Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Science, Research and Economy Reinhold Mitterlehner christened the first of 17 Embraer jet aircraft of Austrian Airlines, giving it the name “Central Europe.” The aircraft bearing the myAustrian livery was transferred to Vienna on October 31, 2015. The name is to be considered as an expression of the close ties of the country and Austria’s flag carrier to the region. “The renewal of the Austrian Airlines fleet is a positive signal for the company and strengthens the entire business location. Austria’s role as a flight hub and business interface can be further expanded, which in turn ensures growth and secures jobs”, Mitterlehner said in his speech. Reverend Toni Faber and Superintendent Hansjörg Lein blessed the new jet. The Wiener Tschuschenkapelle band ensured a fitting atmosphere in the Austrian Airlines aircraft hangar.
Julian Jäger and Günther Ofner, members of the Management Board of Flughafen Wien AG, also underlined the significance of the name of the aircraft. “This designation of the aircraft stands for an important asset of Austrian Airlines and Vienna Airport, namely the joint competence they share as a flight hub to Central and Eastern Europe. This region plays an essential role as a market and production site for the Austrian business location and Austrian companies. Vienna Airport and Austrian Airlines as the leading network carrier in this region are responsible for getting people there”, the two Management Board members stated. Austrian Airlines CEO Kay Kratky emphasized the importance of the aircraft with respect to safeguarding jobs: “The 17 jets comprise one of the biggest investment projects in Austria’s aviation history. Almost 1,000 jobs are directly related to this investment.”
The Supervisory Board of Austrian Airlines first approved the purchase of 17 Embraer aircraft in June 2015. The jets with a list price of close to USD 900 million are as good as new. The first jet was delivered in August and modified in line with Austrian Airlines standards and is now being used for training purposes. Some 200 Austrian Airlines pilots will be retrained in the coming months to fly the new aircraft type. The first commercial flight flying the red-white-red flag is scheduled to take place on January 4, 2016.
The jets come from Lufthansa CityLine, which in return will receive Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen jets from Eurowings. The Embraer 195 with 120 seats per aircraft is considerably larger than the Fokker planes with 80 or 100 seats respectively which are deployed in this segment. The new jets currently have an average age of four years (built 2009-2012), compared to the average age of about 21 years for the Fokker fleet of Austrian Airlines. The replacement of the aircraft will serve to significantly rejuvenate the Austrian Airlines fleet.
The list price of an Embraer 195 jet is about USD 52 million. However, the most important factor pertaining to aircraft are the ongoing operating costs. The younger airplanes use about 18% less fuel per aircraft seat. Accordingly, the Embraer is much more environmentally compatible.
This post was published on 13 November 2015 15:49
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