Lauda Air

Lauda Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
OS AUA AUSTRIAN
Founded 1979
Commenced operations 1985
Ceased operations April 2013
Operating bases Vienna International Airport
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer program Miles & More
Alliance Star Alliance (affiliate)
Destinations 59
Company slogan The Austrian Way to holidays
Parent company Austrian Airlines
Headquarters Schwechat, Austria
Key people
  • Jaan Albrecht, CEO
  • Karsten Benz, CCO
Website laudaair.com

Lauda Air Luftfahrt GmbH, branded as Lauda Air, was an Austrian airline headquartered at Vienna International Airport in Schwechat.[1] It was owned by Niki Lauda 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]

History

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 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.

Lauda Air became a wholly owned subsidiary of Austrian Airlines in December 2000, and employed 35 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, to concentrate on 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. The last carried the Lauda Air livery until the closure of the brand to secure the Air operator's certificate.

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

Lauda Air Boeing 777-200ER
Lauda Air Boeing 737-300 in Star Alliance livery
Lauda Air flight attendants wearing the airline's trademark denim jeans.

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

Africa

 Egypt

Europe

 Austria
 Greece
 Iceland
 Ireland
 Italy
 Portugal
 Spain
 Turkey

Asia[11]

 Hong Kong

 Indonesia

 Thailand

 Vietnam

 Malaysia

 Maldives

Oceania

 Australia

Europe

 Austria

 United Kingdom

 France

 Spain

 Portugal

 Italy

 Germany

Fleet

Last fleet

Lauda Air Boeing 737–800

At last, Lauda Air operated the following aircraft:

Historic fleet

Lauda Air's past fleet included:[12]

Lauda Air Executive

Lauda Air also operated a fleet consisting of 3 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.[13]

Incidents and accidents

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.ch-aviation.ch/portal/airline/NG
  2. 1 2 Lauda Air; DIE Press; retrieved .
  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. 1 2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 105.
  5. ↑ Airliner World; January 2007
  6. ↑ Lauda Air Annual Report 1995/1996; 24 May 1998 article; Lauda Air; retrieved 6 March 2013.
  7. ↑ 9 Fam 41.2 Exhibit III List of Signatory Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Carriers: INA 217(E) Signatory Transportation Lines; Archive of U.S. Department of State website; retrieved on 15 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "Austrian bids farewell to the 737", Airliner World, p. 6, June 2013
  9. ↑ Lauda Air destinations Summer 2011 (.PDF article in German); Lauda Air; auto download.
  10. ↑ "Airline memorabilia: Lauda Air (2010)". airline-memorabilia.blogspot.it. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  11. ↑ Lauda Air Time Table
  12. ↑ "Lauda Air Fleet Details and History – Planespotters.net Just Aviation". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  13. ↑ "Airline memorabilia: Lauda Air (1997)". airline-memorabilia.blogspot.it. Retrieved 2015-06-21.

External links

Media related to Lauda Air at Wikimedia Commons

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