SWISS Sets New Yearly Record For Passengers Carried

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) transported a total of 15,816,469 passengers in 2012 – the largest annual volume in the history of Swiss aviation.

According to the airline, greater passenger numbers do not necessarily translate into enhanced earnings. SWISS’s earnings performance continues to suffer from high oil prices and the downward pressure on fares.

SWISS’s passenger volume for 2012 was a 3.3 percent improvement on the 15,317,275 of the previous year. Total annual capacity was 4.7 percent up on 2011 in available-seat-kilometer (ASK) terms. Systemwide seat load factor for the year stood at 82.9 percent (compared to 81.8 percent for 2011). And the 150,860 flights operated in 2012 were a 0.5 percent increase on the prior year.

Seat load factor for SWISS’s intercontinental network amounted 2012 to 87.1 percent, a 1.4-percentage-point improvement on 2011. Total traffic volume rose 7.5 percent in revenue-passenger-kilometer (RPK) terms, on total ASK capacity that was a 5.8 percent increase on the previous twelve months.

2012 ASK capacity for SWISS’s European network was a 2.4 percent increase on the previous year. Total RPK traffic volume rose by 3.0 percent, and European seat load factor stood at 74.7 percent (compared to 74.3 percent for 2011).

Swiss WorldCargo achieved a cargo load factor (by volume) for 2012 of 79.3 percent, a 0.8-percentage-point improvement on the 78.5 percent of the previous year. Annual cargo sales were raised 8.9 percent in revenue-tonne-kilometer terms.