Swiss International Air Lines carried a total of 2.16 million passengers in the first quarter of 2004 and achieved a seat load factor of 71.6 per cent. This represent an improvement of 3.7 percentage points against the same period a year ago. The seat load factor was higher for both the intercontinental and European route networks. The increase was particularly noticeable in March, which saw an improvement of 6.4 percentage points to 74.8 per cent.
SWISS continues to improve in terms of capacity utilisation. In the first quarter of 2004 the seat load factor (SLF) rose by 3.7 percentage points on a previous-year comparison to 71.6 per cent. A total of 2.16 million passengers boarded a SWISS flight. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, SWISS reduced seating capacity by 21.8 per cent but the decline in demand was checked at 17.6 per cent, with a corresponding increase in seat load factor. Given the significant decrease in production between the two first quarters, which went hand in hand with adjustments to the route network, a meaningful comparison of passenger figures is impossible. The outbreak of war in Iraq also had a negative effect on last year’s result.
Seat load factor on European routes improved sharply in the first quarter, to 55.5 per cent or 5.9 percentage points higher. Markets driving this trend were the UK, Germany, Austria and Italy, all of which reported impressive increases in each of the three months under review. The improvements in seat load factor in Europe are largely attributable to the re-sizing of the route network and the introduction of the Swiss in Europe concept.
The seat load factor on intercontinental routes in the first quarter was 78.3 per cent, an improvement of 1.1 percentage points on a year-ago comparison. After seat load factor for January and February dipped slightly, the month of March produced a betterment of 5.5 percentage points to bring about the positive result for the full quarter. Of particular significance was the improvement over the North Atlantic, SWISS’s most important intercontinental routes, where the negative trend of the previous months was reversed. The final month of the period under review produced an improvement of 7.2 percentage points in seat load factor, reaching 85.3 per cent.
March 2004
SWISS again improved its seat load factor sharply in March 2004 compared to the same month a year ago. The SLF for scheduled services reached 74.8%, a gain of 6.4 percentage points. This marked the sixth consecutive month in which SWISS recorded a higher level of capacity utilisation compared to the same month a year earlier. The positive trend of late continued. Production for March was lowered by 22.9% from the level for the same month a year prior. At the same time the decline in demand was limited to 15.7%. This offsetting effect produced the increase in capacity utilisation. It is important to keep in mind when comparing this year’s figures with those from last year that the Iraq war had a negative impact on seat load factor at the time.
On European routes the SLF in March 2004 was 60.3%, or 6.3 percentage points above the same month a year ago. The most significant gains were made on SWISS’s UK and Germany routes, both of which rose by more than 10 percentage points. Austria and Italy also trended favourably, with increases of 10 and 8 percentage points respectively. France remained stable.
The SLF on intercontinental routes in March 2004 was 81.1%, or 5.5 percentage points above the same month a year ago. This marks the first time in the current year that capacity utilisation on the intercontinental network is significantly higher than for same period in the previous year. SLF for both January and February was lower on a month-on-month comparison. All markets with the exception of Africa experienced profound improvement. The SLF for Africa declined marginally, by 0.2 percentage points.
Key figures SWISS scheduled services, first quarter 2004
Passengers carried 2 159 763
Flights operated 35 994
Available seat kilometres (in millions) 7 113
Revenue seat kilometres (in millions)5 092
Seat load factor 71.6%
Complete traffic statistics and further comment on figures for March appear on the www.swiss.com website. (See “Our Company“ > “Investor Relations“ > “Presentations“).
SWISS, Corporate Communications
Postfach, CH-4002 Basel
Tel.: +41 61 582 45 53
Fax: +41 61 582 35 54
E-Mail: communications@wiss.com
