Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna) says it may have to defer the retirement of its three remaining B767-300ERs due to B787-9 delivery delays. The airline had planned to end its B767 operations at the end of this year and make the B787 the focus of its long-haul fleet. However, Boeing's ongoing challenges are forcing a rethink at the carrier.
"According to the current status, the introduction of additional B787-9 aircraft may be delayed," an Austrian Airlines spokesperson told ch-aviation. "For this reason, an extension of the B767's service is currently being considered to have a backup in case the arrival of the additional B787 aircraft is indeed delayed."
Boeing data released this week reveals it delivered just fifteen B787 aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 51 across the calendar year. According to ch-aviation fleets data, Austrian currently operates two B787-9s and has another nine on order. It expects deliveries of them to end in 2028. However, many Boeing customers have experienced delivery delays in 2023 and 2024 and these delays are expected to continue into 2025. Austrian has three B767-300ERs still in service out of an original fleet of nine of the type. The airline's widebody fleet also comprises six B777-200ERs, which will also be replaced by the B787s.
