Austrian cancellations to affect Zagreb

NEWS FLASH

Austrian Airlines will cancel 300 flights in July and August because of the ongoing integration of seventeen Embraer E195 jets into its fleet and related pilot trainings. The carrier has listed Zagreb as one of the destinations which will be affected by the measure, as well as Bucharest, Prague and Sofia. Both Belgrade and Sarajevo could also be affected, although they are yet to be listed by the carrier. “Austrian Airlines has always stood for punctuality and reliability. In order to live up to this reputation, we have decided to streamline our summer flight schedule”, CEO Kay Kratky said in a statement. The carrier has been forced to repeatedly announce short-term flight cancellations over the past year. For example, last month, the Star Alliance member had to cancel 150 flights. This is despite the airline wet leasing both aircraft and crew from others, including Adria Airways, to deal with the issue. Austrian Airlines spokesperson, Peter Thier, said the carrier had planned to wet lease five aircraft during the summer peak. However, only three had been available, which did not meet the airline's standards. Austrian Airlines has hired 110 pilots over the last twelve months and now employs about 1.000 pilots. The underlying problem is that about 10% of pilots cannot be deployed yet because of elaborate training, attributable to the career model of the collective wage agreement, which stipulates that training must be carried out over a period of three to six months. The carrier does not have standby reserves at its disposal in case of short-term unavailability of crews.