Does Austria lack of leisure longhaul flights?
22 January 2025 | Blog #17
Cold and Gloomy Winter Days: Opportunities for Sunshine and Adventure
Cold and gloomy winter days, like those in the current season, are the perfect time to seek the sun above the cloud layer in the mountains on two skis. Alternatively, happiness can also be found farther afield: sun, sand, and sea, along with culture and adventure in warmer climates, are increasingly popular. It is therefore unsurprising that many Europeans now escape to tropical destinations during the cold winter months.
In this article, I will focus on long-haul travel destinations originating from Austria. The analysis will exclusively cover direct flights departing from Vienna International Airport, as these are the only such options available. While Lauda Air’s brief foray into long-haul flights from Salzburg will be mentioned for the sake of completeness, it is not a focus here.
A Look Back
Before Lauda Air merged with Austrian Airlines in 2012, the former was Austria’s leading vacation carrier for long-haul routes. Exotic destinations such as Denpasar, Holguin, Ho Chi Minh City, Mexico City, Orlando, Phuket, and Porlamar were part of Lauda Air’s network. Notably, the airline also operated routes to Australia, including Sydney and Melbourne (via Kuala Lumpur or Singapore). While Austrian Airlines continued operating a few of these routes post-merger, most were discontinued either before or shortly after.
Current Situation
Today, the flight schedule paints a modest picture of the long-haul vacation market. Austrian Airlines, unchallenged by competitors, offers just two destinations: Male (Maldives) and Mauritius. Once-attractive destinations in Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, South Africa, and the Seychelles have been abandoned and remain unserved. Foreign long-haul carriers that previously operated vacation routes from Vienna—such as Air Mauritius, Air Transat, and African Safari Airways—are now absent from the airport.
This lackluster offering highlights untapped potential in the Austrian market. I sought to compare this situation with similar markets and explore what the future of long-haul leisure travel from Vienna might look like.
Switzerland as a Benchmark
Switzerland, due to its size and other characteristics, serves as an excellent comparison. Swiss International Air Lines, like Austrian Airlines, is part of the Lufthansa Group and dominates Zurich Airport. However, since 2008, Swiss has complemented its operations with Edelweiss Air, its dedicated leisure airline. Edelweiss Air provides short-, medium-, and long-haul services, offering extensive coverage of vacation destinations.
From an Austrian perspective, the long-haul network of Edelweiss Air is enviable, boasting 28 destinations in 17 countries. These include Boa Vista and Sal (Cape Verde), Bogota and Cartagena (Colombia), Calgary, Halifax, and Vancouver (Canada), Cancun (Mexico), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Denver, Seattle, Tampa, and Las Vegas (USA), Havana (Cuba), Cape Town (South Africa), Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar (Tanzania), Liberia and San Jose (Costa Rica), Mahe (Seychelles), Male (Maldives), Muscat and Salalah (Oman), Mauritius, Montego Bay (Jamaica), Phuket (Thailand), and Puerto Plata and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic).
Zurich clearly outshines Vienna in this segment. This disparity is particularly surprising given that Vienna and Zurich airports had nearly identical passenger volumes in 2024 (VIE: 31.7 million vs. ZRH: 31.2 million). Moreover, Swiss International Air Lines and Austrian Airlines are similar in size, with comparable fleet numbers (83 vs. 70) and passenger volumes (19.3 million vs. 13.9 million). However, Switzerland’s higher purchasing power ($101,000 per capita vs. $57,000) gives it a notable edge.
Germany as Another Example
Germany also illustrates a more robust long-haul leisure market. At Frankfurt Airport, both Condor and Discover Airlines serve as local long-haul vacation carriers. Condor, with a fleet of A330-900s (18) and B757-300s (8), operates over 35 long-haul routes to North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
Discover Airlines, founded in 2021 as "Eurowings Discover," operates 13 A330-200/300 aircraft. A fully owned subsidiary of Lufthansa, Discover Airlines focuses on vacation destinations and complements Lufthansa’s network. From Frankfurt, Discover Airlines serves over 20 long-haul destinations. Routes with weaker profitability are often transferred from Lufthansa to Discover Airlines, ensuring continuity within the group.
Conclusion
In answering the question, "Does Austria lack a long-haul leisure carrier?" the response is unequivocally yes. Vienna lags significantly behind Zurich in this market segment, despite similar airport sizes and passenger volumes.
Currently, Austrian travelers seeking long-haul vacation destinations primarily rely on connecting flights via hubs like Frankfurt, London-Heathrow, Paris CDG, Madrid, and Zurich in the West, or Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Dubai in the East. While such connections are effective, it is well-documented that direct flights significantly boost overall demand and attract more passengers than indirect routes.
Possible Solutions for Austria
How can Vienna Airport best capitalize on this market potential? Austrian Airlines’ limited fleet availability makes a significant expansion of long-haul leisure routes unlikely, even with upcoming aircraft deliveries. Condor is unlikely to establish a long-haul base in Vienna, as its focus remains on Frankfurt, with feeder flights from Vienna planned instead.
I see three viable solutions:
- Founding a Dedicated Leisure Airline: Austrian Airlines could create a wholly owned subsidiary for long-haul leisure routes, similar to Discover Airlines (Lufthansa) or Edelweiss Air (Swiss). This would leverage Austrian Airlines’ expertise and provide essential feed at Vienna Airport.
- Stationing Discover Airlines Aircraft in Vienna: Collaborating closely with Austrian Airlines, Discover Airlines could base aircraft in Vienna, optimizing the hub for transfer passengers and integrating its extensive route portfolio.
- A Hybrid Approach: Austrian Airlines could launch a localized Discover Airlines Austria, combining elements of both models.
Starting operations with two to three aircraft (e.g., Boeing 787-900s or A330-300/900s) would be ideal. Offering at least a two-class configuration (Premium Economy and Economy) would cater to demand and maximize profitability, given the predominantly outbound nature of the market.
I hope Vienna and Austria seize this opportunity and expand the long-haul leisure network to include at least 10 destinations by 2027. I welcome feedback on this article, especially regarding desired destinations. Thank you!
Photo Credit: Adam Moreira