The airlines prepare for Brexit and its consequences. The British company easyJet creates a European subsidiary in Austria, à Vienna. The event itself comes as no surprise - British carriers have already indicated since the vote on the Brexit that they would seek a solution to remain in the European Union. On the other hand, the choice of Austria comes as a small surprise.
The British carrier will retain all its operational bases in the United Kingdomin particular its London Heathrow and Lutonthe largest in the easyJet network. However, a third of its activities will be allocated to its new European entity. This represents 110 aircraft and 4,000 employees which from now on will be managed from the company's Vienna headquarters. The company has applied for an air operator's certificate (AOC, Air Operator Certificate) to Austro Control, the authority responsible for air traffic control in Austria, and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Transport. The response - probably positive - should confirm the authorisation granted to easyJet Europe this week.
Easyjet becomes a pan-European airline group
" With our new corporate structure, easyJet becomes a pan-European airline group "says an official company press release. However, Easyjet will continue to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. The transfer will enable Easyjet to protect your traffic rights and its activities within the European Union, i.e. half of the 78 million passengers transported by the company each year.
Why did you choose Austria, one of the countries whose salary costs are among the highest in Europe? According to Thomas Haagensen, easyJet's Director for Austria, Germany and Switzerland, the choice of Austria was based on the following factors safety criteriaAustro Control fully adheres to the recommendations of the European Aviation Safety Agency. What's more, Austria has the resources to host the operations of a major carrier with a huge fleet of aircraft.
The Austrian press also reports excellent cooperation with the local political world, Easyjet having had contacts at the highest level of government, in this case the Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern. The Viennese press also reports that the presence of Andreas Bierwirth on the Board of Directors, former CEO of Austrian AirlinesThis was certainly a factor in the decision in favour of Austria.
The approval of the Austrian authorities was made all the easier by the fact that, in practice, Easyjet has a relatively small presence in the country, and will not overshadow Austrian Airlines. Easyjet Europe's 110 aircraft will not actually be stationed in Vienna, but will remain at their respective European bases. This summer, Easyjet will serve ten destinations from Viennaseven airports since Salzburgthree airports fromInnsbruck and London Gatwick with Klagenfurt. In 2016, Easyjet had a market share of 2.7% at Vienna airport, representing 650,000 passengers. In the first half of 2017, the airline carried one million passengers from the four Austrian airports mentioned.
