You might also like to report this to the

Fédération Suisse romande des Consommateurs.

Best, R.

In my experience SWISS is one of the worst airlines ever. They don't give a damn about customers and only provide the minimum service. It is a shame this company is the flag carrier of Switzerland.

I agree that SWISS are terrible, but this practice has been around for a few years now across most airlines.  They sell you something described as a fully flexible or changeable ticket (which used to have a clear meaning in a ticketing context) and then charge you for changing your schedule.

I think we are in for a long period of this sort of thing from airlines.  They typically respond to a crisis with increased fares and less service.

So to be clear, the price they charged you for the new seat was higher than the price they were publicly offering a new purchaser to buy the same seat on the same plane?  The only difference was because you were changing the ticket, even though they had stated in advance there were no penalties for changing?

Could you not try and claim a refund on the poriginal ticlet and buy a cheaper new ticket? Even if no refund , you can keep pestering them and refuse to accept no for an answer.  Also follow Ritchies advice

I just received a refund for a flight that was planned for May 2020. First, I accepted to keep a voucher for future flight, but +1 year later, Swiss have changed their routes, and they are not offering a direct connection to the destinations of my interests. I phoned them, asked for a refund, and they did not make any fuss. They warned me that it could take up to a month, which was approximately true, but I received a full refund of what I had originally payed.

What I mean is that, depending on who you end up with on the telephone line, they may try to convince you that a refund is not possible, long process, try to make you accept the voucher option to replan your flight for the future ... just insist a bit, tell them that you know you have the right for a refund, they will resist a little, but they have to accept and they will do it.

What is their URL?