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Jan Gruber

Quarterly figures: Swiss with a loss of CHF 47,4 million

Jan Gruber 5 May 2022 08:42

The airline Swiss recorded a loss of 47,4 million Swiss francs in the first quarter of the current year. This is around 75 percent lower than in the same period last year. Operating income has doubled to 712 million Swiss francs. At the same time, however, Swiss is struggling with the sharp rise in kerosene prices. Nevertheless, from today's perspective, the airline believes that it can achieve a black zero for the full year 2022. In view of the positive development of the liquidity situation, the Lufthansa subsidiary plans to refinance the bank loan in the second quarter. "The significant improvement in earnings that we were able to achieve compared to the previous year and the positive cash flow make us confident and confirm our goal of closing the full year 2022 with a black zero," said CFO Markus Binkert. In the last three months, Swiss has succeeded in further significantly reducing the amount drawn on the bank loan of 85 billion Swiss francs, 1,5 percent of which is guaranteed by the federal government. The Swiss CFO explains: "The stable business performance and the positive development of our liquidity situation allow us to now consider financing alternatives for the repayment of the bank loan. Provided that further geopolitical developments allow it, we are aiming for a debt restructuring in the course of the second quarter." 1,8 million passengers in the first quarter of 2022 In the first quarter of 2022, Swiss carried a total of over 1,8 million passengers, almost 6,5 times more than in the previous year. Nevertheless, passenger numbers are still well below the level of the pre-crisis year of 2019. In total, the Lufthansa subsidiary operated over 18.300 flights, which

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AUA: Fixed payroll problems with advance payments

Jan Gruber 5 May 2022 08:03

At the end of March 2022, 50 ground staff unexpectedly received too much salary from their employer Austrian Airlines. However, this was not a bonus, but an error that occurred in the human resources department. The HR department contacted the employees and a solution was found that 60 percent would be transferred back by those affected and the rest would then be deducted from the holiday pay in June 2022. It was not too little that was paid out, but inadvertently too much. According to an Austrian Airlines spokeswoman, the small debacle had its origins in an error in the IT system. It turned out that "the computer" was of the opinion that the 50 ground staff affected were no longer on short-time work. The opposite was the case, however, and the responsible department is said to have quickly contacted the employees affected and made the 60 percent/40 percent agreement with them. Pretty much everyone stuck to this. But once the proverbial "worm is in it", a second system error is not long in coming, because the 50 affected AUA employees were mistakenly deducted the 2022 percent mentioned not in June 2022, but in April 40, even though almost all of them dutifully transferred the agreed 60 percent back to their employer. And that's not all: AUA accidentally paid significantly too much income tax for these ground employees, which was of course also deducted from their wages. Ground staff jobs are not exactly comparable to top managers' salaries. That is why those affected were very annoyed, because these

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April 2022: Wizz Air was able to significantly exceed the pre-crisis level

Jan Gruber 4 May 2022 13:04

The Wizz Air Group was able to transport a total of 2022 passengers in April 3.624.322. This was significantly higher than the same month last year, when only 564.634 passengers were on board. Capacity utilization was most recently at 83,4 percent. For the first time since the start of the corona pandemic, the pre-crisis level was exceeded in a single month. Since the beginning of 2022, Wizz Air has seen a clear upward trend - apart from February 2022. In January 2022, there were 2.396.684 passengers on board. In February, there were 1.921.153 passengers. In March 2022, the number increased to 2.476.105 travelers and most recently in April 2022, there were 3.624.322 passengers. Since the values ​​achieved in the comparable periods of 2020 and 2021 are not very meaningful due to the effects of the corona pandemic, it is more interesting to look at the transport performance that Wizz Air had in 2019: The carrier had 2019 passengers in April 3.288.731. This means that in April 2022, for the first time since the beginning of the crisis, the pre-crisis level was exceeded in a single month. Comparison of passenger numbers 2019 vs. 2022 Month 2019 2022 April 3,288,731 3,624,322 March 2,721,959 2,476,105 February 2,400,692 1,921,153 January 2,569,229 2,396,684

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Klagenfurt: Lilihill wants to defend itself against airport nationalization with all legal means

Jan Gruber 4 May 2022 11:09

The majority owner of Klagenfurt Airport, the Lilihill Capital Group, does not want to accept the decision of the supervisory board of the state-owned Carinthian investment company to exercise the call option. It has announced that it will use every conceivable legal remedy against the "planned nationalization". The experts commissioned by KBV and Lilihill came to different conclusions. Those referred to by the ÖVP politicians are of the opinion that the corona pandemic plays no role and that the state of Carinthia can exercise the call option via KBV and thus bring the airport back into state ownership. Lilihill relies on the expertise of other lawyers who, among other things, are of the opinion: "This decision is completely incomprehensible for several reasons: It was made contrary to reports to the contrary, which give vanishingly small chances of a buyback - and thus of nationalizing the airport. There is an explicit warning of a long legal dispute that would mean a standstill for the further development of the airport.” Lilihill accuses the KBV and thus the state of Carinthia of “illegally exercising the call option” triggering claims for damages of up to 100 million euros. State politicians are knowingly accepting this and are “carelessly dealing with public funds of the people of Carinthia”. Lilihill also writes in a media statement: “These claims will also be asserted against all those persons who are responsible for the illegal exercise of the call option. There is no doubt that the corona pandemic in the year in question, 2021, is to be classified as force majeure, which means that the basis for exercising the call option no longer applies in the opinion of the assessors and experts. Even

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Repositioning: Eurowings surprises with an idiosyncratic commercial

Jan Gruber 4 May 2022 10:52

The Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings is currently trying to position itself as a value carrier with an unusual commercial that is to be broadcast by various German TV stations. They want to get away from the cheap image, but it is more than questionable whether this commercial, which leaves associations with completely different things open, will succeed. “Being relaxation itself” can also be interpreted completely differently if you want. Likewise, deriving the connection between carbon dioxide compensation, which is only used by very few passengers anyway, and free middle seats is also not very conclusive. They present themselves more as a kind of wellness product than as a serious airline that wants to be a so-called value carrier. A few years ago, Air Berlin made a huge success with the slogan “Exactly your airline” and related commercials. Can Eurowings repeat the failure? It remains to be seen. Lorenza Maggio, Vice President Customer Experience and Marketing at Eurowings: "The aim is for our guests to immediately associate Eurowings with the most relaxed and flexible travel experience." The manager also points out that flights can still be rebooked up to 40 minutes before departure. The company wants to stand out in the low-cost competition and be perceived as a value carrier. Will this succeed?

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Higher ticket prices: Aircraft insurers face biggest annual loss ever because of Russia

Jan Gruber 4 May 2022 08:06

The sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation by the European Union, the United States of America and many other countries are presenting aircraft lessors with challenges that have never been faced on this scale before. The current situation is also complicated for insurers. It is not unusual for disagreements to arise between lessors and lessees for a variety of reasons, mostly due to non-payment. Under normal circumstances, aircraft owners have it relatively easy to get their aircraft. Either by using legal means to have them tied up or by flying them out on their own initiative. In Russia, the situation is completely different, as Vladimir Putin has made it clear that lessors cannot rely on legal assistance at all. Lawyer Adreana Zammit explained during the Mavio conference held in Qawra, Malta, that of the 515 aircraft that Russian carriers have leased from foreign lessors, around 50 percent have now been transferred to the RA register. This, of course, is done without the consent of the rightful owners of the aircraft. But what can lessors actually do to get their hands on their machines? Under normal circumstances, a whole range of legal means would be available, but Russia has thwarted this through special regulations. As long as the aircraft remain within the Russian Federation or only fly to countries that do not provide administrative assistance in this matter, it will be extremely difficult, says the lawyer. Lack of maintenance and missing documentation devalue aircraft. In principle, it is important that all conceivable eventualities are taken into account in leasing contracts.

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Commentary: Klagenfurt on the way back to political downsizing

Jan Gruber 4 May 2022 07:34

The decline of Klagenfurt Airport began many years ago. Under the ownership of the City of Klagenfurt and the State of Carinthia, the airport was not only run down, but also received some dubious subsidies and charter deals, which gave the airport a reputation that is still dubious today. In the mid-2000s, Klagenfurt was very busy, as Hapag-Llyod Express (later Tuifly and Air Berlin) operated several routes. Ryanair also had some routes from Carinthia Airport. However, its presence came at a high price, as the airlines were given a lot of money to even fly from Klagenfurt. Years later, the subsidies were declared illegal by the European Court of Justice. As soon as the money stopped flowing to Air Berlin and Ryanair, the two carriers said goodbye. The German company even publicly demanded at the time that the subsidies must be continued or all routes would be discontinued. The Irish competitor described the approach in Carinthia as a “shameless fee increase” and fled. The politically appointed management thought that by chartering a Boeing 757 from Condor they had found a solution for the flights to Germany. A new limited company was specially founded to sell the tickets. The only winner of this action was Condor, because the German airline had no risk. No matter how many passengers were on board, Condor received the agreed charter rates. The fact that the Boeing 757 was much too big for the routes to Hamburg and Berlin was more due to the megalomania of the management at the time. Under the Haider state government, several million euros were sunk

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Three Maltese with coveted Mavio Awards

Jan Gruber 4 May 2022 07:03

For the tenth time, the Maltese aviation organisation Mavio presented its annual awards on Monday. Due to the corona pandemic, the event had to be paused in 2020 and 2021. Maltese aviation employees were awarded prizes in three categories. In the Lifetime Achievement category, Lt. Col. Joseph Smith won the award presented by Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia. The pilot flew five different types of helicopters during his active service, which lasted from 1971 to 1998. He began his career with the Bell 47G and most recently flew the Agusta Bell AB212. Rachel Grech, Head of the Personnel Licensing Department at the Malta Civil Aviation Authority CAD, won in the Executive of the Year category. She was praised, among others, by countless people who had to deal with the arduous process of converting or updating their license. The award in the Aviator of the Year category went to Malta MedAir First Officer Trevor Zammit. The pilot is also active as a flight instructor and examiner. Zammit was awarded for a successful emergency landing that he carried out on November 1, 2021 with a Piper Seneca at Luqa Airport (Malta). The aircraft he was flying had technical problems with the starboard main landing gear. Zammit managed to land the small aircraft safely. Since the pilot is currently stationed in Antalya due to a wet lease contract that Malta MedAir is carrying out for Corendon Airlines, the award was accepted on behalf of him by his wife Claire Zammit-Xuereb. Malta is the smallest member of the European Union. The population is just over half a million people. The aviation community is accordingly quite small, but due to

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Winter flight schedule 2022: Ryanair is returning to Klagenfurt with four routes

Jan Gruber 3 May 2022 13:09

After years of absence and a brief comeback, which was then withdrawn due to entry regulations, Ryanair plans to initially offer four routes from Klagenfurt at the start of the 2022/23 winter flight schedule period. Brussels (Charleroi), Dublin and London-Stansted will each be served twice a week. Manchester will be served once a week. The connection to Belgium is to start on November 2, 2022 and will be served on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Dublin will be served on Mondays and Saturdays from November 5, 2022. Stansted will be served on Tuesdays and Saturdays from November 1, 2022. On the sixth day of the week, interesting Ryanair UK will be used under RK flight numbers. Manchester will be served from December 17, 2022. Flights will be on Saturdays. "As Austria's fastest growing airline, Ryanair is delighted to resume flight operations from Klagenfurt Airport this winter with four exclusive routes from Brussels, Dublin, London and Manchester, which will help position Klagenfurt and the Carinthia region as one of the top ski destinations in Europe while also offering Klagenfurt residents more travel options to exciting European capitals," said Ryanair Country Manager Andreas Gruber. Nils Witt, Managing Director of Klagenfurt Airport, explains: "We are delighted to have gained a very good and rapidly growing partner in Ryanair. This is an essential building block in the airport's continued successful development. For Klagenfurt Airport, this is a visible turnaround in passenger volumes after consistent preparatory work."

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Graz-Stuttgart: Eurowings wants to take a “short break” until the end of October 2022

Jan Gruber 3 May 2022 11:03

In contrast to the flight connection between Graz and Stuttgart, according to Eurowings, those from Graz and Linz to Düsseldorf are a done deal. The company points out in a statement that the latter routes will continue. Demand between Graz and Stuttgart has obviously not developed as Eurowings had hoped. The Lufthansa subsidiary does not want to talk about a complete discontinuation yet and explains that it will take a "short break until the end of October 2022". A spokeswoman said: "According to current plans, the Düsseldorf-Linz and Düsseldorf-Graz connections are still in the program. We will resume the Stuttgart-Graz route for the winter flight schedule after a short break at the end of October. Eurowings continuously monitors the development of passenger volumes and the associated demand in order to adjust capacities and connections accordingly."

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