Swiss posts first loss in five years
Swiss International Air Lines has dropped into the red for the first time in five years.
Switzerland’s main airline, which was taken over by Germany’s Lufthansa in 2005, recorded an operative loss of SFr10 million ($9.06 million) in the first quarter of this year.
The strong Swiss currency and rising fuel prices are to blame for the loss, according to a company statement on Wednesday.
Twelve months ago Swiss posted a SFr63 million operative profit.
Swiss chief executive Harry Hohmeister said he was optimistic that business will recover in the second half of the year.
Earlier this week Lufthansa announced an operative loss of €330 million for the first quarter of 2010.
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