Austrian Airlines welcomed the company’s first Airbus A320neo at the “Servus A320neo” event held at the company’s hangar at Vienna Airport (VIE). The airline expects to take delivery of three more units by the first of 2023, increasing its fleet from 61 to 65 aircraft.
“The Austrian team has bravely weathered the crisis over the past two and a half years and got the company back on track. The restructuring is complete, and the Austrian team is ‘fit to fly’ again. This summer we successfully demonstrated our level of performance,” said Annette Mann, CEO of Austrian Airlines.
“This was the basis for adding factory-new aircraft to our fleet for the first time in more than 16 years and thus taking an important growth step for our company and the Vienna hub,” Mann added.
As part of the celebration, the new aircraft in the fleet registered under the registration number OE-LZN was christened “Donau-Auen”. Federal Minister Martin Kocher, Austrian Airlines board members Annette Mann, CEO, Michael Trestl, CCO and Francesco Sciortino as well as Austrian Airlines A320 co-pilot Timon-Niklas Grusetchi acted as godparents.
The idea of naming the new Airbus A320neo after Austria’s national parks was chosen by a total of 280 company employees.
A320neo ambassador for sustainable flights
The new aircraft makes an important contribution to Austrian Airlines’ environmental efficiency, representing a significant long-term investment in the Vienna hub (VIE). Depending on the route, operating an Airbus A320neo can save up to 3,700 tons of CO2 per year compared to the older A320 generation.
In addition, takeoff of the A320neo has a noise footprint that is around 50% smaller than with other comparable narrowbodies. This also benefits the company in paying less noise tax at airports such as London Heathrow (LHR).
“In addition to the use of sustainable aviation fuels, modern, fuel-efficient aircraft are the most important lever for achieving our ambitious climate goals,” said Austrian Airlines COO Francesco Sciortino.
An innovative cabin and first services
The A320neo will feature the innovative Airspace Cabin and will have a capacity of 180 passengers, plus passengers will have enhanced benefits such as more personal seating space, a 60% larger carry-on baggage capacity, an advanced lighting system, among other features.
The first service of the company’s new aircraft was Flight OS 461 between Vienna (VIE) and London – Heathrow (LHR), after which it will fly to other important destinations in the airline’s network such as Berlin (BER), Frankfurt (FRA) and Amsterdam (AMS).
Today our youngest fleet member "Donau-Auen" took off on its maiden flight OS461 from @flughafen_wien to @HeathrowAirport! 💂♀️🇬🇧
We can't wait to have you on board and make your journey even more comfortable with us! #LovingTheWorld #ServusA320neo 🤗✈️ pic.twitter.com/jY2T8vz3xE
— Austrian Airlines (@_austrian) October 19, 2022
See also: Austrian takes delivery of its first Airbus A320neo
