Comment: The missed opportunity in the AUA-777 on short-haul flights
In recent weeks, Austrian Airlines has repeatedly used long-haul aircraft on short-haul routes such as Frankfurt-Vienna. For example, it flew with Boeing 777s. Actually an ideal opportunity to get passengers excited about the long-haul product, but management seems to have completely failed to understand this opportunity. In Germany-Austria traffic, the use of Boeing 777-200s occurs here and there, but it is by no means the norm. On September 26, 2024, the OE-LPE was used. Some passengers knew that OS216 was being operated with a widebody, but many infrequent flyers were only surprised when they boarded the aircraft. Crew training has to be carried out again and again and Austrian Airlines mostly uses short routes such as Vienna-Frankfurt-Vienna for this. It was obvious that Austrian Airlines - at least in economy class - had succeeded in marketing the additional capacity, because the OE-LPE was extremely well filled. The premium economy class, which is subject to an additional charge on long-haul flights, was used as “normal economy” and one or two passengers then had a supposedly better seat. For business class travelers, the use of the 777 may actually have been an upgrade, because Austrian Airlines does not offer real C-seats on its short and medium-haul fleet, but believes that a free middle seat is enough. Unfortunately, a great many European carriers opt for this option. The use of the long-haul aircraft on a short connection such as Frankfurt-Vienna should actually be viewed by the management of Austrian Airlines as a marketing campaign for which passengers pay with their regular tickets anyway. After all, there is a realistic chance that one or two travelers will use
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