Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna) has dismissed reports in the Austrian press claiming the carrier was set to be restructured as a low-cost carrier under the mantle of the Eurowings budget brand.

A report carried in Austrian daily, Die Presse, last week claimed Austrian Airlines' personnel had expressed their concerns that given their airline's higher cost-base, Lufthansa Group may consider repositioning it as a budget operator in much the same way as it intends to do with its most recent acquisition, Brussels Airlines (SN, Brussels National).

As such, airline spokesman Peter Thier told the official Austria Press Agency (APA) in a statement that the report was groundless and inaccurate. He highlighted the fact that Lufthansa Group was investing "more than EUR100 million (USD103 million)" into enhancing Austrian's premium brand.

Thier noted that Austrian is an "established premium carrier" within the confines of the Lufthansa Group strategy alongside Swiss (LX, Zurich) and Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International). As such, its operations will complement those of Eurowings, which has already established an Austrian unit - Eurowings Europe (Austria) (E2, Vienna) - to cater to the European budget segment.