Swiss wants to add +10% in capacity for the French market

Michael Gloor, France’s new Director of the company Swiss, has wonderful challenges ahead.

Newly arrived since last April, the man will have to manage the integration of numerous aircrafts in his company’s fleet.

“The year 2016 is going to be very interesting and I hope I’ll be able to increase capacity by 10% on the French market,” he adds.

Indeed, the company is expected to receive 30 new Bombardiers CS 100 of 124 to 145 seats that will substitute the former Avro RJ100, with only 97 seats. In this way, it will double its capacities in short-haul flights and will better supply the hub in Zurich.

Its long-haul network is also going to expand with new Boeings 777-300 of 340 seats, of which the first ones will arrive in January 2016 to replace the Airbus A340 of 219 seats.

An additional capacity that comes at the right time since the company has occupancy rates nearing 90% on some of its long-haul lines.

Furthermore, these new aircrafts will allow Swiss to set up in a new French airport, most probably near the Mediterranean basin.

Already established in Paris, Lyon, and Nice, it inaugurated a line between Toulouse and Zurich last May.

Its other three seasonal destinations in Ajaccio, Biarritz, and Calvi were very successful with planes reaching maximum occupancy.

Michael Gloor would also like to develop the popularity of his leisure company, Edelweiss, that will retrieve the former Airbus A 340 to expand its fleet and offer new long-haul Leisure destinations.

All of these new advancements should enable him to grow on the French market, the second most important after Germany.

Indeed, according to figures released by DGAC, Swiss would have transported only 1.233 million passengers in 2014, versus 1.265 million in 2013. Data that Michael Gloor declines to confirm as he prefers to talk about the excellent occupancy rates of the first semester, at a 5% increase.

We must admit that in general terms, Swiss is doing quite well, with an operating profit of 214 million swiss francs in the first semester, a 87% increase.

A rebound that is essentially explainable with the drop of fuel prices. “If companies are not making money with barrel prices this low, then they never will,” exclaims Michael Gloor.

Michael Gloor ensures that the establishment of the 16 euros surcharge for every reservation via GDS has no consequence on his activity for the moment.

Yet, some sources estimate that the reservations of the Lufthansa group dropped by 25% whereas they were on the rise in August.

Did sellers hurry to buy in order to save 16 euros? We’ll have the answer at the end of September when the BSP publishes numbers.