Austrian Is Keeping Summer Going for One More Week

Austrian Airlines is stretching its summer season a little further this year. The Vienna-based carrier is adding around 100 extra flights around Austria’s autumn school holidays, keeping several sun destinations on the schedule beyond their usual end date and boosting frequencies on popular city routes. In practice, part of the summer programme will now run into the first week of the 2026/27 winter schedule, which begins over the weekend of October 24 and 25, giving families a longer window for a late-season getaway.

Spain gets much of the extra flying. Services to Ibiza, Alicante, Bilbao and Fuerteventura will continue into the autumn, while Palma de Mallorca gains 11 additional flights. Funchal on Madeira stays on the map, as do Olbia in Sardinia, Palermo and Lamezia Terme in southern Italy and Split in Croatia. Larnaca in Cyprus receives the biggest boost, with 13 additional flights. Travellers heading to Greece will also find extended or increased service to Heraklion, Chania and Rhodes.

City-break demand is being served too. Austrian is adding frequencies to Rome, Florence and Naples, and Dubrovnik, Nice and Valencia will see more flights than a normal winter schedule would offer. That is useful for travellers who prefer shoulder-season sightseeing, when crowds thin, hotel prices ease and temperatures across the Mediterranean are still comfortably warm. It also reflects a broader trend of airlines stretching the leisure season as travellers move trips away from peak summer heat.

Looking further ahead, Austrian is also leaning into long-haul winter sun. It plans up to seven weekly flights to both Malé in the Maldives and Mauritius during peak periods, with Malé reaching ten a week in early February. Bangkok rises to 14 weekly flights in January and February, and Dubai returns over Christmas and New Year with five weekly A320neo flights. Anyone travelling from Vienna during the autumn holidays should book soon, as the extra seats are timed to the busiest family travel week of the season.

Sources: The Local Austria, Aviation Week