Austrian Airlines, which is to be taken over by Lufthansa, moved up its annual public meeting by a month after piling up losses equivalent to half its share capital.

"While drawing up the monthly reporting for January 2009, it has been established on the basis of the preliminary annual results for 2008 that the company will have incurred a cumulative total loss equivalent to half its issued share capital as of January 31, 2009," it said in a statement.

Austrian Airlines said it was under Austrian corporate law obliged to give notice of such a situation immediately.

"For this reason, the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of the company originally scheduled for 15 May 2009 has now been brought forward to 14 April 2009," the company said.