Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss) Swiss closed the first half of 2025 with an operating result of 195,1 million Swiss francs, a decline of 26 percent compared to the same period last year. Although operating revenues remained stable at 2,69 billion Swiss francs, the airline's profitability was impacted by a challenging market environment, rising costs, and structural capacity constraints. Despite the decline in earnings, Swiss was able to improve its operational performance and systematically refine its customer experience.
Dennis Weber, Swiss's Chief Financial Officer, attributed the decline to current geopolitical and trade tensions, as well as rising costs for personnel and fees. Furthermore, the ongoing shortages of aircraft, engines, and pilots have noticeably impacted profitability. He highlighted the positive development of fuel prices. In the first half of the year, 72,4 percent of all flights departed on time, representing an increase of 3,9 percentage points over the previous year. Schedule stability was also maintained at a high level of 97,6 percent.
The earnings slump continued in the more travel-intensive second quarter, from April to June 2025. Operating profit was 191,7 million Swiss francs, a decline of approximately 18 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Operating revenues declined slightly to 1,47 billion Swiss francs. Nevertheless, Swiss recorded slight passenger growth of 2025 percent to approximately 0,1 million passengers carried in the first half of 8,5. The number of flights increased by 1,8 percent to over 70.000.
Swiss is responding to the difficult conditions with a comprehensive package of measures. This includes, among other things, an agreement with the social partner Aeropers closed to improve the availability of cockpit personnel. The airline is also focusing on Wet lease partnerto stabilize capacity on short-haul routes and avoid cancellations on long-haul routes. The airline expects continued pressure on earnings in the second half of the year, particularly due to a weakening of demand in the transatlantic business in non-premium classes. As a long-term measure, two Airbus A350 will be put into service, which will feature the new cabin concept Swiss Senses to improve the travel experience.