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AUA keeps Vienna - Klagenfurt route after subsidy call unheard

Austrian Airlines (AUA) has said it will continue its Vienna � Klagenfurt route despite previous warnings it would have to cut it without subsidies.

AUA co-chief Andreas Bierwirth and Carinthian Freedom Party (FPK) Governor Gerhard D�rfler said after a meeting yesterday (Weds) that the service would not be halted.

Bierwirth said the struggling company � which was saved from bankruptcy by German carrier Lufthansa�s takeover � would work on an "optimisation concept" to ensure a further service between the southern province and the federal capital.

AUA warned earlier this year it would have to end its service between Vienna and the provincial capitals of Graz, Linz, Klagenfurt and Innsbruck unless they were subsidised from public funds.

D�rfler, Upper Austrian People�s Party (�VP) Governor Josef P�hringer, Tyrolean �VP Governor G�nther Platter, Styrian Social Democratic (SP�) Governor Franz Voves all rejected the idea of subsiding the firm.

D�rfler claimed Vienna International Airport (VIA) would suffer most if AUA axed its Klagenfurt � Vienna route as passengers would travel using airports in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Munich, Germany

"I�m not at all considering throwing money at struggling AUA," he said at the time.

D�rfler also yesterday rejected a proposal by AUA co-chief Bierwirth that an agreement be made on a Public Service Obligation (PSO) in which provincial and federal leaders would have to cover losses while the company guarantees long-term service.

AUA are now working on a new concept for domestic flights. Aviation experts have said the company could cut costs by reducing the number of its flights and using 80-seat aircraft instead of 50-seat planes it currently runs on routes within Austria.

It meanwhile remains unclear whether AUA � which is reportedly planning to dismiss hundreds of staff to get back into the black � has similar plans for its links to Innsbruck, Linz and Graz.

Austrian Times

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