Austrian Airlines restructuring to save up to EUR90m p/a, impact up to 800 jobs

7 November, 2019

Austrian Airlines presented (07-Nov-2019) its new 'Process Efficiency' programme to enable it to achieve cost savings of up to EUR90 million p/a out to 2021. The restructuring programme will affect between 700 and 800 staff, with a large number of cutbacks expected to be absorbed via staff fluctuation. As past of the cost saving measures, the carrier will also continue its fleet harmonisation strategy involving the phase out out its 18 Bombardier Q400s in favour of 10 A320s, leading to "considerable productivity improvements" and reduced fleet complexity and overall unit costs. Austrian Airlines CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech stated: "We have to reposition ourselves in order to survive the brutal competition of low cost airlines... the measures will be painful because they drain resources which we tediously built up over the past years, however, at the same time they are necessary in order to safeguard the future of Austrian Airlines as the leading airline in Austria". [more - original PR] [more - original PR - II]