The fight for state aid for Lufthansa continues

The fight for state aid for AUA’s German mother Lufthansa continues. An agreement between the board of directors of Germany’s largest airline and government representatives in Berlin is likely in the coming days, it said on Monday. In France, the largest airline Air France receives € 7 billion from the state; The EU approved the aid package on Monday.

Lufthansa is negotiating aid for Austrian Airlines (AUA) with the Austrian government.

According to media reports, the German airline is seeking a relief package totaling around € 10 billion. According to information from the news magazine “Spiegel”, the German government is planning a direct entry to the troubled airline.

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The head of the German Association for the Protection of Securities (DSW), Marc Tüngler, criticized the alleged demand for eight or nine percent interest in the silent participation of the state. That reminds him of “usury,” Tüngler told the newspapers of the Funke media group on Monday. Lufthansa had entered the crisis through no fault of his own, he emphasized.

Lufthansa will be smaller in the future

The shareholder advocate spoke out against the state’s influence on corporate decisions: “If you want to give Lufthansa a chance and put so much money into it, Mr. Spohr must also have the opportunity to act freely and adjust the structure of costs “. Lufthansa will make it smaller in the future and CEO Carsten Spohr has to make sure he makes money again. “If politics intervenes from the beginning, it will be almost impossible.”

FDP budget expert Kasten Klein called the Lufthansa rescue “correct and important.” In return, he requested a loan repayment moratorium from Lufthansa’s private creditors, the immediate suspension of dividend payments, and a substantial contribution from the Board of Directors and Administration, including exemption from bonus payments. He also warned that the operating business must remain in the hands of the company’s management without state influence.

Advisory services to the Supervisory Board.

Lufthansa’s Supervisory Board wanted to discuss the company’s crisis caused by the crown pandemic on Monday. In case of agreement, the Board of Directors should present it to the Supervisory Board. At Tuesday’s Annual General Meeting, Lufthansa’s Executive Board wants to answer shareholder questions about its crisis strategy.

No resistance is expected from Brussels. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said on Monday that government aid to competitor Air France was necessary and proportionate and that it complied with EU guidelines for the elimination of “a significant disruption in French economic life”.

France’s aid consists of state guarantees of € 4 billion in bank loans and a loan of € 3 billion coming directly from the French government. In return, Air France must meet certain profitability targets and reduce CO2 emissions: Vestager expressly praised this regulation.

The airline is part of the Franco-Dutch group Air-France-KLM, in which the French state and the Dutch state each hold 14 percent. For their part, the Netherlands wants to support KLM with 2 to 4 billion euros due to the crown crisis.

In Norway, the owners of the Norwegian low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle voted on Monday for a rescue plan that is a prerequisite for more government aid. Norwegian can receive SEK 2.7 billion (€ 241 million) in state aid, in addition to the SEK 300 million already earmarked for the airline.