VIENNA—Lufthansa Group subsidiary Austrian Airlines has announced that transatlantic service from Vienna Airport to Boston Logan International will begin in July.
Austrian will deploy a 211-seater Boeing 767-300ER on the route, which will be served five times a week with a sixth frequency every other week.
“In July we will offer up to 45 weekly flights to seven destinations including Boston, Newark, New York JFK, Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles and Montreal," an Austrian Airlines spokesperson told Aviation Daily.
Austrian currently has a fleet of three Boeing 767-300ERs and six 777ERs. The Star Alliance member announced in April 2023 that it would replace its aging long-haul fleet with 10 787-9s coming from Lufthansa Group.
When asked if the launch of Boston is connected to the carrier's introduction of the Boeing 787-9, the spokesperson said 2024 marked a turning point for Austrian as the fleet modernization permitted expansion. Delivery of the first 787-9 is expected in either the spring or summer. All 10 are due by 2028.
Five 787s will be transferred from Lufthansa to Austrian. These have been operating with Lufthansa since 2022 based at Frankfurt. The other five aircraft will come from Lufthansa’s existing 787 backlog with Boeing.
Aviation Daily understands that Lufthansa is also scouring the global aircraft market for secondhand 787s as it looks to secure modern widebodies to add capacity while retiring older aircraft at its group airlines.
The Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database shows Lufthansa currently has five 787-9s in operation and 29 more on order.
Austrian was planning Vienna-Boston in 2019 for a 2020 launch before the pandemic scuppered those plans.
“The inclusion of the Boston destination has long been a goal of Austrian Airlines, which is now made possible by various parameters," the spokesperson said.
There will be a codeshare with United Airlines on the Boston route. "Like all Lufthansa Group airlines, Austrian Airlines is part of the A++ joint venture," the spokesperson added.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby previously told Aviation Daily on the sidelines of the last IATA AGM in June 2023 that while his carrier was launching several seasonal routes to Europe, there was no intention to operate flights to Vienna owing to the Austrian codeshare.
Meanwhile, Austrian's hub Vienna Airport, one of Lufthansa Group's five European hubs, has overtaken Zurich in terms of passenger numbers. In 2023 Vienna handled 29.5 million passengers while Zurich totaled 29 million.
“On average, more than 50% of our passengers from North America, whether arriving or departing, used the hub in Vienna as a transfer point," the Austrian spokesperson added.
Summer 2024 will see Austrian operate to more than 125 destinations.
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