SWISS posts record passenger volume for 2016

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) transported 16,517,559 passengers in 2016, a 1.3 percent increase on 2015, which had itself been a record year in passenger volume terms.

A total of 145,868 flights were operated system-wide in 2016, some 0.5 percent more than the previous year. Of these, 127,055 (up 0.3 percent) were within Europe and 18,813 (up 2.1 percent) were on intercontinental routes.

Annual system-wide capacity was raised 6.6 percent in available seat-kilometre (ASK) terms. Annual traffic volume, measured in revenue passenger-kilometre (RPKs), was up 4.0 percent. On its European network SWISS raised its ASK capacity by 2.6 percent, while its RPK traffic volumes saw a 0.2 percent decline. On its intercontinental services ASK capacity was raised by 8.5 percent, while RPK volumes were a 5.7 percent increase on the previous year.

Seat load factor for SWISS' European services amounted to 76.4 percent for 2016, down 2.1 percentage points. Seat load factor for SWISS's intercontinental services declined 2.2 percentage points to 83.4 percent. Systemwide seat load factor for 2016 amounted to 81.3 percent, a 2.1-percentage-point year-on-year decline.

The airfreight business of Swiss WorldCargo achieved a cargo load factor (by volume) of 75.2 percent for 2016, a slight 0.7 percentage points below its prior-year level. Annual cargo sales, by contrast, were raised 7.1 percent in revenue tonne-kilometre terms.

SWISS will publish its 2016 financial results on March 16, 2017.