Austrian Airlines to test “Dubai Deal” – a “lean” experiance to Dubai

It seems that Austrian Airlines is trying new ways to deploy its fleet, with it planning to send an Airbus A320neo to Dubai, whilst offering discounted seating.

So what’s the catch? Let’s dive in.

Between December 2025 through March 2026, Austrian Airlines will test a new product: the “Dubai Deal.” The service will operate five times a week with the A320neo fleet, starting at €314 return

The airline is deploying this aircraft eastwards due to the spare capacity within the airline’s medium-haul schedule.

Planned operations are as follows:

OS89 DEPART VIE 18:55 ARRIVE DXB 03:40+1 Operates Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays
OS90 DEPART DXB 06:05 ARRIVE VIE 09:25 Operates Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays
OS89 operates Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from VIE
OS90 Operates Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays from DXB
Operates December 2025 through March 2026 
Booked Equipment: Airbus A320neo

So work me through the “Lean” Concept…

Instead of the usual wide-body aircraft, Austrian Airlines will deploy a single-aisle Airbus A320neo, which is normally used on the short-to-medium haul routes.

The aircraft will offer no in-flight entertainment, so you will need to bring your own entertainment. Wi-Fi could be restricted, given that the aircraft is fitted with the European Aviation Network offering, so once you drop out of coverage, you’ll lose both internet and messaging options.

The airline will offer its medium-haul catering product – Austrian Melangerie.

Pricing

There will be three main fare classes for this offering, namely:

• Economy Light from €314 (including 8kg hand luggage)
• Economy Classic from €374 (including 23kg checked baggage)
• European Business Class from €699 (incl. DO & CO catering, two pieces of hand luggage, two checked bags, and a free middle seat)

In Quotes

Austrian Airlines CEO Annette Mann said.

“An aircraft in the air is always better than one on the ground – and at the same time, we want to offer our guests a compelling deal. We understand this route comes with strong and very comfortable competition. But by deploying aircraft that would otherwise be idle during winter, we can afford to take a bold step, try something new, and challenge the market,” 

“With our “Dubai Deal” we want to make Dubai appealing for price-conscious travelers – whether for shopping, sightseeing, or just soaking up the sun. I’m certain that frequent flyers and mileage collectors will also seize this opportunity at year-end. This experiment demonstrates that with courage and a clear focus on essentials, we can explore new ways forward,”

I’m not against it.

Given it’s a five-hour or so hop between Vienna and Dubai, most of us have sat in worse for longer distances (be it A321neo/LR/XLRss, Boeing 737-8s or Boeing 757s over the Atlantic). Whilst a lack of IFE and Wi-Fi will be annoying, it can be mitigated (pre-loading videos is a thing with Paramount+, Disney+, Netflix, etc).

I would say there’s the window too, but it will be dark for a lot of those flights until you’re nearing Vienna on the return leg.

As we’re seeing the A321neo filling in for the long and thin missions, it makes sense to utilise both the aircraft and the slots and see if there’s revenue to be had.

Will it be as comfortable as a long-haul configured aircraft? Depends. Whilst the seat cushion might be numbing over that flight period, you will have an 18″ seat width with at least 30″ seat pitch. That’s better than some 787s and densely configured A330s and on par with a mid-tier configured A330.

Whilst some might lament the lack of proper business seats (see what Eurowings is doing), providing the price is right on the dates you book, this could be tempting.

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