With over 80 measures Swiss wants to be more punctual in summer and provide better customer service

Things are likely to be busy again for Swiss at Zurich Airport this summer. The airline is expecting around 10 percent more passengers in the coming months than in the previous year. To prevent flight chaos with delays and cancellations, Swiss wants to be better prepared.

Keystone-SDA

01.07.2024, 19:18

01.07.2024, 19:47

SDA

Swiss was able to operate 98 percent of all flights last year, making it "the most reliable airline in Europe", said Chief Operating Officer (COO) Oliver Buchhofer at a media conference at Zurich Airport on Monday.

However, punctuality was less good. Cancellations, delays and lost suitcases left passengers and tour operators red-faced, especially in the summer. At peak times during the summer vacations, just over half of all Swiss flights were delayed by 15 minutes or more - Swiss' target value is over 70 percent.

This is now set to change, says Buchhofer. "We want and need to make progress in terms of punctuality and customer satisfaction," he said.

"Accompanying customers digitally"

Swiss has now launched a program for more punctuality and generally more satisfied customers. The airline wants to optimize operations with over 80 measures.

"It starts with solid flight planning," says Buchhofer. At the same time, additional staff and better weather forecasts should help. "But we are also realizing that the system is unstable. When several things come together, the operation rumbles".

Therefore, the aim should also be to offer customers a better service. For example, Swiss has employed more people in the call centers.

However, the aim is to reach customers not only by telephone, but also increasingly via digital channels. "Customer needs have changed in this respect," said interim CEO Heike Birlenbach. "Our aim is to accompany passengers digitally throughout their journey."

For example, the self-service offering via app has also been expanded. Customers are already informed about missing luggage, for example. In future, they will also be informed about compensation claims directly via the app.

Losing fewer items of baggage

A new baggage system should also optimize baggage handling in the future. So far, however, this has not worked, on the contrary. The proportion of baggage that has not arrived on time has risen from 1.6 percent in the previous year to 2.3 percent this year. "We attribute this to teething problems with the system," says Buchhofer. And these are unlikely to be resolved by the summer.

However, Swiss also emphasizes that it is not only to blame for the misery. Zurich Airport in particular is heavily dependent on external factors, says Buchhofer. "The weather is a big factor." There is also a lack of additional runways that can be used independently depending on weather conditions.

In addition, geopolitical crises repeatedly lead to airspace restrictions, which in turn result in longer flight times. As a result, the flight schedule cannot always be adhered to.