The federal government has saved Lufthansa from bankruptcy with a loan of almost nine billion euros. The head of competitor Wizz Air, József Váradi, does not believe that Lufthansa will be able to repay this money.
The head of the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air, József Váradi, does not expect Lufthansa to be able to repay the roughly nine billion euros in government aid in view of the worsening aviation crisis. “No matter how I calculate, Lufthansa can never repay the loan,” said the manager of Wirtschaftswoche: “These subsidies are wasted. Because despite all the promises, the money has so far prevented Lufthansa from really restructuring. "
Wizz Air boss believes the government will grant Lufthansa credit
Instead, Váradi expects the Federal Republic of Lufthansa to waive the payment. "In my opinion, the money will ultimately be converted into equity or written off completely," says the manager.
The depth of the crisis at Lufthansa also shows that the job cuts will be greater than originally planned: Lufthansa announced on Monday that it would permanently shut down another 50 of the 100 jets mentioned above. That could mean cutting around 5,000 more jobs, in addition to the 22,000 already mentioned.
Around 1,100 pilot positions will be cut
With the decision, the number of redundant pilots has also increased. At the parent company Lufthansa alone, 1,100 of around 5,000 pilot positions are facing the end, as a spokesman confirmed according to information from the news magazine "Der Spiegel".
For his own company, however, Váradi expects a quick recovery. "We will probably surpass our previous record year 2019 as early as 2021," said. The future prospects are also good. “The jump from currently 130 to 200 aircraft in 2025 should be easy for us.
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