Due to the miserable demand situation in the entire industry, Austrian Airlines is not only adjusting its winter planning again, but is also expanding short-time working. The supply will be just 30 percent of the previous year's level. Originally it was hoped that at least 50 percent could be offered and carried out.

“It has already become apparent in the last few weeks that we will have to dress warmer than we thought this winter. The new entry restrictions from Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and many other countries make adjustments to the offer necessary. We are prepared for that. Our goal is to maneuver our company through this 'storm' with our combined forces. We don't know how long this storm will last. Therefore we have to make ourselves weatherproof and reduce the monthly cash outflow as much as possible, ”says Alexis von Hoensbroech, General Director of Austrian Airlines AG.

Austrian Airlines plans to offer around 2020 destinations in the 21/60 winter flight schedule. This also means that 20 targets will fall victim to the red pencil. Many routes are served with greatly reduced frequency due to the weak demand, which is mainly due to the strict entry and quarantine rules. In addition to long-haul flights to Newark, Chicago, Washington and Bangkok, Austrian only resumed its flight connection to Shanghai last week. From mid-December, flights to classic holiday destinations such as Cape Town, Mauritius and the Maldives are planned. Subject to extended entry restrictions, these destinations should be served two times a week.

With regard to liquidity, the Lufthansa subsidiary announced that it is currently above plan. The last tranche of the loan secured by the Republic of Austria is to be paid out shortly. This is around 100 million euros. The carrier received 300 million euros in the form of loans for which Austria is liable, 150 million euros in non-repayable subsidies from the state and 150 million euros from owner Lufthansa. According to the company, liquid funds are reduced by 40 million euros per month.

Now the costs are to be reduced further. "This also includes the expansion of short-time working in the company in order to adapt it to the reduced production," explains Andreas Otto, who in September also took over the CFO position at Austrian in addition to his CCO position. “Thanks to our good liquidity situation, we are prepared for a second wave, but next summer will be decisive. If we get the virus under control by then, land will be in sight again. Many passengers will then have a lot of catching up to do in terms of travel, ”predicts board member Andreas Otto.

Austrian Airlines has high hopes for rapid corona tests. They are working intensively on the introduction of this and it is hoped that this will reduce the entry restrictions and stimulate demand again. “The current travel restrictions are a burden for the entire tourism industry. We need comprehensive tests for travelers and have to reconcile freedom of travel and protection against infection in order to be able to reduce travel restrictions and quarantine obligations, ”explains Austrian COO Jens Ritter. The first test flights are already planned for mid-October.