Lufthansa gives Swiss room to grow
Tuesday December 4, 2007
Speaking last week on the occasion of the launch of Swiss International Air Lines' new daily service to Delhi, CEO Christoph Franz said his carrier's acquisition by Lufthansa not only will continue to benefit Swiss but should serve as a model as the industry continues down the road to consolidation.
Franz told ATWOnline that there remains space available under the Lufthansa umbrella. "LH always says that it wants to be a driver of consolidation in European aviation and to lead a multibrand strategy. There must be space for other airlines," he said, arguing that it would be in any carrier's best interest to integrate with a solidly financed company like LH. Swiss has no debt. "Thanks to the LH integration, we get [financial] conditions we would never get before. Of course we have to show the owner that our expansion is justified," he said.
Swiss has been a wholly owned subsidiary of LH since July and Franz sees it as one of the few European airlines delivering adequate operating margins. "We have seen strong synergies, more than we ever expected," he revealed. "Of course we have made progress in our own restructuring process, like renegotiating supplier contracts, downsizing and harmonizing the fleet and so on."
He also wants Swiss to own more of its aircraft. It currently owns around one-third of its 73-strong fleet and he said something closer to two-thirds would be ideal. "This will change when the first of nine new A330-300s arrives in 2009," he said. The airline also has six A320-200s on order. Replacement of the 20 RJ100s that comprise the Swiss European Airlines fleet will be high on the agenda. "We just upgraded our RJ100s with new seats. We are not in a hurry to replace them," he said.
Franz said passenger growth will continue strongly in 2008. During the first nine months of this year, Swiss transported 9.1 million passengers, up 13.3% from the year-ago period. "We will grow that speed in 2008," he predicted, adding that growth should slow in 2009. But the carrier will continue to look for new long-haul destinations; a Zurich-Shanghai Pudong service is scheduled to launch in May. "We will grow risk-consciously and we have to be a part of big traffic areas," he said.
by Kurt Hofmann
ATWOnline
Ogni riferimento a vettori italiani è puramente casuale.
Molto interessante l' intervista a Christoph Franz sul Sole 24Ore</u>
Tuesday December 4, 2007
Speaking last week on the occasion of the launch of Swiss International Air Lines' new daily service to Delhi, CEO Christoph Franz said his carrier's acquisition by Lufthansa not only will continue to benefit Swiss but should serve as a model as the industry continues down the road to consolidation.
Franz told ATWOnline that there remains space available under the Lufthansa umbrella. "LH always says that it wants to be a driver of consolidation in European aviation and to lead a multibrand strategy. There must be space for other airlines," he said, arguing that it would be in any carrier's best interest to integrate with a solidly financed company like LH. Swiss has no debt. "Thanks to the LH integration, we get [financial] conditions we would never get before. Of course we have to show the owner that our expansion is justified," he said.
Swiss has been a wholly owned subsidiary of LH since July and Franz sees it as one of the few European airlines delivering adequate operating margins. "We have seen strong synergies, more than we ever expected," he revealed. "Of course we have made progress in our own restructuring process, like renegotiating supplier contracts, downsizing and harmonizing the fleet and so on."
He also wants Swiss to own more of its aircraft. It currently owns around one-third of its 73-strong fleet and he said something closer to two-thirds would be ideal. "This will change when the first of nine new A330-300s arrives in 2009," he said. The airline also has six A320-200s on order. Replacement of the 20 RJ100s that comprise the Swiss European Airlines fleet will be high on the agenda. "We just upgraded our RJ100s with new seats. We are not in a hurry to replace them," he said.
Franz said passenger growth will continue strongly in 2008. During the first nine months of this year, Swiss transported 9.1 million passengers, up 13.3% from the year-ago period. "We will grow that speed in 2008," he predicted, adding that growth should slow in 2009. But the carrier will continue to look for new long-haul destinations; a Zurich-Shanghai Pudong service is scheduled to launch in May. "We will grow risk-consciously and we have to be a part of big traffic areas," he said.
by Kurt Hofmann
ATWOnline
Ogni riferimento a vettori italiani è puramente casuale.
Molto interessante l' intervista a Christoph Franz sul Sole 24Ore</u>
