Austrian Airlines
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Www.aua.com Official Website
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Austrian Airlines (often shortened to Austrian or AUA) is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of Lufthansa, the flag carrier of Germany. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its airline hub. As of July 2016, the airline flew to six domestic and more than 120 international year-round and seasonal destinations in 55 countries and is a member of the Star Alliance.
Air Austria and Austrian Airways merged to form the airline in 1957, but its history dates back to the founding of Austrian Airways in 1923. Throughout much of the company's existence, it was a nationalisation entity. On 31 March 1958, the airline performed its scheduled service, flying a leased Vickers Viscount from Vienna to Zürich and London; it subsequently purchased its own Viscount fleet. On 18 February 1963, Austrian ordered its first jet propulsion airliner, the Sud Aviation Caravelle. It subsequently introduced various models and derivatives of the Douglas DC-9 jetliner; by the end of 1971, Austrian was an all-jet operator. During the 1980s, it introduced the DC-9-80, otherwise known as the McDonnell Douglas MD-80, to its fleet. Various airliners produced by Airbus, Boeing, Fokker and other manufacturers were introduced across the 1980s and 1990s.
Throughout the 1990s, the airline sought out new strategic alliances, as well as to expand its presence in the long-haul market, launching new services to China and South Africa. In 2000, Austrian became a member of Star Alliance; a few years prior, it had also joined the Qualiflyer Group. During the 2000s, the airline expanded through the acquisitions of Rheintalflug and Lauda Air and adopted the shortened Austrian name in 2003. Throughout the 2000s, Austrian sustained several years of losses; during 2008, the airline's then-owner, the Austrian government, was advised to privatisation Austrian via its sale to a foreign company. In 2009, the Lufthansa Group purchased Austrian after receiving approval from the European Commission following an investigation into the tendering process.
Following its privatisation, the business restructured, enacting both fleet expansion and cost-saving initiatives; visible changes included route alterations, a new corporate design, and a revised aircraft livery. Following labour disputes over several of the cost-cutting measures, all Austrian Airlines' flights were transferred on 1 July 2012 to its subsidiary, Tyrolean Airways, which operated under the Austrian name. A new labour agreement led to the transfer of all flights back to Austrian Airlines on 1 April 2015, and the merger of Tyrolean Airways into its parent company. During the late 2010s, restructuring of both its fleet and route network continued.
History
Early years
The company's initial fleet consisted of Junkers F 13s. On 14 May 1923, the first flight performed by the fledging airline was conducted between Vienna and Munich, piloted by Hans Baur. The landing occurred in Jedlesee, followed by a conversion to a float and a subsequent flight to Budapest. Junkers Trans European Union was the company operating the flight. Its destinations included Munich, Budapest, Nuremberg, Graz, Klagenfurt, and St. Wolfgang. Seaplanes served targets in Austria. September 1926 saw the dissolution of the union.
From 1927, the company procured new aircraft with support from the government. During the same year, it formed an operating partnership agreement with Deutsche Luft Hansa. The two companies jointly planned and operated line connections and created a route network to Berlin, Budapest, and Milan. In 1932, Luft Hansa Junkers held a 49% interest in the company. Following its recovery from the Great Depression, the firm expanded its fleet by adding several Junkers Ju 52/3 m. The firm's rapid growth throughout the 1930s led to it becoming the fourth-largest airline in Europe at one point.
In 1938, the company began planning routes to Rome, Paris, and London, using a fleet of Junkers Ju 90 aircraft. Following the Anschluss in March 1938, these plans were promptly abandoned. From 1 January 1939, the airline was fully under the control of Lufthansa. Lufthansa deleted the company from the commercial register in June 1939.
After the Second World War, Austria was again separated from Germany. While it regained its independence due to the Austrian State Treaty of 1955, the newly reconstituted nation initially lacked a national airline. In 1955, two distinct companies, Air Austria and Austrian Airways, swiftly emerged to address this unoccupied market. On 4 April 1957, Austrian Airlines was formed under the corporate name Österreichische Luftverkehrs AG through the merger of Air Austria and Austrian Airways. On 30 September 1957, the new entity commenced operations, performing its maiden flight on 31 March 1958 when a leased Vickers Viscount took off from Vienna for a scheduled service to Zürich and London.
During early 1960, six new-build Viscount 837s were delivered to Austrian Airlines; unlike earlier aircraft, which had been leased, these were owned by the company and quickly displaced the former. Operations expanded quickly, opting to launch domestic services for the first time on 1 May 1963. Within ten years of operations, Austrian Airlines' financial situation had improved considerably; its share capital had reportedly increased from an initial ATS 60 million to reach ATS 290 million in 1957.
Jet era
The Caravelle formed a core part of Austrian Airlines' fleet until 1973. Deliveries of the American-built jetliner, the Douglas DC-9, commenced in 1971. Starting in 1971, Austrian Airlines opted to standardise its fleet. By the end of that year, the firm had permanently withdrawn all Viscounts, leaving it with an all-jet fleet. Austrian Airlines centred its new fleet around a core of nine DC-9-32s, which it would operate for short- and medium-haul flights for many years. Austrian Airlines introduced the first of five DC-9-51s, an improved model, into service during 1975.
On 13 October 1977, Austrian became the first customer for the DC-9-80, placing an initial order for eight. On 26 October 1980, the first MD-81, which was capable of longer-range flights than earlier models, made its first commercial flight with the airline, flying from Vienna to Zürich. During 1984, Austrian became the first customer for the MD-87 and played an influential role in its development. The first MD-87 entered service at the end of 1987, as did the MD-83 from 1990, while six of the airline's MD-81s were upgraded to MD-82 standards. On 26 March 1989, Austrian Airlines inaugurated its first regular long-haul route, to New York-JFK, using an Airbus A310-300 (OE-LAA), aptly named “New York”.
In 1988, Austrian Airlines underwent an initial public offering on the Vienna Stock Exchange, although the majority of shares in the company remained held by the Austrian government at this time.
Developments from 1990 to 2008
On 26 March 2000, Austrian became a member of Star Alliance. During January 2001, it acquired a majority of the shares in Lauda Air; one month later, the airline also bought all of the shares in Rheintalflug. Austrian Airlines' operating name was shortened to Austrian in September 2003; it also renamed its three constituent carriers during this rebranding. Austrian and Lauda Air merged their flight operations departments into a single unit on 1 October 2004, leaving Lauda Air solely as a brand name for charter flights. It had 6,394 employees. In March 2004, it launched its Focus East plan, expanding the airline's destinations across Central and Eastern Europe to 38; as a consequence, the Austrian Airlines Group became a market leader within this region.
Austrian Airlines adopted a stringent cost-saving policy in October 2006, eliminating over 500 jobs in 2007. Austrian Airlines cancelled several long-haul destinations, including Sydney via Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne via Singapore, Kathmandu, and Shanghai. Tyrolean Airways received the three remaining Fokker 70s. The decision also included abandoning the long-haul , which included four Airbus A340s and four Airbus A330s, in favour of standardising the fleet with Boeing 777s and Boeing 767s. Austrian Airlines removed complimentary in-flight meals and alcoholic drinks on short-haul services, introducing a "Self Select Bistro Service", except on flights from London and any flights above 100 minutes in duration. Austrian Airlines inflight meals Airreview, 18 Jan 2012 Head office moved from Oberlaa in Vienna's Favoriten district to Vienna International Airport in 2007, whereas headquarters remained in Vienna.
Following a modest profit of €3.3 million in 2007, the financial guidance for 2008 underwent several negative changes, culminating in an expected loss of €475 million by the end of November.
Takeover by Lufthansa
On 13 November 2008, state holding ÖIAG announced that Lufthansa was selected. The German company was to enter Austrian Airlines' capital with a 41.6% share, for which it would pay €366,268.75. AUA CEO Alfred Ötsch and OIAG chairman Peter Michaelis were heavily criticised for revealing to Lufthansa that it had to take over the €500 million debt only when the deal had been made binding. Michaelis refused a new tendering procedure but was made a scapegoat with his shareholder rights removed, and Ötsch resigned on 29 January 2013.
The European Commission began an investigation into the acquisition on 1 July 2009, suspecting a fraudulent tendering process that had already determined everything in favour of Lufthansa. Finally, following approval from the European Commission, Lufthansa purchased Austrian Airlines during September 2009. Shares in Austrian Airlines AG were suspended on the Vienna Stock Exchange on 4 February 2010. After a time of uncertainty following the demission of appointed CEO Thierry Antinori,Financial Times Deutschland: Ex-Lufthansa-Manager läuft zu Emirates über. the arrival of Jaan Albrecht as the new CEO in 2011 signalled the beginning of a new era for the airline, with improving passenger numbers and a more strategic position within the Lufthansa framework. The completion of extension works at the Vienna International Airport will give the airline more room for expansion. In January 2012, the airline implemented a new strategy that included the addition of 11 new aircraft in the next three years, resulting in a long-term fleet renewal, with Airbus planes serving medium-haul routes and Boeings serving long-haul routes.
Despite eliminating 2,500 jobs, the company was still losing money in December 2011, prompting the revelation of a new cost-saving plan. Lufthansa refused to provide financial support. Austrians once again called for recapitalisation in March 2012. Lufthansa approved a capital increase of €140 million to address the structural deficiencies.
The Lauda Air subsidiary was merged into Austrian Airlines on 1 July 2012.
Operational transition to Tyrolean from 2012
In April 2013, Austrian Airlines retired its final Boeing 737, a 737-800 variant in Lauda Air markings, as part of its fleet consolidation exercise. The airline's 11 Boeing 737s were replaced by seven Airbus A320s; it was reportedly expected to achieve annual saving of €17 million through the move to a single type. Austrian announced its return to profitability in March 2014, marking its first profit in six years. This same year, management intensified efforts to end a long-running labour dispute.
Merger of Austrian and Tyrolean in 2015
Ahead of this merger, Austrian announced an overhauled concept, initially called "my Austrian", on 26 March 2015; it included a new corporate design, a revised aircraft livery, and several new routes. However, in January 2016, Austrian Airlines announced it would revise its new branding introduced in spring 2015 by dropping the word "my" in front of Austrian; this new feature had been severely criticised.
In June 2015, Austrian Airlines announced the purchase of 17 Embraer 195s from within the Lufthansa Group. These Embraer aircraft, which had been owned by Lufthansa CityLine, replaced the ageing Fokker 70s and 100s. By August 2016, the fleet had received eight of the 17 Embraer aircraft and nine of the 23 Fokker aircraft. By late July 2017, all of the remaining Fokker 70s had been phased out; the Fokker 100s followed by the end of the year. That same year, Austrian began offering Internet on board its short-haul and medium-haul flights for the first time.
60th anniversary in 2018
Due to increasing competition from at its Vienna base and the need to streamline operations to avoid financial losses, the airline announced restructuring its fleet and network in 2019. By March 2021, Airbus A320s replaced all Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft, shutting down all crew bases outside Vienna and moving all routes not passing through Vienna airport to either Lufthansa or Eurowings. airliners.de - "Austrian rebuilds fleet and schedule" (German) 18 January 2019 In January 2020, Austrian announced the further retirement of three of its six Boeing 767-300ER. aerotelegraph.com 5 January 2021
Developments since the COVID-19 pandemic
Austrian Airlines announced in September 2021 that it will terminate all its remaining scheduled services originating from Austrian airports outside of Vienna. These will be either cancelled or transferred to sister company Eurowings. aviation.direct (German) 28 September 2021
In the fall of 2023, Austrian was ordered by an Austrian court to stop advertising flights carried out with SAF as "CO2 neutral".
Starting in the early 2020s, Austrian embarked on a fleet modernization program. First, in the autumn of 2022, Austrian announced an order of four new Airbus A320neo. In October of the same year, Austrian welcomed the first of the four new Airbus A320neo into the fleet, with the remaining three slated for gradual introduction until spring 2023. Austrian further announced in April 2023 that they will replace their current long-haul fleet of 3 Boeing 767-300ER and 6 Boeing 777-200ER with 10 Boeing 787-9 from early 2024 to 2028. Five of these jets will be transferred from Lufthansa, and the other five will be delivered to Austrian from the existing Lufthansa Group order. aerotelegraph.com - "Austrian Airlines to receive 10 Boeing 787-9" (German) 19 April 2023 In early 2024, Austrian confirmed that the airline will receive overall 11 Boeing 787-9s, two of which were pre-owned by Bamboo Airways and were to be delivered by March 2024 with a start of scheduled operations planned for summer 2024. In summer 2025, Austrian confirmed plans for receiving a 12th 787-9 aircraft by 2028.
In January 2025, Austrian announced it would retire its three remaining Boeing 767-300ER in the same year, with the last scheduled route being Vienna-Washington D. C., by 31 December 2025. aerotelegraph.com - "Washington to be last 767 destination for Austrian" 8 January 2025
Corporate affairs
Business trends
Ownership and subsidiaries
- Austrian Technik Bratislava, a maintenance company located at Bratislava Airport equipped for overhauls on Fokker and Embraer regional jets, Airbus A220 and the Airbus A320 family.
- Gulet-Touropa-Touristik
- AVS-Versicherungen
- TUI Austria
- Traviaustria
- AirPlus Kreditkarteninstitut
- Lauda Air (former)
- Wiener Börse AG
- SCA Schedule Coordination Austria
- Slovak Airlines (former)
- ACS AirContainerService GmbH
- Avicon Aviation Consult GmbH
- Austrian Lufthansa Cargo GmbH
- Austrian Airlines Tele Sales & Service GmbH
myAustrian Holidays
Livery
The Austrian Airlines' arrow ("Austrian Chevron") has seen several design modifications over the years. When created in 1960, it was redolent in the shape of a flying bird; the design became more formal in 1972. In 1995, a rebranding exercise placed the "Chevron" on the red-white-red tail fin. Since 2003, the new corporate design has reintroduced the old "Chevron" shape in a more modern style, incorporating a drop shadow underneath.
Several special colour schemes have been used throughout the decades. Since joining Star Alliance, a few aeroplanes have flown with Star Alliance markings. For the Mozart year in 2006, an Airbus A320 was decorated in a Mozart design, and an Airbus A340-300 was coated with an hommage to the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The Tyrol advertisement gave a Boeing 737-600 a glacier look. Aeroplanes featured three designs to commemorate Euro 2008. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary by adorning an Airbus A320 with retro liveries. Austrian's slogan is "the charming way to fly".
Destinations
Route development
In March 2007, the Kangaroo Route ended with the termination of both Australia routes—Melbourne via Singapore and Sydney via Kuala Lumpur. Austrian was the last European-based airline offering direct flights from Melbourne to Europe. It started with Lauda aircraft and later used Austrian Airlines aircraft. Austrian Airlines temporarily restarted the Vienna to Sydney route in March 2020 as part of their repatriation flights to retrieve people stranded in other countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The flight from Vienna to Sydney was direct, whereas the return trip stopped in Penang, Malaysia, for refuelling and to take on extra cargo. Using a Boeing 777, the non-stop flight covered a distance of over and lasted almost 18 hours, making it the longest flight in the history of Austrian Airlines.
Austrian was one of the few airlines to fly to post-war Iraq when it began flights to Erbil in December 2006. New flights to Mumbai began in November 2010, and Austrian resumed flights to Baghdad on 8 June 2011. On 13 January 2013, Austrian Airlines suspended flights to Tehran due to a lack of demand. Austrian Airlines resumed flights to Chicago on 17 May 2013 and launched Newark in 2014. Austrian Airlines started service to Mauritius at the beginning of the 2015 winter schedule. The expansion of the intercontinental network seems to indicate improving results for Austrian, with Lufthansa placing its confidence in the airline. Austrian Airlines began service to Mauritius and Miami in October 2015. Austrian Airlines commenced service to Los Angeles on 10 April 2017, covering a distance of over 9,877 kilometers or 6,137 miles; the flight takes about 12 hours and 30 minutes, using Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. Austrian Airlines announced it would commence service (four times a week) to Shiraz which began on 2 July 2017, with a stopover in Isfahan using Airbus A320 aircraft.
Codeshare agreements
- airBaltic
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air France
- Air India
- All Nippon Airways
- Asiana Airlines
- Azerbaijan Airlines
- Bangkok Airways
- Belavia
- Brussels Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- Croatia Airlines
- Egyptair
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Eurowings
- Georgian Airways
- Iran Air
- ITA Airways
- KM Malta Airlines
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Luxair
- Scandinavian Airlines
- SunExpress
- Swiss International Air Lines
- TAP Air Portugal
- TAROM
- Thai Airways International
- Ukraine International Airlines
- United Airlines
Fleet
Current fleet
| + Austrian Airlines fleet ! rowspan="2" style="width:150px;" | Aircraft ! rowspan="2" style="width:30px;" | In service ! rowspan="2" style="width:30px;" | Orders ! colspan="5" | Passengers ! rowspan="2" | Notes | |||
| Airbus A320-200 | 29 | — | — | — | 174 | 174 | ||
| Airbus A320neo | 5 | 6 | — | — | 180 | 180 | ||
| Airbus A321-100 | 3 | — | var. | — | var. | 200 | ||
| Airbus A321-200 | 3 | |||||||
| Boeing 767-300ER | 3 | — | 24 | 30 | 157 | 211 | To be retired by 31 December 2025. | |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 6 | — | 32 | 40 | 258 | 330 | To be replaced by Boeing 787-9 by 2028. aerotelegraph.com (German) 30 May 2024 aerotelegraph.com - "Lufthansa in talks with Boeing over more 787s - for Austrian Airlines" 31 December 2022 | |
| Boeing 787-9 | 2 | 5 | 26 | 21 | 247 | 294 | 2 were taken over from Bamboo Airways in 2024. airliners.de - "Austrian Airlines to acquire two Boeing 787 on short notice" (German) 7 February 2024 5 to be transferred from Lufthansa. | |
| — | 5 | TBA | 5 to be delivered new until 2028, for a total of 12 787-9 aircraft, including ones taken over from Bamboo Airways and Luftansa. | |||||
| Embraer 195 | 17 | — | — | — | 120 | 120 | To be retired and replaced by Airbus A320neo by 2028. | |
Historical fleet
| + Austrian Airlines historical fleet !Aircraft !Introduced !Retired !class=unsortable | Notes/refs | ||
| Airbus A310-300 | 1988 | 2004 | |
| Airbus A319-100 | 2004 | 2022 | Sold to Lufthansa CityLine |
| Airbus A330-200 | 1998 | 2007 | Sold to TAP Air Portugal |
| Airbus A340-200 | 1995 | Sold to French Air Force | |
| Airbus A340-300 | 1997 | Sold to Swiss International Air Lines | |
| Boeing 707-320 | 1969 | 1971 | |
| Boeing 737-600 | 2008 | 2012 | Former Lauda Air fleet |
| Boeing 737-700 | 2008 | 2012 | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 2010 | 2013 | Former Lauda Air fleet |
| Bombardier CRJ100 | 1994 | 2010 | . Austrianwings.info. Retrieved on 2014-01-14. Austrian führt allerletzten CRJ-Passagierflug durch >Austrian Wings . Austrianwings.info. Retrieved on 2014-01-14. |
| Bombardier CRJ200 | 1996 | ||
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 | 2012 | 2021 | Former Tyrolean Airways fleet. |
| Douglas DC-8-63CF | 1973 | 1974 | |
| Fokker 50 | 1988 | 1996 | |
| Fokker 70 | 1995 | 2017 | Former Tyrolean Airways and Slovak Airlines fleets |
| Fokker 100 | 2004 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 | 1971 | 1990 | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 | 1975 | 1985 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-81 | 1980 | 1999 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 1983 | 2005 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 1993 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-87 | 1987 | Launch customer | |
| 1963 | 1973 | ||
| Vickers Viscount | 1958 | 1971 |
Services
Do & Co has handled catering for Austrian Airlines since 2007.
As of 2011, all Austrian planes of the Airbus A320 family are equipped with new seats and a new cabin design. By September 2013, Austrian's entire long-haul-fleet (Boeing 767 and Boeing 777) also got new seats and a new cabin design. It contains full-flat beds with a pneumatics system and aisle access from nearly every seat in Business Class, and new seats with video-on-demand for every passenger in Economy Class.
Incidents and accidents
- On 26 September 1960 at 21:40 local time, an Austrian Airlines Vickers Viscount (registered OE-LAF) crashed during approach of Sheremetyevo International Airport, killing 26 of the 31 passengers on board, as well as five of the six crew members. The aircraft had been operating Flight 901 from Vienna to Moscow with an intermediate stop at Warsaw. An altimeter malfunction was given as a probable cause for the only fatal accident for the airline to date.
- On 21 February 1970, a bomb explosion occurred in the cargo hold of an Austrian Airlines Sud Aviation Caravelle (registered OE-LCU) during a flight from Frankfurt to Vienna with 33 passengers and five crew on board, creating a hole in the fuselage. The pilots managed to return the aircraft safely to Frankfurt Airport. On the same day, another bomb had been planted on Swissair Flight 330, causing it to crash, killing 47 people. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed the responsibility for both assaults.
- On 7 January 1997, Austrian Airlines Flight 104 from Berlin to Vienna was hijacked by a man who had forced his way into the cockpit armed with a knife (which was of a size small enough not to be banned from aeroplanes under regulations in force at the time). The pilots obeyed the perpetrator's demands to return to Berlin, so that he could negotiate with the local authorities over the renewal of his visa. Back at Berlin Tegel Airport, the McDonnell Douglas MD-87 was stormed by special police forces, and the hijacker was overpowered.
- On 5 January 2004 at 08:17 local time, an Austrian Airlines Fokker 70 (registered OE-LFO) crash-landed on a snow-covered field near Munich International Airport. The aircraft had been operating Flight 111 from Vienna to Munich, with 28 passengers and four crew on board, when its engines failed during landing descent due to icing. The aircraft was severely damaged; however, only three passengers suffered minor injuries.
- On 9 June 2024, Austrian Airlines flight 434, an Airbus A320-200 (registered as OE-LBM), flew into a thunderstorm during its final approach to Schwechat International Airport in Vienna, from Palma de Mallorca Airport in Spain. The aircraft's front nose cone was torn off by hail, and the cockpit windows were smashed. The plane arrived safely in Vienna with no injuries reported among the 179 people on board. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.
Notes
External links
- Austrian Airlines Group
- Austrian Airlines stock information (archived)
- Sportsclubs of Austrian Airlines (archived)
- Photo of OLAG F13 at Aspern (archived)
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