Eurowings (EW, Düsseldorf) has requested B767 and B777 operational permits as well as ETOPS authorization for its nascent Austrian subsidiary according to a report by Austrian Aviation Net. The carrier, founded as Eurowings Europe (Austria) (E2, Vienna), is currently undergoing certification with the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT) and expects to launch operations to Barcelona El Prat, London Stansted, Palma de Mallorca, and Rome Fiumicino on November 9 using a pair of A320-200s wet-leased from Austrian.
Despite the application, Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna) spokesman Peter Thier has told Austrian Aviation Net that Eurowings has no plans to operate longhaul flights out of Austria for the time being.
Last year, Austrian's ex-CEO Jaan Albrecht said the board had considered repositioning their carrier as a budget airline operating under the name "Austrian Wings". As with Eurowings, Austrian Wings would have leveraged its lower cost base to deploy its fleet of six B767-300(ER)s on longhaul leisure flights albeit out of Vienna.
