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June 15

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June 15

Vienna: Check-in of some airlines now in Terminal 1

Jan Gruber June 15, 2021 17:45

On Tuesday, passengers used the check-in counters in Terminal 1 at Vienna-Schwechat Airport for the first time after a long break. Security checks and boarding continue to take place in Terminal 3. At the moment, Terminal 1 is only in "partial operation", as gate areas B, C and D remain temporarily closed. The new security check that was built in Terminal 2 is also not being used, at least for the time being. The latter area of ​​the airport only serves as a connecting building to Terminal 3 on the landside. Terminal 1 was temporarily closed in March 2020 due to low passenger numbers. At times, the pharmacy stood alone in the deserted check-in hall. Terminal 1A, which was built as a temporary extension before the construction of the Skylink (T3) but became more of a permanent solution, remains unused. It is still completely unclear when Flughafen Wien AG will reactivate the gate areas B, C and D assigned to Terminals 1 and 2. At least the bus arrival in the old building is now being used. Travelers also pass through the new baggage hall, where only immigration checks are carried out by the Federal Army. The following airlines carry out check-in in Terminal 1: Aeroflot easyJet Europe easyJet Switzerland easyJet UK Eurowings Pegasus Airlines Rossiya Russian Airlines Ryanair SunExpress Turkish Airlines Wizz Air T3 is already getting cramped and “clogged” The capacity of Terminal 3 is very limited because an outdated, faulty design was created in times of “party-card managers”. The building is quickly reaching the limits of its load-bearing capacity due to the fact that it is designed as a long, narrow “tube”.

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Armenia: Forced grounding at Fly Armenia Airways

Jan Gruber June 15, 2021 16:32

Formally, Fly Armenia Airways is no longer an airline because the Civil Aviation Authority of Armenia withdrew the company's AOC and operating license on Monday. The measure is justified by the fact that safety-related deficiencies were discovered. The new company caused a stir in February 2021 because, contrary to the submitted flight plan, it did not fly to Ukraine for maintenance work there, but landed in Iran. A local airline had already announced this aircraft as a new addition to the fleet. Ultimately, the matter was obviously too hot and, also under considerable pressure from the government of Armenia, the aircraft was recalled. The Civil Aviation Authority initiated a formal investigation and wanted to know how it was possible that the submitted flight plan had deviated so grossly and then landed in Iran. So far, no exact details have been published by the official authorities, but the official statement announcing the withdrawal of AOC and operating license states that blatant violations were found during the investigation. These are safety-related and, what's more, Fly Armenia Airways cannot fly due to a lack of alternative aircraft. The authority expressly stresses that the investigation in connection with the Iran trip is not yet complete.

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Airbus / Boeing: USA and EU want to suspend punitive tariffs

Jan Gruber June 15, 2021 16:03

The EU Commission and the United States of America have agreed that the mutual punitive tariffs imposed as a result of the trade dispute between Airbus and Boeing should be suspended for at least five years. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Joe Biden agreed on this during the night from Monday to Tuesday. The United States introduced punitive tariffs under the presidency of Donald Trump and Europe's "counterattack" was not long in coming. Shortly after Joe Biden took office, these were temporarily suspended. The aim is now to resolve the ongoing conflict between Airbus and Boeing before July 11, 2021. To this end, the aim is to "freeze" it for at least five years, thus giving more time for a final solution. In any case, the punitive tariffs are to be suspended. Numerous other products are also affected.

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France: Strikes at Paris airports announced

Amely Mizzi June 15, 2021 15:32

Two unions are calling on all ground staff at the Paris airports Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget to take part in a strike. The strike is to take place between June 18 and 20, 2021. The unions CGT and UNSA SAPAP are demanding that management withdraw the planned changes to employment contracts and wages. They are also alleging that at least 700 former employees were not paid their severance bonuses when they voluntarily left the company. Unless the strike is called off at short notice, which often happens especially in France and Italy, restrictions, cancellations and delays are to be expected at Paris-Orly and Paris-Charles de Gaulle airports between June 18 and June 20, 2021. Passengers should therefore keep an eye on developments and, if necessary, clarify the status of their booking with their airline. It is not yet possible to estimate how many employees will actually take part in the strike.

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Swiss only has to give 550 layoffs

Granite Pireci June 15, 2021 15:03

The job cuts at the Lufthansa subsidiary are less than expected. Instead of 780 layoffs - as announced in May - only 550 people will leave the company. Swiss employees have put forward over 770 constructive suggestions to avoid or mitigate potential layoffs. This has led to the number of redundancies being reduced by around a third, from 780 to 550. In total, Swiss will have cut around 1.700 full-time positions by the end of the year - two thirds of these through voluntary measures and natural fluctuation. "I am very sorry for all employees affected by redundancy and I deeply regret having to take these drastic measures due to the structural changes in aviation. However, we are convinced that this is the right way to be able to repay the bank loan and to make Swiss ready for investment and competitive again," said Swiss CEO Dieter Vranckx. Fleet reduction of 15 percent confirmed The Lufthansa subsidiary's fleet will be reduced by 15 percent compared to 2019, as planned. It has not yet been decided which five Airbus jets will be phased out on long-haul routes (A330 or A340) and which ten aircraft will no longer be used on short-haul routes. The AUA sister company is also examining the adjustment of the route portfolio, the reduction of frequencies and the delayed resumption of long-haul destinations. "Swiss will be smaller in the future - but also more focused, more digital, more efficient and more sustainable," Vranckx continued. The total offer is still well below the pre-pandemic level and is expected to reach 50 to 55 percent of 2019 capacity in mid-summer. 

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Stobart Air bankruptcy: Government puts pressure on Aer Lingus

Amely Mizzi June 15, 2021 14:36

Following the bankruptcy of Stobart Air, Aer Lingus will, as a first step, take over five routes that were previously operated by the failed regional airline under a wet lease agreement. There is still no solution for the other seven routes. Within the IAG Group, the airline will also be getting help from its sister company BA Cityflyer from next week. This will soon take over two routes with Embraer regional jets. These are connections between the United Kingdom and Ireland. At the same time, Aer Lingus is looking for new solutions for feeder flights. Discussions are being held with various ACMI providers who have suitable aircraft. However, it is still unclear whether there will actually be a resumption or whether Aer Lingus will take the opportunity to say goodbye to regional traffic. In any case, Ireland's Transport Minister Eamon Ryan wants to support both Stobart Air employees and maintain regional connections. There is also talk of putting some routes out to tender as PSO routes. For existing routes for which Aer Lingus already receives subsidies, the government is pushing for the contract to be fulfilled, which may mean that Aer Lingus will have to operate them with its own aircraft.

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VIE: Heavy passenger minus continues

Granite Pireci June 15, 2021 14:03

The Vienna Airport Group counted 479.198 passengers - 399.518 of them were in the Austrian capital. A decrease of 86,1 percent compared to the pre-crisis level. Although the severely restricted flight operations in May 2021 resulted in significant improvements compared to the previous year - the current figures are still well below the pre-crisis level (May 2019): At Vienna Airport, passenger volume fell by 2021 percentage points in May 86,1 compared to the pre-crisis level to 399.518 travelers. The number of local passengers fell by 88,6 percent, while the number of transfer passengers fell by 77,3 percent. Flight movements recorded a decrease of 2021 percent in May 76,2. Cargo volume also performed below average, ultimately recording a decrease of 7,8 percent. At Malta Airport, passenger traffic fell by 2021 percent in May 2019 compared to pre-crisis levels (May 88,8), while Kosice Airport saw a passenger decline of 89,1 percent.

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Summer: Eurowings relies fully on tourist routes

Jan Gruber June 15, 2021 13:35

Eurowings boss Jens Bischof wants to get the 81 Airbus A320 aircraft back in the air in mid-summer. Demand is expected to be well above original expectations, especially on tourist routes. However, there are only a few advance bookings for autumn. The corona pandemic means that passengers are no longer booking long-term, but rather at short notice. The reason for this is likely to be the constantly changing entry and quarantine regulations. The entire industry did not exactly cover itself in glory last year either, as many travelers had to chase refunds for their canceled flights for a long time and in many cases even went to court. The law actually stipulates that repayments must be made within seven days, but the regulation was collectively ignored. In Italy, some airlines were hit with the first fines. In any case, Eurowings wants to get the 2021 Airbus A81 aircraft back in the air in summer 320. The final decision has not yet been made for the other fleet members. The focus this year is on tourist routes. As a result, classic routes that are mainly used by business travelers have been thinned out and postponed. This also affects Austria, because the flight schedule for July and August 2021 has been thinned out again for Germany traffic from Vienna and Salzburg. From Graz, the Stuttgart route has been postponed to September 2021, and from Linz, the Düsseldorf route has also been postponed.

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Lufthansa announces “possible capital increase”

Granite Pireci June 15, 2021 13:04

The AUA parent company is going on the offensive and holding out the prospect of a possible capital increase. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the crane airline has been saving wherever it can. Without state aid, the crisis would probably have ended in a debacle. At that time, the federal government had acquired a 20 percent stake in Lufthansa through the Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF). But now a capital increase is becoming increasingly likely - and with it possibly the end of the state's participation. In any case, it did not take long: Specifically, the group announced on Tuesday night that preparations for a capital increase with four banks were underway. The net proceeds would "in particular contribute to the repayment of stabilization measures of the Economic Stabilization Fund and to the restoration of a sustainable and long-term efficient capital structure," the press release said. The state Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) is also expected to be involved in the capital increase - but without spending any additional taxpayer money. This is done through a so-called opération blanche: a shareholder sells part of his subscription rights for the new shares in order to use the proceeds to exercise the remaining subscription rights. This would mean that the federal government's share would continue to shrink. However, the management board and supervisory board have not yet made a decision on the scope and timing of the measure. In addition, the approval of the WSF is currently lacking.

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German Airways carried out the first Air Montenegro flight

Jan Gruber June 15, 2021 12:32

The new state-owned airline Air Montenegro is now using an Embraer 190 operated by German Airways (formerly WDL). As part of a wet lease agreement, a regional jet from the German airline serves some routes from Montenegro. Air Montenegro also uses an Embraer 195, which it operates itself. The fleet is to be expanded shortly by at least two identical aircraft. Since there are apparently minor delays, the airline is using wet lease services from German Airways. The first flight on the Podgorica-Belgrade route was carried out on Monday with the D-AWSI by Germany's second oldest airline on behalf of Air Montenegro. The carrier, which emerged from WDL, currently has four Embraer 190s. The D-AWSI is currently in use for Air Montenegro. The D-ACJJ has operated various charter flights from Cologne and Munich in recent days, including to Paris-Le Bourget. The D-AJHW is in use for Air France from Strasbourg. Previously, individual charter flights were carried out from Paderborn for Green Airlines. The D-AZFA also carries out charter flights and was most recently used on the Krasnodar-Salzburg route. The aircraft flew back to Cologne/Bonn on Monday.

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