
Alexis von Hoensbroech: “AUA still has 420 million euros”
The airline Austrian Airlines currently has around 420 million euros at its disposal. According to company boss Alexis von Hoensbroech, the airline is "not below the business plan that was the basis for state aid". "Financial buffers for a possible second wave have been built in from the start" and liquidity is therefore good, the AUA General Director emphasized to the Kurier. However, the carrier he heads must practice "strict cost discipline". Von Hoensbroech does not want to give an outlook on possible developments in 2021. However, he hopes that vaccinations and rapid tests will "bring the turnaround in the pandemic. If demand recovers to 60 to 70 percent of pre-crisis levels in the summer, then we will be over the hump." The 2021 summer flight schedule is not yet final. The airline is currently in the middle of the planning phase. Normally this is always done in the fall, but due to the unpredictable pandemic developments, Austrian Airlines is trying to remain as flexible as possible by planning late. Currently, capacity utilization is catastrophic, as many flights are carrying fewer than 20 passengers. Although there are rare "slips" upwards, demand and thus the landing factor are abysmally bad. Very few connections have more than 20 passengers on board, many even fewer. Austrian Airlines says it has reduced capacity to around ten to 15 percent of the level of January 2020. "People want to travel again, we are currently receiving a lot of bookings for the summer holidays. That makes us optimistic," von Hoensbroech told the