• First half-year 2019: More than 6.7 million passengers on board, up 5.9 percent
• 4.7 percent passenger increase in Europe, 13.2 percent up on intercontinental flights
• June 2019: about 1.5 million passengers transported, up 4.7 percent
On balance, Austrian Airlines transported more than 6.7 million passengers in the first half of 2019, corresponding to a year-on-year increase of 5.9 percent. Continental flight traffic expanded by 4.7 percent from the previous year, thus making a major contribution to overall passenger growth. Intercontinental flight service also developed very gratifyingly, showing a rise of 13.2 percent. The flight offering measured in available seat kilometres (ASK) was up 5.2 percent. Revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) climbed 8.3 percent compared to the first half of 2018. Capacity utilization (passenger load factor) of the flights equalled 78.1 percent, a rise of 2.3 percentage points. The number of flights operated by Austrian Airlines was increased by 3.3 percent since the beginning of the year to 66,419.
“More and more passengers are flying with Austrian Airlines despite tough competition from low-cost carriers in Vienna”, says Andreas Otto, Member of the Management Board and CCO of Austrian Airlines. “In particular, our long-haul flight service to North America has been well received since the changeover to daily flight service.”
About 1.5 million passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in the month of June 2019, comprising a rise of 4.7 percent from the prior-year month. The flight offering measured in available seat kilometres was up 1.2 percent, and revenue passenger kilometres climbed 4.2 percent. Capacity utilization of the flights in June 2019 was at an average of 83.9 percent, up by 2.4 percentage points from the prior-year level. The number of flights operated by Austrian Airlines in June 2019 rose by 3.3 percent to 13,102.
Vienna Airport has launched a €500 million ($563 million) investment program for a large-scale terminal modernisation. The project includes the renovation of Terminal 2, the Pier East and construction of a large 70,000 sq metres building, the “T3 Southern Enlargement”. Construction will take four years and work should be completed by 2023.
T2, constructed in the 1960s, is one of the oldest buildings at the airport site. T2 will play an important role in future airport operations, featuring central security checkpoint and additional baggage carousels and scheduled to come on stream by the end of 2020.