LUFTHANSA BECOMING THE LARGEST AIRLINE CARRIER.
German carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG completed the takeover of Austrian Airlines AG Thursday by signing final contracts in Vienna. With this deal, the Lufthansa group is to become Europe’s biggest carrier, surpassing French-Dutch airline AirFrance-KLM in terms of passenger numbers.
Speaking earlier in Frankfurt, Lufthansa executive board member Stefan Lauer praised Austrian Airlines’ staff for their cooperation in implementing a series of cost-cutting measures that include cutting 1,000 full-time positions from a staff of 8,000 through the middle of next year.
The closing documents were signed by the chief executives of Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Austria’s state holding OeIAG, which sold its 42% stake.