Lufthansa / Austrian

Lufthansa said that all remaining shares in Austrian Airlines Group held by minority shareholders have been transferred to LH subsidiary Osterreichische Luftverkehrs Holding by order of the Vienna Commercial Court. Share certificates are redeemable for cash compensation, LH said. In December it said it would pay €0.50 ($0.70) for each outstanding share [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. AAG is expected to be delisted from the Vienna Stock Exchange soon.

Lufthansa Cargo and Austrian Airlines have agreed to step up cooperation between their two companies in the airfreight sector.

Under the new agreement, the flow of cargo traffic through the hubs at Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna will be optimised.

Both companies’ global distribution activities will be merged and their product portfolios and production processes harmonised.

In future, the two companies will jointly route their cargo traffic through the Vienna hub and boost freight flows.

Lufthansa Cargo and Austrian Cargo will also integrate their freight handling and distribution activities in Austria.

In all other countries worldwide, freight activities will in future be amalgamated under the aegis of Lufthansa Cargo.

Carsten Spohr, CEO and Chairman of Lufthansa Cargo, commented: “Vienna Schwechat will become a central European hub for Lufthansa Cargo comparable to our German hubs at Frankfurt and Munich.
Thanks to Austrian’s excellent route network, Lufthansa Cargo customers will also be able to take advantage of direct flights to destinations in all corners of the globe.”

Dr. Andreas Bierwirth, Chief Commercial Officer Austrian Airlines, noted: “This marks a further step in the reorganization of Austrian Airlines. Our cargo business will benefit from the new structure. We will lower our costs and improve our product portfolio. At the same time, we will be able in future to provide our customers with a globe-spanning network and the extensive product portfolio of the world’s largest air cargo alliance.”

The measures will take effect on 1 July 2010.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

La première compagnie aérienne allemande Lufthansa a annoncé lundi qu'elle n'espérait plus un bénéfice opérationnel de sa filiale autrichienne Austrian Airlines cette année.

© 2011 AFP