Lauda Air Luftfahrt GmbH, branded as 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]

Lauda Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
NG LDA LAUDA
FoundedApril 1979 (1979-04)
Commenced operations1985 (1985)
Ceased operations6 April 2013 (2013-04-06)
(merged into Austrian Airlines)
HubsVienna
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer program
AllianceStar Alliance (affiliate; 2000—2013)
SubsidiariesLauda Air Italy (1991—2005)
Parent companyAustrian Airlines Group
HeadquartersSchwechat, Austria
Key people
  • Jaan Albrecht (CEO)
  • Karsten Benz (CCO)
FoundersNiki Lauda

History edit

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

Development as an independent airline edit

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 edit

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 edit

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

Former destinations edit

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

Country City Airport Notes
  Australia Melbourne Melbourne Airport Terminated
Sydney Sydney Airport Terminated
  Austria Graz Graz Airport Focus city
Innsbruck Innsbruck Airport Focus city
Linz Linz Airport Focus city
Salzburg Salzburg Airport
Vienna Vienna International Airport Hub
  Brazil Maceió Zumbi dos Palmares International Airport Terminated
  Egypt Hurghada Hurghada International Airport
Luxor Luxor International Airport
Sharm El Sheikh Sharm El Sheikh International Airport
  France Nice Nice Côte d'Azur Airport Terminated
Paris Orly Airport Terminated
  Germany Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Airport Terminated
Frankfurt Frankfurt Airport Terminated
Munich Munich Airport Terminated
  Greece Chania Chania International Airport Seasonal
Corfu Corfu International Airport Seasonal
Heraklion Heraklion International Airport Seasonal
Karpathos Karpathos Island National Airport Seasonal
Kavala Kavala International Airport Seasonal
Kefalonia Kefalonia International Airport Seasonal
Kos Kos International Airport Seasonal
Mykonos Mykonos Airport Seasonal
Mytilene Mytilene International Airport Seasonal
Preveza Aktion National Airport Seasonal
Rhodes Rhodes International Airport Seasonal
Samos Samos International Airport Seasonal
Santorini Santorini (Thira) International Airport Seasonal
Skiathos Skiathos International Airport Seasonal
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Airport Seasonal
Volos Nea Anchialos National Airport Seasonal
Zakynthos Zakynthos International Airport Seasonal
  Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong International Airport Terminated
Kai Tak Airport Airport Closed
  Iceland Reykjavík Keflavik International Airport Seasonal
  Indonesia Denpasar I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport Terminated
  Ireland Dublin Dublin Airport Seasonal
  Italy Cagliari Cagliari Elmas Airport
Catania Catania-Fontanarossa Airport Seasonal
Milan Milan Malpensa Airport Terminated
Naples Naples International Airport Seasonal
Olbia Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport
Rome Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport Terminated
Tortolì Tortolì Airport
  Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminated
  Maldives Malé Ibrahim Nasir International Airport Terminated
  Portugal Faro Faro Airport Seasonal
Funchal Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport Seasonal
Lisbon Lisbon Airport Terminated
  Spain Barcelona Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport Seasonal
Fuerteventura Fuerteventura Airport
Las Palmas Gran Canaria Airport
Madrid Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport Terminated
Málaga Málaga Airport Seasonal
Lanzarote Lanzarote Airport Seasonal
Tenerife Tenerife South Airport
  Thailand Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport Terminated
Phuket Phuket International Airport Terminated
  Turkey Antalya Antalya Airport
Bodrum Milas–Bodrum Airport Seasonal
Dalaman Dalaman Airport Seasonal
  United Kingdom London Gatwick Airport Terminated
Heathrow Airport Terminated
Manchester Manchester Airport Terminated
  Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat International Airport Terminated

Fleet edit

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

Historic fleet edit

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

Lauda Air's Historic Fleet
Aircraft Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A320-200 1999 2005
BAC 1-11-500 1980s 1990s
Boeing 737-200 1985 2013
Boeing 737-300
Boeing 737-400
Boeing 737-600
Boeing 737-700
Boeing 737-800
Boeing 767-300ER 1989 1991 OE-LAV crashed as Flight NG 004.
2007 Launch customer with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine.
Boeing 777-200ER 1997 2005 All aircraft transferred to Austrian Airlines.
Bombardier CRJ-100 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.[11]

Incidents and accidents edit

Lauda Air suffered one fatal accident during its existence:

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Lauda Air on ch-aviation". ch-aviation.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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. 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. ^ "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. ^ "Airline memorabilia: Lauda Air (1997)". airline-memorabilia.blogspot.it. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  12. ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network

External links edit

  Media related to Lauda Air at Wikimedia Commons