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German flag carrier Lufthansa has pulled rank and delayed the delivery of one of Austrian Airlines’ incoming Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner widebody twinjet aircraft in order for it to be able to use the jet itself for a little while longer. The move comes amid what is being called an “adjustment to the schedule,” and follows a lengthy period of frustration at the German flag carrier regarding its 
Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet due to seat certification issues.
According to present fleet data made available by ch-aviation, 
Lufthansa currently has 14 units of the Boeing 787-9 in its fleet, with these jets clocking in at an average age of just 2.9 years old, compared to a fleet-wide mean figure of 15 years. It also has another 21 examples on order. Meanwhile, Austrian has taken delivery of just two 787-9s thus far: the third was slated to arrive from Lufthansa this month, but will now come later.
A Last-Minute Swap
According to reporting by German publication aeroTELEGRAPH, Austrian Airlines is expecting another three units of the Boeing 787-9 to be cascaded over from its parent company Lufthansa this year, bringing its total fleet size for the type from two to five. The first of this trio, which is to be registered as OE-LPG, was expected to make the transfer in March, but, now, Lufthansa has opted to keep hold of it until at least after Easter.
After Lufthansa expressed its need to retain the jet a while longer and agreed on a new handover date with Austrian, it will now be transferred in April instead. However, it won’t enter service immediately, as it will need to fly first to Taipei in Taiwan for a cabin refurbishment, and then to Teruel in Spain for a repaint. As such, it will only enter service (from Vienna to Newark) on June 1. aeroTELEGRAPH quotes an Austrian spokesperson as saying:
“Thanks to a minor adjustment to the schedule, Austrian Airlines is supporting Lufthansa in operating this Dreamliner for a little longer.”
Lufthansa’s 787 Fleet Has Been Plagued By Delays
While the Dreamliner should have represented an exciting step forward for Lufthansa’s long-haul operations, the German flag carrier has been forced to deal with a number of frustrating setbacks involving the type that have tarnished its reputation at the airline. These primarily concern seat certification issues.
These specifically pertain to the airline’s updated ‘Allegris’ cabins, for which the certification procedures of the new seats, particularly those in business class, have faced delay after delay. This has meant that Lufthansa has been taking delivery of aircraft for which it can’t legally sell every seat on board, which will have had no small impact on its bottom line. After all, to begin with, it was only able to sell the front row of four business class seats.
Since the turn of the new year, its fortunes on this front have taken a turn for the better, with Simple Flying reporting last month that Lufthansa, as of April, will be able to sell 25 of the 28 Allegris business class seats on these aircraft. Even so, it certainly isn’t the introduction that it would have wanted for the 787.
Here’s Why Lufthansa Still Can’t Sell Every Seat On Its Boeing 787 Dreamliners
Exploring the challenges faced by Lufthansa with its Allegris cabins.
Where Do Lufthansa & Austrian Airlines Fly Their Boeing 787s?
According to present scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Lufthansa has scheduled a grand total of 639 flights with its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft this March. The domestic hop from Frankfurt to Munich will see the most rotations, with 50 each way, while the type will also be deployed daily to Detroit and Toronto. Other destinations with near-daily frequencies include Atlanta, Mumbai, Nairobi, and Bogota.
As for Austrian, its smaller Dreamliner fleet of two 787-9s (compared to 14 at Lufthansa) is reflected in a lower number of flights, with 118 scheduled this March. As detailed in the video above, these primarily serve US East Coast destinations, with 20 flights in each direction having been scheduled on the route from Vienna to Newark alongside another 18 to New York JFK. Elsewhere, it has also planned 18 Dreamliner rotations to Chicago.
