SWISS posts a CHF 421 million nine-month operating result

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) achieved an operating result or Adjusted EBIT of CHF 421.4 million for the first nine months of 2026, broadly in line with the prior-year level (Q1-Q3 2025: CHF 411.2 million). Nine-month operating income amounted to CHF 4.38 billion, a 5.3-percent increase on the prior-year period (Q1-Q3 2025: CHF 4.17 billion).

Strong demand and rigorous cost management cushion higher fuel costs

“We achieved a solid operating result for the first nine months of 2026,” says CFO Dennis Weber. “And in doing so, despite challenging market conditions, we’ve made progress back toward our traditional earnings strength. That this progress was so small, despite strong travel demand and our rigorous cost economies, shows just how much impact higher fuel costs are having on our business profitability.”

The demand for air travel remained high in the third-quarter period. Yields also showed encouraging trends, especially in the premium travel classes and on long-haul routes.

“The additional revenue that we generated broadly equaled our additional fuel expense,” CFO Weber explains. “As a result, we were able to largely offset these higher fuel costs, but only slightly raised our earnings for the period. This makes it all the more vital that we continue to consistently lower our costs wherever we can influence these. The cost economies and efficiency measures which we initiated at an early stage are increasingly taking effect and have helped to prevent any earnings decline. They won’t yet be enough on their own, though, to sustainably improve our profitability.”

Cargo business shows favorable trends

SWISS’s airfreight business has shown particularly positive trends in the current year to date. SWISS WorldCargo has felt the benefit of strong demand on routes to and from Asia, generating higher earnings contributions than expected. “This development further confirms the importance of our airfreight business as a complementary revenue source in a challenging market environment,” Weber underlines.

Lower flight volumes, seat load factor virtually unchanged

SWISS transported some 13.7 million passengers in the first nine months of 2026, a 0.7-percent decline on the prior-year period. Some 106,500 flights were operated, a decline of 3.0 percent. Total available seat kilometer (ASK) capacity was reduced by 0.5 percent, while total revenue passenger kilometer (RPK) traffic volume was 0.1 percent below its prior-year level. Systemwide seat load factor (SLF) improved by 0.4 percentage points.

As the statistics confirm, SWISS was able to keep its flight program largely stable, despite continuing shortages of resources, especially of pilots and of engines within the short-haul aircraft fleet. Demand remained robust, and flights were fuller on average than they had been a year before.

SWISS’s flight operations were mixed in performance terms. Nine-month departure punctuality was raised to 69.0 percent, a 0.8-percentage-point improvement on the prior-year period. But the operating stability of 96.9 percent was 0.9 percentage points below its prior-year level. The summer months, particularly due to extreme weather events, posed significant operational challenges for SWISS.

High fuel prices dim the broader outlook

SWISS expects to feel even stronger financial pressures from further rises in fuel prices in the fourth-quarter period than it did in the third. Jet fuel prices are currently back up close to the peak levels seen upon the outbreak of the Iran war, making kerosene twice as expensive today as it was at the beginning of this year. These high prices look set to continue to challenge the company in the fourth-quarter period and the year ahead. So it is all the more imperative to further lower costs and improve processes and procedures companywide, to lay the foundations required for SWISS’s continued business success.

“Demand remains high and our aircraft are well booked,” concludes CEO Jens Fehlinger. “However, we cannot rely on this alone to ensure long-term success. Rising costs for fuel, maintenance and personnel continue to pose challenges. As a result, 2026 remains a transitional year for us, during which we will lay the foundations for continued growth and investment: in our guests, our employees and our fleet.”