Austrian receives A320 to begin Q400 replacement

Austrian Airlines has taken delivery of the first of 10 additional Airbus A320s that will be introduced to replace its Bombardier Q400 turboprop fleet by 2021. The Lufthansa Group carrier says the 2012-built A320 (OE-LZD) arrived in Vienna on 6 October and is currently being modified by maintenance department Austrian Technik before joining the fleet later this month. The aircraft is one of four dating to 2012-13 that will be leased from Aviation Capital Group and were previously part of Avianca Brasil's fleet. Avianca Brasil entered bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year and was grounded by Brazil's regulator in May. OE-LZC, another of the four A320s, has been transferred to Fokker Services' facility in Woensdrecht, in the Netherlands, and is scheduled to enter Austrian's fleet in November. Sister aircraft OE-LZE will also be modified by Fokker for introduction in November, while OE-LZF is in US city Jacksonville and will join Austrian's fleet later this month, the airline says. In addition to the four jets, Austrian plans to introduce in January 2020 a pair of 2007-vintage A320s currently in operation at Juneyao Air. These will be leased from CBD Aviation. <br/>