- Austrian Airlines achieves a solid three-digit result in the third quarter (adjusted EBIT of 139 million euros)
- However, the result for the first nine months of 2024, with an adjusted EBIT of 77 million euros, has almost halved compared to the previous year (144 million euros adjusted EBIT)
- 4.7 million passengers in the third quarter
- Vienna ranks among the top in Europe for government levies
- CEO Annette Mann: “The result shows that we have done our homework, but external factors continue to weigh heavily. In the third quarter, the temporary disruptions of our important connections to the Middle East are particularly painful. However, we still expect a high double-digit result for the full year.”
Austrian Airlines’ traditionally strong third quarter was in line with the high expectations thanks to continued robust demand. Following the weak first half of the year (-62 million euros adjusted EBIT), achieving a high double-digit result for the full year remains a realistic goal thanks to the solid performance. The past months have been economically challenging, especially due to the volatile situation in the important Middle East market, resulting in numerous necessary last-minute flight cancellations. Additionally, significant performance issues in European air traffic control, particularly over Hungarian airspace, led to considerably more delays than in the previous year. Combined with other factors, costs related to flight disruptions were 60% higher than last year.
Compared to last year, the result for the first nine months, at 77 million euros (adjusted EBIT), was nearly half of the previous year’s figure (2023: 144 million euros adjusted EBIT). “This year, Austrian Airlines faced a series of one-off impacts and external factors. Therefore, our focus for the remainder of the year will remain on stable flight operations, maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction and cost discipline in order to compensate for the further increase in location costs. Additionally, we are working intensively on an investment program to comprehensively renew our product and service offerings both on the ground and onboard over the next three to four years.”
The third quarter result in detail
Revenue in the third quarter amounted to 783 million euros, marking a 6% increase over the previous year, thanks to the addition of two Boeing B787s for long-haul operations. Both total revenue and total expenses were also 6% higher than in the same period last year. Despite an extensive efficiency program, no unit cost improvements from the growth have been realized yet, which is why the internal efficiency program BoOSt will continue in 2025. At 139 million euros, the adjusted operating result (adjusted EBIT) was 8% higher than in the same quarter of the previous year, in line with the production expansion, while the margin remained stable in the third quarter compared to the previous year.
Austrian Airlines transported nearly 4.7 million passengers between July and September. The 68 aircraft in the Austrian fleet were, on average, 87.2% full and took off with a punctuality rate of 98.5%. As of 30 September 2024, Austrian Airlines employed 6,179 staff members.
Government Location Costs as an Area of Concern
Austria is currently at risk of being slowed down as an aviation location. The government fees for a departure from Vienna are, after Germany, the highest in Europe and have increased by more than a third since 2019. Compared to a neighboring location like Prague, government fees for departing an Airbus A320 in Vienna are about seven times higher. “In Germany, it is currently evident what happens when this trend is not countered: airlines relocate, and long-haul connections are discontinued”, explains CEO Annette Mann. “We expect a future government to quickly find sustainable solutions for a competitive aviation location”, says Annette Mann.
Innovations in the Austrian Airlines fleet
This year, Austrian Airlines has successfully started the introduction of the first two new Boeing 787-9 “Dreamliner” long-haul aircraft. This fleet entry will continue in 2025. The red-white-red airline is thus taking an important step towards modernizing its long-haul fleet, as the newer aircraft models consume around 20 percent less fuel than the existing long-haul aircraft.
Austrian Airlines’ existing fleet will also receive an innovative update to increase operational efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. From December 2024, for the first time worldwide, four Boeing 777-200ER aircraft will be equipped with “AeroSHARK” surface technology. The fuselage and engine nacelles of the total of four aircraft will be covered with the “sharkskin” film, which reduces fuel consumption and thus CO2 emissions thanks to reduced frictional resistance. “With these and other measures, we are continuing to drive forward the modernization and optimization of our fleet. Once again, thanks go to our employees and our partners within the Lufthansa Group and at our home airport”, says COO Francesco Sciortino.
Austrian Airlines is targeting new destinations in the coming year
Demand during the summer quarter was satisfactory. For the upcoming winter and summer 2025, Austrian Airlines has attractive expansion plans in its destination portfolio. “Our recently launched long-haul destination Boston is very popular. This winter, we are introducing a new direct connection to Ivalo (Finland) to meet the increasing demand for Nordic destinations. We will continue to follow this trend in the summer flight schedule for 2025, opening routes from Vienna to Edinburgh (Scotland) and to the North Frisian island of Sylt. This further optimizes our destination portfolio according to the needs of our passengers and strengthens our positioning at the Vienna hub”, says CCO Michael Trestl.
The connection of the Austrian federal states to Vienna and other hubs of the Lufthansa Group will also be further advanced, including the continuation of the Linz-Frankfurt connection, which will be implemented for the first time in this winter flight schedule.
Overview of the key figures for the third quarter:
| Q3 2024 | Q3 2023 | Change YoY | |
| Revenue in € million | 783 | 741 | +6% |
| Adj. total operating revenue in € million | 811 | 762 | +6% |
| Adj. total operating expenditures in € million | 672 | 633 | +6% |
| Adjusted EBIT in € million | 139 | 129 | +8% |
| EBIT in € million | 138 | 128 | +8% |
| Passengers in thousands | 4,674 | 4,466 | +5% |
| Available seat kilometers (ASK) in million | 8,429 | 7,741 | +9% |
| Capacity utilization (passenger load factor) in % | 87,2 | 87,7 | -0,5pp |
| Number of flights | 35,154 | 33,442 | +5% |
| Fleet size (fleet in operation) | 68 | 65 | +3 |
| Regularity of operation | 98,5% | 99.3% | -0,8pp |
| Punctuality on departure | 60,7% | 73,9% | -13,2pp |
| Punctuality on arrival | 68,4% | 81,6% | -13,2pp |
| Employees | 6.179 | 6.008 | +3% |
| 1-9 2024 | 1-9 2023 | Change YoY | |
| Revenue in € million | 1,853 | 1,805 | +3% |
| Adj. total operating revenue in € million | 1,914 | 1,855 | +3% |
| Adj. total operating expenditures in € million | 1,838 | 1,711 | +7% |
| Adjusted EBIT in € million | 77 | 144 | -47% |
| EBIT in € million | 73 | 143 | -49% |
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