Summer is always a very charged season at Luxair. But with increased flexibility and a growing workload, the situation has become untenable this year, according to several trade unions. Luxair CEO acknowledges the summer turbulence, but also explains that the commercial context remains turbulent, with many challenges to face in the short to medium term.
Several trade unions at Luxair report high absenteeism, high workload coupled with ever-increasing flexibility and growing pressure on the staff, all of which puts a strain on the working atmosphere. Is the situation in your company that complicated?
Gilles Feith: I think the situation is complicated at Luxair, but it is also complicated throughout Europe. In the end, we are doing quite well, even though our sector of activity is still under pressure. That's why I want to thank our staff, who show flexibility and commitment, which I never doubt.
What about the workload, which is said to be constantly increasing?
Summer is traditionally and logically a very busy time of year, and autumn too. Workloads have always been higher during these seasons. This is also the case this year, but I would like to point out that we are still below what we were doing at operational level before the covid pandemic. In addition, some of the difficulties we are experiencing here are repercussions of problems experienced abroad: chronic staff shortages, delays, etc. Nevertheless, we are busy restoring the company as it should be.
What I see is that Luxembourg's social model is no longer sufficient to attract candidates.
Is finding staff proving difficult for Luxair?
Just like everywhere else! In the past, everyone wanted to work at Schueberfouer because it paid well, now they are looking for people. I read the article in Paperjam about the ‘great resignation [] which is a reality. Luxair is still an attractive company, but everything is more complicated because our jobs sometimes require shift work, flexibility. So there are also constraints. What I see is that the social model in Luxembourg is no longer sufficient to attract candidates. On top of that, there is the energy crisis: employees are paying more and more attention to the cost of their journey. But I also want to put things into perspective, because, although we have recruitment problems, they are less than in other sectors, such as the hotel and catering industry.
The trade unions are worried about the rising costs in your sector. Is this true?
The unions are doing their job, but I'm also worried because we are still making a loss. But we are a commercial company. The wage freeze in the collective agreement will expire at the end of 2023. This will amount to €8m. This sometimes keeps me awake at night, so I'm also worried about Luxair.
How can we get out of this?
We need national action to deal with inflation. We don't work like some other companies: I can't pass on all the cost increases to ticket prices, because the way out of the crisis is to fill the planes. But what was complicated is doubly so, because the tickets that customers have in their hands now were bought when the price of kerosine was lower. Despite this, we have no operational short-time working.
Luxair will have to evolve?
We will have to adapt, that's for sure. In any case, there will be many challenges to face in the months and years to come.
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.