Lauda_Air

Lauda Air

Lauda Air

Defunct charter airline of Austria (1979–2013)

This article is about the defunct Austrian leisure airline. For the defunct Ryanair subsidiary, see Lauda (airline). For the 2020 Maltese successor, see Lauda Europe.

Lauda Air Luftfahrt GmbH, branded as Lauda Air, was an Austrian charter airline headquartered at Vienna Airport in Schwechat.[1] It was owned by Niki Lauda (1949–2019) during much of its existence, later becoming a charter airline subsidiary for leisure operations of Austrian Airlines. On 6 April 2013, Lauda Air ceased to exist and was replaced by Austrian myHoliday, a new brand name that is used for flights and leisure offers provided by Austrian Airlines.[2]

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History

Lauda Air flight attendants wearing the airline's trademark denim jeans.

Development as an independent airline

Lauda Air was established in April 1979 by former Formula One world motor racing champion Niki Lauda and started operations in 1985, initially operating as a charter and air taxi service. One of the first jetliner types used by Lauda Air was the British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven series 500, with these aircraft being leased from the Romanian airline TAROM. It opened its headquarters in the Lauda Air Building in Schwechat, Austria.[3] Scheduled operations were licensed and initiated in 1987, and in 1990 licences for international flights were obtained.[4]

In 1989 Lauda started its first long-haul flights from Vienna to Sydney and Melbourne via Bangkok. In the 1990s, it started to fly its Sydney and Melbourne flights via Kuala Lumpur and Bali. Daily flights to Dubai, Cuba, and Miami via Munich followed.

Merger with Austrian Airlines

Lauda Air became a wholly owned subsidiary of Austrian Airlines in December 2000 and employed thirty-five people as of March 2007.[4] In 2005 the flight operation merged with Austrian Airlines, and the label "Lauda Air" operated charter flights within the Austrian Airlines Group.

At an AAG board meeting in November 2006, plans were approved to retire the Airbus wide-bodied fleet by mid-2007 and to operate with just a Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 fleet. As a result of subsequent fleet cuts, Austrian Airlines suspended some long-haul services and Lauda Air withdrew from the long-haul charter market over the next year.[5] This led to a refocus on the short/medium-haul market and led to the addition of a 737-800 to take over most of the charter routes. Lauda Air also had an Italian subsidiary, Lauda Air S.p.A.,[6] which ended its operations in 2007.[7]

Lauda Air was officially merged into Austrian Airlines on 1 July 2012.[8] All aircraft within the group were transferred to Austrian Airlines on 1 July 2012, to be able to take advantage of Austrian Airlines structure. There are still Lauda liveries in use to this day.

The brand was retired at the start of the summer flight schedule on 31 March 2013, and was replaced by "Austrian myHoliday". It is no longer an airline but a branding that is used to sell Austrian Airlines' own leisure offers.[1][2]

Destinations

Main article: Austrian Airlines Group destinations

Austrian Airlines regularly served, among others, the following destinations under the Lauda Air brand until March 2013:[9]

Former destinations

The following destinations were served by Lauda Air as an independent airline prior to their merger into Austrian Airlines:

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Fleet

Lauda Boeing 737-700
Lauda Boeing 767-300ER in Star Alliance livery
Lauda Boeing 777-200ER

Historic fleet

Lauda Air's historic fleet included the following aircraft during its existence:[10]

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Lauda Air Executive

Lauda Air also operated a fleet of three small jets, a Cessna Citation II (9 seats), a Bombardier Lear 60 (7 seats), and a Dassault Falcon 20 (12 seats). These were available for private charter flights.[11]

Incidents and accidents

Main article: Lauda Air Flight 004

Lauda Air suffered one fatal accident during its existence:

References

  1. [1]
    "Lauda Air on ch-aviation". ch-aviation.
  2. [2]
    Lauda Air; DIE Press; retrieved .
  3. [3]
    99 "World Airline Directory;" Flight International; 27 March–2 April 1991; Head Office: Lauda Air Building, PO Box 56, 1300 Wien-Schwechat, Austria; accessed .
  4. [4]
    "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 105.
  5. [5]
    Airliner World; January 2007
  6. [6]
    Lauda Air Annual Report 1995/1996; 24 May 1998 article; Lauda Air; retrieved 6 March 2013.
  7. [7]
    9 Fam 41.2 Exhibit III List of Signatory Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Carriers: INA 217(E) Signatory Transportation Lines. U.S. Department of State website; retrieved on 15 February 2013.
  8. [8]
    "Austrian bids farewell to the 737", Airliner World, p. 6, June 2013
  9. [9]
    Lauda Air destinations Summer 2011 (.PDF article in German); Lauda Air; auto download.
  10. [10]
    "Lauda Air Fleet Details and History – Planespotters.net Just Aviation". www.planespotters.net. Archived from the original on 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  11. [11]
    "Airline memorabilia: Lauda Air (1997)". airline-memorabilia.blogspot.it. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  12. [12]
    Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network

Media related to Lauda Air at Wikimedia Commons
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