 22.5 percent to over 130,000.
On the other hand, freight decreased significantly, according to the report. Those responsible attribute this to the fact that providers in the market have continuously expanded their offering over the past year and global supply chains have stabilized. In 2023, the freight business was back to pre-crisis levels, but "nevertheless made a significant contribution to the overall result", according to the press release.
Investing in punctuality
According to the press release, 98.4 percent of planned flights were actually operated. Swiss' measures to improve flight schedule stability therefore paid off. However, the management now sees further potential for improvement in punctuality, which it has defined as one of the key issues for the current year.
The short-term measures to improve punctuality include optimized reserve planning. The airline also wants to implement long-term plans together with its partners, such as improving the flight operations infrastructure. Swiss also intends to further improve customer satisfaction in the current year.
Lufthansa also very successful
Lufthansa, the parent company of Swiss, also had one of its best years in 2023. The airline increased its operating profit by 76% to almost 2.7 billion euros compared to the previous year, which was still characterized by the crisis.
However, further major leaps are not in sight for the time being: CEO Carsten Spohr expects adjusted operating profit for 2024 to be at the previous year's level.
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