Austrian Airlines to hire 100 airberlin pilots

Austrian Airlines is looking for about 100 new pilots and is making a special offer to the insolvent airberlin pilots to work at the Lufthansa subsidiary’s hub in Vienna.

The offer targets pilots who have been actively employed with airberlin over the last six months and have undergone revalidation of their licenses within the last 12 months.

A special fast-track selection is designed to accelerate the relocation of pilots. Applicants will have to commit to work for Austrian for at least three years.

In addition to the so-called ready-entry pilots who have completed training, Austrian is also looking for aspiring pilots without flying experience (ab initios).

Star Alliance member Austrian Airlines has 6,700 employees, including 1,140 pilots. The fleet comprises 85 aircraft, including 11 Boeing 767/777s, as well as 74 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s, Embraer E195s and Airbus 320-familiy aircraft. Next year the airline plans to integrate a further 777 in its fleet.

Airberlin filed for bankruptcy in August after its major shareholder Etihad Airways—which became the German carrier’s largest shareholder in 2012 when it bought a 29.2% stake—withdrew financial guarantees.

In a deal announced Oct. 12, Lufthansa expects to take over 81 airberlin aircraft, employ 3,000 people and invest a total of €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) or €500,000 per job saved.