Austrian Airlines begins narrowbody fleet renewal program

Austrian Airlines is set to renew its narrowbody fleet by replacing 18 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s with 10 Airbus A320s. As a first step, Austrian plans to take 66 A320s beginning in August through next year. The first 4 A320s, leased from Aviation Capital Group, will begin joining the fleet from August through October and will launch operations in December. These aircraft were previously operated by Avianca Brasil. Two further A320s, leased from CDB Aviation Lease Finance, will be delivered in 2020. These aircraft were formerly operated by Juneyao Airlines. No other information was given on the other 4 planned A320 acquisitions. The airline has been impacted by increasing LCC competition at its Vienna hub in the aftermath of the Airberlin bankruptcy. <br/>