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Flight availability in Berlin is growing significantly

Jan Gruber July 1, 2020 12:52

In July 2020, 36 airlines will offer connections to around 100 destinations in 40 countries from Berlin's Schönefeld and Tegel airports. In recent days, the operator has recorded a "sharp increase" in the number of travelers. "Air traffic from Berlin is increasing significantly again from today. Most airlines are back with a wide selection of European holiday destinations as well as regular frequencies on scheduled services. Holidays, business trips and visiting friends and family are now possible again on a large scale and tourism in the capital region is picking up speed again. Up to 30.000 passengers will travel to and from Schönefeld and Tegel every day in July. The airports are thus making a major contribution to the economy and tourism in the capital region," said airport boss Engelbert Lütke Daldrup. Easyjet starts in Berlin with nine aircraft On Wednesday, the largest provider at Berlin-Tegel Airport, Easyjet, also began ramping up its services again. According to the company, 39 routes will be offered for the time being. By August, around 75 percent of the original route network is to be reactivated. The airline plans to start with up to five aircraft in Schönefeld and up to four aircraft from Tegel. This means that 39 routes will already be flown in the first half of July. This is to increase to around 50 routes over the course of the summer. "We are delighted to finally be able to get going again. Our destinations will initially be those that are in high demand for tourists: for example, the Greek islands, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, the Balearic Islands/Canaries and mainland Spain. City destinations such as Paris, Amsterdam, Basel, London, Copenhagen and others will be added gradually.

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Leonore Gewessler puts aviation strategy to the test

Jan Gruber July 1, 2020 12:32

The opposition has expressed doubts about the government's planned minimum prices for airline tickets. However, the Transport Minister is convinced that this can be implemented in accordance with current EU law. On Tuesday, the Transport Committee of the National Council focused on a debate on the aviation policy of Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens). The main focus was on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis and the minimum prices for tickets planned by the Green politician. Gewessler also discussed that she wanted to negotiate at EU level on the reform of air traffic control, known as the Single European Sky. At the same time, she wants to negotiate a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from aviation. Another focus would be alternative fuels, the level of their use is currently negligible. The aviation industry is facing major challenges here. From a climate protection perspective, shifting short-haul flights to rail is the most sensible way forward, but this also requires an expansion of high-speed city connections and connections to the eastern neighbors. Another element is the increase in night train services. Leonore Gewessler also admitted that the implementation of the minimum prices for flight tickets that she had announced was "a complex task". The background to this is that, according to legal experts, a national solo effort could violate existing EU law. However, the minister was confident that "a solution is possible". State Secretary Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) also described the implementation of the minimum prices as a "challenge". The Green politician also wants to review the Aviation Roadmap, which was drawn up in 2017, and present a new strategy for air traffic next year. She proposed amendments for the autumn.

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Contract for AUA rescue not yet finalized

Jan Gruber July 1, 2020 12:08

SPÖ, FPÖ and Neos want to see the contract to rescue Austrian Airlines. But now State Secretary Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) and Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) have declared that this has not yet been finalized. In recent weeks, the opposition has repeatedly called on the Austrian federal government to disclose the rescue contract for Austrian Airlines. State Secretary Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) stated in the Transport Committee on Tuesday that this could not be complied with because the agreement had "not yet been finalized". He also pointed out that the contract depends on the agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and Lufthansa and the approval of the EU Commission. This has been clearly communicated at all times. In response to criticism from the opposition regarding the planned job cuts, the State Secretary replied that these had already been initiated by the company before the COVID-19 crisis and were therefore not part of the negotiating mandate. In return for the grant of 150 million euros, the Republic of Austria will receive commitments to maintain the majority of jobs, maintain the Vienna hub and take accompanying climate protection measures. The Vienna hub is to grow in line with the other hubs of the Lufthansa Group. Federal Minister Leonore Gewessler confirmed the State Secretary's statements on AUA and promised that the contract would be made available to the committee as soon as the final points have been clarified.

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VC and UFO announce major demo in Berlin

Jan Gruber July 1, 2020 10:22

UFO and VC as well as the employees of the affected airlines will draw attention to their fate on Thursday. The Cockpit association is holding a demonstration in Berlin on Thursday from 14 p.m. The route will lead from the Federal Ministry of Finance to the Bundestag and the nearby Federal Chancellery. The rally is being organized in cooperation with the UFO union and representatives of the staff representatives and collective bargaining committees of the affected airlines. The demo is under the motto "You fly on vacation - we fly out." The unions and the affected employees want to draw attention to the fate of the employees of SunExpress, Germanwings, Tuifly and the Walter airline. The VC writes: "Lufthansa and TUI have received billions in state aid. Nevertheless, the employees of LGW, SunExpress, Germanwings and TUIfly have to fear for their future. It cannot be that company interests are put before employee interests."

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Minimum ticket prices could fail due to EU law

Jan Gruber June 30, 2020 13:55

State Secretary Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) is now using different wording and is trying to calm people down: it is not really a question of minimum prices, but rather that the airlines are simply obliged to pass on all taxes, fees and charges to ticket buyers. Austria will introduce minimum prices for flight tickets "before the summer" and thus take on "a pioneering role in Europe". No flight ticket should cost less than 40 euros. This was announced by Environment and Transport Minister Leonore Gewesseler (Greens) in the middle of the month. Ryanair/Lauda and Wizzair have just made fun of it. But now Magnus Brunner (ÖVP), State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, of all people, "de facto" no longer wants to hear anything about "minimum prices". The politician explained in an interview with the daily newspaper Kurier that it is "de facto not a minimum price". The airlines are simply obliged to pass on all taxes, fees and charges to passengers. A corresponding concept has already been developed and, according to Magnus Brunner, is of the opinion that it "complies with European law". He mentioned "perhaps as early as autumn" as a possible date. In principle, companies are liable for taxes and theoretically it is possible for them to pay the tax burden for their customers. Outside the aviation industry, however, this does not even occur with bait-and-switch offers from furniture stores. In these cases, only a percentage discount is granted, but VAT is still charged despite advertising to the contrary. Nevertheless, the plan of the Green Environment Minister is likely to cause problems under European law, as it would be an Austrian solo effort and not an EU-wide regulation. Due to very old agreements, it will also be difficult for airlines with non-Austrian AOC to comply with the

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Ryanair and Wizzair sell “forbidden flight routes”

Jan Gruber June 30, 2020 13:25

Although Austria continues to prohibit incoming passenger flights from a total of nine countries, the two low-cost airlines continue to sell tickets during the restricted period. Wizzair announces a new destination from Vienna with Mykonos. The Hungarian low-cost airline intends to offer two weekly rotations between Vienna and Mykonos from August 11, 2020. The route is to be served on Tuesdays and Saturdays with medium-haul Airbus A320 jets. However, the announcement also has a certain "aftertaste", because due to official regulations, flights from a total of nine countries are not allowed to land in Austria beyond June 30, 2020. The new regulation is initially valid until July 15, 2020. However, this does not prevent Ryanair and Wizzair from continuing to sell tickets on the prohibited routes for the banned period. On Tuesday at 13:00 p.m., both low-cost airlines were still offering tickets from Portugal, Lombardy, the United Kingdom or Sweden to Austria, for example, despite the fact that it has been clear since shortly after 6:00 a.m. that the flights cannot be carried out for official reasons. It would be permissible to fly with passengers to the blocked countries, provided that local regulations do not prevent this, and then return to Austria empty. However, this is extremely costly for airlines and is therefore only practiced in absolute exceptional cases. Competitor Austrian Airlines has withdrawn connections to the nine blocked countries from sale in both directions, provided that they are included in the route network. Other airlines have also taken a stand. Wizzair and Ryanair/Lauda have repeatedly attracted attention in recent weeks by selling tickets for dates,

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Norwegian cancels 97 Boeing jets

Granite Pireci June 30, 2020 12:05

The ailing carrier no longer wants 92 737 Max and five 787s. The carrier has not ruled out going to court either. Yesterday Boeing had reason to celebrate: the first certification flight of the 737 Max was successful. But today the Airbus rival is facing problems again. Norwegian Air Shuttle announced that it would cancel all orders and even file lawsuits against the US aircraft manufacturer. Specifically, the case concerns 92 737 Max aircraft and five long-haul 787 "Dreamliner" aircraft, which are worth a total of 9,4 billion euros according to the list price. The airline's downfall was the flight bans imposed on the 737 Max model and unscheduled maintenance work on the 787 aircraft. The airline now wants to claim these losses through legal action.

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Boeing 737-Max completed a test flight

Granite Pireci June 30, 2020 12:01

Yesterday, Boeing took a big step towards recertification of the 737 Max model: Over a year after a worldwide flight ban came into force, the aircraft completed its first certification flight - and successfully. In the morning, a plane of the aircraft model took off from Seattle on the US west coast and, after a stopover, numerous tests and a total of over two hours in the air, landed again, as seattletimes.com reports. In the next few days, Boeing will check whether it has taken the criticism to heart and revised the model. Only when "the changes comply with the certification standards" can it consider reintroducing the model, according to the US aviation authority FAA.

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ACG: Court of Auditors criticizes high spending

Granite Pireci June 30, 2020 11:48

Austro Control is not implementing the recommendations of the Court of Auditors and is even increasing personnel costs. This is causing discussions - even in politics. While airlines are going through the crisis of their lives and employees in particular are feeling the effects in the form of pay cuts, the world of Austro Control looks comparatively good. The salaries of the approximately 1.060 employees, who are financed by airline fees, are far higher than the earnings of comparable federal employees. The Court of Auditors criticized this situation two years ago and called for a reduction in personnel costs. To date, none of this has been implemented. This is now emerging from a follow-up review that has not yet been published and which is available to the Kurier. Neither Austro Control nor the higher-level Climate Protection Ministry have contributed to reducing the escalating personnel costs and have implemented almost none of the recommendations. On the contrary. Personnel expenses even rose by 2015 percent from 2018 to 49 to 224,63 million euros, while the number of employees only grew by four percent. Calls for a reform of company pensions, which are based on individual contracts, are also becoming louder. From 2015 to 2019, the total annual burden on the pension fund rose by 250 percent to 30,6 million euros. In addition, the "two-class society" is to be put to an end. People who joined the company before 1996 enjoy more generous pay. For this reason, a more generation-fair collective agreement, which was drafted four years ago, should be introduced. But to date, nothing has been done in this regard. In addition, Austro Control will probably make losses for the first time in 2019. Now at the latest,

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Austria extends flight bans

Jan Gruber June 30, 2020 09:09

Anyone who has booked a holiday in Portugal could now be faced with the "surprise" that the flights are not allowed to take place. Austria continues to prohibit incoming passenger flights from the People's Republic of China, Iran, Lombardy, Belarus, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The latest "black list" is therefore unchanged and is provisionally valid until July 15, 2020. This is stated in NOTAM A1715/20, which the Republic of Austria published in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The exceptions are unchanged. In concrete terms, the landing bans mean that regular passenger flights, for example between Ukraine and Austria, are prohibited. The opposite direction would, however, be permitted, although empty flights in one direction are generally not practiced by airlines for economic reasons. Numerous airlines are affected by the short-term extension of the flight bans, including Ryanair/Lauda, ​​Wizzair and Austrian Airlines. Some connections have to be cancelled at short notice, but in this case the passengers are not entitled to compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004, because official orders are considered exceptional circumstances according to the case law of the ECJ.

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