Austrian Airlines (AUA) co-chairman Peter Malanik has caused a stir by referring to child labour when speaking about expansion plans of a competitor.
Representatives of aviation giant Emirates are currently holding talks with the Austrian government coalition of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the People’s Party (ÖVP) in an attempt to liberalise the flight connection between Vienna and Dubai.
Malanik criticised labour regulations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He told the Kurier newspaper today (Tues): "The hub Dubai is being expanded regardless of the project’s profitability. It’s just about the location. The owner is also the lawmaker, the regulator, it owns the airline and the airport and is in charge of air traffic monitoring. It also provides the kerosene. Money doesn’t matter."
Malanik, who cooperates with Andreas Bierwirth in managing AUA, added: "The situation is similar to the production of T-shirts using child labour. AUA would need to hire 1,000 staff from Bangladesh immediately to be able to compete. Do we want that? Certainly not."
The AUA co-chief criticised that the intensifying battle between AUA and Emirates "is not a match of airline against airline – it’s a game between a state and AUA."
Malanik claimed AUA stopped offering connections to Mauritius and Australia due to Emirates. "(The airline’s) next target is to kill our link to Bangkok," he added.
The aviation manager called for a fairness agreement which considers identical competition rights, labour rights, consumer protection regulations and environmental aspects. Malanik also said governmental rights must be clearly separated from airlines’ actions.
Emirates was founded in Dubai in the UAE in 1985. It is one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world. The firm made headlines by ordering 90 new A380 Airbus planes in 2010. Its fleet currently consists of 146 planes. Emirates has more than 36,000 employees.
Managers of AUA rival FlyNiki said earlier this year they were interested in cooperating with Emirates considering ticketing systems and the handling of connecting flights. FlyNiki served 3.1 million customers last year, half a million more than in 2009.
AUA was taken over by Germany’s Lufthansa around one and a half years ago. The SPÖ-ÖVP coalition controversially decided to pour 500,000 Euros into AUA shortly before Lufthansa acquired a majority stake in the struggling carrier.
AUA, which has 5,900 staff, made a loss of 64.7 million Euros last year. The airline registered 10.9 million passengers in 2010.
Representatives of aviation giant Emirates are currently holding talks with the Austrian government coalition of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the People’s Party (ÖVP) in an attempt to liberalise the flight connection between Vienna and Dubai.
Malanik criticised labour regulations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He told the Kurier newspaper today (Tues): "The hub Dubai is being expanded regardless of the project’s profitability. It’s just about the location. The owner is also the lawmaker, the regulator, it owns the airline and the airport and is in charge of air traffic monitoring. It also provides the kerosene. Money doesn’t matter."
Malanik, who cooperates with Andreas Bierwirth in managing AUA, added: "The situation is similar to the production of T-shirts using child labour. AUA would need to hire 1,000 staff from Bangladesh immediately to be able to compete. Do we want that? Certainly not."
The AUA co-chief criticised that the intensifying battle between AUA and Emirates "is not a match of airline against airline – it’s a game between a state and AUA."
Malanik claimed AUA stopped offering connections to Mauritius and Australia due to Emirates. "(The airline’s) next target is to kill our link to Bangkok," he added.
The aviation manager called for a fairness agreement which considers identical competition rights, labour rights, consumer protection regulations and environmental aspects. Malanik also said governmental rights must be clearly separated from airlines’ actions.
Emirates was founded in Dubai in the UAE in 1985. It is one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world. The firm made headlines by ordering 90 new A380 Airbus planes in 2010. Its fleet currently consists of 146 planes. Emirates has more than 36,000 employees.
Managers of AUA rival FlyNiki said earlier this year they were interested in cooperating with Emirates considering ticketing systems and the handling of connecting flights. FlyNiki served 3.1 million customers last year, half a million more than in 2009.
AUA was taken over by Germany’s Lufthansa around one and a half years ago. The SPÖ-ÖVP coalition controversially decided to pour 500,000 Euros into AUA shortly before Lufthansa acquired a majority stake in the struggling carrier.
AUA, which has 5,900 staff, made a loss of 64.7 million Euros last year. The airline registered 10.9 million passengers in 2010.
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