Lauda Air

Infobox_Airline
airline=Lauda Air
logo=Laudaair.jpg
logo_size=250px
IATA= OS (NG)
ICAO= AUA (LDA)
callsign= AUSTRIAN (LAUDA)
parent=Austrian Airlines AG
founded=1979
headquarters=Vienna, Austria
key_people=Niki Lauda (founder)
hubs=Vienna International Airport
focus_cities=
frequent_flyer= Miles & More
lounge=
alliance= Star Alliance
fleet_size=12
destinations=130 in 66 countries (AUA Group)
website= http://www.laudaair.com

Lauda Air is an airline based in Vienna, Austria. It operates scheduled leisure flights and charters to holiday destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Caribbean and South-East Asia. Its main base is Vienna International Airport cite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= Flight International | page= 105 | date= 2007-04-03] . Lauda Air is a member of the Austrian Airlines Group and Star Alliance.

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 charter and air taxi services. Scheduled operations were licenced in 1987 and in 1990 licences for international flights were obtained.. In 1989 Lauda started their first long-haul flights from Vienna to Sydney and Melbourne, via Bangkok. In the 1990s they started to fly their Sydney and Melbourne flights via Kuala Lumpur. Daily flights to Miami via Munich, to Dubai and to Cuba followed. Fact|date=February 2007

It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Austrian Airlines in December 2000 and has 35 employees (at March 2007). In 2005 the flight operation merged with Austrian Airlines, and the label Lauda Air now operates charter flights within the Austrian Airlines Group.

Destinations

At an Austrian Airlines Group 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 was suspending some long-haul services and Lauda Air is to withdraw from the long-haul charter market over the next year [Airliner World January 2007] .

Incidents and accidents

*On May 26, 1991, Flight 004, operated by a Boeing 767-3Z9ER plane, was lost over Thailand after an uncommanded reverser deployment, with 223 dead.

Fleet

The Lauda Air fleet includes the following aircraft (at September, 2008):

Lauda Airlines has named its aircraft after celebrities, they are listed in this box (at September, 2008);

References

External links

* [http://www.laudaair.com Lauda Air official website]