Newstrack

SWISS works on directional imbalances on Zurich route

Chetan Kapoor - Mumbai

Zurich-based Star Alliance member - Swiss International Air Lines - is working on directional imbalances because of the seasonal nature of travel. Jean-Philippe Benoit, its GM (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal & Bangladesh), said that although the airline had received good response, it wants to balance it with directional imbalance. "It is complicated to get all the learnings but we have high confidence in the market," he said.

To this Urs Weiss, director, head (Revenue Management), Switzerland for the airline, added, "The forecast is as good as possible but there are challenges with increasing fuel costs. We have tools to offer lower fares when we want to fill the aircraft but there are certain imbalances that cannot be 100 per cent evened out."

Ever since Swiss and Lufthansa integrated operations, they have been deriving benefits from the synergies thus created, so much so that they will soon share office space. Benoit confirmed, "In two months, both Lufthansa and us will move out of our existing offices to a common office. The first such office would be in Mumbai followed by Delhi. The offices would have a common ticket office reception with red and yellow sides indicating Swiss and Lufthansa respectively."

The carrier is also studying new routes but Benoit did not want to reveal more until the details were finalised. Meanwhile, it plans to consolidate operations in Delhi and Mumbai. "As a result of our alliance with Lufthansa, we are able to offer flexibility with connections to and via Zurich, Munich or Frankfurt. Once we get our new aircraft, we want to be perceived as a mid-sized global carrier offering personal service and high quality," Benoit concludes.