SWISS swings to $39mn profit

1 CHF = $1.2845 (6 May 2026).

Swiss International Air Lines posted an adjusted EBIT of CHF 30.0mn ($38.5mn) for the first quarter of 2026, a ninefold improvement on the CHF 3.3mn ($4.2mn) recorded in the same period last year — but the airline's own chief financial officer was swift to warn that the result should not be taken at face value.

Revenue for the quarter reached CHF 1.22bn ($1.57bn), up just 0.3 per cent year on year despite lower capacity, as stronger yields and a surge in March demand compensated for a 3.4 per cent reduction in available seat kilometres driven by engine availability constraints and a shortage of cockpit personnel. Load factor rose 3.4 percentage points as SWISS filled a smaller operation more efficiently.

CFO Dennis Weber cautioned that March results were "exceptionally strong" and that the Q1 figures should be read with care, attributing the strength to two temporary factors: a demand surge triggered by Middle East airspace disruption rerouting passengers through Zurich, and a lag effect on fuel costs that meant the full price impact of the Iran conflict had not yet reached the income statement. Those two tailwinds will not repeat in Q2.

SWISS carried nearly 3.7mn passengers in the quarter, a modest decline of 0.4 per cent year on year, and operated approximately 29,600 flights, a reduction of 7.1 per cent, as engine shortages and pilot availability continued to constrain the schedule. Schedule stability held at 97.4 per cent, while departure punctuality sat at 75.2 per cent.

The structural picture has not changed materially since the airline flagged 2026 as a transitional year. CEO Jens Fehlinger acknowledged that the solid Q1 result was "the product of good and hard work," but warned the airline remained "confronted by fundamental challenges", including aircraft engine shortages, falling productivity, and rising cost pressure, before adding that fuel cost increases were now "massive."

SWISS's position within the Lufthansa Group gives it a hedge ratio broadly in line with the group's 83 per cent 2026 coverage, but the airline has its own structural cost base to manage independently. The 2025 full year delivered an adjusted EBIT of CHF 502.2mn ($645.1mn), a 26.6 per cent decline on 2024's CHF 683.8mn ($878.2mn) — a trajectory that makes the Q1 recovery meaningful on paper but fragile in the context of what is coming on fuel.

The airline is pressing ahead with its cost reduction programme and fleet renewal, including continued A350 deliveries and a planned refurbishment of its A330 long-haul fleet with the new SWISS Senses cabin. SWISS is monitoring the fuel supply situation closely and working with Lufthansa Group, partners and authorities to secure supply continuity, with the airline stating it is evaluating various scenarios to identify solutions for passengers if disruptions emerge.