In the last balance sheet, 120 million euros were set aside for the obligation to make additional payments for pensions for around 160 employees. According to Kurier, those affected should not even think about doing their part to save the carrier.

The planned state aid for the Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines has been extremely controversial in recent weeks. Opinions range from “the Germans should pay” to the assertion that the carrier would be “systemically relevant” and even the whole economy could be on the verge of collapse without Austrian Airlines. Almost unnoticed by the public, the AUA has provisions in the amount of 120 million euros for only 160 retirees, like the daily newspaper Courier revealed.

The medium writes that around 7.000 employees with reduced salaries contribute to maintaining the carrier, but at the same time around 160 “privileged people” would not even think of doing their part to save the company. These are former executives who, according to Kurier, "receive a few thousand euros a month in company pensions" in addition to the regular ASVG pension. These company pensions should be based on individual contracts with corresponding pension commitments and these should also be guaranteed, regardless of what the assessment of the pension fund results in.

Put simply, this means that if the economic success of the investment is lower than the contractual entitlement, Austrian Airlines must fill in the difference according to the media report. The courier writes that in the previous year's balance, 120 million euros were set aside for this same increase and that the Somme has been rising sharply for several years. The reason for this is that the pension fund's performance has been below average for some time. This means that the AUA has to add the difference.

While the approximately 980 benefit recipients who are supposed to receive around 60 percent of the difference between the ASVG pension and their last salary and who were offered one-off payments of between 15.000 euros and 305.000 euros, the individual contracts, especially with former executives, according to Kurier, should be without their voluntary Waiver, no “exit” will be legally possible. The former General Director Mario Rehulka, who is currently Honorary President of the Aviation Association, is quoted. He wanted to “not get involved in this discussion” with the courier. In 2014, the pension fund was converted to a contribution model, whereby there are no longer any company pensions for ground staff. But the old individual contracts could not be canceled even then and these are now becoming a higher financial burden for Austrian Airlines year after year.

According to the media report, the so-called performance pensions mainly affect former flight employees, including captains in particular, but also commercial / technical employees, executives, board members and in some cases their widows. This emerges from the Group's annual reports. Without their voluntary waiver of the high payments, AUA cannot cut them or even stop them completely.

Group spokesman Peter Thier told the courier that these would be figures from the past and that the funds are invested in the pension fund. “However, the provisions must be made in the balance sheet for a potential obligation to make additional payments in the event of underperformance on the capital markets.” The benefit pensions would mainly be due to former flight employees.