Ryanair subsidiary Lauda Europe was quiet for a few weeks, but now an internal circular signed by Managing Director David O'Brien is causing a stir: The airline boss informed the workforce that negotiations with Vienna Airport have failed .

O'Brien writes at the beginning, he too Managing Director of the sister company Malta Air is a member of the Ryanair Board of Directors: "I regret to say that Ryanair's negotiations with Vienna Airport on a program to restore and increase traffic have so far been unsuccessful."

A maximum of five aircraft are to be operated in Vienna from the 2020 summer flight schedule. Personnel are employed for significantly more aircraft, however. The present circular also shows that a potentially severe downsizing cannot be ruled out. They want to avoid that, but the blame is being sought - once again - with the government, Austrian Airlines and Vienna Airport.

Every second job is on the brink

“Vienna Airport, one of the most expensive airports in the Ryanair Group's network, has recently become even more expensive after the Austrian government decided to increase taxes on European short-haul routes and at the same time lower taxes on long-haul routes. The Austrian Airlines feeder flights are completely exempt from ticket tax. The Austrian government recently proposed to deny airlines the right to free prices (“minimum price”) in order to make competition with the Lufthansa subsidiary AUA, which was rescued by the state, more difficult, ”said David O'Brien. “Given these rising costs in Vienna and the market manipulation by the Austrian government, the Ryanair Group may not be able to allocate significant capacity to Vienna after Covid-19, also because slow vaccination programs continue to weigh on consumer demand. It is likely that no more than five aircraft will be in service in Vienna by the start of the summer flight schedule. We know that we have crew members for at least twice the number of aircraft in Vienna ”.

Lauda Europe boss David O'Brien explicitly writes about possible job cuts: “We hope to be able to avoid further layoffs, but high airport costs - controlled by the government - and the protectionism of the Austrian government are a threat to our business. We cannot afford any further cost increases. Since our founding in September 2020, new Covld waves and travel bans have limited us to less than 10 percent of our normal capacity, while we have adhered to the minimum wage agreements for our effectively grounded crews without government support. "

Workers should take annual leave or take unpaid leave

The flight personnel are now asked to take their annual leave before or up to and including June 2021. Alternatively, one should take unpaid leave to help the employer cut costs.

The circular signed by O'Brien reads: If we do not manage to control our costs, it will not be possible to maintain our Vienna base indefinitely. We have to make it clear to the government and the EU. that our jobs must not be sacrificed in favor of AUA jobs and that their minimum price idea must be ended on the free market. We do our best to ensure there is enough activity to keep all of our Viennese crews busy when the travel demand for midsummer picks up. We will keep you posted. Those who have not yet applied for annual leave can assist us if this or unpaid leave is taken up to and including June 2020 so that we are ready to enter the recovered market later. In the meantime, it's important that we keep costs down ”.

Düsseldorf: sealed and everyone quit

Review: The Laudamotion base in Düsseldorf should actually be handed over to the successor Lauda Europe. Service contracts have also already been signed. Ryanair then did not come to an agreement with the German airport or the ground service provider about discounts. This is followed by the closure of the base and the termination of all employees stationed there. Numerous lawsuits are pending before the labor court.

Due to the approach that was chosen in Germany and the fact that the predecessor Laudamotion has repeatedly registered the entire workforce with the Lower Austria Employment Service for dismissalIn order to emphasize the demands, it cannot be ruled out that the Lauda Europe operators in Vienna could share the fate of their German colleagues. Put simply, a second Düsseldorf, because Ryanair and Airport cannot agree on costs. It does not need any further explanation that in such negotiations the low-cost airlines traditionally demand lower prices or higher discounts.

As reported at the beginning, the reduction of the fleet to five machines has been announced in Vienna. According to David O'Brien's circular, they have staff for "at least double that number". It is to be expected that if no agreement is reached, every second job is in acute danger. Given the history in Düsseldorf taking into account the fact that the Polish sister Buzz has a base in Vienna maintains as well Ryanair closed its own base at the end of 2020, a complete withdrawal including the loss of all jobs cannot be ruled out. In Düsseldorf and Stuttgart Lauda demonstrated that such a step can be taken if the costs are not as desired.