In the coming weeks and months, several airports throughout Europe will witness a relatively rare event when Austrian ‘Heavies’ will replace regional jets.

If you live in, or travel to Dubrovnik, Frankfurt, Paris, Larnaca, Hamburg, or Zurich expect to see OS’ 767s and 777s operate on regularly scheduled flights.  In addition to these Euro cities, Cairo will see Austrian’s 767 as well.

The reason?

It appears that Austrian has agreed to use their long haul fleet to allow SWISS pilots to gain certifications as SWISS begins to receive their 777 aircraft from Boeing.   Not to worry, the LX pilots will be flying with OS pilots who are already certified for the aircraft types.  The process will take place between April and October with numerous flights around Europe.

Nothing official has been spoken by either airline but according to a trustworthy source, FlyerTalk’s Oliver2002, this is nothing new for Austrian and SWISS to work together like this to help pilots get their hours and certifications.

The list of flights that will have a 767 or 777 assigned to it is a fairly lengthy and complicated one, so instead of spending hours deciphering all the variables here is a link to AirlineRoute.com’s webpage that provides a summary of the affected flights.    Their presentation is quite complex, so if you have any specific questions regarding dates and flights, please leave a comment here and I’ll clear it up for you.    I’ve attached a screen shot of their page for your convenience:

Austrian’s Euro timetable for 767 and 777 operations. Courtesy of AirlineRoute.net

So when you show up to your flight expecting some kind of ATR or ERJ, don’t be shocked when you see a 250-300 seat ‘Jumbo’ waiting to take you on your 45 minute flight from Vienna to Zurich.