Austrian Airlines (AUA), the national airline of Austria and part of the Lufthansa Group, is stepping up its efforts to meet demand in the summer season by using wet-lease aircraft. This is the most extensive use of wet-lease in the airline's history for decades.
Wet leasing is the term used to describe the leasing of aircraft and crew from other airlines in order to maintain or expand one's own air traffic. The increasing demand and the structural challenges in its own fleet have prompted AUA to rely on several partners in the 2025 summer flight schedule, including BRA Braathens Regional Airlines and Air Baltic.
Wet lease as a solution to capacity bottlenecks
Renting wet-lease aircraft is a valuable strategy for airlines like Austrian Airlines in times of seasonal peaks and operational challenges. Since the start of the 2024 summer schedule, two ATR 72-600s from the Swedish BRA Braathens Regional Airlines have been flying on routes for AUA, especially on routes where smaller aircraft are more economical. A third ATR will be used on the newly introduced connection between Linz and Frankfurt from October 2024. These routes do not offer the necessary capacity utilisation to operate larger aircraft such as the Airbus A320 models profitably.
Another wet-lease aircraft that has been in service since June 2024 is an Embraer E195 from Air Dolomiti. This aircraft flies on the route from Vienna to Venice and compensates for the loss of a damaged Airbus A320 Neo.
Wet-lease as a future strategy: expanding cooperation
The cooperation with wet-lease partners could be expanded even further in the future, as Sciortino indicated in his remarks. The additional capacity is particularly necessary during the summer months, when passenger numbers increase by 44 to 54 percent compared to winter. Austrian Airlines is therefore planning to use additional aircraft in the 2025 summer flight schedule. A new partner for the coming year is Air Baltic, the Latvian airline. AUA will lease a total of three Airbus A220 aircraft from Air Baltic, including crew.
This decision is part of a larger strategy within the Lufthansa Group, which will lease a total of 21 Airbus A220s from Air Baltic for the summer of 2025. In addition to Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and Lufthansa itself will also benefit from this cooperation. The A220 is known for its efficiency and is ideal for short and medium-haul routes, where it can score points with its fuel efficiency.
Advantages and challenges of wet leasing
The increased use of wet-lease aircraft brings several advantages for Austrian Airlines. On the one hand, flexibility is increased because the airline can better absorb seasonal fluctuations without having to buy or lease its own aircraft. This is particularly advantageous in an industry that is heavily affected by seasonal peaks in demand and international events such as pandemics or geopolitical crises.
Wet lease can also compensate for short-term technical failures or bottlenecks in the company's own fleet, as is the case with Air Dolomiti's use of the Embraer E195. Since AUA had to replace the damaged Airbus A320 Neo, wet lease enabled the Vienna-Venice route to continue operating without interruption.
On the other hand, wet leasing also presents challenges, particularly in terms of consistent service and customer expectations. Since the aircraft and crews come from other airlines, there may be differences in the quality of service that passengers may notice. Therefore, airlines like Austrian must ensure that the external crews work to their own high standards and that customers receive a consistent experience.
A look into the future
The use of wet lease is a clever and strategic solution for Austrian Airlines to cope with the increasing passenger numbers during the summer months and to overcome the operational challenges. With partners such as BRA Braathens Regional Airlines and Air Baltic, AUA shows that it can react flexibly to market demands without compromising on service quality or punctuality.
It remains to be seen whether the airline will rely even more heavily on wet leasing in the future. Given the increasingly complex challenges facing the aviation industry – be it rising energy costs, tightening climate regulations or geopolitical uncertainties – wet leasing could become a long-term strategy for many airlines.
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