Austrian Airlines is simplifying its fleet, with the airline announcing the exit of the first of its Embraer E195 fleet.
The first Embraer E195 has been transferred from Austrian Airlines to sister Lufthansa Group airline Air Dolomiti. OE-LWM was the first aircraft to be transferred, being reregistered as I-ENJA.
Its transfer marks the start of the short- and medium-haul fleet transformation.
The first step in this process is the decommissioning of the 17 Embraer aircraft in the Austrian Airlines fleet. A total of 13 of these 17 aircraft will go to Air Dolomiti. The remaining four aircraft will be sold externally. The sales process will start at the beginning of 2026.
The first Embraer 195 took off on its maiden flight for Austrian Airlines in January 2016. The 17 Embraer aircraft, each with a capacity of 120 passenger seats, joined the red-white-red airline at that time as replacements for the Fokker fleet. The “Whisky Mike” that was retired leaves the Austrian fleet after 30,393 operating hours – 21,417 of which were for Austrian – and more than nine years of service with the Austrian fleet. It began scheduled service with Austrian Airlines on April 18, 2016, with a flight from Vienna to Stuttgart, and was the fourth Embraer to be added to the fleet at that time.
In Quotes
COO Stefan-Kenan Scheib of Austrian Airlines said:
“We are saying goodbye to the first of 17 Embraer aircraft, which has served us well and provided important services for many years. We are delighted that a large part of the Embraer fleet will now continue to fly with Austrian’s sister company Air Dolomiti. I would like to thank everyone in the Austrian team who has made the start of the fleet rollover for Austrian Airlines’ short- and medium-haul fleet so quick, safe, and straightforward.”
Simplification and renewal
Austrian Airlines will receive six additional brand-new Airbus A320neo aircraft, each with 180 seats, to replace the E195 fleet. The first of these six aircraft is expected in summer 2026. This will bring the Austrian home carrier’s Airbus fleet to 46 aircraft, with the Embraer fleet targeted to for removal by the end of 2028.
The next E195 will exit the Austrian fleet in February 2026.
The long-haul fleet is also being renewed. In mid-2024, the first two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners were added to the Austrian Airlines fleet. As things stand at present, ten more of these aircraft will be added by the end of 2028. This will modernise the current long-haul fleet – which also consists of seven Boeing 777s and three Boeing 767s – and expand it to 12 aircraft.
In turn, Austrian Airlines is becoming a much simpler fleet, as the five current fleets – Embraer, Airbus, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787-9- will become two, made up of the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
And yes, simplification moves like this save money in the long run, with simplified training and rating requirements, as well as fleet management.
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