Paperjam.lu

Luxair will fly to more than 80 destinations next year, the carrier said (Photo: LuxairGroup) 

“Normally, an airline needs to say 14 days in advance at the latest whether it’s flying or not,” Feith said in a written statement, explaining that many customers currently book trips only a week to 10 days in advance because of the constantly changing coronavirus measures in destination countries.

In the LuxairTours segment, flights have had to be merged to be able to operate at all, Feith said. The situation is further complicated by fewer hotels welcoming guests.

Route by route, the airline needs to somehow anticipate demand, Feith said, without being able to charge higher prices for last-minute flights as it would under regular circumstances. He urged customers look beyond the price tag and value the airline’s service and “social components.”

The airline CEO’s statement came after Luxair, the government and trade unions signed a deal affecting 600 employees at the company. While the agreement aims to prevent layoffs, it means 265 staff will be asked to retire early over the coming three years. The rest will undergo training to be reassigned internally or placed in another business or public sector job.

The company will also continue to benefit from partial unemployment measures, meaning the government pays 80% of wages for workers on reduced hours.

Feith said there were more cargo plane arrivals transporting more goods. “But commercially this is difficult because a lot of the merchandise requires more manual labour,” he said, with higher costs resulting in lower profits for the company.

“Solidarity in the company is big, and I am proud of the many good people who work at Luxair,” Feith said of the difficult working conditions in the aviation sector.

The airline said it would strengthen its flight offer over the Christmas period as well as adding new destinations next year, including Usedom on the Baltic Sea, Toulon and La Rochelle in France, and Greek city Thessaloniki.

From spring 2021, Luxair will fly to more than 80 destinations. “This is an essential service to guarantee the connection of foreign communities in Luxembourg to their home countries,” the airline said.