Airbus Updates No.4334

 

Lufthansa to exit Airbus A330 and A340 operations by 2028

Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) has announced that as a part of its new turnaround programme it will retire all remaining A330-200s, A340-300s, A340-600s, and B747-400s by 2028 to reduce the costly complexity of its widebody fleet.

The ch-aviation fleets module shows the airline currently operates seventeen A340-300s, seventeen A340-600s, and eight B747-400s. It owns all of these aircraft. It also operates nine A330-300s, and while it no longer operates any A330-200s, having retired all five as of 2006, its leisure-focused Discover Airlines (4Y, Frankfurt International) subsidiary operates three.

Lufthansa did not respond to ch-aviation's request for confirmation that the announced plan pertains to the Discover-operated A330-200s.

Lufthansa's quadjet fleet also comprises eight A380-800s (of which five are currently active) and nineteen B747-8s.

Lufthansa Group conceded in its quarterly earnings release that it was becoming "increasingly challenging" for its mainline to hope to break even in 2024. The holding posted a EUR212 million euro (USD229 million) operating loss for the first half of 2024, while Lufthansa itself recorded a EUR442 million (USD478 million) operating loss.

The holding blamed late aircraft deliveries as one of the causes of its current headaches. On a group level, it took 41 fewer B787-9s and B777-9s between 2019 and now than it had planned. It compensated for the delays by extending the service lives of twenty-three A340-300s and B747-400s. This only partially offset the delays, with 18 aircraft still missing, while at the same time there were rising fuel and operating costs. The changes also increase "irregularity costs" and lower crew productivity. As a result, Lufthansa Group estimates the cost of delayed widebody deliveries to be in triple-digit millions of euros.

Lufthansa has twenty-one B777-9s, seven B777-8Fs, and thirty-four B787-9s remaining on orders from Boeing.

The holding identified a host of other issues affecting its mainline carrier, such as "negative market development in the key Asia-Pacific traffic region, inefficiencies in its Lufthansa and Lufthansa CityLine flight operations", and "the disproportionately high increase in location cost in Germany and new collective labour agreements".

The newly launched turnaround programme, which aims to make Lufthansa "fit for the future" and "the Group's flagship again", will also tighten the focus on its premium product, more seasonal network, an increase in Lufthansa City Airlines and Discover operations, and other improvements. Lufthansa Group noted that its other carriers "remain on course in line with market developments". Nonetheless, Swiss was the only one to post an operating profit in the first half of the year. Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings all posted small operating losses not exceeding EUR100 million (USD108 million).

Airbus Updates No.3801

 

Austrian Airlines welcomes 1st Airbus A320neo

On 13 September, Austrian Airlines welcomed its first Airbus A320neo. The aircraft, OE-LZN (10904), arrived at Vienna from Toulouse-Blagnac. It's currently all-white and will get a cabin refit and a fresh coat of paint before deployment into commercial service, which is expected in October 2022. The first destinations where you can spot the aircraft, apart from Vienna, will be Berlin and London-Heathrow.

The aircraft is coming from the Lufthansa Group's orderbook for the A320neo-family and will be joined by three more, one of which also due in this year. Austrian will use the new A320neos to replace older Airbuses in the fleet, which today consists of 29 A320s and six A321s. The airline also operates three Boeing B767-300ERs, six B777-200ERs and seventeen Embraer ERJ195s.

Airbus Updates No.3778

 

Austrian Airlines to add A320neo from mid-3Q22

Austrian Airlines Airbus A320-200© Austrian Airlines

17.02.2022 - 15:14 UTC

Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna) will induct its first new generation narrowbody jets later this summer as part of its fleet renewal plan.

In a statement, the Lufthansa Group subsidiary said it would add four A320-200Ns between August 2022 and Spring 2023 to replace an unspecified number of outgoing, older A320-200s. The incoming A320neo will be deployed on continental European flights initially to London Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Frankfurt Int'l.

When contacted by ch-aviation, Austrian declined to add any further comment.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Austrian has a fleet of twenty-nine A320ceo of which 19 are currently active alongside three A321-200s and three A321-100s. It ended A319-100s operations on January 1. The A320s are around 17 years of age on average and are all owned by the airline with the exception of five which are leased from Aviation Capital Group (four) and GECAS (one).

Airbus Updates No.3725

 

Austrian Airlines ends A319 operations

Austrian Airlines Airbus A319-100© Austrian Airlines Group / Huber

06.01.2022 - 13:35 UTC

Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna) ended A319-100 operations on January 1, 2022, with all seven of the type now set to be sold to sister carrier Lufthansa CityLine (CL, Munich).

OE-LDE (msn 2494) was the last A319 to fly for Austrian Airlines. On January 1, it from Tirana to Vienna and has remained parked at the Austrian gateway since then. The penultimate unit, OE-LDD (msn 2416), was phased out at the end of November 2021 and has been undergoing pre-redelivery maintenance at Bratislava airport since December 21, 2021. The remaining five A319s were retired during the course of 2021 and have already been registered by Lufthansa CityLine, although they have yet to enter into service.

Austrian said it would retire the A319s by 2022 in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as it sought means to reduce fleet expenses. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that other A320ceo Family aircraft continue to form the backbone of Austrian Airlines' fleet including twenty-nine A320-200s, three A321-100s, and three A321-200s. Its regional fleet comprises seventeen E190s, while on the widebody front, Austrian operates three B767-300(ER)s and six B777-200(ER)s. The airline has yet to confirm that it will take any new-generation aircraft from the pool ordered by parent Lufthansa Group or from other sources.

For its part, Lufthansa CityLine operates eleven A319-100s, including five already acquired from Austrian Airlines and another six transferred from Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt Int'l). The airline deploys the smallest A320 Family jets on behalf of its parent company (which operates a further twenty-three A319s under its own AOC).

Airbus Updates No.2623

Austrian Airlines to retire A319s by 2022

Austrian Airlines Airbus A319-100 © Austrian Airlines Group / Huber

22.04.2020 - 23:37 UTC

Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna) has announced that as a part of its post-COVID business strategy, it will retire all seven A319-100s and three of six B767-300(ER)s by 2022, in addition to all fourteen Dash 8-400s which were already slated for phase-out.

"We got into this crisis through no fault of our own. Now it is our responsibility to make Austrian Airlines fit for the future after Corona. We want to retain our long-haul hub, even if we have no other choice for the time being but to adapt to the somewhat smaller market. Being fit for the future also means that we must be in a position to finance our aircraft, charges, wages and investments, and of course also to repay any charges and loans from Corona grounding," Chief Executive Alexis von Hoensbroech said.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, the A319s are 15.4 years old on average and are owned by Austrian Airlines.

The three Boeing widebodies slated for retirement are the three oldest units, OE-LAT (msn 25273), OE-LAW (msn 26417), and OE-LAX (msn 27095). The other three aircraft of the type will remain in the Austrian carrier's fleet. The sub-fleet of six B767s is 24.2 years old on average.

Following the adjustment, Austrian Airlines hopes to operate around 60 aircraft in 2022. Currently, its fleet numbers 84 aircraft: 24 slated for retirement (fourteen Dash 8-400s, seven A319s, and three B767-300(ER)s) and 60 due to stay (twenty-nine A320-200s, three A321-100s, three -200s, three B767-300(ER)s, six B777-200(ER)s, and seventeen E195LRs).

While Austrian Airlines did not state so explicitly, the numbers it provided imply that it will no longer be adding any second-hand A320-200s, as it had planned to previously.

The airline also hopes to reduce the average age of its fleet from the current 15.4 years to 14.6 years following the retirement of its oldest aircraft.

Airbus Updates No.2051

Austrian Airlines to add A320s, accelerate Q400 phase-out

Austrian Airlines Airbus A319-100 © Austrian Airlines Group / Huber

17.01.2019 - 21:18 UTC

Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna) has announced its new multi-year strategy, #DriveTo25, which will see growth in its fleet of narrowbody jets at the expense of its Dash 8-400 turboprops whose phase-out will now be accelerated.

"We will invest more than EUR200 million euros (USD228 million) in the expansion of our continental fleet and thus be able to significantly strengthen our position in Vienna," newly appointed chief executive Alexis von Hoensbroech said in a statement.

The carrier plans to grow its fleet of narrowbody jets from the current 36 to 46 within the next year. At present, the Austrian flag carrier operates seven A319-100s, twenty-three A320-200s, three A321-100s, and three A321-200s, the ch-aviation fleets module shows. At the same time, all eighteen Bombardier turboprops will be retired by 2021 at the latest.

"The routes deploying Dash turboprops will be served by Embraer (EMB, São José dos Campos) aircraft in the future, and Airbus planes will be operated on routes currently served by the Embraer," the airline said.

Austrian Airlines does not currently have any fixed plans regarding the replacement of six B767-300(ER)s and six B777-300(ER)s, although it said that the modernisation of the widebody fleet will be a "subsequent step".

Austrian Airlines owns the majority of its aircraft, including all Q400s and all narrowbodies except for seven A320-200s that are dry-leased. It also operates seventeen E195LRs.

The carrier will also restructure its network. All flights currently operated by Austrian from regional airports to Germany will be eventually handed over to Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt Int'l) and Eurowings (EW, Düsseldorf Int'l). The Austrian carrier will instead focus on its operations from Vienna, where it faces growing low-cost competition from LaudaMotion, Anisec Luftfahrt, and Wizz Air.

"It is much easier for Lufthansa to fly from its (centralized) flight hub in Frankfurt Int'l than vice versa. We are already holding talks with our sister companies in the Lufthansa Group," it added.

According to the ch-aviation capacity module, Austrian's decentralised network currently encompasses operations from Innsbruck, Salzburg, and Graz to Frankfurt; from Graz and Linz to Düsseldorf Int'l, and from Graz to Stuttgart Echterdingen.

Consequently, the carrier will close its crew bases at all regional airports, including Altenrhein in Switzerland and Klagenfurt in Austria. Around 200 staff currently stationed at these airports will be offered jobs in Vienna. The domestic network will, for now, not be affected by the changes.

Austrian also confirmed that it will end all operations on behalf of Swiss (LX, Zurich) at the end of the Winter 2018/19 season. It currently wet-leases four Dash 8-400s to the fellow group member.

Airbus Updates No.746

AUSTRIAN AIRLINES LEASES SEVEN A320 AIRCRAFT

    

Austrian Airlines (OS) has signed a letter of intent to lease five of seven planned 168-seat Airbus A320s scheduled for delivery through early 2013. Two A320s are in Vienna and will undergo transit checks to begin operations in mid-October. OS operates 22 A320 family aircraft.
OS will phase out its last seven Boeing 737-800s by March 2013. Four 737s are already sold and 31 former 737 pilots are undergoing type-rating for the A320 family fleet.