According to company boss Annette Mann, long-haul passengers of Austrian Airlines will have to dig deeper into their wallets between 50 and 100 euros one way. In the European network, the price increases should amount to "only a few euros".

Annette Mann has been the first woman to head the Austrian Lufthansa subsidiary for a few months. In an interview with the Ö1-Morgenjournal, the manager announced price increases, which she justified in particular with the sharp rise in fuel prices. Without asking passengers to pay more, Austrian Airlines can no longer become profitable.

In view of the numerous savings packages that have already been implemented, there are no alternatives to increasing ticket prices. "You will also feel that in the future, flying is becoming more expensive," said the AUA boss. However, the effect of the significantly increased fuel prices due to fuel hedging transactions, which Lufthansa carries out centrally for the entire group of companies, will only become apparent next year.

Actually, Austrian Airlines wanted to be at least in the black in the current financial year. Annette Mann is currently assuming that this will not be the case this year due to the kerosene prices. She expects appropriate compensation from OMV, because the manager believes that AUA has been severely affected by the restricted fuel volumes in Vienna. The fact that you mostly have to refuel "outside" on short and medium-haul routes leads to increased consumption due to the higher weight. Discussions about compensation are to be held with the OMV management.

By the way, Annette Mann doesn't want to know anything about staff shortages at Austrian Airlines. She points out that 150 additional flight attendants have been hired. Short-time work would also have helped to keep many employees in the company. The statement by the AUA boss referred explicitly to the professional group of flight attendants.