Swiss Review 1/2018

12 Swiss Review / January 2018 / No.1 Economy Swiss is flying high. Its operating profit is set to exceed CHF 500 million for 2017. Photo: Keystone STEFAN SCHUPPLI The airline industry is enjoying an all- time high. The International Air Transport Association estimates that the industry generated profits of CHF 34.5 billion worldwide in 2017. Losses have not been posted once in any of the past eight years. That is extraordi- nary. Business is also booming in Swit- zerland. Swiss, themarket leader here, has reached new heights. This is due to strong demand, on the one hand, and new, more cost-effective and larger aircraft on the other. The Boeing 777 is used for long- haul flights and for short-haul the CSeries 100 and 300, a completely newdevelopment from the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. The num- ber of seats sold on aircraft has risen to well over 80 % – which is one of the reasons why Swiss has now become a highly profitable cash cow in the Lufthansa group. Operating profit may come in at over CHF 500million for 2017. You have to go well back to the days of the company’s predeces- sor Swissair to find such high profit levels. Swiss versus easyJet Swiss may well be more expensive than foreign competitors. Customers are nevertheless clearlywilling to pay the ticket prices that enable such a profit to be turned. The strong compe- tition is admittedly keeping Swiss in check. easyJet Switzerland, a subsidi- ary of the British low-cost airline bearing the same name, is the sec- ond-largest carrier in the country. easyJet flies under a Swiss operating li- cence and has 14 Airbuses perma- nently based inGeneva and nine in Ba- Good flying conditions, but only for the big players Business is booming for the major airlines thanks to huge demand – including in Switzerland where Swiss has posted a profit. But small airlines are currently fighting for survival.