On June 20, the first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner painted with Austrian Airlines livery landed at Vienna Airport at 17:48. A water arch greeted the arrival of the aircraft upon arrival in the Austrian capital.
Austrian will begin retiring its aging Boeing 767s and 787s and will upgrade its long-haul fleet with eleven Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The airline has already taken delivery of the first two aircraft, which previously belonged to Bamboo Airways, and five will be transferred from Lufthansa and incorporated into the Austrian airline’s fleet.
At the IATA Annual General Meeting in Dubai, Austrian’s CEO detailed the possibility of acquiring an additional Dreamliner, increasing the fleet to twelve.
The 787s will be operating some intra-European flights to Berlin, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt for crew familiarization. For this summer season, 787s will be flying from Vienna to New York JFK and Chicago O’Hare, and in the winter they are scheduled to fly to Newark and Washington-Dulles.
Austrian Airlines’ first Boeing 787s is configured with 294 seats in three classes: 26 Business Class, 21 Premium Economy and 247 Economy. The airline expects to complete the long-haul fleet modernization plan by 2028.
