SWISS CEO admits mistakes were made during pandemic
In hindsight, it is “always easy to take a critical look at decisions made back then”, said SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx.
Keystone / Ennio Leanza
As his tenure comes to an end, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) CEO Dieter Vranckx is not all positive and admits that some mistakes were made during the pandemic.
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“We almost completely cut back on investments during the Covid crisis,” Vranckx said in an interview with the Handelszeitung newspaper on Wednesday. “Actually, we should have continued to invest in certain areas,” he said.
In some areas, such as renewal of the aircraft fleet, SWISS stuck to its planned investments, he said. “That was brave, considering our financial situation at the time, with a loss of CHF1 billion ($1.12 billion) over two years,” he said.
In other areas, however, he said expenditure was cut back too much, for example on new seats. But in hindsight, it is ultimately “always easy to take a critical look at decisions made back then”, Vranckx said.
He sees the successful turnaround and restructuring following the pandemic as the highlight of his time in office. “As well as achieving a return to the black in 2022,” he said, adding that this laid the foundation for being able to invest again.
Vranckx, who took up his post at the beginning of 2021, will leave the company at the end of the month to take up the position of chief commercial officer at parent company Lufthansa. A successor has not yet been announced.
Vranckx explained this was due to the importance of the appointment. “It is important for SWISS that the right person comes in from July 1,” he said. A decision would be made soon, he said.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kp
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