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Austrian Airlines' oldest Embraer E195LR (OE-LWA) manufactured in 2009 is pictured at Vienna Airport in front of an Airbus A321 rolled out in 1998.
VIENNA—Austrian Airlines is looking at replacing its 17-aircraft strong Embraer E195LR regional fleet with new-generation aircraft.
“We are considering replacing our Embraer fleet,” an Austrian Airlines spokeswoman told Aviation Week in Vienna on April 25. “This process is completely open to results.”
When asked which kind of aircraft type could play a role in the future, the spokeswoman said that the Lufthansa subsidiary is assessing various options. “Everything will be checked; there are considerations for all aircraft types,” she said.
“There is no decision yet for an aircraft type, nor a concrete time frame,” the spokeswoman added.
According to data from CAPA, Austrian operates a fleet of former Lufthansa Cityline GE CF34-powered E195LRs which were manufactured between 2009 and 2012.
As part of a fleet modernization process, Lufthansa transferred these 17 E-Jets to Austrian Airlines between 2015 and 2017 to replace aging Fokker F70/100s.
“Ironically, in the past Austrian Airlines actually has been selected by the Lufthansa Group to be the launch operator of the Airbus A220 fleet instead Swiss,” an Austrian Airlines source tells Aviation Week. “However, it was decided to give Swiss the A220s and former Lufthansa City Airlines E195LRs to Austrian.”
Austrian, which is currently undergoing a long-haul fleet refresh as it phases out Boeing 767-300ERs and 777-200ERs and replaces them with 11 787-9s, also needs to replace some of its oldest A320 family aircraft. Its Airbus fleet comprises 29 A320s, five A320neos and six A321s.
Some of the aircraft, like an A321 built in 1995 and an A320 built in 1998, have to be replaced in the near future. “By 2035 we must replace a substantial number of short-haul aircraft,” Austrian Airlines CEO Annette Mann told Aviation Week in a recent interview.
However, before the Lufthansa Group allocates new aircraft to its member airlines, the carriers have to demonstrate how the group will get a return on investment. “We have to be able to afford them and know that we can handle it financially,” Mann added.
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