Austrian Airlines

Austrian Airlines AG

IATA ICAO Call sign OS AUA AUSTRIAN
Founded	3 May 1923; 101 years ago (1923-05-03) (as ÖLAG)
Commenced operations	31 March 1958; 66 years ago (1958-03-31)
Hubs	Vienna Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Miles & More
Alliance	Star Alliance
Fleet size	67[1]
Destinations	121[2]
Parent company	Lufthansa Group
Headquarters	Schwechat, Austria Jurisdiction: Vienna[3]
Key people	Annette Mann (CEO)[4]
Revenue	EUR 1.871 mio. (2022)[1]
Operating income	EUR 3 mio. (2022)[1]
Employees	5,659 (as of December 2022)[1]
Website	www.austrian.com

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^[5] 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^[6] 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 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, 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 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, 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.^[7] During the late 2010s, restructuring of both its fleet and route network continued.