Putting Europe’s Low-Cost Carriers in Peril Should Not Be a Lasting Legacy From Government in This Crisis
Photo Credit: Lauda is a low-cost Austrian airline owned by Ryanair Group Flickr / Rob Hodgkins
Skift Take
Legacy airlines are in trouble. Many deserve bailouts. But let's not take it too far. There's no reason to penalize low-cost airlines. If they can make money with cheap fares, let them.
Someone should remind the Austrian government of that tired cliche: You cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube.
More than two decades after low-cost, short-haul airlines began revolutionizing European air travel, making flights more accessible for more travelers, reports indicate the Austrian government wants to turn back the clock, propping up its ailing flag carrier at the expense of discounters. Austrian Airlines will get big subsidies, while innovative and disruptive companies like Ryanair Group and Wizz Air will be penalized. Their only transgression: They can make money with cheap flights.
Here's how it will work. The government has arranged for Austrian Airlines to receive a 450 million euro bailout package (about $505 million U.S.) made up of 150 million euros in grants and nearly 300 million in loan guarantees. The government also will change air travel taxes. Most flights getting a flat 12 eu
