Lauda Air
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| Founded | April 1979 | ||||||
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Commenced operations | 1985 | ||||||
Ceased operations | 1 July 2012 (merged into Austrian Airlines) | ||||||
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| Alliance | Star Alliance (affiliate; 2000–2013) | ||||||
| Subsidiaries |
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| Parent company | Austrian Airlines Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Schwechat, Lower Austria | ||||||
| Key people | |||||||
| Founder | Niki Lauda | ||||||
Lauda Air was an Austrian charter airline headquartered at Vienna International 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]
History
[edit]Development as an independent airline
[edit]Lauda Air was established in April 1979 by former Formula One world motor racing champion Niki Lauda with two Fokker F27s. Flight operations were launched in the following month of May.[3] Charter operations continued until 1983, with the adoption of increasingly larger aircraft. A period of hiatus followed until 1985, when large-scale charter flights resumed.[3] In that year, ITAS Austria purchased a 49% share. Scheduled services began in May 1988.[3] In 1991, the fleet consisted of two Boeing 737-300s, two Boeing 767-300ERs and a Learjet 36.[4][5]
In May 1988, Lauda started its first long-haul flights from Vienna to Sydney and Melbourne via Bangkok.[6][7] 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 starting from August 1990.[8]
Accelerated market penetration within Europe was made by the signin of a strategic alliance with Lufthansa in 1992, consolidated in the following year. At the same time, the first Bombardier CRJ-100s were taken into service, required for intra-European connections and to Scandinavia.[8] Also in 1992, Lauda established its subsidiary, Lauda Asia Airways, in legal status to Taiwan, like Japan Asia Airways.
Merger with Austrian Airlines
[edit]Lauda Air became a wholly owned subsidiary of Austrian Airlines in December 2000 and employed thirty-five people as of March 2007.[5] In 2005 the flight operations merged with Austrian Airlines, and the brand "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.[9] 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.,[10] which ended its operations in 2007.[11]
Lauda Air was officially merged into Austrian Airlines on 1 July 2012.[12] 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 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 brand used to sell Austrian Airlines' own leisure offers.[1][2]
Destinations
[edit]Austrian Airlines regularly served various destinations under the Lauda Air brand until March 2013[13].
Former destinations
[edit]These destinations were served by Lauda Air before its cessation of operations and its 2012 merger into Austrian Airlines:
Fleet
[edit]
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Historic fleet
[edit]Lauda Air's historic fleet included the following aircraft during its existence:[citation needed]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 2 | 2005 | 2008 | Leased from Austrian Airlines. |
| BAC 1-11-500 | 2 | 1985 | 1986 | Leased from TAROM. |
| Boeing 737-200 | 1 | 1985 | 1988 | Leased from Transavia. |
| Boeing 737-300 | 2 | 1988 | 2005 | |
| Boeing 737-400 | 3 | 1993 | 2005 | |
| Boeing 737-600 | 6 | 2000 | 2009 | Transferred to Austrian Airlines. |
| Boeing 737-700 | 2 | 2001 | 2010 | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 7 | 1998 | 2012 | |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 1 | 1989 | 1991 | OE-LAV crashed as Flight 004. |
| 10 | 2007 | Launch customer with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines. Six transferred to Austrian Airlines. | ||
| Boeing 777-200ER | 3 | 1997 | 2005 | Transferred to Austrian Airlines. |
| Bombardier CRJ-100 | 10 | 1994 | 2004 | Relocated to Austrian Arrows. |
| Fokker F27 Friendship | 1985 | 1994 | ||
Lauda Air Executive
[edit]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.[14]
Incidents and accidents
[edit]Lauda Air suffered one fatal accident during its existence:
- On 26 May 1991, Lauda Air Flight 004, operated by a Boeing 767-300ER registered as OE-LAV, named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, crashed in Thailand shortly after take-off from Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, due to the uncommanded deployment of one of its thrust reversers. This accident resulted in the deaths of all 223 passengers and crew.[15]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Lauda Air on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Archived from the original on 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
- 1 2 Lauda Air Archived 2019-02-12 at the Wayback Machine; DIE Press; retrieved .
- 1 2 3 News Release, Lauda Air, Wien, November 1992
- ↑ World Airline Directory Flight International 27 March 1991 page 99
- 1 2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 105.
- ↑ Lauda Air to serve Australia Australian Aviation issue 42 January 1988 page 15
- ↑ Lauda hit by Australian delays Canberra Times 10 May 1988 page 3
- 1 2 Doug Birch, "Magic tables and service agels", Commuter World magazine, February-March 1997
- ↑ Airliner World; January 2007
- ↑ Lauda Air Annual Report 1995/1996; 24 May 1998 article; Lauda Air; retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ↑ 9 Fam 41.2 Exhibit III List of Signatory Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Carriers: INA 217(E) Signatory Transportation Lines Archived 2019-05-25 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Department of State website; retrieved on 15 February 2013.
- ↑ "Austrian bids farewell to the 737", Airliner World, p. 6, June 2013
- ↑ Lauda Air destinations Summer 2011 Archived 2011-08-07 at the Wayback Machine (.PDF article in German); Lauda Air; auto download.
- ↑ "Airline memorabilia: Lauda Air (1997)". airline-memorabilia.blogspot.it. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-06-21. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- ↑ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Lauda Air at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website (Archive)
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