Swiss boss Dieter Vranckx: “Those who book early get the best prices”

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Mr. Vranckx, your most prominent flight attendant is Theres Rösti, wife of Bundestag Member Albert Rösti. How well do you know yourself?
Dieter Vranckx: I met Ms and Mr Rösti before they became Members of the Bundestag in November 2022. We had a very enjoyable conversation.

What ambitions do you have regarding politics?
None. We talked about the developments in air traffic during the pandemic and its aftermath and looked to the future.

Last year you promised flying would be cheaper.
Supply and demand determine the price. Average prices in 2023 were approximately three percent lower than in 2022. There have never been lowest prices in Switzerland and there will never be any in the future. Flying must have a price so that we can finance investments in new planes and environmentally friendly technologies.

Many Swiss customers and price watchers think flying is becoming increasingly expensive.
That’s why it’s important to trust the numbers. Our numbers clearly show that we are not becoming more expensive across all our flights.

What advice would you give to a family?
Book as early as possible! Early birds get the best prices.

How about other tricks like VPN client abroad?
These are popular myths, but they are not true in Switzerland. It also doesn’t make any difference whether you make a reservation with an Apple or Microsoft device or buy a ticket at midnight. The determining factor is how early the reservation is completed before departure.

Zurich Airport is no longer first class; There are long queues during holidays. There are no full body scanners and no fast portable scanners.
I would like to see technological possibilities fully used and innovations regularly incorporated into our processes to make our customers even more satisfied. We see some potential in artificial intelligence and comparable technologies.

Personnel problems in the cantonal police are a local problem. How angry are you?
In 2023, there were waiting times that did not meet Switzerland’s premium standard. We already touched on them last year. But there’s no point in getting emotional. We must look for solutions together and solve them together. We are on the right track there.

Klaus-Michael Kühne, Switzerland’s richest billionaire, is your main shareholder. Criticizes: Even though Air Baltic flies, they sell flights to Switzerland. Mr. Kühne thinks this is a fake label.
I know Mr. Kühne’s opinion, but we were faced with a choice: should we cancel the flights or let Air Baltic operate them? We want to be reliable for our customers. The reason for the cooperation with Air Baltic is the ongoing problems with Pratt & Whitney engines.

They are still selling Air Baltic flights for the fall.
Ideally, we would like to carry out all our flights with our machines and crews. However, we have over 10 short-haul aircraft that we cannot use in all of 2024 due to engine problems caused by the manufacturer.

You are facing legal proceedings from the Zurich Economic Directorate due to Air Baltic. It’s about reducing wages.
Each party has its own opinion. This is an ongoing process, so I will not comment further.

Are you paying Air Baltic staff more now?
Air Baltic crews are not deployed by us and only fly a small portion of their missions to Switzerland. Most fly for their own airline. Air Baltic, not Switzerland, decides employment conditions.

Last week SonntagsBlick reported major complaints at Skyguide air traffic control. Are you worried about flight safety?
We noticed that Skyguide works on a variety of issues. We are in constant communication and I have full confidence that Skyguide will overcome the challenges.

The EU Commission has serious concerns about the takeover of the Italian ITA by the Lufthansa Group, to which the Swiss belong. Why are you in favor of buying ITA?
A certain level of consolidation is needed for European aviation to remain competitive against Asian, American and Arab competition.

There will probably be no competition on the Zurich-Rome route. Will everything be more expensive then?
I cannot make any statements about future price developments. The truth is that prices depend on various factors.

They are expanding their Swiss flight routes to include Washington, Toronto and Seoul. What’s next?
The economic development in India is quite promising. Therefore, other destinations in India are also on our watch list.

What message do you have for climate youth?
I invite climate youth to work with us and help us become more sustainable. Our targets are ambitious: 50 percent fewer CO₂ emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 and net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. We need every bright mind to help us implement this green transformation.

Climate youth think this is greenwashing.
We are serious. We are the first airline in the world to fly with “Aeroshark”: a very thin film inspired by shark skin that we adhere to our Boeing 777. This reduces frictional resistance in flight; We use up to 1.5 percent less fuel every year. We are also the first airline in the world to fly with kerosene produced from Synhelion sunlight, in partnership with Climeworks. The Swiss company is a world leader in direct carbon capture technology. CO₂ is removed directly from the atmosphere so that it can be stored permanently.

How about canceling a domestic flight from Geneva to Zurich?
We want to connect Western Switzerland to our route network in the best way possible.

Gotthard Tunnel has been closed since August. Have you ever thought of continuing the Lugano-Zurich route?
If electric planes become available at some point, this would be an attractive route to connect Ticino to our hub in Zurich.

Source :Blick