How much do flight attendants at Lauda, ​​Wizzair and Austrian Airlines actually earn? This question has preoccupied many readers for several days. A direct comparison shows considerable differences.

In the last few days, the basic salaries of flight attendants at Lauda have been discussed again and again. The payment for the lowcosters is made up of a fixed amount and an amount dependent on the flight hours or sector. In contrast, the basic salary of Austrian Airlines already includes just over 76 flight hours. 

These are directly compared using a sample calculation based on 70 flight hours, 1st year of work as a "junior". The values ​​mentioned were calculated on the basis of the collective agreements or, at Wizzair, the flight attendant remuneration table for the Vienna base. All amounts mentioned in this article are gross. The following roughly rounded salaries can result on a monthly basis: 

(*) Any sales commissions, diets and tax-free payments are not taken into account in this illustration. At Wizzair, the calculation was based on 70 flight hours with the sector allowance for the shortest flight duration, scaled down per hour. Since the flight duration and sectors can differ, it is a rough guide. For all carriers, other variable salary components, for example for training and standby, are also not taken into account. 

Annual base salaries in comparison

In the direct comparison of the basic salaries according to the respective collective agreement or the wage table of the Wizzair-Basis Wien, the gross annual basic earnings were used, if applicable. The specified annual basic salaries are calculated for 12 months and do not include Christmas or vacation pay. The calculation of these is regulated too differently in the collective agreements to be able to show a simple comparison. The Wizzair wage table does not show whether Christmas and vacation bonuses are paid at all. The company repeatedly did not comment on the salaries of the Vienna base and always referred to “good pay”. According to the Chamber of Labor, the so-called at-risk-of-poverty threshold is calculated on the basis of the annual wage, excluding Christmas and holiday pay, and is currently 1.286 euros (net) for a one-person household.

At Austrian Airlines it should also be noted that salaries increase rapidly with longer periods of employment with the company. The overview shows the first year of employment for entrants after 2014. In the case of the individual carriers, particular attention should also be paid to the flight hours and sector-dependent remuneration. Some of these are very different and are broken down as follows: 

Wizzar pays the following flight-dependent amounts ("sector pay"):

According to the Wizzair salary presentation, the first salary is paid up to four months after the start of the basic training. During this period, the prospective flight attendant will not receive any compensation. At Wizzair it should also be pointed out that only the actual flight time is reimbursed with the flat rates shown above. 

Austrian Airlines pays the following allowances:

• Danger bonus 115,41 euros per month
• Night allowance 72,13 euros per month
• Sunday and holiday allowance 144,26 euros per month

During their training, trainee flight attendants receive EUR 1.019 per month

Additional performance for flight hours is paid from 76 hours and 28 minutes. Before that, the flight hours are included in the basic salary. 

Lauda pays the following work-related allowances:

• Junior flight attendants are paid nine euros per block hour, while senior flight attendants receive 11 euros. The planned new ASFA (an intermediate level between junior and senior) should receive 10 euros. With 70 flight hours, the result is 630 euros for Juniors, 770 euros for Seniors and 700 euros for flight-dependent earnings, which is added to the basic salary.
• The commission for sales on board is 10 percent.
• The minimum annual salary mentioned is guaranteed to every flight attendant. If the monthly payments, calculated over a period of 12 months, fall below this amount, the difference should be paid back with the January wages of the following year.
• Information on the amount of the training allowance is not available.