Austrian Airlines has just formally revealed plans to refresh its long haul fleet. I think this is more or less what many of us were expecting, but it’s nice to have it confirmed.
In this post:
Austrian replacing 767s & 777s with 787s
Austrian’s long haul fleet currently consists of nine aircraft, including three Boeing 767-300ERs and six Boeing 777-200ERs. In order to modernize its fleet, Austrian will be taking delivery of 10 Boeing 787-9s. The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner will join Austrian’s fleet in 2024, and the fleet refresh should be complete by 2028, at which point all previous generation long haul aircraft will be retired.
Austrian’s 767s are an average of over 23 years old, while Austrian’s 777s are an average of over 22 years old, so it’s good that there are firm plans to replace these aircraft, and to even grow the long haul fleet by one aircraft.
For context on this aircraft acquisition, Lufthansa Group (the parent company of Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, and Brussels) has ordered dozens of Boeing 787-9s, Airbus A350-900s, and Airbus A350-1000s. The company didn’t initially reveal exact which planes would go to which airlines, though as time has gone on, we’ve learned more and more about these plans.
So far, here’s what we know about how these plane orders will be allocated:
- All Airbus A350-1000s will be operated by Lufthansa, and will be flown out of Munich with first class
- At least five Airbus A350-900s will be operated by SWISS, replacing Airbus A340-300s
- Lufthansa will operate the majority of Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 787-9s, though the exact number remains to be seen
- Now we know that Austrian will get 10 Boeing 787-9s
What will Austrian’s 787 onboard product be like?
It’s exciting to see that Austrian will be refreshing its long haul fleet, as it’s also the Lufthansa Group airline with the best business class soft product. Austrian has exceptional inflight catering, with an onboard chef, an amazing coffee menu, and delicious food.
Another big question is what Austrian’s Boeing 787 onboard product will look like, especially in business class. As of now, the airline is simply stating that the Boeing 787s will feature an “innovative cabin concept” that “enhances comfort for guests.”
As we know, Lufthansa is rolling out a new business class product, which will be known as Allegris. This is launching in late 2023 on Boeing 787-9s, and in 2024 on Airbus A350-900s.
SWISS plans to introduce the same product on its Airbus A350-900s, except with SWISS branding, and the product will be known as SWISS Senses.
My assumption would be that Austrian will get the same business class product on newly delivered Boeing 787s. After all, that’s the most efficient approach, and for that matter it would finally mean that Lufthansa Group has some long haul product efficiency.
There’s only one potential catch. Lufthansa has acquired five Boeing 787-9s that were initially intended for Hainan Airlines, and these planes have a totally different onboard product, as Lufthansa didn’t customize it to its own experience.
It’s rumored that these could be the first Boeing 787s that are transfered to Austrian. If that’s the case, I’m curious if those jets just maintain the current interior, or what exactly Austrian does. It would be a bit strange if the airline had half of its Boeing 787s with one product, and the other half of its Boeing 787s with another product. But it also wouldn’t surprise me.
Bottom line
Austrian Airlines will be acquiring 10 Boeing 787s between 2024 and 2028, which will be used to refresh the carrier’s long haul fleet. At that point Austrian’s 767s and 777s will be fully retired. It’s nice to get official confirmation of Austrian’s fleet renewal plans.
Now the big question is what the interiors will be like on these planes, and in particular, if Austrian will get the five ex-Hainan Boeing 787s that Lufthansa is currently flying.
What do you make of Austrian’s long haul fleet renewal plans?
Lufthansa tries very hard to ensure Austrian is seen as the poor relation. They can’t even let them have a brand new fleet from scratch, if the do transfer over the “Hainan” aircraft!
About time. Biga is obviously just a disgruntled customer Ignore her.
One thing that I worry about is with Lufthansa standardizing their cabins across all their brands they will also try to standardize soft products, and that would almost certainly mean going down to Lufthansa's level rather than going up to Austrian's.
Disagree on a few points . Swiss has a better business class . Service on Austrian and catering is consistently bad . The coffee menu is for people who do not like coffee but think that a pumpkin latte is coffee . Refresh is well needed as well as getting rid of the eye burning uniforms and do@co as caterers . Lounges and schnapps selection is consistently good .
Uniform colors are rather special indeed - the same shade of red as found in the Austrian flag - yet surely not eye burning. Nice to see something different than the all too common dark blue.
And I've had excellent service and catering with Austrian most of the time, and never bad, whereas my partner had quite bad luck with Swiss a number of times.
I agree, Jerry. While the red is certainly... striking, it's entirely appropriate with the Austrian color palette you see everywhere there. As to BigG's comment about the coffee, I'm personally a big fan of high-quality beans brewed simply without "stuff" in it. Much more interested in single origins than Starbucks-style silly drinks. I get where BigG is coming from, but I found the coffee drinks on Austrian to be very much in line with Viennese...
I agree, Jerry. While the red is certainly... striking, it's entirely appropriate with the Austrian color palette you see everywhere there. As to BigG's comment about the coffee, I'm personally a big fan of high-quality beans brewed simply without "stuff" in it. Much more interested in single origins than Starbucks-style silly drinks. I get where BigG is coming from, but I found the coffee drinks on Austrian to be very much in line with Viennese coffee house culture and their drinks, which do tend to be built from espresso, milk, whipped cream, etc. It may not be my particular cup of tea (pun very much intended) but since these folks invented coffee house culture, I'll yield to their tastes and happily enjoy it on the flight.
This is exciting news!
Ben, any idea when they are coming back to Miami?
The LH group has a very good fleet sourcing and allocation strategy. The 787 is a great fit for OS.
Special place in my heart for Austrian’s business class. It was my first time flying in the front of the plane (domestic or international). It cost my fiancé and I $500 euros each to upgrade at the gate from Vienna to Chicago, which we paid because we didn’t want to repeat the miserable experience in economy we’d had on the way over. At the end of an 8+ hour flight, I didn’t want it to...
Special place in my heart for Austrian’s business class. It was my first time flying in the front of the plane (domestic or international). It cost my fiancé and I $500 euros each to upgrade at the gate from Vienna to Chicago, which we paid because we didn’t want to repeat the miserable experience in economy we’d had on the way over. At the end of an 8+ hour flight, I didn’t want it to end. And that’s when I started getting into the points and miles game…because I wanted to experience it again but couldn’t afford the ticket prices. If you’re traveling as a couple, it’s a truly wonderful experience. I recommend the seats in the middle of Row 1 - more room in the footwells. Doesn’t feel nearly as cramped as AA’s lie flat seats, and you’re close enough to each other to have a conversation and hold hands.
Fiance and me, not Fiance and I.
You wouldnt say "it cost I 500 Euros..."
you'd say "it cost me 500 Euros"
I is only the subject of the sentence, not the object.
In this case, you're the object. Not the subject. So the correct structure is "my fiance and me".
If you wanted to change the structure to have I, you'd say something like "My fiance and I paid..." Then I is appropriate and correct.
Shut up, Jason.
@Jason
You’re wrong actually. (My wife and) I bought the tickets. I was one of the people buying the tickets, hence I’m the subject and I use I.
A good trick is to remove the other parties to see if I or me is used in these occasions.
That bottle of champagne was sent to (my wife and) me. In this case me is used as I become the object of the verb.
Zach, I entirely agree! My wife and I just flew Austrian business last month. While the seat wasn't as premium as some others, it was a delightful experience. The food was surprisingly good - even the plating. The coffee service was fantastic. The wine was a delight and introduced us to how good the wine was in Vienna. Coincidentally, we were also in row 1 center, which was a nice placement with the bulkhead. The...
Zach, I entirely agree! My wife and I just flew Austrian business last month. While the seat wasn't as premium as some others, it was a delightful experience. The food was surprisingly good - even the plating. The coffee service was fantastic. The wine was a delight and introduced us to how good the wine was in Vienna. Coincidentally, we were also in row 1 center, which was a nice placement with the bulkhead. The armrest poked me a bit overnight (I was on the left side) and my seat felt a little too exposed to people going to the bathroom, but we really enjoyed it nonetheless. Similarly to you, it has convinced my wife that my silly little points hobby is entirely worth it!
According to this very reliable site, it seems like the 5 GE powered 787-9s currently at Lufthansa will transfer to Austrian. It also says the first aircraft scheduled for early 2024 will be a factory fresh one. Will the remaining 5 aircraft be GE powered? Will the ex-Hainan aircraft be reconfigured? I hope so.
https://sites.google.com/view/europeanairlinefleets/aua
Indeed it’s been said that Austrian will get the Hainan aircraft as soon as LH gets enough of it’s own ‘Allegris’ 787s to replace the current 787s.
It looks like that picture in the banner has a 787 in Swiss livery. Shouldn't that be a clue?
@ Scudder -- No, when the aircraft order was first placed several years ago, the 787 was presented in the livery of all three airlines, since it hadn't yet been decided which airline would get which planes.
Ah. Without a caption providing that contest I assumed the picture was related to this specific new information.
*context
This is great to hear. The 767s and 777s average 22 and 23 years in age respectively, though well maintained.