Austrian Airlines phases out last 737

Austrian Airlines Group has phased out its final Boeing 737-800 as part of its restructuring process to eliminate the brand Lauda Air. The Lufthansa subsidiary has operated several 737 variants for 28 years. All were ordered by Lauda Air, which was integrated into Austrian Airlines in 2001.

CEO Jaan Albrecht told ATW in Vienna, “Now we have a medium-haul fleet of 29 Airbus A320 family aircraft, which will operate a bit more than 10 hours per day. Within several months, Lufthansa will also phase out its remaining 737-300/500 fleet.”

Austrian is undergoing a strict restructuring program, which includes a fleet reduction. “We expect to save €17 million ($21.8 million) annually, thanks to the phase-out of the 737,” Albrecht said. The two 737-600s, two -700s and seven -800s have flown a total of 300,000 hours for Austrian. “We transferred 120 pilots from the 737 to the A320 fleet,” he said.

The next step will be to replace nine Fokker 70s and 14 Fokker 100s within three to four years. The Lufthansa Group will decide on a replacement aircraft, which includes regional aircraft orders.

Albrecht said the type decision could include the Bombardier CSeries Regional Jet, which Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines ordered in 2011.

“It is important to continue our restructuring program to produce sustainable earnings again—not only to replace the regional fleet, but also to be able to add an additional Boeing 777 next year,” he said. The 777 should operate on existing routes from Vienna to replace the 767-300ERs.

“Compared to the 767, the 777 brings 20% to 25% of additional capacity on a route, which could be used for new routes such as North America or Asia,” he said.

Austrian’s current long-haul fleet includes four 777-200ERs and six 767-300ERs. The 767s will remain in the fleet for the next seven to eight years. The 767 replacement is planned for 2019/2020, Albrecht said.

Austrian also operates 12 Bombardier Dash-8 Q400s.

(Kurt Hoffmann - ATW News)