Austrian Airlines agrees with flight crew and ground staff on crisis contribution

Austrian Airlines has reached an agreement with its technical and commercial staff. This includes the stations as well as technical and administrative employees, comprising close to 3,000 of the 7,000 people working for Austria’s national carrier.

Austrian Airlines anticipates a very slow recovery after the pandemic crisis. In order to retain as many employees as possible during a period of low demand, an agreement was reached with the works council on a long-term application of the short-time work model until 2022. There will be no customary annual salary increments or adjustments for inflation during this period.

After short-time work, salary will be waived for all employees. The company and employee representatives agreed on a temporary reduction of current salaries for the ground staff in the period March 20, 2022 until December 31, 2023. The pay cuts are socially staggered and equal between 2- and 15%. Furthermore, the social compensation plan which has been in effect for many years will be extended until December 31, 2025. The package of measures will be subsequently voted upon. In turn, the cockpit and cabin crews will forego between 5.9% and 12.7% of their salaries in the years 2022 to 2024 as well as pension fund contributions. This will be complemented by various savings and flexibilization measures in the ramp-up phase.

On balance, the 7,000 employees will bear the brunt of some €80 million (US$87 million) in annual savings, enabling personnel costs to be reduced by 20%. Accordingly, their cumulative contribution will equal €300 million (US$327.00 million) by the year 2024.