The bad news from Hotelplan that 170 people have to be fired in Switzerland is surprisingly not reflected in today’s Sunday newspapers, nor is the austerity measures at Globetrotter. Perhaps there is also a communicative trick involved. Hotelplan published the news shortly before the Lufthansa Annual General Meeting, knowing that a lot of media space will be given to the future of the airline group including Swiss. And so the media coverage of events in the travel business this Sunday presents with a focus on Swiss – Hotelplan is not an issue.
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Swiss before sale?
“Lufthansa at the ready – is the Swiss now being sold?” Is the headline in the “Sunday look” when refurbishing the Lufthansa rescue package. LH boss Carsten Spohr must repay the rescue funds by 2023 and this is only possible with tough restructuring. But Spohr’s employees fight back with their hands and feet. Negotiations with the unions are likely to be even tougher for the Lufthansa leadership, writes the “Sobli”. “If things got really bad, Lufthansa would have to sell the silverware,” airline expert Stefan Eiselin is quoted as saying. Andreas Wittmer from the University of St. Gallen appeased: “Selling Swiss is the ultimate ratio.” The situation is different at Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. Wittmer: “These two airlines have been showing poor results for years – even though the aviation industry has been booming since 2010.”
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Swiss has to pay now, please!
Swiss now has no excuse, writes the “NZZ am Sonntag”. This week’s Lufthansa rescue package also secured the CHF 1.5 billion loan for Swiss. The contracts are ready for signature in Bern.
Passengers and travel agencies have been waiting for a lot of money to be repaid since March. The newspaper puts an amount of CHF 800 million in the room. Swiss is a long way from repaying the money in the next six weeks, as requested by the Consumer Protection Foundation. The majority of Swiss travel agencies have so far been waiting in vain. According to the Swiss Travel Association (SRV), travel agencies are still waiting for several hundred million francs. “We expect Swiss to start repaying the money owed to the travel agencies at regular intervals from July,” says SRV President Max. E. Katz. So you can finally transfer the refund to the customer.
Regarding the suspended automatic reimbursement, Katz says: «Swiss blocked this function. So she will have to process each application manually. » He was in contact with the airline on Friday, which had confirmed that it would start paying back as soon as possible. Swiss even promises to increase the number of staff responsible: “The resources will be gradually increased.”
Swiss has made flights bookable again for numerous destinations from Switzerland – and has a quasi-monopoly, the newspaper writes. This is particularly frustrating for travel agencies, where travel is sometimes possible again. «Many travel agencies have already sold flights with Swiss again. So you have already transferred money to Swiss, although they are still waiting for a refund, »says Max E. Katz. This is “ironic”.
The «NZZaS» also discusses how difficult the next few weeks will be for Swiss. The occupancy rate per destination fluctuates strongly. Swiss will not be able to avoid a savings round that also costs jobs. “The airlines have to increase capacity and cut costs at the same time. That is extremely demanding, »aviation expert Florian Dehne is quoted as saying. But autumn will be decisive, which is usually the most profitable quarter. But there are big question marks on long-haul routes. Europeans still cannot travel to the United States or Asia.
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Low beach vacation prices
As Travelnews already stated a week ago – beach holidays for a sandwich – today the “Sonntagszeitung” is also looking at the currently cheap beach holiday prices and the large selection again. “Until the end of May, I was convinced that air travel was not possible in July,” says Andreas Restle, head of ITS Coop. “Hundreds of new bookings have come in since the beginning of June, and the frequencies are increasing significantly towards the summer vacation.” Bianca Gähweiler, spokeswoman for Hotelplan Suisse, also confirms: “The number of bookings increases every day”. “The flight offering is getting denser every day and is approaching normal levels,” says Karin Markwalder, General Manager of Helvetic Tours.
Spontaneous people can currently benefit not only from a large selection of destinations and hotels, the newspaper continues, but also from attractive prices, which are often significantly below the tariff level for holidays in Switzerland. Andreas Restle himself was looking for a suitable summer vacation offer in Switzerland for his family with two children in the spring and came to the conclusion sobered: “In the hotel segment, suitable family offers are rare in Germany and often really expensive.” A family of four can spend a week on the beach in July and August for as little as CHF 2,000 to 3,000 including flight, hotel and all meals.
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Worried about second corona wave
The dominant topic in all Sunday newspapers today is an impending second wave of corona after the number of infections has risen significantly again this week. And the increasing number of cases also has to do with travel, as in the case of returnees from Serbia.
Because although a ban on entry for third-country nationals such as Serbs still applies, the volume of travel from third countries has increased sharply since the beginning of the month, the NZZ am Sonntag notes. The reason for this are exceptions to the ban. In addition to Swiss dual citizens, persons entitled to free movement, i.e. all EU citizens from third countries such as Serbia, can also enter Switzerland. Politicians and cantons therefore require the federal government to make a quarantine obligation for return travelers from third countries. “In view of the current situation, the federal government should order further entry measures,” says Lukas Engelberger, President of the Health Directors’ Conference.
What do measures at the border bring, asks the “Sunday newspaper” on this point. Border closures are effective but have a high price. Ten days of compulsory self-isolation after entering a country with large numbers of cases is an effective measure. Fever measurement at the border, however, only recognizes a small part of the cases. Not everyone has a fever and you are contagious up to two days before the onset of the disease.
“Personal responsibility is essential, but now we should at least use a mask in public transport where the cases increase,” says infectiologist Manuel Battegay in the “Sonntagszeitung”. The strong easing would have sent the wrong signal.
Ueli Stückelberger also comments on the subject of masks. The director of the Association of Public Transport says in “Sunday’s look”: “We would be happy about a national regulation. It is difficult when individual cantons act on their own, especially with national connections. We want to avoid customer confusion. »
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Quieter landings with LNAS
“Switzerland at the weekend” illuminates a completely different topic. Apparently, an airline assistance system is currently being worked on, which could result in significantly more economical and quieter landings.
Low Noise Augmentation System (LNAS) is the name of the system developed by the German Aerospace Center. LNAS calculates optimal altitude, sink rate, speed and corrects its recommendations during the approach. Apparently with great success, as 90 test approaches on runway 14 at Zurich Airport showed. Above all, violent noise outliers – if pilots suddenly step on the gas or brake – would be reduced. The bottom line is three decibels less noise, which corresponds to a perception of a noise reduction by a third, it is said.
To date, LNAS is only a demonstration technology that will have to be integrated into a navigation and autopilot system in a future step.
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The best Swiss hotels
The annual Karl Wild hotel rating can also be found today in the “Sonntagszeitung”. Most of the usual suspects can be found in the respective top ten per category. There were one or two shifts at the top positions.
The best holiday hotel is the Castello des Sole in Ascona. In the city hotels, The Doder Grand in Zurich defended the top just as confidently. There are three new category winners for this: The Vitznauerhof in Vitznau is number one in the Nice Price holiday hotels, the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz is top in the wellness hotels, and the Märchenhotel Braunwald ranks for the first time as the best hotel for family holidays.
The Suvretta House in St. Moritz is named “Hotel of the Year”. Hotelier of the year is Jean-Yves Blatt, who spoke on Travelnews last week about the season. Heinz Rufibach (Gran Hotel Zermatterhof) is Chef of the Year. Concièrge of the year is Sylvie Gonin (Beau-Rivage Palace, Lausanne-Ouchy). Maximilian von Reden (Schweizerhof Bern & Spa) is the newcomer of the year. The climber of the year is Simon Spiller (Eden Roc, Ascona). And the coeback of the year is Philippe Frutiger (Giardino Mountain, St. Moritz-Champfèr).
All sunshine? No. The crisis also hits the best houses. Even some of the 125 best houses are at risk and will probably have to turn off the lights at the end of the year, writes Karl Wild.
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«I can’t imagine a better job»
Lights out is not an issue at Thomas Kleber, the Managing Director of Sorell Hotels Switzerland. He answers 33 questions from the “NZZ am Sonntag”, saying that he cannot imagine a better job. When asked what he advises young professionals to do, he says: “Basically to follow your passion. The hotel industry and gastronomy offers very nice and varied professions. However, these often go hand in hand with unattractive working hours. You have to like people and be ready to serve and inspire them. In addition to a good theoretical education, practical experience is essential. Be sure to complete one or two internships before making a final decision. »
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Von Yverdon-les-Bains bis Ravenna
Anyone looking for travel inspiration today will find it in the “Sunday newspaper”. The bisses from Nendaz VS are introduced. Then the «Vaud Mediterranean Sea», the beaches of Yverdon-les-Bains. There are also eleven wonderful mountain lakes in Switzerland.
A nice text for a trip to Ravenna can also be found in “Switzerland at the weekend” – “When Italy’s heart started beating again”. The author traveled to the opening of the Ravenna Festival, which runs until July 30th, albeit with limited admission and a mask requirement.
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