Austrian increases capacity on Tel Aviv routes

From May 2009 Austrian is planning to expand capacity on services to Tel Aviv by utilising a Boeing 767 that offers an additional 42 seats per flight as well as the Business Class comfort previously only available on long-haul routes.

Routes to the Middle East are central to Austrian’s Focus East strategy and have recently benefited from the introduction of the Premium Service Business Class. Among the most successful are flights to Tel Aviv with an average load factor of 80% and strong demand. Austrian Airlines is therefore planning to expand its seating capacity on the route by 30% from May 2009 onwards. This is made possible by the use of a Boeing 767 with 235 seats, which will become available due to the cancellation of the long-haul destination of Mumbai from March onwards. Until now, both daily services to Tel Aviv have been operated using an Airbus A321, offering a maximum of 193 seats.

For passengers, this doesn’t just mean more supply; it also means a significantly higher level of comfort. Seats on Business Class long-haul routes (sleeper seats) are 2 metres long and with legroom of up to 150 cm and are equipped with numerous practical functions. High-value materials have been used to create the seats – the use of real leather being just one example – with an impressive attention to detail. A wide range of elements makes the journey especially comfortable; from a tilting reading lamp and extra-wide television screen to a built-in massage function in the seat.

Passengers on the Tel Aviv route already enjoy the Austrian Premium Service. Austrian flight attendants serve refreshing fruit juices, drinks and warm nuts as an aperitif service, after which they are served freshly prepared gourmet menus from Do&Co featuring several courses and Oriental and Austrian specialities on the finest porcelain. Exquisite speciality teas and coffees round off the product.

Austrian Chief Commercial Officer Dr. Andreas Bierwirth made the following statement: “We have been flying to Tel Aviv for the past 45 years now, during which time we have transported more than 2 million passengers, and grown to become one of the leading airlines in the Israeli market. While we had just one flight a week and around 2,200 passengers per annum in 1964, nowadays we transport this number of passengers every 4 days. In 2008, we were able to increase our passenger volume on this route by 5.1% compared to the previous year.”

Routes to Tel Aviv offer great connectivity with Austrian flights departing from Heathrow: OS458, departing London 06.05 connects with OS857 departing Vienna 10.35, arriving Tel Aviv 15.00; OS462, departs London 15.45 connecting with OS859 departing Vienna 20.25, arriving Tel Aviv 00.55 (next day), all times are local.