Austrian Airlines plans to replace its Embraer E195 jets
Austrian Airlines has confirmed that it is considering replacing its fleet of 17 Embraer E195 regional jets with newer-generation aircraft. The information was disclosed to Aviation Week during an event held in Vienna on April 25.
“We are considering replacing our Embraer fleet,” a spokesperson said. The process remains open and that no specific aircraft type or timeline has been defined yet. “Everything will be checked; there are considerations for all aircraft types,” she said.
Despite this, it is understood that the aircraft in question would be the Airbus A220 and the Embraer E2, the new generation of E-Jets.
Austrian’s E195s were originally operated by Lufthansa CityLine and were manufactured between 2009 and 2012. The jets were transferred to Austrian between 2015 and 2017 as part of a fleet renewal program that replaced aging Fokker 70s and 100s.
At the time, Austrian had been considered as the launch operator for the A220 within the Lufthansa Group, but the aircraft ended up being allocated to Swiss, while Austrian received the E-Jets.
In addition to its regional jets, Austrian Airlines will also need to renew part of its Airbus narrow-body fleet in the coming years. The current short-haul lineup includes 29 A320s, five A320neos, and six A321s, some of which are over 25 years old—such as a 1995 A321 and a 1998 A320.
This short-haul renewal plan comes as Austrian is also refreshing its long-haul fleet, retiring its Boeing 767-300ERs and 777-200ERs in favor of a new lineup of 11 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
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