Austrian Airlines is set to offer a budget-friendly flight from its hub in Vienna to Dubai with return fares starting from just €314 in Economy. The five times per week service is set to start in December, although Austrian Airlines says this is more experiment than a definite move into the territory of low-cost long-haul flying.
Why the experiment? Well, Austrian Airlines plans to operate this five-and-a-half-hour flight on a short-haul configured single-aisle Airbus A320neo aircraft with slimline non-reclinable seats, no entertainment, and limited food and drink.
The flight is possible because during the quieter winter months, Austrian Airlines has surplus capacity in its short-haul fleet, so, rather than grounding one of its planes for several months, the aircraft will be utilised on a trial basis for a longer flight to Dubai.
Typically, Austrian Airlines would use a wide-body jet for this type of flight, especially given the fact that the carrier is in competition with Emirates, which operates two daily flights to Vienna on its Boeing 777-300 and flagship Airbus A380 superjumbo.
Austrian Airlines knows it can’t compete against Emirates in terms of service or seat when it’s going to be using a short-haul aircraft for this route, but the airline also knows that there are lots of budget-conscious travellers out there who still want to fly to Dubai for a winter sun vacation.
This experiment demonstrates that with courage and a clear focus on essentials, we can explore new ways forward
Austrian Airlines chief executive Annette Mann
As a result, Austrian Airlines is talking up the low-cost nature of its A320neo service to Dubai, while also setting expectations.
“An aircraft in the air is always better than one on the ground – and at the same time, we want to offer our guests a compelling deal,” commented Austrian’s chief executive Annette Mann.
“We understand this route comes with strong and very comfortable competition but by deploying aircraft that would otherwise be idle during winter, we can afford to take a bold step, try something new, and challenge the market.”
Dubbed the ‘Dubai Deal,’ Austrian Airlines says it plans to offer “smart extras and small onboard highlights to make the journey enjoyable” despite the lack of onboard entertainment and other amenities.
Return fares start at €314 for an Economy Light ticket with just 8kg of hand luggage, while fares for an Economy Classic ticket with 23kg of checked luggage start at €374.
The airline will also offer its standard European Business Class with tickets starting at €699. Business Class on this route will just be a standard Economy seat with the middle seat in a row of three blocked off. Passengers get a meal and drinks, along with two pieces of hand luggage and two checked bags included in the fare.
The service will operate as flight OS-89, departing Vienna at 6:55 pm on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, and arriving in Dubai at 3:40 am.
The return flight will go by the callsign OS-90, departing Dubai at 6:05 am and landing in Vienna at 9:25 am.
Flights are expected to commence in December 2025 and will conclude in March 2026. Whether the service returns in the winter of 2026 will depend on the success of the experiment.
Austrian Airlines won’t be the only carrier offering flights from Europe to Dubai on single-aisle jets this winter, with Norwegian Air flying its Boeing 737s from Stockholm to Dubai World Central Airport on a flight blocked at just less than seven hours.
Wizz Air also offers low-cost flights on single-aisle aircraft to Dubai from several cities in Europe, including Katowice and Krakow in Poland, Budapest in Hungary, the Romanian capital Bucharest, and Sofia in Bulgaria.
You mention A320 single aisle jets…. Are there A320 that are not single aisle?
It would have been helpful to provide emirates economy pricing on the route for comparison.
Didn’t realize even with all that wide body capacity (3x a day Emirates and Etihad including A380 plus Arabia narrow body) the fares are rarely under 500 euros.