Wednesday, August 28, 2024 Swiss International Air Lines experienced a mix of outcomes during the 2024 summer holiday period. Thanks to a series of proactive measures implemented before the peak travel season, the airline managed to boost its punctuality rate to 64% year-to-date, an improvement compared to the same timeframe in 2023. This achievement was notable, considering SWISS handled about 8% more passengers this summer, from early July to mid-August.
However, despite these efforts, a greater number of SWISS passengers experienced disruptions this summer compared to last year, mainly due to external factors like severe thunderstorms, congestion in Europe’s air traffic control, and subsequent cascading delays. To mitigate the anticipated challenges of this year’s high travel demand, SWISS executed over 80 preparatory measures aimed at maintaining steady flight operations throughout the 2024 vacation season. By August 18, approximately 64% of SWISS flights had departed on schedule, marking a notable increase from the 61% punctuality rate recorded during the same period in the previous year.
Throughout the core summer holiday window—from the start of July to mid-August—SWISS flew over 2.8 million passengers, reflecting an 8% growth compared to 2023. The airline operated a total of 20,797 flights during this period, around 6% more than the 19,610 flights conducted in the corresponding span of 2023.
Increased Flights Lead to Higher Passenger and Baggage Volumes This summer saw a record number of travelers, with the peak occurring on July 14, marking the start of school holidays in Canton Zurich and other regions. On this day alone, a remarkable 63,453 passengers took to the skies. The surge in passenger numbers naturally resulted in more luggage, with SWISS transporting over two million pieces of baggage in its aircraft cargo holds from early July to mid-August.
This figure represents an 8% increase compared to the same period last year. “The summer season faced the entire air transport sector – including our Zurich Airport hub – with challenges that were both exceptional and in many cases unexpected,” says Heike Birlenbach, SWISS Chief Commercial Officer and Interim CEO . “The many thunderstorms we experienced along with shortages of air traffic control resources and the resulting knock-on delays had a sizeable adverse impact on our operations.
And exogenous factors of this kind accounted for some 75 per cent of all our summer flight delays. So as the last few weeks have shown, the global air transport system is not as robust as we would all want it to be.” Capacity shortages in air traffic control “Our entire SWISS team did an amazing job this summer,” adds SWISS Chief Operating Officer Oliver Buchhofer.
“And thanks to all this commitment, and our preparations together with our partners, we actually improved our punctuality for the period – despite the demanding conditions and despite carrying higher numbers of passengers.” The challenges were substantial, as Buchhofer explains. “The capacity shortages in European airspace were felt as early as our first morning flights.
And this causes delays whose repercussions ripple throughout the rest of the day.” So how does Buchhofer view SWISS’s summer flight operations overall? “Our target of 70 per cent punctuality for 2024 as a whole remains as yet unachieved,” he concedes. “But the actions we have taken are having their effects.
Our ground operations in particular were better this summer. So we’re optimistic that we can further raise our punctuality in the months ahead.” Surge in Customer Service Utilization Amid High Demand Rising passenger numbers, coupled with unforeseen challenges like external IT disruptions and recurring thunderstorms, led to a notable surge in demand for SWISS’s customer service offerings.
Throughout the summer holiday season, the company’s call center managed around 320,000 customer calls, maintaining a volume similar to last year. Callers experienced wait times averaging under two minutes, ensuring prompt assistance. Additionally, written customer inquiries were addressed within an average of four days, with straightforward issues being resolved much more quickly.
“Our customer services handled about three times their usual inquiry volumes over the summer holiday weeks,” Heike Birlenbach observes. “It’s always an intensive time. And I am truly grateful to all our people who met and mastered these huge work volumes.
Whenever an irregularity occurs, we strive to inform the customers concerned as soon as we possibly can. Which is why we continue to expand the functions of our SWISS app and to invest so substantially in our digital service product. Refunds and rebookings can already be made in minutes, via the SWISS app or on our SWISS website.
And we’re constantly working to further refine these services and facilities, to offer our customers even swifter assistance whenever they may need it.” Short-haul Destinations Long-haul Destinations London New York Barcelona Boston Malaga Miami Stockholm Bangkok Valencia Los Angeles.
