Austrian Airlines Faces Financial Challenges as Unions Call for Collective Agreement Vote and Strikes Continue to Plague Industry

The aviation industry is facing financial challenges due to strikes and operational issues, as seen in the recent loss of 122 million euros reported by Austrian Airlines (AUA) in the first quarter of the current year. This is a significant decrease from the previous year, with union works meetings, booking reluctance, increased costs, and ongoing negotiations with the KV union being attributed as the main reasons for this loss.

The Vida union has announced that they will be voting on a new collective agreement for on-board staff at Austrian Airlines on Tuesday. The vote ends on Monday and will be evaluated by an aviation specialist committee. Lufthansa, AUA’s parent company, has also been affected by these strikes, impacting the entire group’s profit target for the year. Due to strike costs and slower supply growth, Lufthansa has lowered its profit target and expects an operational loss in the first quarter.

In addition to these challenges, AUA anticipates further strike costs and reduced capacity in the second quarter to improve punctuality. The financial landscape faced by AUA and Lufthansa underscores the difficult climate faced by the aviation industry as a whole. The results of the vote on the new collective agreement will be crucial in determining AUA’s future direction and that of its workforce.