Economic significance of aviation

SWISS is the airline of Switzerland. We are highly dependent on the conditions in our home market. We are committed to a sustainable and forward-looking aviation policy, which allows us to better exploit the strategic advantages of air transport and to mitigate the expense.

Ideally, the politics creates optimal conditions that SWISS and aviation in Switzerland can compete globally in general. In order to make political decisions on air transport, the understanding of the functioning of the system and their relationships is important.

“Aeropolitics” keeps stakeholders from politics, management, industry and the media informed about current issues in commercial aviation and provides background information about the operation of the air traffic system in Switzerland in general, and of SWISSin particular. “Aeropolitics” is published four times a year in German and French, and is available as a PDF or in a printed version.

SWISS is committed to a liberal aviation policy. Open markets combined with protective mechanisms to prevent market abuse (e.g. against continued government support). The challenge is that aviation is not part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), but rather is determined by a network of bi- and multilateral agreements. The methods used to access the various market are governed by nine traffic rights (see document).

These agreements are negotiated between countries. Switzerland has concluded aviation agreements with over 140 countries. The aviation agreement with the European Union which gives Swiss airlines access to the EU aviation market is of almost unbeatable significance.

Based on local demand for flight services, SWISS optimally connects Switzerland to international markets via its Zurich hub, and is thus a fundamental pillar of the Swiss economy. With over 100 direct connections to destinations all over the world, SWISS guarantees to make Switzerland easily accessible as a business location and is attempting to meet the growing transport needs for business, tourism and society. In order to meet this requirement, it is essential for SWISS to have a functioning hub at Zurich Airport.

The ability to connect Switzerland as a place for business, finance and tourism can only be ensured in the future if the Zurich hub receives the growth potential it needs. It is therefore essential that we, together with system partners and relevant stakeholders, create the hub of the future today and bring about favourable conditions so that Swiss aviation can compete globally and Switzerland can remain competitive.

In the following three explanatory videos, you will learn how the Zurich hub works, why SWISS operates a hub business model and which main challenges need to be overcome at the Zurich hub.

In order to meet the transport needs of the Swiss economy, tourism and society, Switzerland needs a strong domestic airline at Zurich Airport. Above all, for the Swiss economy, it is essential to be able to benefit from direct air traffic connections to important trading centres and to have the most dense transport network possible. As a landlocked country with a strong export economy, Switzerland can only keep up with the world’s best if it can export its high-quality products and services quickly and easily. As a strong domestic airline, SWISS connects Switzerland via the Zurich hub with over 100 direct flights to international markets, and is thus a fundamental pillar of the Swiss economy.

For SWISS to offer direct connections profitably, which are requested by Swiss citizens, it operates a hub system. Through the hub system, SWISS is able to connect its domestic airport in Zurich to more than 100 destinations. However, local demand for long haul connections is often insufficient for flights to be used to their full capacity every day. However, this is important because SWISS transports a high proportion of business travellers who rely on daily flight connections. In order to ensure a high number of travellers using the airline, so-called feeder flights are needed.

These feeder or connecting flights supplement local demand by transferring passengers from the SWISS short-haul network, which is beneficial both ecologically and economically. In order to be able to guarantee these transfer passengers the shortest and most attractive departure times possible, SWISS arrivals and departures in Zurich are organised in a total of six waves. Due to the system’s tight schedule, a wave system has been created with peak times early in the morning, at midday and late in the evening.

To ensure the strict timetable at the Zurich hub is adhered to, two criteria must be met: During peak times, Zurich Airport needs sufficient capacity on runways and in terminals, as well as appropriate operating hours so that SWISS, as a hub airline, can operate its aircraft cost-effectively and minimise their time on the ground. However, while demand for flight services is constantly rising, Zurich Airport is already at the limit of its capacity due to its susceptibility to weather and infrastructure conditions, and to the comparatively strict ban on night-time flights.

There has been a stricter night-time flight ban in force from 23:30 h to 06:00 h since 2010, and the time between 23:00 h and 23:30 h can only be used to deal with delays. Zurich Airport must not be compelled to reduce its operating hours further, as some stakeholders are demanding. The final 30 minutes of flexibility after 23:00 h are essential for SWISS to eliminate delays and guarantee to connect the evening long haul connections.

Any restriction on this flexibility would further hamper hub operations at Zurich Airport, lead to a depletion of the SWISS network, and thus a reduction in how attractive Zurich Airport is as a centre for air travel. The attractiveness of Switzerland as a place of business would also suffer and it would not be surprising if global companies and organisations with their headquarters in Switzerland decided to move to locations where the connections are better – which would be a shame not only for the Swiss economy, but also for tourism and society.