Five-star hotel opens as industry braces for more competition

Categories
Business

Vienna has another luxury hotel as the Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom started operating this morning (Tues).French architect Jean Nouvel created the design of the five-star resort located on the Donaukanal (Danube Canal) in Vienna-Leopoldstadt.The 18-storey building, which features 182 rooms costing between 250 and 3,000 Euros per night, also includes a carpet dealer and an art […]

Support for Turkish EU bid wanes

Categories
Politics

The number of Austrians opposing Turkey’s accession to the European Union (EU) is on the rise.Researchers Karmasin questioned around 500 Austrians for magazine profil to find that 61 per cent are against such a move. Fifty-nine per cent said the same in May 2009.Eighteen per cent of Austrians (2009: 13 per cent) spoke out in […]

Graz grows as Vienna comes third

Categories
General News

The population of Graz has soared by more than 13 per cent during the past nine years, outdoing all of Austria’s other provincial capitals.Statistik Austria and the Federation of Austrian Cities (Städtebund) announced yesterday (Thurs) 257,000 people were currently living in the provincial capital of Styria, up by 13.7 per cent compared to 2001.The authorities […]

Austrian embassy in Paris ‘a pigsty’

Categories
Politics

People’s Party (ÖVP) Environment Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich has labelled the Austrian embassy in Paris a “pigsty”, according to reports.The federal minister was due to catch a connection flight in the French capital yesterday (Tues) to attend the United Nations’ (UN) 2010 Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico.The departure of the Air France jet the minister […]

Lenzing turnover skyrockets

Categories
Business

Cellulose fibre maker Lenzing AG raked in more than one billion Euros in the first nine months of this year.The company said today (Tues) that its turnover soared from 885 million Euros in the first three quarters of 2009 to 1.29 billion Euros in the same time period of this year.The firm, which is based […]

Plaut opens Moscow office

Categories
Business

Austrian consulting group Plaut AG has opened an office in Moscow.The company, which has its headquarters in Vienna, said today (Mon) that the office in the Russian capital will be its fifth in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).Plaut is quoted on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB). It achieved a turnover of 6.4 million Euros and […]

Lufthansa wants AUA to be back in the black next year

Categories
Business

Lufthansa has said it expects its subsidiary Austrian Airlines (AUA) to be in the black in 2011.The German aviation giant acquired a major interest in the Vienna-based company last year. AUA has carried out a strict cost-cutting programme during the past few months. It said the plan was to reduce its overall staff number of […]

Verbund earnings tumble

Categories
Business

Verbund AG, Austria’s leading electricity provider, suffered a significant decline in earnings in the first nine months of this year.The company, which was founded in 1947, announced today (Thurs) that earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) dropped by 22.1 per cent year on year to 625.6 million Euros in the first three quarters of 2010. […]

Police on high alert as poker tournament starts

Categories
Sports

Police in Vienna have set up security levels similar to those for a state visit, as an international poker tournament begins in the city.Poker stars from all over the world are competing in the six-day European Poker Tour (EPT) at the Kursalon Hübner palace in the capital which starts today (Tues).Vienna police’s special WEGA unit […]

Halloween spending set to soar

Categories
Business

Almost three in 10 residents of Vienna plan to buy sweets or decorations to celebrate Halloween this year, according to a survey.The city’s Economy Chamber (WKW) found that 29 per cent of people living in Vienna will spend money ahead of the 31 October event which has a long tradition in America. Only 22 per […]