Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) CEO, Dieter Vranckx, predicts rising air fares in the future: "In the medium and long term, I expect prices to rise." This is necessary for investments in more environmentally friendly technologies.
For next year, however, Vranckx predicted lower prices in an interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). "This year, our prices are already slightly below those of the previous year on average. The plateau has been reached, next year flying should become cheaper. The pressure on prices continues to rise because capacity is growing."
Over the next year and a half, SWISS also wants to improve its punctuality, Vranckx said. "Our punctuality at the moment is actually not what you would expect from a premium carrier."
Artificial intelligence (AI) is also being used to improve the entire system, according to Vranckx. "We have connected different operational systems and have large amounts of data analysed by Google Cloud," the SWISS CEO said. The AI makes suggestions, experts then decide whether to accept them. "96% of the suggestions from Google Cloud have been accepted in the last twelve months," Vranckx said. SWISS had acted as a pilot airline for the project, and now the system is to be expanded to the entire Lufthansa Group.