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88-484: Austrian Airlines AG , 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 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

176-410: A national airline or a national carrier , although this can have different legal meanings in some countries. Today, it is any international airline with a strong connection to its home country or that represents its home country internationally, regardless of whether it is government-owned. Flag carriers may also be known as such due to laws requiring aircraft or ships to display the state flag of

264-494: A capital increase of €140 million, providing effective measures to be taken to address the structural deficiencies. The Lauda Air subsidiary was merged into Austrian Airlines on 1 July 2012. On 30 April 2012, after failure of negotiations over cost-cutting measures, AUA operations were taken over by subsidiary Tyrolean Airways. After this date, all Austrian flights were operated by Tyrolean. However, 110 pilots and 250 flight personnel chose not to go to Tyrolean, but to instead leave

352-474: 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. Austrian Airlines codeshares with the following airlines: As of July 2024, Austrian Airlines operates

440-557: 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

528-703: A layover in Brussels ). The Caravelle formed a core part of Austrian Airlines' fleet up until 1973. Deliveries of the American-built jetliner, the Douglas DC-9 , commenced in 1971. Starting in 1971, Austrian opted to standardise its fleet. By the end of that year, all Viscounts had been permanently withdrawn, leaving the firm with an all-jet fleet. Its new fleet centered around a core of nine DC-9-32s, these would be operated by Austrian Airlines for both short- and medium-haul flights for many years. During 1975,

616-730: A leased Vickers Viscount 779 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. During its first decade of operation, Austrian Airlines experienced competition from Adria Airways ; passengers from

704-592: 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

792-594: A number of experimental and survey missions, most notably for developing the best airborne crossing of the South Atlantic, and during the Third German Antarctica Expedition in 1938–39, when two Dornier Wal aircraft performed a photographic survey of 350,000 square kilometres, an area which became known as New Swabia . With the outbreak of the war on 1 September 1939 all civilian flight operations of Luft Hansa came to an end, and

880-513: A result, in January 2012, a new strategy was implemented, with the addition of 11 new aircraft in the next three years, leading to a renewal of the fleet on the long term, with Airbus planes serving medium-haul routes and Boeings serving long-haul routes. In December 2011, a new cost-saving plan was revealed, as the company was still losing money despite eliminating 2,500 jobs. Lufthansa refused to provide financial support. In March 2012, Austrian called once more for recapitalisation. Lufthansa approved

968-634: A small profit of €3.3 million in 2007, financial guidance for 2008 had to be changed negatively several times, to a loss of €475 million expected as of the end of November. 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 . Of those, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and S7 emerged as potential bidders. On 13 November 2008, state holding ÖIAG announced that Lufthansa

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1056-478: A stake in Deruluft , a joint German- Soviet airline, and launched non-stop flights from Berlin to Moscow , which was then regarded as an exceptionally long distance. Shortly after that flights to Paris were commenced. Deutsche Luft Hansa was one of the first airlines to operate night flights, the first of which connected Berlin with Königsberg using Junkers G 24 aircraft. This route proved so successful that

1144-541: A time of uncertainty following the demission of appointed CEO Thierry Antinori, 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. As

1232-429: Is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state , enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Historically, the term was used to refer to airlines owned by the government of their home country and associated with the national identity of that country. Such an airline may also be known as

1320-586: Is a member of the Star Alliance . The airline was formed in 1957 by the merger of Air Austria and Austrian Airways but traces its history back to 1923 at the founding of Austrian Airways. Throughout much of the company's existence, it was a state-owned 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-powered airliner,

1408-718: 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. Austrian myHoliday replaced Lauda Air as Austrian Airlines' holiday brand in April 2013 and

1496-458: The Bermuda I and Bermuda II agreements specify rights awardable only to locally registered airlines, forcing some governments to jump-start airlines to avoid being disadvantaged in the face of foreign competition. Some countries also establish flag carriers such as Israel 's El Al or Lebanon 's Middle East Airlines for nationalist reasons or to aid the country's economy, particularly in

1584-642: The Chinese transport ministry, granting Luft Hansa a monopoly position for mail transport between Germany and China, as well as access to the Chinese market. To this end, the Shanghai - Nanjing - Beijing route was launched in the following year using Junkers W 34 specially deployed there. A record was set in 1930 when the mail route from Vienna to Istanbul (with stopovers in Budapest , Belgrad and Sofia )

1672-562: The European Union with the signing of the Open Skies agreement. One of the features of such agreements is the right of a country to designate multiple airlines to serve international routes with the result that there is no single "flag carrier". The chart below lists airlines considered to be a "flag carrier", based on current or former state ownership or other verifiable designation as a national airline. Minority (20.05%) in

1760-730: The Junkers-Werke (49%). 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 took place in Vienna Jedlesee ; there occurred a conversion to float and the connecting flight to Budapest. The company was operated by Junkers Trans European Union. Its destinations included Munich, Budapest, Nuremberg, Graz, Klagenfurt, and St. Wolfgang. Some targets in Austria were served with seaplanes. The union

1848-662: The Kangaroo Route . 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 has 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 will be non-stop and

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1936-471: The Lufthansa Group acquired in 2020 was sold in 2022. Deutsche Luft Hansa Although Deutsche Luft Hansa was the forerunner of modern German airline Lufthansa (founded in 1953) and both airlines share the same logo, there is no legal connection between the two. However, the new Lufthansa took over staff from the old airline and claims DLH's legacy. For this reason it is controversial in

2024-626: 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

2112-542: 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. In June 1939, the company was deleted from the commercial register. After the Second World War , Austria was once again separated from Germany. While it regained its independence as a result of the Austrian State Treaty of 1955,

2200-668: The 1990s, many airlines focused on cooperation and alliances. Austrian was one of the first companies to join the Qualiflyer Group , founded by Swissair. 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 percent stake in Lauda Air while an 85.7 percent shareholding in Tyrolean Airways

2288-447: 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

2376-516: The 2000s, Austrian sustained several years of losses; during 2008, the airline's then-owner, the Austrian government, was advised to privatise 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, both fleet expansion and cost-saving initiatives were enacted as

2464-547: 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 ordered its first jet airliner, the Sud Aviation Caravelle , which it operated in an 80-seat configuration. 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

2552-484: The Eurasia Corporation had to be shut down following an intervention by the Chinese government . Syndicato Condor was nationalised and renamed Cruzeiro do Sul in 1943, in an attempt to erase its German roots. The last scheduled flight of Deutsche Luft Hansa – from Berlin to Munich took place on 21 April 1945, but the aircraft crashed shortly before the planned arrival. Another (non-scheduled) flight

2640-649: The European Commission initiated the investigation on the acquisition for breach of free-trade rules, suspecting that the tendering process was a fake one, everything being already decided 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

2728-563: The Middle East. Politically, the company leaders were linked to the rising Nazi Party ; an aircraft was made available to Adolf Hitler for his campaign for the 1932 presidential election free of any charge. The Nazi party used footage of those flights for their propaganda efforts and gained an advantage in being able to hold events featuring Hitler in different places in far quicker succession than other parties which relied largely on rail transport. Erhard Milch , who had served as head of

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2816-507: The ageing Fokker 70s and 100s . By August 2016, eight of 17 Embraer aircraft had been delivered while 9 of 23 Fokker left the fleet. 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. Due to increasing competition from low-cost carriers at its Vienna base and

2904-658: The aircraft fleet came under command of the Luftwaffe , along with most staff. The company focused on aircraft maintenance and repair. There were still scheduled passenger flights within Germany and to occupied or neutral countries, but bookings were restricted and served the demands of warfare. During the later years of the war, most passenger aircraft were converted to military freighters. The Luft Hansa co-operations in foreign countries were gradually dismantled: Deruluft ceased to exist in March 1940, and by November of that year,

2992-519: The airline industry. Like many other countries, Germany subsidized the airlines, which also gave the German government control over them. The stylised flying crane symbol predates Luft Hansa and had been used by DLR and Deutscher Aero Lloyd. The foundation of the airline coincided with the lifting of restrictions on commercial air operations imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles . This allowed

3080-525: The airline since 1926, was appointed by Hermann Göring to be head of the Aviation Ministry when Hitler came to power in 1933; Milch had been a member of the Nazi party since 1929, and was later convicted of war crimes. According to a leading scholar of the history of German aviation, from this point, "Lufthansa served as a front organization for armament, which took place secretly until 1935 - it

3168-540: 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. In October 2006, Austrian was forced to adopt a stringent cost-saving policy, and in 2007, it eliminated over 500 jobs. Many long-haul destinations were cancelled, such as Sydney via Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne via Singapore, Kathmandu or Shanghai. Three remaining Fokker 70s were sent to Tyrolean Airways. It

3256-420: The apportionment of aviation rights to local or international markets. Near the end of the 20th century, many of these airlines have been corporatized as a public company or a state-owned enterprise , while others have been completely privatized . The aviation industry has also been gradually deregulated and liberalized, permitting greater freedoms of the air particularly in the United States and in

3344-449: The area of tourism. In many cases, governments would directly assist in the growth of their flag carriers typically through subsidies and other fiscal incentives. The establishment of competitors in the form of other locally registered airlines may be prohibited or heavily regulated to avoid direct competition. Even where privately run airlines may be allowed to be established, the flag carriers may still be accorded priority, especially in

3432-468: The autumn of 2022, Austrian announced an order of four new Airbus A320neo . The first of which joined the fleet in October of the same year, and the other 3 will be gradually phased in until spring 2023. In April 2023, Austrian additionally announced that their current long haul fleet consisting of 3 Boeing 767-300ER and 6 Boeing 777-200ER will be replaced by 10 Boeing 787-9 from early 2024 to 2028. 5 of these jets will be transferred from Lufthansa , and

3520-467: The business was restructured; 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. On 1 April 2015, after a new labour agreement had been reached, all flights transferred back to Austrian, and Tyrolean Airways

3608-533: The company. After recovering from the global economic fallout from the Great Depression , the firm's fleet was expanded via the addition of several Junkers Ju 52/3 m. The rapid growth of the firm 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

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3696-507: The country by the United States for political reasons. On 1 April 1939, Deutsche Luft Hansa launched scheduled transatlantic flights to Natal, Rio Grande do Norte and Santiago de Chile using Fw 200 aircraft, a route which had previously been operated by Syndicato Condor . With Bangkok , Hanoi and Taipeh , further Asian destinations were added to the route network. During the 1930s, Luft Hansa aircraft had also been deployed on

3784-520: The country of their registry . For example, under the law of the United States, a U.S. flag air carrier is any airline that holds a certificate under Section 401 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (i.e., any U.S.-based airline operating internationally), and any ship registered in the United States is known as a U.S. flag vessel . The term "flag carrier" is a legacy of the early days of commercial aviation when governments often took

3872-542: 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 . A Boeing 737-600 was given a glacier look for a Tyrol advertisement. Three designs were put on aeroplanes to mark Euro 2008 . An Airbus A320

3960-621: The first aircraft not manufactured in Germany were introduced into the Luft Hansa fleet: two Boeing 247s and one Douglas DC-2 . The grip on the domestic South American markets was further tightened in 1937, when the Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Transportes Aéreos (SEDTA) and Lufthansa Perú were founded as Luft Hansa co-operations in Ecuador and Peru respectively, operating Junkers W 34 aircraft. The Middle Eastern network

4048-624: 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. In 1988, Austrian Airlines underwent an initial public offering upon the Vienna Stock Exchange , although the majority of shares in the company remained held by the Austrian government at this time. Throughout

4136-449: The first of five DC-9-51s, an improved model, was introduced to service. On 13 October 1977, Austrian became the first customer for the DC-9-80, otherwise known as the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 , having placed 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

4224-470: The first time in six years. This same year, management intensified efforts to end a long-running labour dispute. In October 2014, it was announced that Tyrolean's flight operations and staff were to be reintegrated into Austrian Airlines by 31 March 2015, this move was a consequence of a new labour agreement having been recently reached. Ahead of this merger, Austrian announced an overhauled concept, initially called "my Austrian", on 26 March 2015; it included

4312-460: The flight network of leading European airlines of that time and vice versa. The agreements were with air lines including Aerotransport , Ad Astra Aero , Adria Aerolloyd , Aero Oy , Air Union , Balair , CIDNA , CSA , DDL , Imperial Airways , KLM , Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère , LOT , ÖLAG , Malert , SABENA , SANA , SGTA , and Ukrpovitroshliakh , as well as Syndicato Condor from Brazil and SCADTA from Colombia . During that period,

4400-424: The following European destinations saw scheduled passenger flights: Due to the war and the de facto end of commercial air transport in Germany, Luft Hansa operated scheduled passenger flights only on some domestic trunk routes and international services on a limited number of routes to occupied or Axis -affiliated countries. These routes deteriorated during the war as Germany came closer to defeat. As of 1940/41,

4488-584: The following aircraft: In the past, Austrian Airlines has operated the following aircraft types. Other aircraft types previously operated by the airline included the British Aerospace 146 , Douglas DC-3 , Hawker Siddeley HS 748 and Aero Commander (Grand Commander 680FL model). Austrian operates several lounges at its hub in Vienna. There are three Business, two Senator and two HON-Circle lounges. Do & Co has handled catering for Austrian Airlines since 2007. As of 2011 all Austrian planes of

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4576-536: The following destinations were served. At that time, interline agreements were in force with Iberia , Aeroflot , Malert , LARES (Romania), Aero Oy (Finland), DDL ( occupied Denmark ), ABA (Sweden), and CSA ( occupied Czechoslovakia ). Additionally, there were scheduled sea plane flights along the Norwegian coast (from Trondheim to Kirkenes ), which was then part of the Atlantic Wall . Over

4664-647: The further retirement of three of its six Boeing 767-300ER long-haul aircraft scheduled, the last of which will leave the fleet by fall 2021. 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 . 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. Such flights were launched to Abuja , Bali , Lima , Mexico City , and Sydney . In

4752-468: The group. 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. In March 2014, it was announced that Austrian had returned to profitability for

4840-562: The historical reappraisal to what extent the modern Lufthansa should confess to crimes committed by the old airline. Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin . The name of the company means "German Hansa of the Air". The Hansa or Hanseatic League dominated maritime trade in the Baltic Sea area for hundreds of years, and is well regarded in Germany to this day. The airline

4928-642: The lead by establishing state-owned airlines because of the high capital costs of running them. However, not all such airlines were government-owned; Pan Am , TWA , Cathay Pacific , Union de Transports Aériens , Canadian Pacific Air Lines and Olympic Airlines were all privately owned, but were considered to be flag carriers as they were the "main national airline" and often a sign of their country's presence abroad. The heavily regulated aviation industry also meant aviation rights are often negotiated between governments, denying airlines access to an open market. These Bilateral Air Transport Agreements similar to

5016-541: The mail delivery time between Europe and North America. Both the Bremen and her sister ship Europa launched mail planes on their scheduled North Atlantic crossings until 1935. Even though the early years of the decade saw a difficult financial situation due to the Great Depression , Deutsche Luft Hansa further expanded its international route network in South America, and launched scheduled flights from Germany to

5104-400: The need to streamline operations to avoid financial losses, in 2019, the airline announced a restructuring of its fleet and network. All Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft are being replaced with Airbus A320s by March 2021, with all crew bases outside of Vienna shut down and routes not going through Vienna airport moved to either Lufthansa or Eurowings . In January 2020, Austrian announced

5192-633: The newly founded East German national airline operated under the same name but, having lost a lawsuit with the West German company, it was liquidated and replaced by Interflug . From 1926 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Deutsche Luft Hansa built up an extensive network centred on its base at Berlin Tempelhof Airport covering many German cities and towns, as well as the major European cities. There were early interline agreements which granted Luft Hansa passengers access to

5280-660: The newly founded Iberia in Spain its longest scheduled route was 2,100 kilometres from Berlin to Madrid (though with several stopovers). The establishment of Syndicato Condor in Brazil served the airline's interests in South America where there were important German minorities at that time. The first east–west crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean (from Baldonnel Aerodrome in Ireland to Greenly Island, Canada )

5368-481: The newly reconstituted nation was initially lacking a national airline. During 1955, two separate companies, Air Austria and Austrian Airways , were quickly established to start filling this vacant niche. 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

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5456-408: The night train connection was discontinued some years later. During its first year, the airline operated more than six million flight kilometres, transporting a total of 56,268 passengers and 560 tons of freight and mail. Over the following years, the domestic network grew to cover all the important cities and towns of Germany. More international routes were added through co-operation agreements. With

5544-544: The other 5 will be delivered to Austrian from the existing Lufthansa Group order. In early 2024, Austrian confirmed that the airline will now receive overall 11 Boeing 787-9s, of which two pre-owned by Bamboo Airways will be delivered by March 2024 with a start of scheduled operations planned for summer 2024. In fall of 2023 Austrian was ordered by an Austrian court to effectively communicate its anti-greenhouse marketing. Until 2008, full detailed accounts for Austrian Airlines were published in their annual reports; following

5632-770: The return flight will make a stopover in Penang, Malaysia to refuel and onload additional cargo. Using a Boeing 777, the non-stop flight will cover a distance of over 16,000 kilometres (9,900 mi; 8,600 nmi) and it will last 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

5720-499: The route network to be quickly expanded to cover major European cities. The initial fleet consisted of 162 aircraft, nearly all of them outdated World War I types, and the company had 1,527 staff. The most important airfield for DLH was Berlin Tempelhof . From there a Fokker F.II took off on 6 April 1926 for the first scheduled flight to Zürich via Halle , Erfurt and Stuttgart . In the same year, Deutsche Luft Hansa acquired

5808-465: The scheduled European routes and a total of 254,713 passengers and 5,288 tons of mail transported. From 1936 Deutsche Luft Hansa carried out route proving flights to carry mail across the North Atlantic. This service was intended to replace the mail planes launched by catapult from trans-Atlantic steamers. However this never materialized, as German planes were denied the right to carry mail into

5896-494: The shares and Österreichische Luftverkehrs-Beteiligungs-GmbH, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, which owns the remaining shares. Austrian owns shares in 24 companies, including: Citing the colours of the national flag of Austria , Austrian Airlines' colour scheme has always been a pattern of red, white, and red. Aircraft bellies were silver from the 1950s to 1980s, the upper part was white with the Austrian Airlines arrow and

5984-691: 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. On 1 October 2004, the flight operations departments of Austrian and Lauda Air were merged into a single unit, leaving Lauda Air as a brand name only for charter flights. It had 6,394 employees. Another subsidiary of Austrian Airlines, Tyrolean Airways, specialised in regional flights, having been merged with Rheintalflug in 2002. In March 2004, it launched its Focus East plan, expanding

6072-652: 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 committed to, among others, reducing CO 2 emissions in Austria by 50% by 2030. Overall, the airline ended 2020 flying 3.1 million passengers, a 79% drop from the prior year. In September 2021, it was announced that Austrian Airlines will terminate all of its remaining scheduled services originating from Austrian airports outside of Vienna. These will be either cancelled or transferred to sister company Eurowings . In

6160-416: The takeover by Lufthansa, only summary information for Austrian is now made available, usually by way of press release. Figures for years ending 31 December are: Austrian Airlines Group is wholly owned by Österreichisches Luftverkehrs Holding (ÖLH) which consists of Österreichische Luftverkehrs Privatstiftung (ÖLP), owned by ÖBB and Vienna International Airport among other shareholders which holds 50,2% of

6248-421: The text "Austrian Airlines" (until 1972, again from 1995 to 2003) or "Austrian" (1972–1995, from 2003 onwards). Austrian Airlines' slogan was "the friendly airline" at the time. As part of the 2015 rebranding, the blue belly and engine painting of the livery were replaced by white and red. The Austrian Airlines' arrow ("Austrian Chevron") has seen several design modifications over the years. When created in 1960 it

6336-763: The trans-Atlantic leg These were replaced by the Dornier Do 18 in 1936 making operations in non-visual conditions possible. The European network saw the introduction of the Junkers G.38 (at that time the largest passenger aircraft in the world) on the Berlin- London route via Amsterdam , as well as the Junkers Ju 52/3m and Heinkel He 70 , which allowed for faster air travel. This was promoted by so-called " Blitz Services" (German: Blitzstrecken ) between Berlin , Hamburg , Cologne and Frankfurt . In 1935,

6424-407: Was acquired in December of that year. 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. 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

6512-590: Was also decided to abandon the long-haul Airbus planes, consisting of four Airbus A340s and four Airbus A330s , to standardise the fleet in favour of Boeing 777s and Boeing 767s . Austrian Airlines removed complimentary in-flight meals and alcoholic drinks on short-haul services, introducing what was called a "Self Select Bistro Service", except on flights from London and any flights above 100 minutes in duration. Head office moved from Oberlaa in Vienna's Favoriten district to Vienna International Airport in 2007, whereas headquarters remained in Vienna. After recording

6600-470: Was an air force in disguise." The historian Norman Longmate reported that during its peacetime flights in the 1930s, the airline had secretly photographed the entire British coastline as preparation for a possible invasion. A key interest of Deutsche Luft Hansa at that time was the reduction of mail delivery times. In 1930, the Eurasia Corporation was established as a joint-venture with

6688-456: Was completed in only 24 hours. By comparison, the first transatlantic passenger flight by the airline (from Warnemünde to New York City using a Dornier Wal flying boat ) took roughly one week. After several years of testing, a scheduled postal route between Europe and South America was inaugurated in 1934. This was the first regularly scheduled airline service across an ocean in the world. Wal flying boats were used, catapult launched for

6776-399: Was created by the merger of Deutscher Aero Lloyd, formerly Deutsche Luft-Reederei (1917 to 1923) , and Junkers Luftverkehr (c. 1919) in 1926. The two companies, Germany's largest airlines at the time, were forced to merge by the German government, while all other airlines were shut down. This reorganization was intended to reduce the amount of financial support the government provided to

6864-405: Was dissolved in September 1926. 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 . Line connections were planned and operated jointly by the two companies, while a route network to Berlin, Budapest, and Milan Vienna was created. In 1932, Luft Hansa Junkers held a 49% interest in

6952-570: Was expanded with the launch of the Berlin- Baghdad - Tehran route in the same year. In 1938 the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 long range aircraft was introduced making it possible to fly non-stop between Berlin and New York and from Berlin to Tokyo with only one intermediate stopover. This last year prior to the outbreak of World War II turned out to be the most successful one in the history of the airline, with 19.3 million flight kilometres on

7040-820: Was given a retro livery to mark the company's 50th anniversary. Austrian's slogan is "the charming way to fly". In 2006, Austrian decided to retire its A330 and A340 fleet, which consisted of four Airbus A330-200s , two Airbus A340-200s , and two Airbus A340-300s . These aircraft were sold to TAP Air Portugal , the French Air Force, and SWISS respectively. As a result of having less long-haul capacity, Austrian suspended some of its long-haul flights to East Asia. Flights to Shanghai (resumed 2016), Phuket , Colombo , Mauritius (resumed in 2014), Malé (resumed 2018), and Kathmandu ended in 2007. Both Australia routes - Melbourne via Singapore and Sydney via Kuala Lumpur - were terminated in March 2007, ending operations on

7128-561: Was made by the Luft Hansa pilot Hermann Köhl , Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld and the Irish pilot James Fitzmaurice using the Junkers W 33 aircraft Bremen in April 1928. The airline launched scheduled multi-leg flights to Tokyo . A Heinkel HE 12 aircraft was launched (by catapult ) off the NDL liner Bremen during her maiden voyage crossing the Atlantic in 1929, shortening

7216-435: Was merged into its parent. During the late 2010s, restructuring of both its fleet and route network continued. On 3 May 1923, Walter Barda-Bardenau received approval from the Austrian government for establishing 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

7304-460: Was particularly used from 1940 to 1942. Forced laborers were used to install and maintain radar systems and to assemble, repair, and maintain aircraft, including military aircraft. Forced laborers were lodged in barracks run by Luft Hansa on the Tempelhof site and elsewhere in Berlin were surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by authorities with machine guns; sanitation in these camps, was poor, as

7392-473: Was performed the next day, from Berlin to Warnemünde , which marked the end of flight operations. Following the surrender of Germany and the ensuing Allied occupation of Germany , all aircraft in the country were seized and Deutsche Luft Hansa was dissolved. The remaining assets were liquidated on 1 January 1951. During World War II, Deutsche Luft Hansa employed more than 10,000 forced laborers, including many children, from occupied countries; forced Jewish labor

7480-404: Was redolent of the shape of a flying bird; the design became more formal in 1972. As part of a rebranding exercise in 1995, the "Chevron" was placed on the red-white-red tail fin. In the new corporate design, in use since 2003, the old "Chevron" shape was used again, this time in a more modern style and with a drop shadow placed underneath. Several special colour schemes have been used throughout

7568-443: Was renamed into myAustrian Holidays in mid-2015. It operates seasonal charter flights at own risk and in co-operation with tour operators as well as exclusive ad hoc charter flights. All charter flights are operated by Austrian Airlines aircraft and crew. A Do & Co board service is served on all flights. Seasonal holiday flights in 2017–18 were offered to 40 destinations in ten countries. Flag carrier A flag carrier

7656-478: Was selected. The German company was to enter Austrian's 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. On 1 July 2009,

7744-403: Was the level of medical care and nutrition. In 2012, a team of archaeologists excavated the site of the camp run by Luft Hansa on Tempelhof airport. Lufthansa , today's German flag carrier , acquired the name and logo of the 1926–1945 airline upon its foundation in 1953 and claims DLH's history as its own. However, there is no legal link between the two companies. Between 1955 and 1963,

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