Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) transported 3,532,472 passengers in the first three months of 2015, a 0.2% increase on the 3,525,735 of the same period last year. A total of 33,339 flights were operated in the period, down 2.9% from the 34,321 of January-to-March 2014. Of these, 28,794 were on the European network (down 3.7%) and 4,545 (up 2.9%) were on intercontinental routes. The growth in passenger volumes does not necessarily translate into higher revenue levels.
SWISS offered 2.0% more first-quarter capacity in 2015 in available seat-kilometre (ASK) terms. Total traffic volume, measured in revenue passenger-kilometres (RPKs), was raised 2.1%. Systemwide seat load factor showed a corresponding slight improvement, rising 0.1 percentage points from the 78.8% of the prior-year period to 78.9%. First-quarter seat load factor for the European network showed a 1.4-percentage-point improvement, while seat load factor on intercontinental services declined 0.7 percentage points.
In the month of March 2015 SWISS carried 1,303,356 passengers, up 0.1% on the 1,302,074 of March 2014. Systemwide seat load factor for the month was improved 0.4 percentage points, from 81.2% to 81.6%. Seat load factor for the European network was up 0.9 percentage points, while seat load factor on intercontinental services suffered a slight 0.1-percentage-point decline. Swiss WorldCargo achieved a cargo load factor (by volume) for March of 82.8%, 1.3 percentage points down from the 84.1% of the same month last year.
