Austrian Airlines will rely more heavily on external support to manage seasonal passenger volumes in its upcoming 2026 summer flight schedule. The Austrian Lufthansa subsidiary has entered into a wet-lease agreement with its Italian sister company, Air Dolomiti. Under this agreement, two Embraer E195 aircraft from the Italian airline, including crews, will be based in Vienna. This measure primarily serves to manage capacity on short-haul routes and to compensate for bottlenecks in its own fleet availability that may arise due to maintenance intervals or delays in new aircraft deliveries.
The leased regional jets will operate on both classic hub feeder routes and routes to major Eastern European cities. According to current flight schedule data, Air Dolomiti will operate a weekly service between Vienna and Belgrade from July 4 to September 12, 2026. The route to Budapest will also be served three times a week by the Italian aircraft between June 30 and September 13. By using the Embraer aircraft, which have a capacity of approximately 120 seats, Austrian Airlines can stabilize frequencies on these routes without having to commit significant capacity of its own.
The cooperation is planned to be particularly intensive on routes to Italy. The cities of Bologna and Florence will each be served up to twice daily by Air Dolomiti aircraft. The flight schedule even envisages up to four daily flights to Venice. These routes benefit from Air Dolomiti's operational expertise in the Italian market and allow Austrian Airlines to efficiently utilize valuable slots at its Vienna hub. Fleet harmonization plays a key role here, as Austrian already operates a significant number of Embraer E195 aircraft, which simplifies ground handling processes.
Wet-lease agreements within the Lufthansa Group are a common tool for optimizing network stability. While Air Dolomiti aircraft handle the operational flights, sales and customer service remain the responsibility of Austrian Airlines. Passengers are typically informed in advance about flights operated by a partner airline. This strategic flexibility allows the airline to respond to peak demand in the summer while simultaneously controlling operating costs through the use of specialized regional platforms within the group.