Austrian Airlines carried out the first commercial flight with the Airbus A461neo aircraft on Wednesday, flight number OS320. The OE-LZN made its way to London Heathrow around midday. The gate event was a big surprise for most passengers, because very few knew in advance that this was AUA's first neo-flight.

Even before boarding, the passengers were greeted by two board members of Austrian Airlines and were able to watch the traditional ribbon cutting. Thus the commercial liner service of the OE-LZN was opened. More than 16 years ago, the Austrian Lufthansa subsidiary brought a brand-new passenger aircraft into the fleet. The second of four Airbus A320neo will be received as early as next week.

However, the manufacturer Airbus still has to fix a few minor things that Austrian Airlines criticized in the course of a first acceptance flight. At present, however, it is not assumed that the formal handover will be significantly delayed.

The AUA workforce had another reason to celebrate on Wednesday: after lengthy negotiations, the Vida union was able to reach an agreement with the management – ​​the social partners had formally negotiated. This means that the salaries of the flying personnel will be increased in two steps. More on this with this link.

Routine, but a little different

Flights between Vienna and London-Heathrow are actually a daily routine for AUA crews, but on October 19, 2022 everything was a bit different. The first scheduled flight of the OE-LZN was scheduled and the crew was of course proud that they could work on board the youngest member of the AUA fleet. Of course, an A320neo is no longer a specialty, because an enormous number of airlines sometimes operate this model on a large scale. At Austrian Airlines, crews and passengers had to be patient for a long time.

It is common knowledge that AUA has been in a process of change for a long time and nobody knows where this change is headed. The industry is always on the move and, for example, in the 1980s nobody would have thought that there would be a ban on smoking on board or that you would have to pay for food and drinks in economy class. It would also have been inconceivable that you could fly through Europe for single-digit euro amounts. Times just change.

Pride and a spirit of optimism could be felt both in the cockpit and in the cabin on board the first flight. For example, the co-pilot said that she was "extremely happy to be in the cockpit on the maiden flight". The captain, but also the cabin team, could not emphasize their joy about the first flight often enough. This also went down well with the passengers, because English travelers, for example, thought it was cool just to be there. Also a topic of conversation: A reusable cup for coffee on the go, which was given as a gift. The eye-catching design should have appealed to many.

New aircraft, proven inflight product

To put it simply: For many years nothing was invested in the renewal of the Austrian Airlines fleet, so that the fleet has grown older year by year. At the same time, the parent company Lufthansa, for example, was constantly expanding at Swiss, but there were no brand-new aircraft for the Austrian carrier. For the time being, you lease four A320neo from a group-owned leasing company. These will initially remain in use for four years. The OE-LZN was officially presented on Monday. The machine was commissioned by Economics Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) baptized with the name Donau-Auen.

Around 2026, a major renewal could be on the cards. Then possibly today's Neos could leave the fleet again, as Lufthansa strives to operate Leap engines across the group. The bottom line is that this saves costs, since in the area of ​​technology you only have to keep one type of engine for all machines in the A320neo series of all group members. Will it happen then? Time will tell, because in aviation decisions can change quickly if necessary. In any case, the employees of Austrian Airlines are motivated and understandably hope for more. The agreed wage increases should provide a little additional motivation.

The latest generation of seats on board

AUA's in-flight product on the Airbus A320neo differs only minimally from the previous model, the A320ceo. The machine has all the innovations that the manufacturer has brought to the market with the Neo series. These are primarily small visual differences in the cabin that are noticeable to passengers. Everything looks more modern, a bit brighter and at the moment it still smells "new" in the OE-LZN. It is also relevant for passengers that the latest seat generation from Austrian Airlines was installed in the A320neo. Useful: USB charging sockets, where you can charge your smartphone with "juice", for example, are available everywhere except for row 1. The works were carried out by Technikbetrieb Bratislava. This A320neo was taken over from the manufacturer without livery and without seats, i.e. almost "naked".

On board the first flight from Vienna to London Heathrow, Austrian Airlines had nine rows of business class, each with four passengers. However, only a few invited passengers were among them. The vast majority were normal travelers who probably happened to enjoy Austrian Airlines' first commercial A320neo flight. The same applies to the almost completely full economy class. The return flight to Vienna-Schwechat was also full.

It is therefore not surprising that the catering partner Do&Co has worked particularly hard for the business class and has delivered large and tasty menus for the passengers in the front part of the plane. It is to be hoped that this will continue to be the case. In the economy class, the usual price catering was offered. Small schnitzel cost 12,50 euros and you have to pay seven euros for an apple strudel.

More space for trolleys, hats and more

The enlarged overhead bins have a positive effect. These were developed by the Austrian company FACC and offer significantly more storage space. Carry-on trolleys fit, as long as the dimensions are observed, even if you put them up. Thus, the "fight" for the last free compartment should actually be minimized. However, this is also homemade, because out of greed for profit, most European airlines charge extra for the cheapest economy class fares for checking in luggage at the counter - sometimes even an enormous amount. Austrian Airlines currently has no plans to reduce the maximum size of hand luggage. The sister company Eurowings has some time ago copied the models from Ryanair and Wizz Air.

Fares and meals aside, Austrian Airlines' first Airbus A320neo seems to have brought a breath of fresh air to the company. The machine not only lowers the average age of the fleet, but also motivates the crew and that was also badly needed after Corona, short-time work and the like. Hopefully the motivated upward trend will continue, because the employees who have had existential fears in recent years because of the pandemic definitely deserve it.