Switzerland tempts with 2500 francs a day to go without vacation

Edelweiss boss Bernd Bauer (57) often gets people to want to travel – now he’s doing the opposite for once: “Prices will go up for a while,” Bauer said in the “SRF Eco Talk”. Flight tickets are much more expensive this year than in previous years. A recent assessment concluded, for example, that Switzerland will increase by almost 50 percent this summer compared to the previous year.

Bauer’s statement now makes this clear: the peak has not yet been reached. Bauer explains in the program that one of the reasons for this is inflation: “Our suppliers are getting more expensive. We pay more for kerosene, for food, for ground handling. As a result, we also depend on rising prices and making more sales.”

Small staff meet big demand

In addition to inflation, a second factor plays a decisive role: the lack of personnel. It was triggered by the pandemic, among other things. Many employees left the airline industry and never returned. “Retraining pilots will take some time until enough personnel are rehired,” Bauer says.

Worse still, after the pandemic years, many people who love to travel want to make up for their vacation. Fewer pilots and flight attendants meet more passengers. Demand drives prices.

Swiss pilots can sell their vacation days

Swiss is now taking a new approach to tackling staff shortages in the cockpit and cabin: employees can voluntarily give up their days off and get paid for it, according to “20 minutes” reports. Anyone who gives up a day’s vacation receives 1.2 percent of their annual salary.

Experienced Swiss pilots can earn up to CHF 210,000 on long haul flights. For them, the loss of a day’s vacation is more than 2,500 francs.

avoid flight cancellations

However, employees cannot return any number of vacation days to complete their wages: the law provides for four weeks (28 days). Only days that exceed this legal minimum may be “sold” to Swiss. How high a Swiss pilot’s vacation entitlement is depends on their seniority.

With the holiday exemption, customers can expect that this summer – unlike last year – there will be no more hundreds of flight cancellations. The other side of the coin: Airfare prices are likely to increase further as a result.

Source :Blick