Thursday, 09. February 2012

:: Home > Business > AUA 2009 turnover and passenger numbers down

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
30	31	1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	1	2	3	4

Add your event FREE

Today

Polls

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 (SP�) and the People�s Party (�VP) � 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

Write your comment to this article here

Tag cloud:
FlyNiki falsifying Lufthansa competition criticised money numbers harshly Euros Malanik Bierwirth Cargo Democrats Austrian turnover rivals ailing passenger Analysts Airlines

Latest News

Set up tax on financial transactions soon, says Katzian
The head of the Association of Private Employees (GPA-djp) has called for a quick introduction of a tax on financial transactions.

P�hringer rejects U-turn on rightist ball
Young Social Democrats (SP�) have appealed to Upper Austrian Governor Josef P�hringer not to attend the Burschenbundball in Linz this Saturday.

FP� under fire after trip to Grozny
The Freedom Party (FP�) has been harshly criticised for meeting with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

WKO boss wants pension age hike incentives
Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) President Christoph Leitl has identified attempts to raise the average retirement age as the key issue regarding Austria�s budget.

Woman and child run over in Vienna
A woman and child have died in a road accident in Vienna, Austria. The lorry driver was making a right turn when he drove into a group of pedestrians leaving a 59-year-old and a 12-year-old dead. The mother of the school girl was left with serious injuries.

Schlecker says Austrian jobs are safe
The son of Schlecker founder Anton Schlecker has claimed that the company has no plans to sell its Austrian affiliate.

SP� sees smaller parliament as key signal
The general secretary of the Social Democrats (SP�) has argued his support for a reduction of the size of the parliament.

Austrian food to feature in organic trade fair
Austria is expected to be well represented at next week�s BioFach 2012 international organic trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Some 90 companies and organisations from the Austrian organic good sector will feature at the fair from 15 to 18 February.

Brothel for the homeless in Vienna
Homeless people are queueing up for free rooms in an Austrian brothel after owner Peter Laskaris said it would be unfair not to do everything he could during the current cold spell.

Deep-freeze snacks for orangutans in Sch�nbrunn
The lucky orangutans who take up residence in Europe�s oldest zoo have been indulging in a twice weekly take-away. Despite the trees in Sch�nbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria now being completely bare the fury friends have fresh branches and leaves delivered twice a week.