Today Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa Technik signed the wide-ranging cooperation agreement in Vienna, thus setting the seal on their long-term collaboration. The key issues to be covered by an operational and strategic alliance between Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa Technik were set out in a Memorandum of Understanding in April 2007 and subsequently fixed in a term sheet in July 2007.
The cooperation agreement should lead to improved utilization and efficiency in the maintenance and workshop areas. Lufthansa Technik will ensure that utilization is maintained at a high level in the C check, maintenance and aircraft components areas at Austrian Airlines. This will allow Lufthansa Technik to expand its offerings in Europe, especially as regards base maintenance services for the Boeing 777. The aim of this deeper cooperative arrangement is to enable Austrian Airlines to successful reduce its overall engineering costs by about EUR 15 million per year starting in 2009 and thus to safeguard the long-term future of Austrian Airlines' engineering operations in Vienna.
Commenting on the agreement at the contract-signing ceremony in Vienna, Austrian Airlines AG CEO Thomas Kleibl said, "I am delighted that we have succeeded in creating a sound starting point for the future. Austrian Airlines' Engineering division is an internationally acclaimed, top-quality, high-tech aircraft maintenance organization and will retain its own identity. The contract does not stipulate any form of cross-shareholding relationship between Austrian and Lufthansa Technik. However, this strategic cooperation will enable us to reduce our overall engineering costs, which is essential if we are to retain our Vienna base."
Dr. Thomas Stüger, Chief Executive Product and Services at Lufthansa Technik AG, added, "This cooperation agreement continues a history of successful collaboration with Austrian Airlines' Engineering division and will enable us to expand it still further, extending the range of services that we offer our customers."
Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa Technik have already been working closely together for some time in selected maintenance areas under a previous cooperation agreement (Airbus A330/Airbus A340).
