Austrian Airlines to cancel 300 flights in July, August amid pilot shortage | ATWOnline

Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines will cancel 300 flights in July and August because of the ongoing integration of 17 Embraer E-195s into its fleet and related pilot trainings.

“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 July 1.

The carrier has been forced to repeatedly announce short-term flight cancellations over the past year. For example, last June, the Star Alliance member had to cancel 150 flights.

The latest decision has particularly affected regional flights, but not long-haul and holiday (charter) flights.

Austrian Airlines will thin out its flight offerings to destinations it serves several times a day, thus bundling flight rotations. Typical destinations affected by the measures include Bucharest (Romania), Prague (Czech Republic), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Zagreb (Croatia).

To balance, Austrian Airlines will cancel 300 flights, operating 23,000 flights. “However, in the light of our experience over the last year, I would prefer to ensure the reliability of 99% of our flight schedule instead of flying 100% [unreliable flights],” Kratky said.

Austrian Airlines spokesperson Peter Thier told ATW the carrier had planned to wet-leasefive aircraft during the summer peak. However, only three wet-leased aircraft had been available, which did not meet the airline's standard.

To fulfill its extensive pilot training standards, Austrian Airlines launched a series of quality assurance measures in flight operations last year. In addition to improving flight planning, this also encompassed management changes and a massive increase in the number of new pilots.

Austrian Airlines has hired 110 pilots over the last 12 months and now employs about 1,000 pilots; that number will increase to 1,070 by year-end.

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 training must be carried out over a period of three to six months. The airline does not have standby reserves at its disposal in case of short-term unavailability of crews.

Austrian Airlines operates a fleet of 76 aircraft and flies about 320 flights each day.

Austrian Airlines to cancel 300 flights in July, August amid pilot shortage | Airports & Routes content from ATWOnline