Bitter financial balance of the 36-hour AUA strike, which ended on Friday afternoon: the airline estimates the damage caused by company meetings and the strike so far totals 24 million euros. But Vienna Airport and many service providers such as shops and restaurateurs also lose large amounts of money.
In an interview with the “Krone”, the boss of Vienna Airport, Günther Ofner, now mentions the full financial damage: “The unfortunate result is not only extremely angry passengers, but double-digit losses in the millions at the AUA, as well as a loss of at least two million euros at the airport, but also further losses for all service providers at the airport.”
Ofner makes no secret of his anger: “Everyone is left with their losses as a result of this completely disproportionate strike action. Only the AUA’s competition can be happy. AUA employees will also feel the long-term damage for a long time.”
Once again, the airport boss expresses his incomprehension for the demands of the union and the AUA employee representatives: “I have been negotiating collective agreements for more than thirty years, but never before has there ever been a demand for a 40-year salary increase. per cent. Three months ago, the collective labor agreement for 2024 for foreign airlines in Austria, or the AUA competition, was concluded, with a salary increase of around 9.5 percent. That alone shows how alien and unfulfillable the demands of Vida and the AUAS works council are.”
The strikes cost the airline 15 million euros
Ofner is in the same line as HvA boss Annette Mann, who quantifies the damage as follows: the strike cost 15 million euros, and the previous work consultation cost nine million euros.
Mann made it clear this week: If the union’s package of demands were accepted, 60 percent of routes would be negative and the growth trajectory would be in jeopardy. If that were to happen, AUA parent Lufthansa would likely be more likely to use planes from its own low-cost airline subsidiaries on many of the affected routes in the future. For example, several holiday destinations are currently served by the Lufthansa subsidiary brand Discover and many other routes by the company’s own low-cost airline Eurowings.
With this warning, the union has, on the one hand, thrown the whistle into the window, but on the other hand, it has further fueled the dispute and taken it to the next level of escalation. The AUA works council now wants to discuss this threat during a new company meeting on Thursday. This is scheduled from 9 a.m. and it is still unclear how long this will last. The result will again be many flight delays and possibly cancellations…
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
