Category Archives: Laudamotion

Ryanair responds to Lufthansa’s claims about Laudamotion

Ryanair on July 13 confirmed that Lufthansa Group is making false claims about Laudamotion.

Lufthansa’s claim that it has “fully complied with all requirements of the European Commission regarding the required transfer of aircraft to Laudamotion” is simply untrue. Lufthansa agreed to transfer 11 aircraft to Laudamotion, yet as of July 13, Lufthansa has only delivered 9 aircraft.

1. One of the aircraft, which was supposed to be delivered “at the beginning” of June, has now been delayed until at least the end of August, which means Laudamotion has lost the benefit of this aircraft (and its slots) during the peak summer months.

2. Not alone has Lufthansa failed to honor its obligations to lease the 11 aircraft, but the lease costs of the aircraft it has leased to Laudamotion are substantially higher than market rates for Airbus A320’s of this age.

3. Laudamotion has repeatedly honored both its aircraft lease payments and maintenance reserves to Lufthansa. Lufthansa’s claims of “repeated failure” to pay is false.

4. Lufthansa has used every tactic in the book to harm and damage Laudamotion including withdrawing flying business from Laudamotion (which Lufthansa had originally agreed) then refusing to pay over €1.5m of lease payments properly due to Laudamotion for flying carried out on behalf of Lufthansa in March, April and May.

Despite Lufthansa owing Laudamotion over €1.5m in overdue lease payments for the months of March, April and May, Lufthansa has attempted to terminate all 9 aircraft leases on unfounded legal grounds, even though lease rentals for the full month of July had already been paid at the end of June.

Ryanair’s Juliusz Komorek said:

“Lufthansa is abusing its dominant position in the German and Austrian markets in a blatant attempt to eliminate a much smaller, Austrian competitor, Laudamotion. Lufthansa’s attempt to terminate Laudamotion’s 9 aircraft leases during the peak of the summer period, at a time which would cause maximum damage to Laudamotion and its customers, is in breach of its obligations to the EU.

Lufthansa dominates the German, Austrian, and Swiss markets and the fact that it is now abusing this position to try to remove Laudamotion’s aircraft fleet, while refusing to pay Laudamotion lease payments that are months overdue, is in flagrant breach of fair procedure and competition rules. It is Lufthansa who has repeatedly failed to pay Laudamotion over €1.5m of lease payments for March, April and May.”

Top Copyright Photo: Laudamotion Airbus A320-214 OE-LOE (msn 4269) FRA (Marcelo F. De Biasi). Image: 941409.

Laudamotion aircraft slide show:

Laudamotion’s routes from Dusseldorf and Berlin this coming winter:

Ryanair welcomes EU approval of its Laudamotion proposal

Ryanair on July 12, 2018welcomed the EU Commission’s decision to approve Ryanair’s proposed acquisition of a 75% interest in Austrian airline, Laudamotion (Ryanair currently owns 24.9%). Ryanair has entered into partnership with Niki Lauda to offer competition, lower fares, and more choice for consumers in Austria, Germany, and Spain, which is where the majority of Laudamotion services currently take place.

However, Laudamotion is currently under threat by Lufthansa who are attempting to remove the 9 aircraft Lufthansa was obliged by the European Commission to provide to Laudamotion in order to allow Laudamotion to restart services.

This is the latest in a series of efforts by Lufthansa to destabilise and damage Laudamotion, which has seen:

– Lufthansa fail to deliver 2 of the 11 aircraft they were required to under the EU Competition decision concerning Lufthansa’s acquisition of Air Berlin.

– Some of the aircraft that Lufthansa had committed to deliver being delayed until after the summer 2018 season, further reducing Laudamotion’s ability to take up slots and offer S2018 flights and services.

– Laudamotion only able to operate a 19 aircraft fleet in summer 2018 by wet leasing 10 B737 aircraft from Ryanair.

– Lufthansa Group delay payment of over €1.5m of wet lease payments properly due to Laudamotion, for flights which Laudamotion operated for Lufthansa in March, April and May.

Ryanair remains committed to bringing competition and choice to Austrian, German and Spanish markets through this investment in Laudamotion and called on the competition authorities to halt Lufthansa’s repeated abuses of its dominant position, which are designed to harm competition and consumers.

Ryanair’s Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer, Juliusz Komorek said:

“We welcome the EU Commission’s decision to approve Ryanair’s proposed acquisition of a 75% interest in Laudamotion. Ryanair remains committed to bringing competition, choice and low fares to the Austrian, German and Spanish markets through our investment in Laudamotion. We urge the EU competition authorities to take action and prevent any further attempts by Lufthansa to damage competition through its anti-consumer behaviour.”

LaudaMotion and Ryanair partnership takes off with new details

LaudaMotion and Ryanair on March 28 announced details of the LaudaMotion summer 2018 schedule with a total of 21 aircraft operating from 9 cities in Austria and Germany from June.

LaudaMotion’s summer 2018 schedule will deliver:

– 21 aircraft

– 9 bases in three countries:

Austria – Vienna

Germany – Berlin Tegel, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart

Switzerland – Zurich

– 44 airports

– 65 routes

Last week, LaudaMotion and Ryanair announced a new aviation partnership where the Irish airline is initially taking a 24.9% stake in LaudaMotion, which will increase to 75% subject to approval by the EU Competition Authority. The aim is to further develop and expand Austria’s LaudaMotion GmbH, headquartered in Vienna.

Niki Lauda will chair the newly created LaudaMotion Board and will be responsible in his new role for establishing LaudaMotion as an Austrian low-fare airline for the scheduled and charter market.

This agreement with Ryanair will allow the gradual growth of LaudaMotion in Austria which currently has a fleet of ten Airbus aircraft. Ryanair will provide financial and management support to LaudaMotion as well as 6 wet-lease aircraft for summer to enable LaudaMotion to complete an extensive 21 aircraft flying program from June.

Four aircraft will be based in Vienna and the frequency of flights to Palma de Mallorca will increase to up to three daily connections. Four LaudaMotion aircraft will be based in Berlin Tegel, six in Dusseldorf, one each in Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart respectively, with two in Zurich.

LaudaMotion’s new Berlin Tegel base will open on June 1, 2018 with four based aircraft, offering low fare routes to 17 sunshine destinations: Barcelona, Brindisi, Corfu, Faro, Fuerteventura, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kos, Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Malaga, Milan Malpensa, Palma de Mallorca, Pula, Rhodes, Rijeka and Tenerife.

This coming winter, LaudaMotion will focus on a city shuttle service with up to three more aircraft based in Vienna, allowing Austrian customers to benefit from a wider selection of flights at affordable prices to Europe’s major cities.

The inaugural LaudaMotion flight from Dusseldorf to Palma de Mallorca took off last Sunday in record time – just 25 days after the takeover from Niki on March 1, 2018. The Spanish sunshine isle is one of the most important destinations in the LaudaMotion route network.

In Vienna, Niki Lauda, LaudaMotion Chairman said:

“I am pleased to confirm that LaudaMotion is now up and running and I would like to thank the Laudamotion team for all their hard work and enthusiasm, which has allowed us to start efficiently and on time. We look forward to building the Laudamotion brand and to creating new jobs, more promotional opportunities and greater consumer choice, particularly in Vienna where we will more than double our Airbus aircraft base next year.

I am pleased to welcome Michael O’Leary and the Ryanair team to Vienna to mark the start of our partnership, which will see Laudamotion grow its fleet to more than 30 Airbus aircraft and provide wider choice and lower fares to Viennese consumers and visitors.”

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said:

“Ryanair is pleased to support this first summer schedule for LaudaMotion, which is great news for Austrian consumers and visitors, who can now book low fare flights and benefit from genuine competition and more choice. We share Niki Lauda’s vision to develop a successful Austrian low fares airline in a market dominated by Lufthansa’s high fare Austrian and Swiss subsidiaries. Indeed, Laudamotion is now in pole position to accelerate rapidly in both the scheduled and charter markets in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

This partnership will be of enormous benefit to both Ryanair and Laudamotion customers. The LaudaMotion AOC will support a fleet of Airbus aircraft, which is something we have hoped to develop within the Ryanair Group for some years. And in turn, Ryanair will support LaudaMotion by providing access to our fleet and financial resources, allowing for more rapid growth. This is also good news for LaudaMotion’s people, providing improved job security and promotional opportunities at Austria’s first low fares airline.”

Below Copyright Photo (all others by LaudaMotion): LaudaMotion Airbus A321-211 OE-LCG (msn 1988) (Airberlin colors) PMI (Javier Rodriguez). Image: 941370.

LaudaMotion aircraft slide show:

Eurowings to wet lease 8 Airbus A320s from LaudaMotion

Eurowings is wet leasing up to eight Airbus A320s from upstart LaudaMotion (Vienna).

According to Reuters, Eurowings and Laudamotion have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the use of the aircraft initially until the end of May.

Ryanair to help and will eventually acquire 75% of LaudaMotion

Ryanair Holdings Plc on March 20 announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with Mr. Niki Lauda to support his plan to develop and grow LaudaMotion GmbH, an Austrian Airline based in Vienna.

LaudaMotion is an Austrian AOC holder owned by Niki Lauda, which has recently acquired many of the assets, including Airbus A320 aircraft, of the former Niki Airline, and will shortly start a range of scheduled and charter services from Germany, Austria and Switzerland primarily to Mediterranean leisure destinations.

Under this agreement Ryanair will acquire an initial 24.9% stake in LaudaMotion and this will rise as soon as possible to 75% subject to EU Competition approval.

Niki Lauda will chair the Board of the airline and oversee the implementation of his strategy to build a successful Austrian low fares airline. Ryanair will provide financial and management support to LaudaMotion as well as 6 wet-lease aircraft for S2018 to enable LaudaMotion to complete an extensive 21 aircraft flying program.

The cost of this 75% investment in LaudaMotion (if approved by the EU) will be less than €50m although Ryanair will provide an additional €50m for year 1 start up and operating costs. Both Mr Lauda and Ryanair will work with the existing management team of LaudaMotion and expect the airline to reach profitability by year 3 of operations if their plan to grow the business to a fleet of at least 30 Airbus aircraft is successful.

This partnership provides job security, career opportunities and growth in employment in all activities of LaudaMotion, such as cockpit and cabin crew, maintenance and administration, and will allow consumers and visitors to benefit from strong competition, leading to more choices and lower fares.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:

“We look forward to working in partnership with Niki Lauda to successfully develop his vision for a successful Austrian low fares airline to service the schedule and charter markets. The LaudaMotion AOC will support a fleet of Airbus aircraft which is something we have hoped to develop within the Ryanair Group for some years.

LaudaMotion will benefit from this partnership between Niki Lauda and Ryanair. With access to the Ryanair fleet and financial resources, LaudaMotion will now grow more rapidly, as it seeks to compete in a market which is dominated by Lufthansa’s high airfares with its Swiss and Austrian subsidiaries.

This LaudaMotion partnership is good news for Austrian and German consumers/visitors who can now look forward to real competition, more choice and lower fares. It is also great news for LaudaMotion’s people who can look forward to improved job security and more promotional opportunities in Vienna and other bases as we work with Niki Lauda and his team to accelerate growth of LaudaMotion – Austria’s low fares airline.”

Niki Lauda, Chairman of LaudaMotion said:

“I have always stood up for competition and have opposed monopolies. Therefore I am thrilled that in the partnership with Ryanair, Laudamotion will be able to establish itself as a strong competitor and to grow quickly and sustainably. A new player in the aviation market is born and I am looking forward to offering our passengers an extensive route portfolio at competitive air fares.”

LaudaMotion will eventually introduce its own unique livery at the end of the summer season 2018.

Laudamotion to start operations on March 25

Niki Lauda will start his new airline Laudamotion, the former Niki, on March 25 with flights from Germany according to Reuters.

Laudamotion will start operating from Switzerland in April and from Austria in June. The group will operate 14 Airbus planes.

After Airberlin filed for insolvency in 2017, Niki Lauda purchased Niki. Niki will be reborn under the Laudamotion brand.

Laudamotion’s route network will cover Mediterranean holiday destinations ranging from the Balearic Islands right through to Greece and including popular locations such as Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Malaga, Santorini, Kalamata, Crete and many more.

Laudamotion will operate flights from Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

On February 16, 2018, Condor Flugdienst signed an agreement with Laudamotion to take over sales and marketing of the Laudamotion Airbus A320s.

According to Airline Route, the first routes, starting on March 25 will be:

Dusseldorf – Palma de Mallorca

Frankfurt – Palma de Mallorca

Stuttgart – Palma de Mallorca

All images by Laudamotion.

Laudamotion will be the name of Niki Lauda’s new airline, formerly Niki

As previously reported, on January 23, 2018, the creditors’ of defunct Niki (Vienna), selected Lauda Motion GmbH as the company that would take over the assets of the grounded airline.

Niki brand has been retired and all operations will operate under the Laudamotion brand with 15 Airbus A320 family aircraft transferred from Niki.

Operations are expected to commence for the summer 2018 season.

Previously, up until February 2018, Niki Laura used the Laudamotion name for his charter operations with a fleet of business jets.