Aviation

New Boeing 777 of Austrian Airlines to Land in Vienna for the First Time as Part of an Interception Training

Additional long haul aircraft will be transferred from Hong Kong to Vienna with flight number OS 1472 tomorrow
Two Eurofighter-jets of the Austrian Air Force will accompany OS 1472 within the context of an interception training held by the Austrian Armed Forces
The Boeing 777 is of high importance to the Vienna flight hub and creates 150 additional jobs

The big event is approaching just one day from now: Austrian Airlines is going to welcome its new Boeing 777 at its home airport in Vienna. The long-haul aircraft with the registration OE-LPF was modified in Hong Kong and adapted to meet the standards of Austrian Airlines over a period of four months. After a successful acceptance flight the Boeing 777 will be transferred to Vienna already tomorrow. The flight with the flight number OS 1472 is scheduled to depart at 3 a.m. local time from Hong Kong and is supposed to arrive in Vienna at 2:40 p.m. local time after flight time of nearly 12 hours.

Eurofighter-jets accompany OS 1472 as part of an interception training

As soon as flight OS 1472 will reach the Austrian airspace, it will be accompanied by two Eurofighter-jets of the Austrian Air Force until it lands at Vienna Airport within the context of an interception training held by the Austrian Armed Forces. As part of this tactical exercise, a go-around maneuver of flight OS 1472 is planned at Vienna Airport before landing. The interception training depends on the weather conditions. If the weather is good, interested people will have the opportunity to observe the landing live from the Visitors Terrace of Vienna Airport. The exact landing time is not exactly predictable, as thunderstorms are to be expected tomorrowin Vienna.

Aviation

COMAC Unveils Plans for the C929 to Rival Airbus and Boeing

After the success of China’s first C919 aircraft, the country is setting its sights on developing a larger plane. COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) has officially confirmed plans to build a widebody aircraft, marking a significant step in its aircraft lineup.

Traditionally, Airbus and Boeing dominate the widebody aircraft market, with decades of expertise in developing planes and engines capable of carrying heavy payloads. China, which currently relies on imported engines, is now aiming to challenge these giants with its own widebody jet, the C929, designed to compete with the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777.

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The C929 will be China’s first independently developed long-range widebody aircraft. It adheres to international airworthiness standards and boasts independent intellectual property rights. The baseline version is designed to seat 280 passengers and offers a range of 12,000 kilometers, catering to global demand for both regional and international air travel.

Russia, which also needs reliable narrowbody and widebody aircraft, could become a key customer for the C929. Additionally, China plans to target the broader Asian market as it continues to expand its aviation capabilities.

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China’s aviation progress includes the ARJ21 (now called C909), a regional jet with 100 seats for shorter routes, and the C919, a narrowbody jet with 180 seats designed to rival the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320. Both models have found increasing demand in the domestic market.

At China’s largest air show in Zhuhai, COMAC announced that Air China will be the launch customer for the C929 widebody jet, though details about order size and delivery timelines were not disclosed.

Other major deals announced by COMAC include:

Hainan Airlines: Firm orders for 60 C919 and 40 C909 regional jets.
Colorful Guizhou Airlines: 30 C909 jets, with 20 firm orders and 10 provisional agreements.

The C929, renamed from the CR929 after Russia withdrew from the joint development project in 2023, is expected to carry 280–400 passengers with a range of 12,000 kilometers, competing directly with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

According to COMAC’s deputy general manager, Tong Yu, the first fuselage section of the C929 is expected by September 2027, with prototype test flights anticipated soon after.