Like the parent company Lufthansa, Swiss is reducing its capacity by 50 percent. The hiring freeze and short-time work are checked and the rebooking modalities relaxed for customers.
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Stay on the ground in the near future: Swiss fliers at Zurich Airport.
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The Lufthansa Group and its subsidiary Swiss are taking drastic measures due to the sharp drop in demand as a result of the Corona epidemic. The flight plan is being rigorously cut down. Capacity will be reduced by up to 50 percent in the next few weeks, Lufthansa said on Friday. One wants to observe the further development of the demand. The measure serves to reduce the financial consequences of the slump in demand. In the meantime, all traffic areas have been affected by the booking slumps, Lufthansa writes in its message.
Swiss in turn announced that it would also reduce its capacities by up to 50 percent in March and April. The deletions mainly affect the short-haul connections. While Lufthansa wants to send its employees on vacation, this is not yet an issue at Swiss. “We are considering various measures to reduce costs,” said Swiss spokeswoman Karin Müller on request. Possible measures are a hiring freeze or the introduction of short-time work. But nothing has been decided yet. Swiss would inform about further steps at the beginning of the week.
It has also not yet been decided which flight connections will be canceled. The flight connections and their occupancy are currently being checked. Both short and long haul routes are affected, says Müller. Mainly, however, it will affect connections to flight destinations in Europe. “But we don’t just delete every second destination,” emphasizes the Swiss spokeswoman. Rather, it is a thinning out of the network. In addition, the Lufthansa Group will bundle flights in order to continue to be able to offer as many destinations as possible.
Free rebooking until the end of March 2020
With the de facto cancellation of every second flight, Swiss also relaxes its rebooking regulations. As of now and until March 31, the Group waives the rebooking fees for all newly booked flights worldwide. Passengers can change their flight ticket once without a fee to a new date until December 31, 2020.
The industry association IATA had already estimated the possible drop in sales in the global passenger business on a range between $ 63 billion and $ 113 billion on Thursday. This is almost a fifth of the total volume and is comparable to the slump during the 2008/2009 financial crisis. The effects on the freight business are unclear.
Lufthansa and its airlines could face further burdens if ticket holders demand compensation in the event of short-term flight cancellations or delays in accordance with EU Passenger Guideline 261. While the airlines rely on exceptional circumstances that relieve them of compensation, Internet passenger portals see good chances for compensation in the range of 250 to 600 euros. “There will certainly be increased disputes as to whether flights canceled due to the Corona virus represent a legitimate right to compensation,” says Heinz Klewe, managing director of the arbitration board for public transport.
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