Austrian Airlines Group (AUA), the Vienna- based carrier that the Austrian government wants to sell, is counting on its takeover by another carrier to help long-haul routes become profitable again. "We need to be part of the same network as one of the big carriers in order to be attractive to business travelers for overseas,'' chief commercial officer Andreas Bierwirth said at a news conference in Damascus late Thursday. "Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM Group fly to New York nine times a day. We only fly there once. One simply can't compete with that.'' Austrian Airline posted a 3.3 million-euro ($5 million) profit in 2007, following a year-earlier loss, after cutting costs by eliminating routes to Sydney, Shanghai and vacation destinations around the Indian Ocean. The carrier's first-quarter loss widened as fuel prices reached record highs, prompting the company last month to drop its route to Chicago as of Oct. 26. "A lot of business travelers who are interested in flying on to eastern Europe, which is one of our specialties, don't consider flying with us because our long-haul offering is too small,'' Bierwirth said. "Without long-haul destinations, our European network can't be maintained at the current level.'' The International Air Transport Association forecast June 2 that combined losses for the airline industry may total as much as $6.1 billion this year after oil prices reached record highs. IATA Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Bisignani said on July 14 that he may increase the forecast because slowing economic growth is discouraging travelers from flying. Two dozen airlines have filed for bankruptcy protection or stopped flying this year. Long-haul AUA routes include New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangkok, Beijing and Tokyo as well as Toronto, Washington and New York.
