Lauda Air

Lauda Air was an Austrian leisure and long-haul airline founded in 1979 by Formula One champion Niki Lauda. Austrian Airlines took it over completely in 2000, merged its operations in 2012 and retired the brand in spring 2013, replacing it with Austrian myHoliday.

How it started

Lauda Air was established in April 1979 by the Formula One world champion Niki Lauda. According to Wikipedia, it began with two Fokker F27s and launched flight operations the following month. Charter flying continued with larger aircraft until 1983. A pause followed, and large-scale charters resumed in 1985, the year ITAS Austria bought a 49% share. Simple Flying describes the 1985 restart as air taxi and charter work using BAC 1-11 jets leased from Romania's TAROM. Scheduled services followed in May 1988.

The heyday

Lauda Air became known for long-haul routes unusual for a small Austrian carrier. Wikipedia records flights from Vienna to Sydney and Melbourne via Bangkok from May 1988, later routed via Kuala Lumpur and Bali. Daily services to Dubai, Cuba and Miami (via Munich) began from August 1990. The Simple English Wikipedia gives 1989 for the Australian launch, so the exact start date is not settled.

In 1991 the fleet comprised two Boeing 737-300s, two Boeing 767-300ERs and a Learjet 36. A Lufthansa alliance was agreed in 1992, and the first Bombardier CRJ-100s arrived for European and Scandinavian routes. Also in 1992 Lauda Asia Airways was set up under Taiwanese status. An Italian subsidiary, Lauda Air Italy, also operated; Wikipedia's articles give differing end dates for it (2003, 2005 and 2007).

The airline's worst day came on 26 May 1991, when Flight 004 from Bangkok to Vienna, a Boeing 767, crashed in Thailand. Logos World puts the death toll at 223, and Simple Flying also covers the loss. Niki Lauda visited the crash site.

Why it merged

The change came through ownership. Logos World says Austrian Airlines bought a 36% stake in 1997. Wikipedia says Austrian became the sole owner in December 2000, and by March 2007 Lauda Air employed only 35 people. Flight operations merged into Austrian in 2005, and Lauda Air became the group's charter brand.

Fleet decisions then narrowed its role. In November 2006 the Austrian Airlines Group board approved retiring its Airbus widebodies and keeping only Boeing 767s and 777s. Some long-haul services were suspended, and Lauda Air left the long-haul charter market over the next year. It turned to short and medium-haul holiday routes, with a Boeing 737-800 taking over most charters. Niki Lauda stepped down as chief executive in 2004, according to Logos World.

The last flight

No source found documents a specific final flight. The end date also varies by source. Wikipedia says Lauda Air was merged into Austrian Airlines on 1 July 2012, when all its aircraft were transferred. It says the brand was retired at the start of the summer schedule on 31 March 2013. CAPA gives the same July 2012 merger but dates the brand's retirement to 6 April 2013, and Wikipedia's introduction also uses 6 April 2013. Austrian Airlines flew to leisure destinations under the Lauda Air name until March 2013.

What happened next

• Aircraft and routes: these passed to Austrian Airlines in July 2012.
• Brand: Lauda Air was replaced by Austrian myHoliday. CAPA stresses that this is a brand for marketing Austrian's leisure products, not an airline.
• Niki Lauda: he founded another airline, Niki, in 2003. It ceased operations on 14 December 2017. In 2016 he took over Amira Air and renamed it LaudaMotion, which Wikipedia says stopped flying on 31 October 2020 under Ryanair ownership.

Sources: Wikipedia: Lauda Air, Simple English Wikipedia: Lauda Air, Simple Flying: Niki Lauda and his airlines, CAPA: Lauda Air profile, Logos World: Lauda Air, Wikipedia: Niki (airline), Wikipedia: Lauda (airline)