In the middle of Easter

AUA cancels 400 flights on Thursday and Friday

The strike by AUA board staff will now be a disaster for thousands of passengers in the middle of the Easter travel period: 400 flights will be canceled on Thursday and Friday. The approximately 50,000 passengers affected have been proactively informed, it is said. 

There has been no movement in the collective bargaining negotiations themselves since Sunday. The fronts between AUA management and the union and the on-board works council have hardened.

"AUA is driving us into industrial action"
"We don't want to strike, AUA is driving us into industrial action", vida trade unionist Daniel Liebhart emphasized on ORF radio on Tuesday. The union wants a salary agreement above inflation, the AUA offer of up to 18 percent salary increase for flight attendants and pilots and up to 28 percent for co-pilots relates to two years and consists of non-sustainable one-off payments, emphasized the employee representative.

AUA, on the other hand, insists that it is offering full pay compensation for two years plus something on top, whereby the performance bonus offered, as the name suggests, is dependent on good balance sheet figures in the coming years.

Lufthansa subsidiary AUA on the upswing
For orientation: In the current spring wage round for around 130,000 industrial employees, the basis for negotiations is the past annual inflation (February 2023 to February 2024) of 6.8 percent. The Lufthansa subsidiary AUA is now doing well again economically after very difficult years.

AUA CEO Michael Trestl said in January of this year that the company can look back on a "very pleasing year" 2023 in terms of its key figures. According to the most recently announced company figures (Q3 2023), a significant plus was achieved: Revenue rose by eight percent year-on-year to EUR 741 million in the third quarter and the operating result (EBIT) by 17 percent to EUR 129 million.

52,000 passengers affected
AUA had already pointed out on Monday that 430 flights with 52,000 passengers would be affected in the event of a 36-hour strike between Maundy Thursday from midnight and Good Friday until midday. According to the airline, the financial loss would amount to around EUR 15 million. AUA is offering affected customers a one-off, free rebooking or cancellation of their flight.

"All passengers will be rebooked on the next possible flight. The customer can decide against a flight rebooking, cancel the flight and have it refunded," according to the airline. Specifically affected are flights that fall between March 28, 0 a.m. and March 29, 12 noon.