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11. 03. 10. - 14:30

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11. 03. 10. - 14:30

AUA 2009 turnover and passenger numbers down

Struggling former flagship carrier Austrian Airlines (AUA) failed to get back in the black last year as turnover and passenger numbers dropped.

Company co-chiefs Peter Malanik and Andreas Bierwirth said today (Thurs) the plan was to continue the ongoing cost-cutting regime in order to get back in the black next year.

They announced turnover shrunk by 20.3 per cent year on year to 1.96 billion Euros, adding that AUA had 9.9 million passengers in 2009 – around ten per cent less than in the previous year. The co-chiefs also said that AUA suffered losses before interest and taxes (Ebit) of 93.8 million Euros in 2009.

"The results are anything but satisfying and make clear there is still a lot of work for us to do," Malanik and Bierwirth said.

The co-chiefs said the plan was to "create positive cash flow" this year and get back in the black in 2011. They added the company suffered under "extremely weak demand in the markets".

Analysts expect the company to continue its drastic job cull during the next few months.

"Restructure measures" made necessary by last year’s dismissal of hundreds of employees cost the firm 145 million Euros, it was announced today.

Malanik and Bierwirth made clear the plan was to "continue the reconstruction programme in 2010".

AUA was founded in 1957 and taken over by Germany’s Lufthansa last September in a deal which, according to many analysts, rescued the Vienna-based firm from bankruptcy.

The Austrian government – formed by a coalition of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the People’s Party (ÖVP) – decided to bolster AUA with 500 million Euros of tax payers’ money to ensure Lufthansa takes over at the ailing firm.

This move was harshly criticised by AUA rivals like FlyNiki who claimed it was falsifying the competition situation on the European aviation market.

Lufthansa meanwhile said earlier this week it had 3.5 million customers last month, 7.2 per cent less than in the same month last year. The speculation is that this could have been a result of the firm’s pilots holding a one-day long strike and passengers changing their plans and booking flights provided by other airlines instead.

Lufthansa pilots initially planned to strike for four days over fears their positions might be axed or taken by pilots of Lufthansa’s many subsidies who might be willing to work for less.

AUA had 646,000 passengers in February 2010, up by four per cent compared to its statistics for the same month in the previous year.

The company announced last month that 50 of the 200 people working at its Austrian Cargo freight division will be dismissed as of 1 July 2010.

The firm said the plan was to merge Austrian Cargo with Lufthansa Cargo due to shrinking demand for such services.

Austrian Times

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