DALLAS - Austrian Airlines (OS) has welcomed its first Airbus A320neo (OZ-LZN) to the fleet, ready for entry-into-service today, October 19, on the airlines London Heathrow (LHR) service.

A special event, "Servus A320neo," was held at the carrier's hanger at Vienna Airport (VIE) to welcome the new jet. At the event, 'Zulu-November' was baptised "Donau-Auen," after the national park located in Lower Austria. The remaining airframes will also be named after Austrian national parks, an idea chosen from over 250 employee submissions.

First of Four

It is the first of four 180-seat neo's that the airline will be adding to its fleet by spring 2023. This will increase OS's fleet from 61 to 65 aircraft. OS will deploy the type initially on its services to London (LHR) and Berlin (BER). It will later serve Amsterdam (AMS) and Frankfurt (FRA).

Speaking at the event, Martin Kocher, the Austrian Minister of Labor and Economic Affairs, said, "I am very pleased to see that Austrian Airlines, as Austria's largest airline, is finally expanding again after the past challenging years. The acquisition of the new Airbus A320neo shows that Austria and its airport Vienna-Schwechat is an important hub for aviation in Central and Central Eastern Europe and beyond. I warmly congratulate AUA on the ceremonial "christening" of the new aircraft!"

The airframe had been delivered to OS from the Airbus factory in Toulouse (TLS) on September 17 but had gone straight into maintenance with Austrian Technik for cabin refurbishment and painting. The aircraft was originally destined for Austrian's owner Lufthansa (LH).

Featured Image: The airline's first A320neo OZ-LZN. Photo: Austrian Airlines.