Just two years after shrinking its network during the pandemic, Austrian Airlines (OS) is back in growth mode. On 7 November 2025 the Lufthansa-group carrier unveiled an ambitious Summer 2026 timetable that adds seven leisure-heavy destinations and increases frequencies on 15 existing routes. The expansion is designed to capture both Mediterranean sun-seekers and travellers looking for cooler northern retreats, while cementing Vienna International Airport’s position as a one-stop hub for Central and Eastern Europe.
New cities on the map include Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Alicante and Bilbao in Spain, Bastia in Corsica, Ohrid in North Macedonia, Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos, and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. Most of the services will be operated with 180-seat A320neos configured for a flexible mix of business and economy seating. Capacity has been timed to dovetail with long-haul bank waves so that, for example, an Osaka-Vienna-Bilbao itinerary can be completed with a 90-minute connection.
![Austrian Airlines Announces Seven New European Destinations for Summer 2026]()
For corporates, the biggest upside is better access to Europe’s burgeoning secondary tech and renewable-energy hubs. Austrian chip-equipment suppliers with plants in northern Spain have long bemoaned the need to connect via Frankfurt; the new Bilbao flights cut journey times by up to three hours. In the opposite direction, Scottish life-sciences firms gain a same-day link to Vienna’s biotech cluster in Donaustadt.
The airline is also leaning into multimodal travel. Passengers originating in southern Austria can combine rail and air on the growing ÖBB “AIRail” network, with through-ticketing and baggage tags from Klagenfurt or Graz directly to the final flight destination. CEO Annette Mann said the carrier expects intermodal bookings to exceed one million segments in 2026, up from 650,000 this year.
Travel buyers should note that most of the new routes will launch as seasonal services from late June to early September, with advance purchase fares starting around €159 return. Austrian has signalled it will “quickly right-size” capacity if fuel prices spike, so Mobility teams are advised to lock in group allocations early.
New cities on the map include Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Alicante and Bilbao in Spain, Bastia in Corsica, Ohrid in North Macedonia, Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos, and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. Most of the services will be operated with 180-seat A320neos configured for a flexible mix of business and economy seating. Capacity has been timed to dovetail with long-haul bank waves so that, for example, an Osaka-Vienna-Bilbao itinerary can be completed with a 90-minute connection.
For corporates, the biggest upside is better access to Europe’s burgeoning secondary tech and renewable-energy hubs. Austrian chip-equipment suppliers with plants in northern Spain have long bemoaned the need to connect via Frankfurt; the new Bilbao flights cut journey times by up to three hours. In the opposite direction, Scottish life-sciences firms gain a same-day link to Vienna’s biotech cluster in Donaustadt.
The airline is also leaning into multimodal travel. Passengers originating in southern Austria can combine rail and air on the growing ÖBB “AIRail” network, with through-ticketing and baggage tags from Klagenfurt or Graz directly to the final flight destination. CEO Annette Mann said the carrier expects intermodal bookings to exceed one million segments in 2026, up from 650,000 this year.
Travel buyers should note that most of the new routes will launch as seasonal services from late June to early September, with advance purchase fares starting around €159 return. Austrian has signalled it will “quickly right-size” capacity if fuel prices spike, so Mobility teams are advised to lock in group allocations early.
