EANS-Adhoc: Austrian Airlines AG / Financial Results of the Austrian Airlines Group for the First Half-Year 2009

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6-month report

04.08.2009

Economic crisis affects revenue and earnings

. Net result for the period amounts to minus 166.6 million Euro, due to
impairment losses on aircraft
. Performance of the second quarter better than first quarter, but still
below expectations
. Cash flow from operating activities at 21.2 million Euro is positive,
liquidity is assured
. Cost reduction measures and integration in the Lufthansa Group will lead
to a positive earnings contribution of 300 million Euro annualy

The crisis in the international aviation industry intensified further in the

second quarter of 2009. This development is also reflected in the
financial figures of the Austrian Airlines Group for the first half
of 2009, which posted a net result for the period of minus 166.6
million Euro, including non-cash impairment losses of 74.3 million
Euro resulting from the valuation of aircraft. The adjusted resulting
from operating activities (EBIT) amounted to minus 88.4 million Euro,
with the second quarter EBIT of minus 18.1 million Euro perceptibly
better than the first quarter, at minus 70.3 million Euro.
Nevertheless, there was still no return to the profit zone.

"We are suffering from extremely weak demand, similar to the
situation affecting the entire airline sector," according to the
members of the Austrian Executive Board Peter Malanik and Andreas
Bierwirth. "The crisis has relentlessly revealed our weaknesses. Of
course we cannot be satisfied with the half-year results. It is not
very comforting to know that the entire aviation industry is standing
with its back against the wall. We are fighting with all the means
and energy at our disposal to overcome the crisis and massively
improve profitability through structural measures. For the time
being, tough countermeasures enabled us to significantly reduce our
operating losses for the second quarter of the 2009 financial year,"
the two board members add.

This tendency is also reflected in the development of the operating
cash flow. Following a negative cash flow of minus 13.8 million Euro
in the first quarter 2009, Austrian Airlines succeeded in generating
a positive cash flow of 35.0 million Euro in the second quarter of
2009. On balance, the cash flow from operating activities for the
first half-year was 21.2 million Euro. As at the balance sheet date
of June 30, 2009, the liquidity of the Austrian Airlines Group
totaled about 180 million Euro (consisting of 84.1 million Euro cash
and cash equivalents and 95.5 million Euro disposable securities).
The Austrian Airlines Group has sufficient liquidity also beyond the
end of 2009, even if the economic situation does not improve.

Initial successes were achieved in the first half of 2009 by the
comprehensive range of measures initiated by Austrian Airlines to
overcome the crisis and increase profitability. The anti-crisis
package developed in recent months has been successively implemented,
and will unfold its full potential in the second half of the year. We
expect to achieve the targeted cost savings of 15 percent for the
year 2009 as a whole on the basis of prevailing aircraft fuel prices.

The short-term measures to reduce costs will be consequently
substituted by sustainable measures. Thus we will reach a positive
earnings contribution of more than 300 million Euro per year on a
medium-term basis. In this regard, the sustainability package will
continually reduce the costs by 200 million Euro per year. The
reduction of the personnel expenditure by 150 million Euro for the
period 2010 to 2015 leads to a further cost reduction of about 25
million Euro per year. In addition, Austrian Airlines will enormously
benefit from the integration in the Lufthansa Group, in terms of both
revenue and costs: The management anticipates an earnings effect of
80 million Euro annually already starting in the year 2010. The board
members Bierwirth and Malanik add: "The cooperation within the
Lufthansa Group will massively benefit us. We expect a significant
impetus to growth by being able to access Lufthansa's international
route and sales networks. This will help a great deal, in the light
of our strong focus on the transfer business. And naturally we will
be able to exploit considerable synergies in terms of costs."

Key figures at a glance:

|EURm |1-6/2009|1-6/2008|+/- %|4-6/2009|4-6/2008 |+/- %|
|Revenue |934.6 |1,194.7 |-21.8|495.8 |669.4 |-25.9|
|Operating revenue |969.3 |1,226.2 |-21.0|514.6 |682.8 |-24.6|
|Operating expenses |1,130.9 |1,256.1 |-10.0|599.2 |659.9 |-9.2 |
|EBITDAR1,2 |49.9 |133.6 |-62.6|58.1 |106.8 |-45.6|
|EBITDAR1,2 adjusted3 |48.8 |141.3 |-65.5|50.3 |106.6 |-52.8|
|Result from operating
|activities (EBIT)2 |-161.6 |-29.9 |- |-84.6 |22.9 |- |
|Result from operating
|activities (EBIT2)
|adjusted3 |-88.4 |-22.2 |- |-18.1 |22.7 |- |
|Financial result |-14.6 |-18.8 |22.3 |-3.8 |-3.2 |-18.8|
|Result before tax |-177.2 |-40.3 |- |-89.1 |20.1 |- |
|Net result for the period|-166.6 |-48.7 |- |-78.5 |11.7 |- |

1 Result from operating activities (EBIT) before associates, depreciation and
rentals.
2 The expected income from plan assets was reclassified from personnel
expenses to financial expenses.
3 Adjusted by the result from the disposal of assets, other costs related
the transfer of aircraft, foreign currency valuations at the reporting date
and impairment of the value of aircraft.

Please find our detailed Austrian Airlines Group Half-year Financial Report
(January-June 2009) on the Internet at
http://www.austrianairlines.co.at/eng/Investor/reports/

Owner, Editor, Distributor: Austrian Airlines AG, Corporate Communications
public.relations@austrian.com.
Please find further information concerning the disclosure according to §§ 24
and 25 Media Act on www.austrian.com

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Austrian Airlines
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