Ponta Delgada. Photo: Shutterstock Austrian Airlines is preparing for a particularly strong summer.
The Austrian airline, part of the Lufthansa Group, is publishing its summer flight schedule for 2026, which is centered on a significant expansion of its destination offering and additional capacity ahead of the tourist season.
Austrian aircraft. Photo: Shutterstock
The company will operate seven new short and medium-haul routes and add frequencies to popular destinations in the Mediterranean.
The new destinations include Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Alicante & Bilbao in Spain, Bastia in Corsica, Ohrid in North Macedonia, Mytilene on the island of Lesbos in Greece, and Bergen in Norway.
This will enable the company to reach 133 destinations by summer 2026, comprising 113 short and medium-haul flights and 20 long-haul flights.
The company emphasizes strengthening its operations in popular destinations, such as Greece (21 destinations) and Spain (11 destinations), while also expanding routes to Italy, where Milan Linate will be included in the new summer schedule, following its launch in the winter. Additionally, flight traffic to popular Mediterranean destinations will be increased, including Barcelona, Málaga, Funchal, and Tenerife.
As part of its preparations for increased demand, Austrian Airlines will add two more aircraft with the help of its long-time partner airBaltic. The move is aimed at ensuring operational stability and coping with the expected withdrawal of low-cost carriers Wizz Air and Ryanair from the Austrian market, the airline said.
Oslo, Norway. Photo: Shutterstock
The company is also seeing a continued trend in the "Coolcation" segment, which features vacations in Northern Europe, including Oslo, Tromsø, the Lofoten Islands, and New Bergen, with a total of 13 weekly flights, a significant increase from last year. Destinations such as Edinburgh in Scotland and Sylt in Germany will also remain on the summer schedule.
As part of its long-haul international routes, the company will continue to operate 20 international destinations, including Bangkok, Tokyo, Shanghai, Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Montreal, on Boeing 767, 777, and 787 aircraft.
Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Shutterstock