Where Did Austrian Airlines Target Its Boeing 767 Operations?

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Austrian Airlines’ widebody fleet is not large. It comprises all-Boeing aircraft: the B767-300ER and the B777-200ER. In contrast, its narrowbody fleet is all Airbus. Austrian now has four active 767s and three active 777s, although it has had six of each historically. We explore its B767s.

Looking deceptively young is OE-LAW, a 29-year-old B767-300ER. It is reportedly to leave Austrian’s fleet in September. Photo: Adam Moreira via Wikimedia.

Austrian Airlines’ four active B767-300ERs are all winglet-equipped (code: 76W). They’re operated in a 211-seat configuration with 26 seats in business, 18 in premium economy, and 167 in economy. All but one is owned by Austrian itself, ch-aviation.com shows, and they’re an average of 23.5 years old.

‘Alpha Echo left Newark on July 28th and arrived back in Vienna at 07:56 the following morning. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

Almost fully used from Austria

Across their lives, Austrian’s active 76Ws have been used almost exclusively from the country, with all ordered and initially operated by Lauda Air. This was the country’s former long-haul charter operator of the flag carrier.

At almost 29 years, OE-LAW is the oldest active 76W in Austrian’s fleet. It was delivered to Lauda Air in August 1992 and operated until February 2005. According to ch-aviation.com, ‘Alpha Whisky has nearly 136,000 flight hours across over 20,000 cycles. In March, Austrian retired its first 767, with data obtained from AeroTransport Data Bank (ATDB.aero) suggesting that ‘Alpha Whisky will be retired in September.

But it’s not out yet. OE-LAW has primarily operated to Washington Dulles in the past week, raising the question: where has the 767 been used historically from Vienna?

Austrian will use the 76W to six destinations between July and December. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

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Austrian B767 throwback

If the period between 2004 and 2021 is combined, Austrian Airlines has used the B767-300ER to 70 destinations from its Vienna hub, analyzing Cirium data indicates. These include many one-offs and limited-timed services, including a raft of leisure destinations across Europe. We also recently looked at SWISS’ A340 operations.

However, on a normal scheduled basis, just 20 destinations have had over 100 flights by the aircraft. These include Melbourne served via Singapore, operated until 2006. It also includes Mauritius, a route launched after Air Mauritius ceased it. Austrian served Mauritius between 2004 and 2007 and relaunched it in 2015.

Washington Dulles has been, and remains, Austrian’s number-one destination by the 767. This image shows OS94 returning to Vienna on July 28th. Image: RadarBox.com.

A small number of destinations

However, Austrian’s 767s are really all about a small number of destinations. As you’d expect, service to Star Alliance hubs has been crucial. Vienna to Washington Dulles, an important Star hub, was first operated by the 767 in 2007. (The 767 and 777 replaced the A330/A340.) Since then, it has had almost 8,000 round-trip services, making Dulles the carrier’s number-one 767 destination over the years:

  1. Washington Dulles: approximately 7,755 round-trip services by the 767
  2. Beijing: 6,823
  3. Toronto: 6,644
  4. Delhi: 6,351
  5. New York JFK: 6,051
  6. Dubai: 3,906
  7. Newark: 3,814
  8. Chicago O’Hare: 3,706
  9. Mumbai: 2,575
These routes had nearly nine in ten flights (86%) by the 767 in the 2004-2021 period. Image: GCMap.

Where are they flying this year?

Between this July and December, just six destinations are to see the 76W from Vienna. Obviously, none are anywhere near the world’s longest. Dulles is still the number-one by flights, as follows. Cairo is interesting. At the time of writing, the 1,469-mile route is scheduled to have just two 76W round-trip services departing Vienna on July 7th and July 17th.

  1. Washington Dulles
  2. Newark
  3. New York JFK
  4. Montreal
  5. Chicago O’Hare
  6. Cairo

On July 17th, OS865 to leave at Vienna 22:15 and arrive into the Egyptian capital at 01:30. Returning, OS866 is due to depart Cairo at 02:40 and arrive home at 06:15, enabling passengers to connect across multiple destinations, with those in Germany and the USA especially important.

Have you flown Austrian’s 767s? If so, what are your memories of them and where did you go? Let us know in the comments.



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