During the first trimester, the airline had 80% fewer passengers than before the pandemic, with six aircraft remaining grounded. A difficult situation for the company and its 3,000 employees, who will have to prepare for a number of changes and cost-cutting measures. Steering the airline out of the current turbulences will be a mammoth task, with new concepts, strategies and risks.
Anja, Sven and Dany feel at home in an aircraft. Constantly being in the air is part of daily life for pilots and cabin crew. But the pandemic put a sudden end to all that. With the airline's activities massively reduced, there was not enough work for everyone. Some have taken partial unemployment, others have been deployed elsewhere. This was the case for Dany Gilbertz, who has worked as a pilot at Luxair for 11 years. His new temporary workplace is just a few kilometres from the airport, doing contact tracing at schools. The view out of his office window does not compare to a cockpit, and rush hour traffic also took some getting used to.
He still covers occasional flights. Three this month, even fewer in previous months. But even if he's looking forward to every flight, he is grateful for the "temporary labour loan" programme that allows him and around 80 of his colleagues at Luxair to remain employed. "I think it's great that we have this option in Luxembourg. This kind of solidarity, where you can assist elsewhere. I am glad to be here and have something useful to do."
Now that air traffic is slowly picking up again, the health department expects they will lose some of their Luxair collaborators. But so far there are no precise predictions how things will go on for Dany and his colleagues.
The most important point is that they did not have to let go of anyone, says Gill Feith, who took over the post as CEO of Luxair last year. This is made possible by the job maintenance plan signed with the tripartite, which he considers a great success. "We can offer other options to our employees, either working for our big brother Cargolux, or doing other tasks within the company. This makes for much better sleep at night", he says.
Luxair lost nearly 155 million euros last year. The missing business and connecting travel is felt most sorely, says the CEO. Introducing new destinations was a conscious strategic choice to make up for the missing flights and bolster revenues. Still, cost-cutting measures could not be avoided. They are trying to scrimp and save at every corner: be it with their suppliers, the crémant used on board or with salaries, frozen until 2023. Gilles Feith admits: "You have to be objective. Not all measures you take at a company are pleasant, that's the sad truth. But it helps to think of the collective. The 3,000 people working for us, but also those depending on our business, these amount to 9,000. And I have to be frank, I don't sleep soundly every night, thinking about ways out of this."
Aside from personnel loans or internal transfers, there are also pilots who can still fly, just for a different employer. Sven Lefèvre has been a pilot for 7 years, 3.5 of them for Luxair. He has recently switched to Cargolux, where he has a temporary contract until March 2023. During this time he's taking unpaid leave from Luxair, while maintaining his seniority. For him, this is a unique chance to discover a completely new way of operations, says a visibly excited Sven. "Long haul flights, a different type of aircraft and regular flights", are the reasons he applied for this opportunity, which originated with Luxair. But he also demonstrates solidarity towards his colleagues, as this means that those remaining at Luxair get more chances to fly.
Sven is still in training and flies in a simulator. His first real flight is slated to take place in early June. Instead of passengers he will be flying cargo, up to 450 tons instead of the 70 he is used to. And this feels exactly like it sounds: "everything is much slower. You need to be more patient when flying manually and giving inputs. Smaller aircraft are more agile in their reactions. It's like switching from a small car to a lorry."
He can't say if he will return to Luxair in 2023. "Let's see what the future brings", he says. It all depends on the situation with Luxair and the demand at Cargolux. "And we also get our say in the path we want to take", he adds.
Anja Leick has worked as Luxair cabin crew for 24 years and is currently taking partial unemployment like most of her colleagues. Since May 2020 they've been spending their time partly at home, partly at work. During the hard lockdown Anja completed a volunteering training. She also received training relating to Covid-19, preparing her for a variety of pandemic-specific situations.
Ensuring that hygiene rules on board are followed or helping passengers with the required forms - this is part of daily life for her now. As do masks, which of course have an impact on communication with passengers: "The customer relations part of our job has changed with the masks of course, which affect communication. It is a challenge for both sides." Aside from the impact on her tasks, her work day has also been changed by the pandemic. Flexibility is now even more important. Short term changes to flight schedules are now much more likely. But flight personnel are already used to every day being different.
Regarding Covid-19 and her health, Anja says she feels safe, even if she is in contact with a lot of people during her work day. Looking after her health is important in relation to her customers, her colleagues and her family at home. And despite all the upheaval, Anja still enjoys doing her job: "I never questioned my choice of profession. I simply love my job too much for that," she concludes.
