December 19, 2023

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December 19, 2023

Austria: Bus and taxi drivers get higher wages

The Chamber of Commerce and the Vida union have concluded collective agreements for employees in the taxi and rental car industry as well as drivers in private bus companies. There will be increases in monthly salaries. As of January 1, 2024, the wages of taxi and rental car drivers will increase by 10,3 percent. Bus drivers will receive 8,7 percent more money. "The new collective agreement minimum wage for bus drivers is 2.773 euros gross per month. This is a first good remedy for the shortage of staff and makes the industry more attractive again for newcomers to the profession, who relieve the permanent workforce of excessive overtime," says Claudia Mairhofer, head of the bus collective agreement negotiating team of the Vida union. "Since there are virtually no collective agreement overpayments in the taxi and rental car industry, the percentage increase in collective agreement wages has a directly positive effect on employees in practice. "The new collective agreement minimum wage will be 1.1.2024 euros gross per month from January 1.880, 175, which corresponds to an increase of 1.1.2025 euros," explains Karl Delfs, head of the Vida collective agreement negotiation team for the taxi and rental car sector. In addition, it was agreed with the employers that the minimum wage will be 2.000 euros per month from January XNUMX, XNUMX. 

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New destinations in the Linz summer flight schedule 2024

It is still cold outside and snow is falling occasionally, but the 2024 summer flight schedule is getting closer day by day. In Linz-Hörsching, there are some new things to come in the area of ​​charter flights next year. The tour operator Springer Reisen is offering a connection to Skiathos every Friday between May 24 and September 27, 2024. This will be operated by the German airline Avanti Air with a de Havilland Dash 8-400. Rhomberg Reisen is launching the destination campaign, which is also served by Avanti Air. Also new is the destination of Szczecin, which Eurotours will be offering in summer 2024. This destination will be offered by Avanti Air between May 13 and October 14, 2024. This tour operator is a subsidiary of Ruefa-Reisen-Verkehrsbüro and is behind the Hofer-Reisen brand, among others. In addition to the new holiday destinations, many tried and tested classics will be waiting in the charter flight program again next summer. In total, there are 24 holiday departures per week from Linz during the summer season. Above all, in addition to the popular Greek holiday islands of Rhodes (3x weekly) and Kos, the well-known classic Crete/Heraklion awaits its guests with a total of 5 weekly departures. Since last summer, there have been direct flights from Linz to Kefalonia. And this will also be the case next season! It is not for nothing that the Greek island in the Ionian Sea is considered an insider tip, because hardly any of them is as green and diverse as Kefalonia. With its beautiful beaches in the south and its mountainous landscape in the north, the island is one of the true jewels of Greece and is proving to be extremely popular. Away from Greece, next summer there will be

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Tips for safe ski tours

Winter got off to an impressive start. Record amounts of snow and icy temperatures characterized this year's early winter in the Eastern Alps. But the avalanche danger in the terrain was also "high" on several days (level 4 on the five-part scale). The Alpine Association is expecting a high number of ski tourers this season as well. An average of 22 people still die in avalanches each winter - in order to reduce this number, the Austrian Alpine Association has been involved in prevention and educational work for decades and gives five tips for a safe ski touring season. 1.) Avalanche update: Concentrated avalanche knowledge for winter sports enthusiasts The "Avalanche Update", the Alpine Association's successful lecture tour, provides a valuable theoretical knowledge base for the touring winter - also as a livestream on December 13.12.2023, 2. Mountain guide Michael Larcher highlights selected avalanche events from the past winter and helps the audience to sharpen their eye for hazard patterns and internalize basic safety measures. The second part of the lecture offers a wealth of practical knowledge for ski tourers: How does emergency equipment work, how does an avalanche transceiver check work, how do you search efficiently for buried people and where can you find the right courses to practice an avalanche emergency? To gain a deeper understanding of the content, the Alpine Association recommends the interactive eLearning courses “Ski touring standards: on tour” and “Avalanche emergency”, which are available free of charge from the Alpine Association Academy. XNUMX.) Tips for ski touring In contrast to secured ski areas, there are additional dangers lurking in open terrain that require independent and risk-conscious action. Even simple tips help to reduce the risk of avalanches. “Everyone who is out and about in open ski areas should always have three questions in mind:

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Qantas: First A220-300 arrives in Australia

The VH-X4A is the first of an initial 29 Airbus A220-300s to be delivered to Australia. The aircraft will be operated under the Qantas Link brand in future and is the start of the replacement of the aging Boeing 717 fleet. Down Under, people are actually very happy with the Boeing 717 (original project name: McDonnell Douglas MD-95), which was developed by McDonnell Douglas, but the model consumes significantly more fuel in direct comparison with current models such as the Airbus A200. Boeing has no replacement for the 717, as production has long since ceased and the DC-9/MD-80 series has not been further developed. A discontinued model, in other words. After a lengthy evaluation, Qantas has decided to purchase 717 Airbus A29s to replace the increasingly aging B220. The first unit has now been delivered and is attracting attention with a spectacular special livery. Even before the takeover, it had already travelled around the world. The event is also important for Airbus Canada, as it is the first time that it has an operator on the Australian continent. Qantas has decided to honour the cultural heritage of the Australian Aboriginal people with a design by Pitjantjatjara artist Maringka Baker. A complicated pattern of 20.000 dots depicts the story of two sisters travelling across the vastness of Australia back to their homeland. The Airbus A220-300 in question arrived in Sydney on December 16, 2023. The aircraft was delivered to the metropolis from Montreal (Mirabel) via Vancouver, Honolulu and Nadi. According to Qantas, the VH-X4A will soon be on the Melbourne-Canberra route.

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Easyjet issues cups and cutlery to crews

At the low-cost airline Easyjet, cups and cutlery will now be part of the uniform of its flight crew. The company plans to only issue reusable items for employee meals in the future. According to Easyjet, after a test phase, it has started issuing cutlery sets and reusable cups to pilots and flight attendants. Newcomers to the company will in future be given these together with their uniform. "Our crew have taken this trial under their wing and, as always, have done an excellent job. It is thanks to their passion and commitment that we are now able to reduce unnecessary waste and roll out this important initiative network-wide. This is just one of the many measures we are taking to reduce the environmental impact of our operations. We will continue to trial new initiatives and make continuous improvements to achieve this goal," said Angela Mullen, Head of Inflight Retail Operations at Easyjet. 

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