Lufthansa Scraps Boeing 787 Plans For Austrian
Lufthansa Group has scrapped plans to send Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Austrian Airlines, instead allocating them to the mainline Lufthansa brand.
The decision delays fleet renewal efforts for the Austrian-based carrier, which had previously expected five factory-fresh 787-9s as part of a phase-out of older, less efficient widebodies in favor of newer models.
Flagged by aeroTELEGRAPH, Austrian will still receive the previously operated and confirmed Boeing 787s, but instead of phasing out its older widebodies, it will retain them longer; notably, the 777s will be kept into the beginning of the next decade.
Austrian’s Boeing 787 plan now crumbles
The sweeping changes follow a plan by Austrian, revealed three years ago, to transition to the Boeing 787-9 for widebody operations by 2028, with the introduction of ten units enabling the phase-out of less efficient aircraft.
The aircraft were set to come from the existing Lufthansa Group orderbook, developed over the years but not publicly disclosed, with all variants assigned to airlines within the Group, leaving room for changes and new agreements.
Gradually, the Boeing 787-9s would replace the Boeing 777s and 767s still in the fleet at the time; while 10 units were planned by 2028, the fleet would scale to 12 from 2028 onward with further deliveries.
As part of the renewal, seven were previously operated aircraft. Then five factory-fresh Dreamliners from Lufthansa Group’s delivery slots were to be assigned to Austrian from late 2027, while a little delayed, still following through on plans, but that’s now not happening.
The final five allocated to Austrian have now been withdrawn; this comes two years after the type’s introduction, thanks to Bamboo Airways cutting its own fleet due to financial turmoil. This year Austrian has welcomed a couple more 787s, but the future years were when genuine progress was to be made on renewal.
Transfers remain planned for 2027, including a reported three units that would bring the Austrian fleet to seven, but this is far off the previous allocation and will instead force the airline to keep operating the Boeing 777 longer than it would like.
Boeing 777X delays hurt Lufthansa
At the centre of the decision to pull Boeing 787s from Austrian and instead head to the mainline Lufthansa brand are the heavy aircraft shortages elsewhere in the Group, which are directly affecting growth, renewal and financial performance.
In comments during the recent quarterly results, Spohr, the Lufthansa Group chief executive, said the five 787s will support operations out of Frankfurt because of delays with the 777X.
Boeing has informed Lufthansa that the first delivery will move from the first to the second quarter of 2027, and Lufthansa is no longer planning for a summer schedule in 2027 that includes the type.
With great uncertainty on the Boeing 777X, the retirement of the Airbus A340-600s, and the planned axing of the 747-400 to manage soaring costs next year, as well as the 777-9 delays, are having a big impact on growth and renewal at the flag-carrier, and that has necessitated a rethink in future aircraft deliveries.
The latest shift in the order book and allocation is responding to Lufthansa’s own problems, but it is also hampering Austrian’s fleet renewal. Lufthansa Group, however, argues that Austrian can maintain its fleet because of the 777s, whereas the German flag-carrier risks capacity loss if the delivery shortfall continues.
Boeing 777X not the only blame for Austrian
While Lufthansa focuses on the 777-9 delays and, as a consequence, needs capacity to cover them, that’s not the sole reason for the shift in deployment plans for the 787-9s; Spohr also flagged operating costs as a problem.
During the earnings call, the unsatisfactory operating costs in Vienna have been an ongoing problem. Austrian responded that the replacement and growth would help establish far stronger long-term economic prospects and are needed, though it is not up to them to decide at the end of the day if circumstances change.
The cost base of Vienna, alongside the ticket tax, has been openly critiqued by executives within the airline itself and the Lufthansa Group as the operating environment becomes more challenging. As costs soar and these lingering pressures remain, the Group’s priorities shift.
Austrian will receive three Boeing 787-9s under the plan; it’ll continue to rely on the aircraft in the future, but the five previously expected won’t arrive as intended and may arrive much later.
Lufthansa Group has scrapped plans to send Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Austrian Airlines, instead allocating them to the mainline Lufthansa brand.
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