Not surprisingly, Wizzair and competitor Lauda think very little of minimum prices for flight tickets.

Yesterday's announcement by the federal government that minimum prices for flight tickets are to be introduced came as a surprise. The two cheapest providers at Vienna Airport, Lauda and Wizzair, apparently did not know anything about this, but will first wait to see whether there will actually be a legal regulation.
Lauda Managing Director David O'Brien explained in an interview with Aviation.Direct that it is currently only an announcement by the federal government and that the legal basis for this has not yet been created. Nevertheless, he is astonished: “Will you show me an industry with state-prescribed minimum prices? Every hairdresser, every supermarket and every other entrepreneur is free to set prices. Should the Austrian government actually implement the announcement, it will be a throwback to the 1970s to protect Austrian Airlines ”.

The Lauda manager was particularly annoyed that Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr only demanded minimum prices for air tickets a few weeks ago and said at an investor conference that the group did not need state aid at all, but was simply trying to get it. “Carsten Spohr had this stupid idea in Germany and the Austrian Chancellor Kurz agreed to it in the course of state aid for Austrian Airlines. The Lufthansa Group operates old aircraft with a low load factor is much more harmful to the environment than we are. High capacity utilization and modern aircraft are simply more environmentally friendly. The artificial rise in ticket prices also has other fatal consequences: regular social distancing will come in Europe. We reject minimum prices for flight tickets and are convinced that the market neither needs nor wants them. Such minimum prices are unlawful and therefore illegal and not compatible with EU law, ”explains O'Brien.

The competitor, Wizzair, also often causes a stir in Vienna with particularly low ticket prices and will soon also be launched in Salzburg. This would possibly also be affected by minimum prices. “Wizz Air has not been officially informed of the decision by the Austrian government to introduce minimum prices for short-haul flight tickets. Therefore, there was no way to check the new regulation in detail. The airline never speaks out on rumors, but it rejects any decision by a government that violates the free movement of prices and the free movement of services, people, goods and capital, which are all fundamental foundations of the European Union. Wizz Air can comment as soon as it has received the details of the newly announced Austrian regulation ”, said Wizzair Deputy CEO Stephen Jones.