On Saturday, October 14, 2023, Austrian Airlines had to cancel numerous flights due to a regular works meeting called by employee representatives. The sister company Discover Airlines helped out with an Airbus A330 on the Frankfurt route, which was used by many people transferring.

The Saturday traffic day is used almost exclusively by private travelers. Therefore, the discontent on social media was much stronger than in the run-up to or during other Austrian Airlines staff meetings. But the problem is of our own making, because the works council and the union have been registering the meeting for a long time, which is not only a legal right but also a legal obligation. Added to this is the fact that the Austrian Lufthansa subsidiary has repeatedly made it into consumer protection programs in German-speaking countries in recent months due to suspected customer-hostile behavior in the event of flight irregularities. The handling of passengers in the event of significant delays and/or cancellations is particularly criticized.

The most recent works meeting was held on Saturday, October 14, 2023, from 9 a.m. in Office Park 00, which is located opposite the AUA headquarters at Vienna Airport. According to official information, around 3 pilots and flight attendants took part. The works council and the Vida union informed the flying employees about current issues and discussed them with them.

According to union information, they also discussed the fact that the workload of the crews will continue to be very high and at the same time the high price increases are leading to increased living costs. On the other hand, Austrian Airlines has not exactly bad income thanks to sometimes exorbitant increases in ticket prices. From the employee's point of view, there is supposed to be some kind of injustice here.

KV negotiations are pending

No decisions were made. Rather, it was agreed that the Vida union would conduct a survey among AUA flying employees in October. This is intended to collect concerns and wishes for the upcoming KV negotiations. The current contract expires on December 31, 2023. It is therefore to be expected that there could be potentially emotionally public negotiations before Christmas 2023.

This is consistent with a release from the Chamber of Commerce in which Vienna Airport boss Günther Ofner, in his role as WKÖ specialist group chairman, alleges “disproportionate actions by the AUA on-board works council against the backs of the passengers”. “Thanks to media reporting, it is well known that the AUA’s collective bargaining negotiations were concluded in the spring with an 11% wage increase. “It is therefore incomprehensible why there will be a company meeting of the AUA on-board staff tomorrow that will disrupt air traffic so massively,” said Ofner. “It is undisputed that communication within the workforce is important. Nevertheless, company meetings must be held in such a way that they have as little impact as possible on ongoing operations. “I therefore call on the AUA on-board works council to act in the spirit of reason and not on the backs of the passengers and not to make any threatening gestures that would disrupt operations.”

Canceled flights, Discover Airlines helped out

In the run-up to the works meeting, Austrian Airlines canceled 92 flights as a precaution. Numerous others were subsequently delayed, sometimes severely. This is due to the machine rotation, as the aircraft required was not where it should have been. According to official information, all affected passengers have been rebooked on other Lufthansa Group flights.

The sister company Discover Airlines wet leased an Airbus A330, which served the Frankfurt-Vienna-Frankfurt-Vienna-Frankfurt routing under OS flight numbers for AUA. The use of the large-capacity device is also due to the fact that they wanted to offer as many travelers as possible transfers in Frankfurt am Main.