On Christmas Eve, Austrian Airlines unwrapped a sizeable network expansion for the 2026 summer season. Beginning 29 March 2026, the Lufthansa-Group carrier will launch nonstop services from Vienna to Alicante and Bilbao (Spain), Mytilini/Lesbos (Greece), Ponta Delgada (Azores, Portugal), Bastia (Corsica, France), Ohrid (North Macedonia) and Bergen (Norway). Frequencies on crowd-pleasers such as Barcelona, Málaga and Tenerife will also increase.
The move follows two consecutive years of double-digit leisure-travel growth out of Vienna International Airport and taps into the remote-work trend: cities like Ponta Delgada and Bergen rank high on ‘work-from-anywhere’ indices. For corporate mobility managers, the added capacity reduces the need for connecting itineraries via Frankfurt or Zurich, potentially shaving two to three hours off door-to-door journey times.
Austrian will deploy Airbus A320-family aircraft configured with European Business Class, offering fully refundable fares attractive to short-notice business travellers. The airline says schedule timings are designed for weekenders and project commuters alike – Alicante and Bilbao depart Vienna at 07:00 a.m., enabling same-day client meetings.
![Austrian Airlines Unveils Seven New European Routes for Summer 2026]()
For travellers who need to organise entry formalities for Spain, Greece, Portugal, France, North Macedonia or Norway, VisaHQ can streamline the process. Its Austria-specific portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) lets Vienna-based passengers check requirements, arrange e-visas or consular appointments and track applications in one dashboard—handy for companies looking to synchronise travel approvals with Austrian Airlines’ new schedules.
Competition will stiffen on routes where low-cost carriers already operate. In Spain, both Ryanair and Vueling fly Vienna–Alicante, and Wizz Air serves Bilbao. Analysts nevertheless expect Austrian to capitalise on through-ticketing and Miles & More loyalty benefits, defending the carrier’s 47 % share of Vienna’s departing seats.
Travel-policy implication: firms with Mediterranean or Nordic project sites can anticipate lower average fares next summer, but should review GDS contract allotments, as Austrian will open most of the new flights to dynamic pricing from day one.
The move follows two consecutive years of double-digit leisure-travel growth out of Vienna International Airport and taps into the remote-work trend: cities like Ponta Delgada and Bergen rank high on ‘work-from-anywhere’ indices. For corporate mobility managers, the added capacity reduces the need for connecting itineraries via Frankfurt or Zurich, potentially shaving two to three hours off door-to-door journey times.
Austrian will deploy Airbus A320-family aircraft configured with European Business Class, offering fully refundable fares attractive to short-notice business travellers. The airline says schedule timings are designed for weekenders and project commuters alike – Alicante and Bilbao depart Vienna at 07:00 a.m., enabling same-day client meetings.
For travellers who need to organise entry formalities for Spain, Greece, Portugal, France, North Macedonia or Norway, VisaHQ can streamline the process. Its Austria-specific portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) lets Vienna-based passengers check requirements, arrange e-visas or consular appointments and track applications in one dashboard—handy for companies looking to synchronise travel approvals with Austrian Airlines’ new schedules.
Competition will stiffen on routes where low-cost carriers already operate. In Spain, both Ryanair and Vueling fly Vienna–Alicante, and Wizz Air serves Bilbao. Analysts nevertheless expect Austrian to capitalise on through-ticketing and Miles & More loyalty benefits, defending the carrier’s 47 % share of Vienna’s departing seats.
Travel-policy implication: firms with Mediterranean or Nordic project sites can anticipate lower average fares next summer, but should review GDS contract allotments, as Austrian will open most of the new flights to dynamic pricing from day one.
