Austrian Airlines issued this statement:

Austrian Airlines adds further destinations to its flight schedule. Starting on August 20, Austria’s home carrier will be flying to Erbil again. An aircraft from the Airbus A320 family will take off three times a week between Vienna and the city in northern Iraq. This route is mainly used by transfer passengers changing planes in Vienna, for example from or to the USA.

At the end of the month, Austrian Airlines will also add Cologne to its program as a further destination in Germany. From August 31, the city on the Rhine will be back in the schedule with up to two daily connections.

The resumption of flights to Jordan’s capital Amman is planned for September 3, and the restart to Tel Aviv for September 14.

Austrian Airlines has made this announcement:

As a result of the coronavirus crisis and the cessation of Austrian Airlines‘ flight operations for a period of close to three months, Austria’s national carrier generated adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (adjusted EBIT) of minus EUR 99 million in the second quarter of 2020, down from positive results of EUR 46 million in the prior-year quarter. Accordingly, the adjusted EBIT for the first half of 2020 equaled minus EUR 235 million. The number of passengers carried by Austrian Airlines fell by 70 percent to around 2 million due to the pandemic.

“The coronavirus crisis has hit the airline sector with full force. Worldwide travel restrictions almost completely brought flight operations to a standstill in the second quarter. Our business is slowly recovering since the resumption of flights on June 15”, explains Austrian Airlines CFO Wolfgang Jani.

Results in detail
With the exception of humanitarian cargo flights, the second quarter consisted of practically only two weeks of minimum operations in June. Whereas in the previous year the airline carried around four million passengers between April and June, this figure was only 53,000 in 2020. Revenue slumped by 94 percent to EUR 35 million. During the same period, total revenues fell by 90 percent to EUR 59 million (Q2 2019: EUR 610 million). Total expenses for the same period amounted to EUR 158 million, a decrease of 72 percent (Q2 2019: EUR 565 million) compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Adjusted EBIT ultimately amounted to EUR -99 million in the second quarter (Q2 2019: EUR 46 million).

In the first half of 2020, sales revenues fell by 67 percent to EUR 322 million (first half of 2019: EUR 973 million). In the same period, operating expenses fell by 44 per cent to EUR 598 million (first half of 2019: EUR 1,064 million). This was counteracted by a package of short-term cost-cutting measures and short-time working for the entire workforce. Adjusted EBIT, which excludes valuation losses on aircraft disposals, among other items, amounted to EUR -235 million (H1 2019: EUR -53 million). EBIT amounted to EUR -299 million.

Current booking development and capacity utilization
The coronavirus crisis and the related travel restrictions which impacted Austrian Airlines through no fault of its own continue to necessitate a large degree of flexibility in planning business operations. Landing bans in effect from July 16-31, 2020 resulted in flight cancellations and cut the passenger load factor from an average of about 70 percent to 60 percent. Nevertheless, Austrian Airlines registered a large number of short-term bookings, enabling the airline to look into the future with optimism.

In particular, holiday destinations are well booked. For example, routes such as Athens, Larnaca and Thessaloniki show an average passenger load factor of about 90 percent. In terms of flight traffic to neighboring countries, the aircraft flying to Germany and Switzerland show an average capacity utilization of between 60 and 70 percent.

“Business trips and tourist travel as well are slowing picking up steam”, Wolfgang Jani adds. “Nevertheless, we only expect a slow ramping up of the aviation industry. The crisis is far from over, and this will be reflected in the performance indicators for the entire year”, CFO Jani concludes.

In other news, Austrian Airlines calls for comprehensive COVID-19 testing to replace general landing and entry bans:

• A comprehensive COVID-19 testing program for travelers from high risk countries should bring back the freedom to travel
• Landing bans recently triggered widespread uncertainty on the part of travelers
• CEO von Hoensbroech: “Whoever is healthy and not infected should be allowed to travel.”

Last Friday the Austrian Federal Government allowed landing bans for flights from 18 countries to expire. These bans did not apply in other EU member states. Nevertheless, the many different travel regulations in the European Union make it more difficult for people to travel freely and for airlines to reliably plan flight schedules. At a press conference, Austrian Airlines CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech called for comprehensive COVID-19 tests to be carried out on all passengers from high risk countries as a means of alleviating this situation.

“The freedom to travel is an important cornerstone of our modern-day society which should not be curtailed in the long term. Whoever is healthy and not infected should also be allowed to travel”, Austrian Airlines CEO von Hoensbroech stated.

Because of the duration of the coronavirus crisis and the increasing uncertainty on the part of passengers, it makes good sense to introduce health checks on a global basis for people travelling by air. This can only be ensured by carrying out comprehensive COVID-19 tests on travelers from high risk countries. “We are advocating an international solution”, von Hoensbroech emphasizes. “No other means of transport offers as good an opportunity for health checks as the aviation sector. This possibility is exactly what we should leverage in order to facilitate travelling in times of the coronavirus without compromising health protection. This approach is also in the interests of passengers because a further step towards ensuring freedom of travel is also a further step towards returning to normalcy”, he adds. According to Austrian Airlines experts, public authorities and governments are now called upon to collaborate with the airlines in order to introduce safe, practical and cost-effective testing methods and to coordinate them on an international level.

Recently Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr joined other airline CEOs form Europe and the U.S. in a letter sent to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Ylva Johansson, EU Home Affairs Commissioner, demanding a U.S.-EU testing program to once again enable airlines to operate transatlantic flights. The testing program should replace entry bans and quarantine regulations. Austrian Airlines CEO von Hoensbroech also supports such a solution. “Good flight connections between the USA and Europe are essential for a strong ethnic and economic interdependence between our continents. For this reason, flight connections should be resumed as quickly as possible – of course by optimally combining the freedom to travel with the protection of people’s health”, Mr. von Hoensbroech concludes.

Finally, Austrian Airlines is adding further holiday destinations to its summer flight schedule. The Greek destinations Kalamata, Preveza, Skiathos and Skiros are back in the flight schedule since the beginning of August. Sardinia, with Cagliari and Olbia, and Sicily, with Catania, are also part of the Austrian Holidays program since August. In addition, Austria’s home carrier is also flying to Ibiza again. All flights take place once a week on Saturdays or Sundays.

From September, Austrian Airlines will also fly to the Canary Islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife every Saturday. Austria’s home carrier is thus adding ten holiday destinations to its summer program. These and other holiday flights can be booked on the Austrian Holidays website and via travel agencies.

Austrian Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Austrian Airlines aircraft slide show:

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/frame/slideshow?key=fMrwjF&speed=3&transition=fade&autoStart=1&captions=0&navigation=0&playButton=0&randomize=0&transitionSpeed=2

Austrian Airlines has made this announcement:

On Wednesday evening, the Austrian federal government announced that the landing bans for flights from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Montenegro, Egypt, Northern Macedonia, Romania, Serbia as well as Great Britain, Sweden and Ukraine will expire on July 31. This makes it possible to reintroduce these destinations into the flight program of Austrian Airlines. The new entry regulation issued on Monday remains in force. Due to local entry regulations, Austrian Airlines last removed flights to Shanghai and Tel Aviv from its program for the month of August.

Flights to Bucharest, Chicago, Pristina and Sarajevo are to be offered as early as today, July 31. From August 1, the Austrian home carrier will be flying again to Belgrade, Cairo, Kiev, London, Podgorica, Sibiu, Skopje, Sofia, Stockholm, Tirana and Varna.

The following frequencies are planned for the month of August:

“We welcome the solution of the Austrian Federal Government, which combines the highest requirements for health protection and freedom of travel. We now intend to quickly expand our route network and re-establish our hub at Vienna Airport to provide our customers with a wide range of connecting flights in a timely manner”, explained Austrian Airlines CCO Andreas Otto.

The new entry regulations at a glance:
• No COVID-19 tests (PCR test) or quarantine measures are required for the entry of passengers from the following European countries: Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Vatican and Cyprus.
• Transfer passengers also do not require a COVID test.
• Austrians, EU/EEA and Swiss citizens as well as persons residing in Austria, who enter from a risk area, must carry a health certificate in German or English (with a negative PCR test, not older than 72 hours at entry) or, if testing was not possible prior to the entry, they are obliged to conduct a PCR test within 48 hours at their own expense. Until the negative test result is available, a self-monitored (home) quarantine must be carried out.
The following countries or areas are considered having an increased risk of Covid-19: Albania, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Egypt, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kosovo, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Nigeria, Northern Macedonia, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, USA and Hubei Province (China).
• Third-country nationals are in principle subject to an entry ban, unless they enter from the Schengen area and can present a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours. After entry, these persons must also undergo a 10-day self-monitored (home) quarantine. For this purpose, they must present a confirmation of accommodation, at their own expense.
• There are exceptions for certain groups of third-country nationals. These include those persons who are in a partnership with a person living in Austria. These persons can enter without quarantine and without a COVID test if they provide the appropriate proof.

Austrian Airlines has published the remaining summer flight schedule 2020, which will run until the end of October. By then, Austria’s home carrier will double its offer from the current 20 percent to almost 40 percent compared to the previous year’s schedule, subject to new official restrictions. Starting in August, Austrian Airlines will be flying to Shanghai again – initially once a week. From September onwards, further routes will be added to the flight schedule, which will initially be operated up to once a day. This concerns Chişinău, Dnipro, Iaşi, Klagenfurt, Leipzig, Lviv, Lyon, Nuremberg, Odessa and Yerevan.

In addition to resuming flights, Austrian Airlines is increasing capacity on almost all existing routes from September onwards. This means more flights and larger aircraft. For example, Amsterdam, Brussels, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Paris are on the program from September with up to three daily flights. Athens will be connected up to twice daily instead of once. Due to the constant ramp-up of operations, the offer will increase to over 30 percent in September. By the end of October, almost 40 percent of previous year’s program and over 60 destinations are back in the flight schedule.

“Now that we have published our entire remaining summer flight schedule, we are offering our customers more planning security”, says Austrian Airlines CCO Andreas Otto. “The demand so far makes us confident that we are on the right track with the ramp-up of flight operations.”

Passengers whose flights were cancelled and who do not want to make use of the rebooking options can apply for a refund using the online form on the Austrian Airlines website. Passengers who wish to take their flight at a later date have various rebooking options and can start their rebooked journey up until the end of 2021.

Passengers whose scheduled flights do not take place in the next seven days are requested to refrain from contacting the service hotline in the coming days. This will give the service staff the opportunity to take care of those customers who should depart promptly first.

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.

Austrian Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Austrian Airlines aircraft slide show:

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/frame/slideshow?key=fMrwjF&speed=3&transition=fade&autoStart=1&captions=0&navigation=0&playButton=0&randomize=0&transitionSpeed=2

Austrian Airlines has made this announcement:

Austrian Airlines has made this announcement:

• Over 50 destinations on the program from July
• Number of flights to various destinations will be increased
• “Summer is the most popular travel season”, says CCO Andreas Otto

Following the successful restart, the ramp-up of Austrian Airlines’ flight operations continues to proceed according to plan.

Starting in July, Austria’s home carrier will fly to over 50 destinations. These include various European capitals and major cities, Greek holiday islands and long-haul destinations. City and holiday destinations are particularly in demand.

In order to give passengers more choice when planning their journey, Austrian Airlines is increasing the number of flight connections.

For example, Austria’s home carrier will fly to Zurich up to three times a day in July. Paris, Brussels and Hamburg as well as other destinations will be connected up to twice daily.

The number of flights to Eastern Europe will also increase, for example to Sofia and Bucharest (up to two daily flights instead of one).

In total, the restart offer will quadruple from initially five to 20 percent of last year’s program, subject to new official restrictions.

For the increased flight schedule, Austrian Airlines will deploy 36 aircraft from July onwards, i.e. almost half of its fleet. These include three Boeing 767s, which will be used for the long-haul routes to Bangkok, Chicago, New York and Washington, as well as mostly smaller aircraft such as Airbus A319, Embraer 195 and Dash 8.

Austrian Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Austrian Airlines has made this announcement:

Austrian Airlines’ aircraft will once again take off on regularly scheduled flights on  June 15, 2020 after a break of close to 90 days.

The first planes will take off for London, Paris and Brussels, among others.

Austrian Airlines will offer flights to the following destinations in the first week of resuming its flight operations: Amsterdam, Athens, Basel, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Dubrovnik, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Larnaca, London, Munich, Paris, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, Sofia, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Varna and Zurich.

In the following week, namely from June 22-28, 2020, the airline will operate flights to additional destinations, i.e. Belgrade, Graz, Innsbruck, Kyiv, Košice, Milan, Nice, Prague, Split and Warsaw.

Accordingly, Austrian Airlines will take off to 37 destinations in the first two weeks of resuming flight operations, subject to new official restrictions, and offer an average of 5 percent capacity compared to the previous year.

In the initial phase, the airline will primarily deploy smaller aircraft such as Embraer 195 and Dash 8. Other destinations will be added in subsequent weeks. The airline is currently developing a flight schedule for July and will provide the relevant information in the near future.

What passengers have to keep in mind when flying in times of the coronavirus
Passengers are required to wear a mouth-nose covering on board Austrian Airlines aircraft as well as at Vienna Airport. All passengers are asked to bring their protective masks themselves, as is required when using other means of public transport. Furthermore, all customers are asked to take account of currently valid entry and quarantine regulations at their respective destinations when planning their journeys (see the IATA Travel Centre website). Restrictions may be imposed during the entire trip due to the tougher hygienic and safety regulations, for example longer waiting times at airport security checks. When selecting or assigning seats, the general directive is that passengers, who do not live in the same household, should disperse themselves throughout the aircraft as far apart from each other as possible. However, in the case of high capacity utilization, no passenger will be refused a seat in order to keep a neighboring seat free.

Intensified protective measures already initiated

At the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, Austrian Airlines already increased the frequency of aircraft cabin cleaning. This will, of course, be continued in the resumption. Intensive cleaning is thus carried out more often alongside standard cleaning procedures after each flight. This particularly applies to the cleaning of all tables, armrests, seat belts and doorknobs. Naturally, passengers will always have water and soap available in the lavatories to wash their hands. Special filters ensure continuous air purification on board during flights. The standard of these devices corresponds to those in clinical operating rooms, making the air on board cleaner than the air a person breathes on earth. Furthermore, the flow pattern of air in the aircraft takes place from top to bottom, meaning that it is improbable that the air is distributed among the seat rows.

Vienna Airport also requires people to wear protective masks and has enhanced its cleaning operations. So-called “sneeze guards” (plexiglass panes) have been installed at the check-in, boarding and information counters. Floor markings help to maintain a safe distance. Moreover, the passengers can make use of hand disinfectant dispensers along their entire path until they reach the aircraft. In this way, the aircraft can be boarded gradually in smaller groups. Furthermore, quick boarding gates at Vienna Airport enable contactless boarding. A scanner reads the boarding pass, thus eliminating the need for personal contact to an employee.

Austrian Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Video:

Austrian Airlines has made this announcement:

Due to worldwide travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the demand for air travel is still low. The Austrian federal government announced that the borders with Germany and possibly other countries would be reopened on June 15. For this reason, Austrian Airlines has decided to extend the suspension of regular flight operations at least for another week, from May 31 to June 7, 2020. A restart during the month of June is under review.

“When the demand is right and the travel restrictions fall, we want to fly again”, says Austrian Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andreas Otto.

Austrian Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Austrian Airlines has made this announcement:

Despite the reduction of the fleet, as many jobs as possible are to be maintained. Appropriate talks are already underway with the works councils. “We got into this crisis through no fault of our own. Now it is our responsibility to make Austrian Airlines fit for the future after Corona. We want to retain our long-haul hub, even if we have no other choice for the time being but to adapt to the somewhat smaller market. Being fit for the future also means that we must be in a position to finance our aircraft, charges, wages and investments, and of course also to repay any charges and loans from Corona grounding,” emphasizes Austrian Airlines CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech.