Early years
On 3 May 1923, Walter Barda-Bardenau received approval from the Austrian government to establish an airline. He participated in the newly formed Austrian Airlines (German: Österreichische Luftverkehrs AG) with one percent, with the remaining shares going to the Austrian railway transportation company (50%) and the Junkers-Werke (49%).[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
In 1938, the company began planning routes to Rome, Paris, and London, using a fleet of Junkers Ju 90 aircraft. Following the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany 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.[8]
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.[8] In 1955, two distinct companies, Air Austria and Austrian Airways, swiftly emerged to address this unoccupied market.[8] On 4 April 1957, Austrian Airlines was formed under the corporate name Österreichische Luftverkehrs AG through the merger of Air Austria and Austrian Airways.[9] On 30 September 1957, the new entity commenced operations, performing its maiden flight on 31 March 1958 when a leased Vickers Viscount 779 took off from Vienna for a scheduled service to Zürich and London.[8]
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.[9] 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.[9]
Jet era
During its first decade of operation, Austrian Airlines experienced competition from Adria Airways; passengers from the Austrian provinces of Styria and Carinthia were routinely commuting to neighbouring Yugoslavia to use airports in what is now Slovenia. On 18 February 1963, Austrian Airlines ordered its first jet airliner, the Sud Aviation Caravelle, which operated in an 80-seat configuration.[10] During 1969, the airline broke new ground with the launch of its first long-distance route to New York City in the United States (early flights were made in co-operation with Belgian Sabena with a layover in Brussels).[10][11] However, the operations ceased on 31 March 1971 due to low traffic.
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.[9] Starting in 1971, Austrian Airlines opted to standardise its fleet.
Developments from 1990 to 2008
Throughout the 1990s, many airlines focused on cooperation and alliances. Swissair founded Qualiflyer, which Austrian joined early. This was also a period of quick expansion in the long-haul market, launching new flight paths to China and South Africa. During the late 1990s, Austrian Airlines developed an appetite for acquisitions; during March 1997, it bought a 35 per cent stake in Lauda Air while an 85.7 per cent shareholding in Tyrolean Airways was acquired in December of that year.[9] Two years later, the airline wholly acquired Tyrolean Airways, making it a subsidiary. In 1999, Austrian Airlines launched the ability for customers to book flights via the Internet.[9]
On 26 March 2000, Austrian became a member of Star Alliance.[9] 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.[9]
Takeover by Lufthansa
In June 2008, Merrill Lynch advised the Austrian government to sell the airline to a foreign company. Interest was shown by Lufthansa, Air France–KLM, Royal Jordanian, Air China, Turkish Airlines, Aeroflot, S7 Airlines, and Singapore Airlines. Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and S7 emerged as potential bidders.[17]
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.[18]
Operational transition to Tyrolean from 2012
Tyrolean Airways, a subsidiary, took over AUA operations on 30 April 2012 after negotiations over cost-cutting measures failed.[28][29] Tyrolean operated all Austrian flights after this date. However, 110 pilots and 250 flight personnel chose not to go to Tyrolean but to leave the group.[30]
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.[9] 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.[27] 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.[9]
Merger of Austrian and Tyrolean in 2015
Austrian Airlines announced in October 2014 that it would reintegrate Tyrolean's flight operations and staff by 31 March 2015.[31][32] The recent negotiation of a new labour agreement led to this move.[31][33][34]
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.[35] 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.[36]
60th anniversary in 2018
In 2018, to celebrate its 60th anniversary, Austrian Airlines launched a new brand identity including new logo, new livery, new font and more.[39] The new identity was jointly designed by the airline and the Viennese branding agency Brainds using the Portada font to make the brand "more modern and fit for the digital future".[40] The new brand identity was honored with the Red Dot Award in 2019.[39]
Due to increasing competition from low-cost carriers at its Vienna base and the need to streamline operations to avoid financial losses, the airline announced restructuring its fleet and network in 2019.[41] 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.[42]
Developments since the COVID-19 pandemic
From 18 March to 15 June 2020, Austrian Airlines officially suspended all the regularly scheduled flights as the global air traffic collapsed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[44][45][46] With regular operations suspended, the airline carried out several repatriation flights to carry home Austrians stranded abroad, as well as freight flights to carry medical supplies.[47] Such flights were launched to Abuja, Bali, Lima, Mexico City, and Sydney. In the summer of 2020, the airline received €600 million in financial aid from Lufthansa and the Austrian government to help it weather the pandemic; in return, Austrian Airlines committed to, among others, reducing emissions in Austria by 50% by 2030.[48] Overall, the airline ended 2020 flying 3.1 million passengers, a 79% drop from the prior year.
