Austrian specifies prices to be charged in new fare concept for European flights

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• 3 Economy Class fares (Light, Classic and Flex) and one Business Class fare to choose from
• Passengers carrying hand luggage only pay less – tickets to start at EUR 89 return
• As a result flying to become cheaperThis autumn, Austrian Airlines will be launching a brand-new fare concept on all its domestic and European flights. Customers will be able to book the tailored tickets starting this summer onwards. While passengers can only choose between Economy and Business Class at present, the new concept means they will have the option to put together their own, highly individual Austrian flight composed of different modules. The choice will be between a Business Class fare and three Economy Class fares (Light, Classic and Flex), each of which will offer different services. Depending on their reason for flying, passengers will be able to choose the appropriate fare – whether it’s for a firmly booked city trip at the weekend, a family holiday booked months in advance, or a business trip for which the travel plans could change at short notice. Unlike the situation today, when customers still pay for an overall product, irrespective of which of the individual services included they use, they will only pay for the services they actually want to use in future.

Andreas Otto, Chief Commercial Officer of Austrian Airlines, said the following: “With the new fare model, we want to combine the theme of individualisation with quality, and address customers’ individual needs more strongly. From the price-sensitive customer who is only travelling with hand luggage, through the customer who wants a standard fare with lots of extra services included, to the Business Class passenger who wants the full flexibility and highest level of comfort – there’s something for everyone.” This individualisation is also reflected in the new branding. “That’s what myAustrian is all about,” Otto said.

All fare options will continue to include the flight, one item of hand luggage weighing up to 8 kg, a snack and drinks on board, a fixed seat allocation at Check-in, and award and status miles as standard.

Economy Light fare
The new Light fare will function as a basic fare, offering the lowest-cost choice for price-conscious passengers travelling with hand luggage only who do not need any ticket flexibility. Andreas Otto said the following: “Already now, one-third of our passengers within Europe are travelling with hand luggage only. That’s over 3 million customers. These passengers will pay less in future. That means flying will become cheaper.” The Light fare will be bookable from as little as EUR 89 for a return flight from Vienna. Passengers will also be able to book one item of luggage with this fare (from EUR 15) or a preferred seat (from EUR 10) individually, for a charge.

Economy Classic fare
The ‘Classic’ fare will include all the services provided in today’s redtickets product as standard. It will also cover services such as a baggage allowance of one item weighing up to 23 kg. Unlike the redticket, this fare will give passengers the opportunity to reserve their preferred seat free of charge at the time of booking. Other than this, customers booking a Classic fare can travel more flexibly than those with a Light fare, as it can be rebooked to another flight on the original connection for a charge. The Classic fare will be bookable from EUR 129 for a return flight from Vienna.

Economy Flex fare
The Flex fare will be oriented primarily to passengers such as business travellers who require a high level of flexibility when planning their journey and want a wider product range. The fare will also include the option to rebook the flight free of charge and flexibly. The Flex fare will be bookable from just EUR 199 for a return flight departing from Vienna.

Business Class fare
In addition to the three Economy fares, Austrian will continue to offer its Business Class fare, as in the past. What’s new here is that passengers will be able to rebook and cancel all Business Class fares free of charge in future. Other than this change, the Business Class fare will offer all the usual services and conveniences as before. Examples will include lounge access, an increased baggage allowance (2 items of baggage weighing up to 32 kg each), seat reservation, the free adjacent seat and priority boarding. The Business Class fare is the highest-value product and particularly well-suited to business travellers and demanding private travellers.

Individual services which can be booked in addition to these fares
It will be possible to book individual conveniences and services on top of these fare options, on a modular basis. These will include the DO & CO à la carte menu (EUR 15), lounge access (EUR 35), extra legroom seats (EUR 25), one extra suitcase (from EUR 15), the shuttle service from Vienna and the surrounding area to the airport (from EUR 32), and many others. As ‘redservices’, these services have been individually bookable in addition to a flight ticket already in recent years, a system which has been very well-accepted by customers.

The fare options and services included will always be transparent, available until the last seat has been sold, and combinable with one another on outbound and return flights. Unlike before, the three Economy fares, independently of booking class, will always be available.

Lufthansa and SWISS are also introducing the new fare concept. Long-haul flights and myHoliday flights will not be affected by the changes.

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