Austrian Airlines boss welcomes news of Lufthansa shareholders vote

Dr Andreas Otto,  Chief Commercial Officer of Austrian Airlines welcomed the news regarding the shareholders of Lufthansa approving the bailout deal put forward by the Federal Government of Germany, worth more than €9 billion.  

In a letter to customers, Otto detailed how the Austrian bailout out was contingent on the Lufthansa one being agreed. Now that is has,  the Vienna based carrier will be able to rapidly to increase its current schedule. 

Andreas Otto, pictured left, wrote: "June 8, 2020 was a historic day for Austrian Airlines: Together with the Austrian state, our owner Lufthansa and with the help of our business partners and employees, a package of measures was agreed upon to ensure the continued existence of Austrian Airlines and enable us to fly again from 15 June.

However, our package is also dependent on state aid for Lufthansa in Germany, the approval of all committees and the approval of the EU Commission.

Austrian Airlines offers flights with return guarantee starting on June 25

• Fares for regular flights within Europe are extended free of charge by return travel services• Depending on the fare, passengers have a choice of different return packages• CCO Andreas Otto: "Will do everything possible to provide our passengers with the necessary security"

Austrian Airlines resumed flight operations on Monday, June 15 after a break of around 90 days. The first flight week brings an average load factor of 50 percent. Nevertheless, it is still noticeable that many passengers are insecure when booking their trip and are asking for options of a quick and uncomplicated journey home.

Return flight guarantee for all regular flights within Europe

In addition to flexible ticket rebooking options, Austrian Airlines, as well as Lufthansa and SWISS, now also offers a return flight guarantee for all regular flights within Europe. This applies to all customers regardless of the fare booked and is included in the fare. Austrian Airlines will bring passengers back to Austria if there are any Corona caused disruptions at their destination – if necessary, also by special flight.

Lufthansa Group airlines significantly expands flight schedule until September

The airlines in the Lufthansa Group are significantly expanding their services in the coming weeks and months. This applies to both short-haul and long-haul flights. The focus in expanding flight schedules is to again offer as many destinations as possible.

In September, for example, 90 percent of all originally planned short- and medium-haul destinations and 70 percent of long-haul destinations will be served again. Customers planning their autumn and winter holidays now have access to a comprehensive global network of connections via all hubs of the Group.

The core brand Lufthansa alone will be flying more than 100 times a week to destinations in North America via its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich in autumn. Around 90 flights a week are planned to Asia, over 20 to the Middle East and over 25 to Africa. In Africa, for example, there will again be flights to Windhoek and Nairobi, in the Middle East to Beirut and Riyadh, in North America to Houston, Boston and Vancouver, in Asia to Hong Kong and Singapore.

Long-haul operations for Austrian Airlines to restart in July

It has been a while, but Austrian Airlines has confirmed it will resume regular long-haul flights in July this year.  The first time since mid-March the airline will operate flights to Bangkok, Chicago, New York (Newark) and Washington with up to three weekly flights. The first long-haul aircraft will take off for New York at 10:15 a.m. on 1 July.

In Europe, the following destinations will be added to the almost 40 destinations already announced: Bologna, Florence, Moscow, Podgorica, Rome, Sibiu, Venice and Zagreb. Cairo will be added to the Middle East portfolio. In addition, Austrian Airlines will offer the following holiday charters as of July: Chania, Corfu, Heraklion, Karpathos, Kos, Rhodes, Santorini and Zakynthos. Keflavik is also back in the program as a charter destination. In addition to the aforementioned resumption, Austria's home carrier is also increasing the weekly number of flights to destinations in July, which will be served from mid-June onwards. Subject to new official restrictions, the July offer will thus increase from 5 to 20 percent compared to the previous year. The flight schedule for August is currently being prepared. Information on this will follow soon.

"June demand is good, considering the circumstances. This means we can continue to increase our capacity", says Austrian Airlines CCO Andreas Otto. "I am particularly pleased that long-haul flights can finally take off again in July, as they are particularly important for Austria as a business location and for Vienna as a hub."

On the Austrian Airlines website, passengers will find up-to-date information on travel in times of corona, flight schedules, mask requirement, entry or rebooking regulations. The information is updated on an ongoing basis.

The airline has just agreed on a financial bailout or rescue package from the Austrian Government and the carriers parent company Lufthansa, to the value of €600 million. 

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Austria strikes €450 million bailout deal for Austrian Airlines and an extra €150 million from Lufthansa

Photo Florian Schmidt

 Austria has agreed to a much smaller bailout package for the national carrier Austrian Airlines that had previously been expected it emerged on Monday.

The Austrian subsidiary of The Lufthansa Group will get a package of loans and grants to the value of €450 million / £401 million according to the latest reports.  The firm is also getting a share of the Lufthansa's extra finances,  as the German firm inject equity capital of €150 million. 

The Austrian Federal Government, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines reached the agreement on the rescue package on Monday and is designed to support efforts to sustainably safeguard Vienna as an aviation hub in the long term, including its flight connections to Central and Eastern Europe and to long-haul destinations. 

The Republic of Austria will contribute 150 million in financial assistance to cover the losses incurred as a result of the Coronavirus COVID-19 crisis. In return, the Austrian Federal Government has received long-term, binding commitments to the Vienna aviation hub linked to strict ecological requirements. The entire financing package is dependent on state aid for Lufthansa in Germany, the approval of all corporate bodies and the consent of the EU Commission.

Lufthansa Group significantly extends June timetable

Over 2,000 weekly frequencies to connections to more than 130 destinations worldwide
Lufthansa: 34 additional destinations from Munich, 20 from Frankfurt in the flight programme
Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Air Dolomiti resume flight operations

The airlines in the Lufthansa Group are significantly expanding their services in the second half of June compared with the previous weeks. As in the first half of June, the focus will be on summer tourist destinations. The aim is to make as many destinations as possible accessible for holidaymakers and business travellers and thus expand the European and intercontinental network for holidaymakers and business travellers.

Starting from June15th, Lufthansa alone will be resuming around 20 German and European destinations from Frankfurt and as many as 34 from Munich, thus supplementing the airline's flight schedule, which has been growing steadily for a few weeks. These include attractive holiday destinations as Dubrovnik, Faro, Venice, Ibiza and Malaga from Frankfurt. Additionally, Porto, Split, Cyprus, Biarritz and Agadir and many more from Munich. Furthermore, the weekly accessibility of already existing and highly demanded destinations, such as Mallorca or Sylt, will be increased. As a result, Lufthansa's flight schedule will grow from around 500 to almost 900 weekly connections at the Frankfurt and Munich hubs during the course of June.

Austrian Airlines....the way back to flight.....but how safe is flying?

Austrian Airlines to Resume Flight Operations on 15 June

Photo Austrian Airlines/Markus Setznagel

After a grounding lasting almost 90 days, Austrian Airlines is getting ready to get its aircraft back into the skies.  The company, part of the pan European Lufthansa Group, has set the date of 15th June to begin scheduled operations again, albeit with a limited timetable. 

Included in the first wave of reintroduced flights, will be services to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Brussels all from its home base of Vienna. A full list of destinations being offered by the carrier is shown below,  along with more routes Austrian will operate from the week after as it slowly builds up schedules. 

In the initial phase, due to the low estimated demand, the airline will primarily deploy the smaller aircraft in its fleet, such as Embraer 195 and Bombardier Dash 8. “We all are pleased that Austrian Airlines is finally flying again. I would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding. And of course, I would like to thank our employees who stood firm in their commitment to our Austrian Airlines during these last few months”, says CCO Andreas Otto. “We will also resume long-haul flight service as soon as we have sufficient feeder traffic on short- and medium-haul routes. This could already be the case in July”, he added.

But, How safe is flying? How clean are Austrian Airlines aircraft? And how do you best protect yourself?

Austrian Airlines reaches agreement with flight crew and ground staff on crisis contribution

Austrian Airlines has confirmed it has reached an agreement with the technical and commercial staff, included the stations as well as technical and administrative employees, comprising close to 3,000 of the 7,000 people working for Austria’s red-white-red national carrier.

Austrian Airlines anticipates a very slow recovery after the crisis. In order to retain as many employees as possible during a period of low demand, an agreement was reached with the works council on a long-term application of the short-time work model until 2022. There will be no customary annual salary increments or adjustments for inflation during this period.

• Successful conclusion of negotiations with the Ground Works Council today• Key issues paper for cabin crew signed yesterday• COO Ritter: “Can retain as many employees as possible during the crisis”

Austrian Airlines extends flight suspension until the end of May

Following the instigation of worldwide travel restrictions caused by the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, there is still no demand for air travel insight, The Austrian Ministry of Health announced that the current landing bans will also remain in place for a longer period of time. 

Therefore, Vienna based Austrian Airlines has decided to extend the suspension of its normal flight schedule for another two weeks, from May 18 to May 31, 2020.

Austrian Airlines can only envisage a slow resumption of regular flight operations in June at the earliest. Nevertheless, Austrian intends to closely monitor the further development and will only resume flight operations when demand picks up again.

“Unlike some competitors, we want to avoid empty flights at all costs. We will only take off when a new start makes sense for Austrian Airlines and when the ease of travel restrictions makes this possible”, comments Austrian Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andreas Otto on the plans of the red-white-red airline.

Information on rebooking options and goodwill arrangements for passengers can be found at www.austrian.com.

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Austrian Airlines Presents Plan for a New Start After the Coronavirus Crisis

Demand development: Significantly dampened demand expected in the medium term, pre-COVID level not expected again for several years

Fleet: new start planned with around 80% of the previous capacity

Flight operations of Austrian Airlines have been temporarily at a standstill since March 18, 2020 as a consequence of the coronavirus crisis. The employees of the country’s national airline continue to be on short-time work. At the present time, it is not yet possible to precisely forecast when the complete freedom to travel will be restored. This year Austria’s flag carrier predicts a 25-50 percent drop in demand. A maximum of 75 percent of the pre-coronavirus level is expected by the end of 2021. Austrian Airlines Executive Board member Andreas Otto comments: “The entire airline industry is pessimistic. We have to assume that we will reach the ‘pre-corona level’ again in 2023 at the earliest.”

Austrian Airlines is now preparing to realign its fleet to reflect the decrease in demand. Last Friday the Executive Board presented its “Plan for a New Start” to the Supervisory Board. The plan was outlined to the airline’s 7,000 employees today within the context of a digital information event.

Austrian Extends Short-Time Work

• Short-time work will be continued for a further month from April 20, 2020

• All 7,000 employees will remain on short-time work until May 19, 2020

Due to the global developments in connection with the Coronavirus and the continuing restrictions on travel, Austrian Airlines is extending the short-time working model for its 7,000 employees by a further month until May 19, 2020.

The Austrian Airlines employees have been on short-time working since March 20, 2020, initially for one month. This had become necessary after the sharp decline in demand due to the Coronavirus, which forced Austrian to suspend its flight operations temporarily on March 18, 2020.

The red-white-red airline is already working on its new start after the crisis. An exact date is still not foreseeable, however. For this reason, the company has agreed, in coordination with the works councils, to extend short-time work for another month.

Ryanair doesn't want the Austrian government to provide aid to Austrian Airline as its owned by Germans

Ryanair's Austrian outfit, Lauda has strongly urged the Austrian government not to provide Austrian Airlines with state aid to help it cope with the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 and would rather see the airline go bust and its 7000 staff unemployed, simply because Austrian Airlines is owned by a German company.

The Lufthansa Group is, apparently, in negotiations with the German government about a possible bailout,  however, this is just for the German operations of the group.  It is also holding talks with the governments of Switzerland to help SWISS,  with the Belgians to support Brussells Airlines and with the Austrian administration to help Austrian Airlines over the worst. 

“We do not believe that Lufthansa should receive state aid from Austrian taxpayers in exactly the same way we do not believe that Ryanair should receive state aid from Austrian taxpayers,” Andreas Gruber, Lauda's managing director. However,  he only said this after he had had a conversation with top officials from the Austrian government according to local sources. 

Lauda has around 550 staff and has ranked an 8% of the market share, whilst Austrian Airlines employs around 7000 people and 43% of the market share.  

However, Lauda has said it should get state-sponsored short term payroll support from the government, as should Austrian Airlines.   

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Austrian Airlines looking ahead......pre-corona travel demand won't return until 2023 says Austrian Airlines

Ony last week Austrian Airlines, part of the Lufthansa Group of airlines extended its flight suspension until 3rd May. However,  it is highly expected that this date will also need to be extended as the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis looks set to worsen in many destinations before it gets better.  The Austrian Federal Government also announced in the last few days that complete freedom to travel cannot be expected to come back soon.

Austrian Airlines therefore currently assumes that this summers demand for travel will be about 25-50% of the demand of last summer and it won't see demand return to pre-corona levels until 2023 at the earliest!  Accordingly, the red-white-red Vienna based airline is in the process of adapting to a new way of working to meet the changing demands.

Major restructuring and downsizing for the Lufthansa Group an omen of things to come for the European aviation industry

Six A380s are being axed from the Lufthansa fleet.                                                                              Photo Airbus

With the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis, showing no real signs of slowing in Europe, one of the unions biggest airline groups has released details of a drastic initial downsizing.

The Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG does not expect the aviation industry to return to pre-coronavirus (PC) crisis levels very quickly and with that in mind, it has decided to instigate an initial round of downsizing.

This major downsizing will affect almost all flight operations of the Lufthansa Group and is perhaps an omen of what is to come from carriers around the world.

The tragic news for fans of the double-decker A380 is that the airline will withdraw six of them immediately and they will be decommissioned and offered for sale.  They were,  prior to coronavirus (PC) scheduled to be removed from service and up for sale to Airbus in 2022 anyway.

Austrian Airlines extends grounding until May 3, 2020 and takes us behind the scenes of a repatriation flight.

Austrian Airlines extends grounding until 3rd May

The management board of Austrian Airlines have confirmed the current grounding of the airlines fleet will continue until 3rd May at least.  It said it had taken the decision because of the ongoing worldwide entry bans imposed because of the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis. 

The airline's new Boston service originally planned for June will be delayed once again due to American travel restrictions.  

“It goes without saying that we will continue to carry out our repatriation and freight flights for medical supplies”, says Austrian Airlines CCO Andreas Otto. In the past weeks, more than 6,000 stranded Austrians were brought home on behalf of the Austrian Federal Government. This has been complemented by the 180 tons of protective clothing transported to Vienna from China and Malaysia."

What does a typical repatriation flight look like?    Find out below. 

Return home schedules from Lufthansa Group airlines as Austrian Airlines flies its longest ever nonstop journey

From the beginning of next week, a return flight schedule will be in effect for the airlines in the Lufthansa Group. This will initially be valid until 19 April 2020. 

Harry Hohmeister, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG: "This situation has a historic dimension. Hardly anyone wants to or is currently allowed to travel. That is why our returnee flight schedule is now essentially geared to the needs of European citizens who want to return to their home countries. We are now flying as many people home as possible!"

The intercontinental return flight schedule in detail

Long-haul flights are offered as scheduled from Frankfurt and Zurich. Lufthansa's intercontinental flight schedule from Frankfurt is as follows: three times a week to Newark, Chicago (both USA), Montreal (Canada), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Bangkok (Thailand), Tokyo (Japan) and Johannesburg (South Africa). 

Austrian Airlines extends its suspension of flight operations until April 19, 2020

The worldwide entry bans imposed as a consequence of the coronavirus have not been relaxed and there is still little demand for air travel. For this reason, Austrian Airlines will cease all regular flight operations until April 19, 2020. Today, two B777 long-haul aircraft will fly to Punta Cana, Havana and Mexico City on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs to bring home Austrians stranded abroad.

Austrian Airlines originally announced a temporary cessation of its scheduled air traffic until March 28, 2020. Passengers booked on flights during this period will be rebooked on other airlines if possible. Passengers can also rebook their airline tickets or arrange for them to be held in abeyance for the time being.

Austrian Airlines will temporarily suspend flight operations

Last flight will land on 19 March in Vienna / all further flights are temporarily suspended until 28 March
Lufthansa Group: entire short and long-haul schedule significantly reduced again
As of 17 March: ten percent of the originally planned capacity will still be available on long-haul routes and 20 per cent on short-haul routes
Lufthansa Group airlines fly thousands of cruise passengers and holidaymakers home
Arrangements for further evacuation flights
Lufthansa Cargo flight operations carries out all planned flights despite corona crisis 

The Lufthansa Group carrier Austrian Airlines will temporarily suspend scheduled flight operations as of Thursday, 19 March 2020. Austrian Airlines is thus reacting to the entry restrictions imposed by many countries in response to the massive spread of the coronavirus.

For the time being, the last flight with flight number OS 066 will land in Vienna from Chicago at 8:20 a.m. on 19 March. Until then, flight operations are to be reduced in a controlled and structured manner in order to bring all passengers and crews home if possible. Initially Austrian Airlines will cancel all flights until March 28th 2020, and passengers who have booked a flight with Austrian Airlines during this period will be rebooked on other airlines if possible.

In addition, Lufthansa Group airlines will further reduce their short- and long-haul schedule. The cancellations, which will be published as early as tomorrow, March 17th, will lead to a sharp decline in long-haul service especially in the Middle East, Africa and Central and South America. Overall, the Lufthansa Group’s seating capacity on long-haul routes will be reduced by up to 90 per cent. A total of 1,300 weekly connections were originally planned for summer 2020.

Austrian Airlines will temporarily suspend flight operations

Last flight will land on 19 March in Vienna / all further flights are temporarily suspended until 28 March
Lufthansa Group: entire short and long-haul schedule significantly reduced again
As of 17 March: ten percent of the originally planned capacity will still be available on long-haul routes and 20 per cent on short-haul routes
Lufthansa Group airlines fly thousands of cruise passengers and holidaymakers home
Arrangements for further evacuation flights
Lufthansa Cargo flight operations carries out all planned flights despite corona crisis 

The Lufthansa Group carrier Austrian Airlines will temporarily suspend scheduled flight operations as of Thursday, 19 March 2020. Austrian Airlines is thus reacting to the entry restrictions imposed by many countries in response to the massive spread of the coronavirus.

For the time being, the last flight with flight number OS 066 will land in Vienna from Chicago at 8:20 a.m. on 19 March. Until then, flight operations are to be reduced in a controlled and structured manner in order to bring all passengers and crews home if possible. Initially Austrian Airlines will cancel all flights until March 28th 2020, and passengers who have booked a flight with Austrian Airlines during this period will be rebooked on other airlines if possible.

In addition, Lufthansa Group airlines will further reduce their short- and long-haul schedule. The cancellations, which will be published as early as tomorrow, March 17th, will lead to a sharp decline in long-haul service especially in the Middle East, Africa and Central and South America. Overall, the Lufthansa Group’s seating capacity on long-haul routes will be reduced by up to 90 per cent. A total of 1,300 weekly connections were originally planned for summer 2020.

Lufthansa Group Airlines will continue operating to the USA

Despite the new travel guidelines ordered by the US administration on passengers from the European Union, Switzerland and other countries, Lufthansa Group Airlines will continue to offer flights to the USA from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium.

Chicago, Newark (New York) and Washington will still be served
Special flight schedule for the USA will be available soon
Flight operations to Canada continue unchanged
The impact of the changes in the entry regulations for India is currently being assessed
Customers are asked to check their current flight status on lufthansa.com, swiss.com, austrian.com or brusselsairlines.com

The Lufthansa Group will continue operating flights from Frankfurt to Chicago and Newark (New York), from Zurich to Chicago and Newark (New York), from Vienna to Chicago, and from Brussels to Washington beyond 14 March, thus maintaining at least some air traffic connections to the USA from Europe. The airlines are currently working on an alternative flight schedule for the USA. Passengers will still be able to reach all destinations within the USA via the U.S. hubs and connecting flights served by partner airline, United Airlines.