Austrian Airlines makes its first A320neo flight

Austrian Airlines has made its first commercial flight with its new Austrian A320neo aircraft.

The first flight was from Vienna to London Heathrow on 19 October 2022.

The new A320neo is the first of four for Austrian. The airline expects the second A320neo in October 2022. It plans to integrate all four into its existing fleet by spring 2023.

Austrian will operate the A320neos, with 180 seats, primarily on short- and medium-haul routes with the first commercial flight with passengers planned for mid-October 2022.

The airline only received its first A320neo in its painted condition the day before and celebrated it with a “Servus A320neo” event in its hangar at Vienna Airport.

Austrian Airlines first A320neo — **Austrian’s first A320neo was painted in Vienna [Image: Austrian Airlines]**

It actually received the A320neo a few weeks ago without the Austrian branding as it was originally going to Lufthansa. It then went to Austrian Technik for cabin refurbishment and painting.

Austrian Airlines CEO Annette Mann:

“The Austrian Team has bravely navigated the crisis over the past two and a half years and put the company back on track. The restructuring has been completed and the Austrian Team is “fit to fly” again. This summer, we successfully demonstrated our performance level. This was the basis for us to add factory-new aircraft to our fleet for the first time in more than 16 years and thus take an important growth step for our company and the Vienna hub.”

Benefits of the A320neo

Passengers, the airline and the environment benefit from the A320neo compared with earlier aircraft.

Passenger experience

The new aircraft will significantly enhance travel comfort on short and medium-haul routes.

Austrian’s A320neo features the Airspace Cabin and slimmer side panels, passengers will be offered more personal space, especially in the shoulder area. Compared with the previous design, the new cabin concept also features up to 60 percent more capacity for hand baggage.

Another highlight on board is a new adjustable lighting system that is geared to passengers’ biorhythms depending on the phase of flight and time of day. It illuminates the cabin and washrooms in either warm red or cool blue tones.

Benefits for the airline

Modern engine technology and improved aerodynamics make the aircraft more fuel-efficient, quieter and cheaper to operate.

Thanks to innovative Pratt & Whitney engine technology and improved aerodynamics, the fuel consumption of the Airbus A320neo is up to 20 percent lower than of comparable older-generation aircraft.

Benefits for the environment

By adding the modern and efficient short- and medium-haul aircraft, Austrian Airlines underlines its commitment to resource-saving aviation.

Depending on the route, the operation of an Airbus A320neo can save up to 3,700 tons of CO2 per year compared to the respective predecessor.

In addition, a Neo taking off has a noise footprint that is around 50 percent smaller than comparable aircraft types.

The new aircraft thus make an important contribution to Austrian Airlines’ environmental efficiency, increase profitability and at the same time represent an important long-term investment in the Vienna hub.

Austrian Airlines COO Francesco Sciortino:

“Besides the use of sustainable aviation fuels, modern and fuel efficient aircraft are the biggest lever in achieving our ambitious climate targets. By 2030, we want to halve our net-CO2-emissions and by 2050, we want to be CO2-neutral both on the ground and on board.”

About Austrian Airlines

Austrian Airlines is Austria’s largest carrier. Based in Vienna, it is part of the Lufthansa Group.

Routes: Austrian operates a global route network of approximately 130 destinations, being particularly strong in Central and Eastern Europe with 35 destinations.

Fleet: Austrian Airlines currently operates a fleet of over 60 aircraft.