“SWISS is well positioned and equipped, and this enabled us to respond successfully to the high competitive pressures,” declared Thomas Klühr, CEO Swiss International Air Lines, as the carrier’s corporate report declared the carrier achieved an operating profit (adjusted EBIT) of CHF 453 million for 2015, a 34 percent improvement on the previous year (2014: CHF 337 million) and the third-best operating result in the company’s history.
      “But the challenges of last year will also accompany us throughout the year ahead. This is why we will align ourselves even more closely with our partners within the Lufthansa Group, to even better meet our customers’ needs and tap further synergic potential,” he added.
      SWISS carried 16.308 million passengers in 2015, a 0.9 percent increase on the 16.169 million of the previous year and another new passenger volume record.
      A total of 145,146 flights were operated, up 0.7 percent from the 144,116 of the previous year.
      Total cargo sales fell 4.3 percent in revenue ton-kilometer terms, while cargo load factor (by volume) declined 3.5 percentage points.  
      Total revenue ton-kilometer cargo sales were down 10.2 percent, while cargo load factor was 3.3 percentage points below its prior-year level.
      Ashwin Bhat, who has now completed five months since taking the helm as Head of SWISS World Cargo, noted that indeed the cargo numbers “were not so good, although we thank all our customers that helped SWISS set new revenue records in 2015.
      “Last year two extraordinary external factors impacted our business, including currency value fluctuation between the Swiss Franc, the Euro, and the U.S. dollar. For a company that realizes nearly 80 percent of its revenue in foreign currency, it caused extreme down pressure and accounted for nearly half of the decline.
      “The second driver was the huge bump we received during the ‘artificial first quarter’ of last year, as cargo moved over during the striking West Coast ports, followed by a declining trend that continued unabated for the rest of the year.
      “Yield was under tremendous pressure, as were surcharges,” Ashwin Bhat said.
      “Also,” Ashwin smiled, “we must remember that for cargo 2014 was one of our best years.”
      “If someone can forecast 2016, well, good for them.
      “What we have seen so far was a tough takeoff for the year based on returns for January and February.
      “Looking at the rest of this year, I believe the market will be subdued because conditions simply have not changed all that much from the second half of last year.
      “For me, these conditions add up to the new normal for 2016 and we will deal with applying various programs and improvements aimed at making our offer even better,” Ashwin Bhat said.